ST. PETERSBURG, Fla. _ Kevin Kiermaier delivered a run-scoring single with one out in the 10th inning Saturday to lead the Rays to a 2-1 win over the Blue Jays.
Kiermaier, pinch-hitting for Mike Brosseau, sliced the first pitch from Anthony Bass to left to score Manuel Margot. Margot had moved to third when Yoshi Tsutsugo grounded out to second. The Jays then walked pinch-hitter Ji-Man Choi.
It was the second straight night the teams went into extra innings. On Friday, the Jays snapped the Rays' five-game winning streak with a 6-5 victory in 10 innings. On Saturday, the Rays flipped the script, ending the Jays' six-game winning streak, their longest since 2016.
"I was ready, and I was happy to have my name called," Kiermaier said during the Fox Sports Sun postgame show. "Hit it where they ain't is a baseball term, and I did just that."
Starting the 10th with a runner on second under the new 2020 rules, the Jays had a chance to take the lead. Anthony Banda walked Cavan Biggio, and a Randal Grichuk flyout advanced Santiago Espinal, who was pinch-running at second, to third. But Rays first baseman Mike Brosseau made another good play, gloving Travis Shaw's hard grounder, stepping on first and firing to second for a double play.
It was the Rays' third walk-off win of the season, their third extra-inning win, and their 10th in which they came from behind.
"We're just having so much fun," Kiermaier said. "We're truly coming to the field each day expecting to win. ... That goes a long way through the course of a season."
After learning Friday that Yonny Chirinos needed season-ending surgery, then Saturday afternoon having to make Chaz Roe their eighth pitcher to go on the injured list, the Rays were going to be scrambling for innings that night against the Jays.
Aaron Slegers got them off to a good start.
The 6-foot-10 right-hander, who made three relief appearances amid being called up and sent down twice already, delivered four no-hit innings in his first big league start since July 10, 2018, with the Twins.
He allowed only one baserunner, on an error by second baseman Brandon Lowe, in throwing 58 pitches.
The Rays turned next to lefty Sean Gilmartin, another nonroster veteran, who had previously been up and down, and outrighted off the roster. The former Florida State pitcher made a bit of a mess, loading the bases with one out on two walks and a single. A two-out bases loaded walk to Biggio gave the Jays one run, but Gilmartin escaped further damage by getting Randal Grichuck to ground out.
The Rays came right back and tied it.
Willy Adames led off with a single off Jays starter Hyun Jin Ryu, went to third on a well-placed single through the shortstop hole by Joey Wendle, and scored on a fielder's-choice grounder by Margot. But that was it as Tsutsugo and Mike Zunino struck out.
The Rays got quality relief work, as Ryan Thompson, Pete Fairbanks, John Curtiss and Jalen Beeks each put up a scoreless inning.
Fairbanks had an eventful seventh as he became the first pitcher in the Rays' 23-season history to record all three putouts in an inning. He covered first base to take the toss for two ground-ball outs, then covered home after a wild pitch, took a throw from catcher Mike Zunino and tagged out Biggio, who was overaggressive trying to score from second as the ball caromed toward the Jays dugout.
The Rays made a change to their lineup just before game time. Yandy Diaz was taken out of the lineup after experiencing dizziness following an odd incident during batting practice when a ball he hit ricocheted off something and hit him in the face.
