ST. PETERSBURG, Fla. _ Rays reliever Alex Colome threw a wild pitch with one out and a runner on third in the ninth inning, which turned out to be the difference for Toronto in a 2-1 win Sunday afternoon in front of 14,032 at Tropicana Field.
The Rays (15-17) were trying to reach .500 for the first time since the second day of the season.
Colome entered the game in the ninth a day after getting the save in Saturday's win. He gave up a leadoff double to Kevin Pillar. Pillar moved to third on a Kendrys Morales ground out. Then Colome's first pitch to Anthony Alford bounced past catcher Wilson Ramos, allowing Alford to score.
The win allows Toronto (19-16) to salvage the final game of the three-game series.
The Blue Jays scored first in the fifth inning. Alford led off with a single and stole second base. He moved to third on a sacrifice fly to right field by Luke Maile.
Aledmys Diaz then hit a high chopper to first that Brad Miller leapt to catch. With no chance of getting Alford at home, Miller flipped to Archer in an attempt to get Diaz. He beat the throw, but twisted his ankle on the play and had to leave the game.
That run held up until the eighth. Ryan Tepera was brought in to pitch after a scoreless seventh by Tyler Clippard. Carlos Gomez greeted him with a home run to left field that tied the game. It was his fifth of the season. The Rays had runners on first and third with one out, but were unable to score.
In the ninth, Gomez came up with two outs and a runner on first. But he grounded out to third to end the game.
The Rays are off on Monday before hosting the Atlanta Braves.
