TORONTO (AP) - Chris Archer gave Tampa Bay a solid start, and in the end the Rays were beaten by a bad throw.
Pinch-runner Kevin Pillar scored the decisive run on a throwing error by pitcher Juan Carlos Oviedo in the ninth inning and the Blue Jays completed a three-game sweep of Tampa Bay, beating the Rays 3-2 Wednesday night.
“It’s been pretty much how the season has gone to this point, but we’re going to change it,” Rays manager Joe Maddon said. “All these weird, awkward breaks, we’re just not catching them.”
Archer allowed two runs and six hits in six innings, walked two and struck out seven.
“I haven’t felt that good in a long time with my fastball,” he said.
The Rays fell to 16-3 in games in which Archer works at least six innings, dating to the start of last season.
“I want to go deeper and walk away with a team win, obviously,” Archer said, “but on a personal level I think I did pretty well.”
Dioner Navarro singled to begin the ninth and was replaced by Pillar. Oviedo fielded Anthony Gose’s bunt along the first base line and threw wildly to first, with the ball rolling into foul territory down the right field line. Pillar was waved home by third base coach Luis Rivera and slid home safely under the tag of catcher Ali Solis.
Aaron Loup (2-1) worked one inning for the win as Toronto won for the 14th time in 16 games.
“It’s a pretty exciting win all around for the team,” Gose said.
Oviedo (1-1) faced just two batters.
The Rays lost their third straight game following a season-best four-game winning streak. Tampa Bay hit four balls to the warning track but all of them ended up as outs, two of them on sensational catches by Gose and Melky Cabrera.
“We were smashing balls and they were playing outstanding defense,” Archer said.
The Blue Jays jumped on Archer with two runs in the first, loading the bases with two singles and a walk before Edwin Encarnacion singled to right. Archer escaped further damage by striking out Juan Francisco and Brett Lawrie.
The Rays answered in the second when Matt Joyce doubled and Wil Myers followed with a line drive home run into the bullpen in left field.
Gose made a leaping catch at the wall in center field to take extra bases away from James Loney in the third, ending the inning and stranding Evan Longoria at first.
Left fielder Cabrera had a defensive gem of his own in the sixth, jumping into the wall to retire Longoria for the first out of the inning.
Blue Jays right-hander Liam Hendriks was replaced by left-hander Rob Rasmussen to begin the seventh, which began with Joyce hitting a ground-rule double to left. Dustin McGowan came on and got two outs, then walked Rays catcher Jose Molina, but got out of the jam when Sean Rodriguez flied out.
Hendriks allowed two runs and three hits in six innings, walked none and struck out five.
Reyes hit a one-out single off Joel Peralta in the seventh and, after Cabrera flied out, Jose Bautista walked. Jake McGee came on and struck out Adam Lind looking for the third out.
Molina was hit on the mask by a foul tip in the eighth. Home plate umpire Brian O’Nora asked Maddon and the Rays trainer to check on Molina, who insisted he was fine, but Maddon replaced the veteran catcher with Solis in the ninth. Maddon said Molina was “getting a little nauseous.”
“That was a pretty severe blow,” Maddon said. “When he came into the dugout I said ’That’s it, I don’t want it to go any further than that.’”
Molina claimed to be feeling fine, and said he would be ready to play Friday night at Boston. The Rays are off Thursday.
The Rays were already thin behind the plate after placing Ryan Hanigan (right hamstring) on the 15-day disabled list before the game.
NOTES: To replace Hanigan, the Rays recalled OF Kevin Kiermaier from Triple-A Durham. … Rays LHP David Price (4-4) starts for the Rays Friday at Boston, while the Red Sox have yet to name a starter. … Tampa Bay’s Ben Zobrist (left thumb) played second base in a rehab game at Class-A Charlotte on Wednesday and is scheduled to be activated Friday.
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