Sanchez strikes out eight for first victory since June 3
TORONTO — Aaron Sanchez tied a season high with eight strikeouts, Aledmys Diaz hit his 17th home run as part of an early offensive explosion, and the Toronto Blue Jays avoided the sweep with a 10-3 victory over the Tampa Bay Rays in American League baseball action Wednesday night.
Making his third start since coming off the disabled list Aug. 25, Sanchez gave up three earned runs on six hits against two walks in a 98-pitch, six-inning performance for his first win since June 3.
Diaz finished 2 for 4, adding a double, a walk and two runs scored for Toronto (63-76). Lourdes Gurriel Jr. and Devon Travis each went 3 for 5 with an RBI and a run scored, while Billy McKinney added his fourth homer as the Jays pounded out 16 hits.
Sanchez (4-5) pitched just 36 innings over eight starts in 2017 due to a blister after going 15-2 in a ’16 campaign that saw him lead the American League with a 3.00 earned-run average.
In two starts since returning from a freak injury suffered back in June where he got a finger on his pitching hand caught in a piece of luggage, Sanchez had an 11.88 earned-run average in a pair no decisions. But, after some early struggles Thursday, the big right-hander settled down for his first quality start since June 15, striking out eight batters for the fourth time in 2018.
Tampa starter Tyler Glasnow lasted just two-thirds of an inning, giving up seven earned runs on five hits with two walks, two wild pitches and two strikeouts.
Kevin Kiermaier went deep twice against Sanchez for his fifth and sixth homers for Tampa Bay (75-64).
The Rays came in leading the season series 9-2. The visitors were also a season-best 12 games over .500, having won four in a row and 13 of their past 15.
Toronto, meanwhile, had lost seven of its past nine and avoided going 15 games under .500 for the first time since Sept. 26, 2013.
The Jays jumped on Glasnow in a bat-around first inning thanks to RBI singles by Justin Smoak, Kendrys Morales and Gurriel before Diaz blasted his 17th home run of the season to left to give Sanchez a comfortable 6-0 cushion.
Glasnow (1-5) then put two more runners on before Tampa manager Kevin Cash had seen enough, but Travis singled off Andrew Kittredge to score McKinney on Toronto’s sixth hit of the night to make it 7-0.