New faces but old result in the Trop

The Blue Jays have never figured out how to win at Tropicana Field. Maybe because spring training is just up the road in Dunedin and a lot of players are comfortable living at home when they play the Rays. On Friday they walked in to face a group of Rays relievers with their best pitcher, J.A. Happ, and emerged 6-2 losers in the opener of a three-game set. The Jays are 72-105 lifetime vs. the Rays in Florida. The Jays have had a busy stretch of player moves while playing six road games in five days. Nobody has been busier than travel director Mike Shaw. In 48 hours between flying to Cleveland for a doubleheader and then opening the current series at the Trop, the Jays have moved 16 players — eight in and eight out — in an attempt to keep the bullpen fresh and position players healthy.

The list of players to join the team on the trip includes third baseman Josh Donaldson, shortstop Richard Urena, pitchers Tim Mayza and Jake Petricka and outfielder Dalton Pompey.

The promotion of Pompey, the 25-year-old Mississauga native, was somewhat a surprise. He had been only recently activated from the disabled list and optioned to Triple-A Buffalo. He was recalled on Friday to replace outfielder Dwight Smith Jr., who had been promoted for the doubleheader. Smith was optioned to the Bisons on Friday. Pompey is a switch-hitter and has the ability to play centre field.

It did not take long for Pompey to make his 2018 debut. Curtis Granderson led off the game with a double, tagged and went to third on a flyball to centre, then scored the game’s first run on a sacrifice fly. Granderson took himself out of the game at that point and Pompey headed out to left.

There have been days this season where the Jays might believe that one run was enough for the left-hander Happ.

But he struggled early. Johnny Field drove his second home run out of the park in the third inning, and the Rays added a pair in the fourth, the second coming when Kendrys Morales was unable to scoop a throw from Lourdes Gurriel Jr.

Gurriel, Morales and shortstop Aledmys Diaz gave Toronto the first starting majorleague infield featuring three Cuban-born players since 1968.