Pillar comes through in pinch

> BLUE JAYS 2 > RAYS 1 NEXT: MONDAY @ KANSAS CITY

Kevin Pillar appreciates baseball gives you a chance to redeem yourself after a bad day.

Pillar came off the bench Sunday to generate both runs in the Blue Jays’ 2-1 win over Tampa Bay before 33,746 at the Rogers Centre.

A day earlier, he had made a couple of key mistakes in a loss to the Rays, committing an error on a routine roller in centre and later getting picked off first base. And the result was a view from the dugout through the first five innings Sunday.

“Basically, a day off is good everyone once in a while, but every time you step onto the field, you get an opportunity to help your team win,” Pillar said after he doubled in the tying run in the sixth inning, then scored the winning run with some smart baserunning.

He was at third base when Randal Grichuk pounded a slow roller in the dirt in front of home plate. And when Rays catcher Michael Perez went to first for the out, Pillar scampered home, beating the return throw and the tag of reliever Ryne Stanek.

Tampa Bay requested a review but the call stood.

“I thought it’d be difficult for the catcher to get back and I was surprised to see the pitcher there,” Pillar said. “I know (Stanek) tagged me, but I got under it there to get in.”

It was a moment of redemption every major-leaguer hopes for.

“That’s the great thing about (Jays manager John Gibbons),” Pillar said, after the manager had him come in to face Tampa Bay left-hander Jose Alvarado. “I got picked off base (Sunday), but he doesn’t hold grudges, he doesn’t take away your aggression.”

The two runs helped Toronto improve to 15-12 in one run games, and prevented the Rays from sweeping a three-game weekend series.

Jaime Garcia, the first of five Jays relievers, picked up the win. Ken Giles earned the save, his first as a Jay.

Jay right-hander starter Marcus Stroman went five strong innings, allowing just one run on five hits before leaving with a minor flare-up of a blister problem that forced him from his last start.

“It is what it is,” Stroman said. “I’m a competitor, I’ll make my next starts. I won’t miss starts … my body and arm feel great, that’s the frustrating part.”

Stroman said the blister remains a bother to his middle finger on his right hand, the finger that triggers the spin on his sinker and slider.

“I pushed it aggressively (between starts),” Stroman said. “I felt if I pushed it any further, it might affect my next start and my ability to go then.”