Jays manager pays tribute to Odorizzi

ST. PETERSBURG, Florida — Jake Odorizzi has given up only eight hits in his last four starts for the Tampa Bay Rays. Three of them came in Saturday’s 6-1 victory over the Toronto Blue Jays.

“Jake can pitch. He moves the ball around,” Blue Jays manager John Gibbons said. “He can throw different pitches at you, and he can elevate when he needs to. He’s just one of the better pitchers out there.”

Logan Morrison and Colby Rasmus hit two-run homers and Odorizzi (2-1) gave up one run in seven innings, the seventh straight time the right-hander has given up two runs or fewer in starts against Toronto.

“I’m just trying to be unpredictable, mixing locations, pitches, everything pretty well,” Odorizzi said. “We see those guys all the time, so you have to keep changing things up on them.”

Morrison put the Rays up 2-1 in the third inning with his teamleading seventh home run. It came off Toronto starter Marco Estrada after a single by Evan Longoria. Morrison added an RBI double in the fifth, giving him 18 RBIs — 18 more than he had in 64 at-bats a year ago.

“It’s just a start,” Morrison said. “It’s not what you’ve done, it’s what you’re going to do.”

The home run for Rasmus, who spent the first month of the season on the disabled list while recovering from October surgeries, came on his first hit with the Rays. Morrison and Rasmus drove in three runs each while Longoria had two hits and scored three runs.

Estrada (1-2) gave up five earned runs in six innings after giving up just three in his four previous starts. All five of the home runs Estrada has given up this season came in his two starts at Tropicana Field.

“Those guys have hit me pretty well lately,” he said.

Odorizzi gave up three hits and no walks while striking out six. He retired 18 of 19 after giving up a home run to Ezequiel Carrera in the first inning.