Biggio leads Jays to season-opening win with three-run HR

Blue Jays 6 Rays 4

Cavan Biggio hit a three-run homer and the Toronto Blue Jays began their still-in-progress odyssey by topping the Tampa Bay Rays 6-4 Friday night in a season opener.

Biggio’s infield single began a three-run fourth inning off 36-year-old Charlie Morton, who made his first career start on opening day. Randal Grichuk, Rowdy Tellez and Teoscar Hernandez drove in the other runs.

Biggio, son of Hall of Famer Craig Biggio, homered in the fifth for a 6-1 lead.

Morton (0-1), beginning his second year with the Rays, was a big part of the success in 2019 and an easy choice for his first opening night assignment after going 16-6 with a 3.05 ERA. The right-hander just wished fans, family and friends could have been in the stands at Tropicana Field to watch the start of the pandemic-delayed season.

Blue Jays starter Hyun Jin Ryu, second in NL Cy Young voting when he was with the Los Angeles Dodgers last season, allowed three runs and four hits in 42⁄ innings. He struck out three, 3 but also walked three before being replaced after throwing 97 pitches.

Jordan Romano (1-0) finished fifth and got the first two outs of the sixth to get the win. Rafael Dolis escaped a bases-loaded jam in the eighth and Ken Giles worked a scoreless ninth for the save.

The Rays set the tone for a memorable evening with an early morning tweet focused on social justice issues, stating as an organization: “Today is Opening Day, which means it’s a great day to arrest the killers of Breonna Taylor.”