Blake Snell's 9-Strikeout Pitching Vs. Toronto Takes Rays To Win

ST. PETERSBURG, FL — The Tampa Bay Rays won their first of three games in the MLB playoffs against the Toronto Blue Jays in the American League Wild Card Series on Tuesday night at Tropicana Field in St. Petersburg.

Blake Snell dominated the game as he struck out nine Jays players, helping the Rays win 3-1.

Snell didn't allow any hits during the first five innings of the game.

Randy Arozarena scored the first run for the Rays in the fourth inning when Jays pitcher Robbie Ray threw a wild pitch to Danny Jansen.

Manuel Margot hit a two-run homer over left field in the seventh inning that put the Rays up 3-0 over the Jays.

An eye-catching moment in the seventh inning was when shortstop Willy Adames quickly moved to the left and caught a line-drive shot, ending the top of the inning.

"We did a lot of things right tonight," Rays manager Kevin Cash said, reported Major League Baseball. "We played really nice defense. Manny comes up with a big, big home run, and our pitching was just tremendous."

Rowdy Tellez’s pinch-hit single gave Toronto a spark, reported The Associated Press. Cavan Biggio followed with a double before Bo Bichette delivered a sacrifice fly to make it 3-1.

Matt Shoemaker, who missed a month of the regular season with a right shoulder injury, started and worked three scoreless innings for the Blue Jays, according to AP.

The Rays became the 2020 American League East champions for the first time since 2010 after winning against the New York Mets on Sept. 23.

The Rays will start with Tyler Glasnow as pitcher in Wednesday's second game in the series against Toronto that starts at 4:07 p.m. at Tropicana Field.