By Marc Topkin, Times Staff Writer
Wednesday, April 18, 2012
TORONTO — Manager Joe Maddon changed the batting order Wednesday to give Ben Zobrist a different look, and Zobrist seemed to like it since he hit a two-run homer on his first swing as the Rays went on to a 12-2 win over the Blue Jays.
More change is coming, with the pending return of B.J. Upton, most likely on Friday. And one of the players who will be most affected by his arrival, Matt Joyce, gave Maddon something to look at, and think about, with his performance, rapping two doubles and his third homer.
Add in a solo shot by Sean Rodriguez and a grand slam by Luke Scott — for their first game of the season with double-digit runs and more than two homers — and a good-but-not-great start by David Price and some decent middle relief work, and the Rays got back to even at 6-6 with the end of their tortuous 10-game road trip to Detroit, Boston and New York finally upon them tonight.
Maddon said he had been thinking for a few days of moving Zobrist up to second in the order, primarily to provide additional RBI opportunities for Carlos Peña and Evan Longoria, who each moved down a spot to third and fourth.
So what if it didn't work out exactly as he planned.
"It's primarily to set up Peña and Longo, that's my primary thought," Maddon said. "The secondary thought is that it will give Zo a different mind-set to really not worry about driving in runs so much as opposed to setting the table, which I think he's really good at."
With Upton's return to centerfield (and Desmond Jennings' shift back to left), Joyce will go from being the everyday leftfielder to a platoon starter in rightfield, playing against right-handers (with Zobrist at second) and sitting against left-handers (with Zobrist in right and Jeff Keppinger at second).
Price didn't necessarily look like he had the best stuff of his life, as he said going into the game, but he did hold the Jays to two runs before another small Rogers Centre crowd of 15,828.
The problem, once again, was that he threw too many pitches to work deep into the game, in this case 106 while working 52/3 innings. That's after throwing 107 in 61/3 in his season debut and 83 over just three his last time out, Friday in Boston.
The Rays took a 2-0 lead in the first, with Jennings capping a seven-pitch at-bat against usually challenging Brandon Morrow with a single and Zobrist lacing the first pitch over the rightfield wall.
Price gave one right back, allowing singles to three of the first four Jays.
The Rays made it 3-1 when Joyce ripped the first of his doubles, went to third on Jose Molina's groundout and scored on Rodriguez's sac fly.
And Price gave another back, allowing a two-out homer to No. 9 hitter Jeff Mathis.
But Price settled into a bit of a groove, and got a double play started by first baseman Peña to get out of a fifth-inning jam, as the Rays extended the lead. Joyce doubled again in the fourth, scoring on a single by Molina, then homered with one out in the sixth, Rodriguez doing the same seven pitches later.
It was 6-2 going to the ninth when the Rays had their biggest inning of the season, scoring six, with Scott's third career grand slam the biggest blow.
Marc Topkin can be reached at tampabay.com.