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Rays beat Blue Jays 6-3 to complete 3-game sweep

Posted at 12:30 AM, May 19, 2016
and last updated 2016-05-19 00:30:16-04

Kevin Kiermaier hit a two-run homer, Logan Morrison and Desmond Jennings each had solo shots and the Tampa Bay Rays beat the slumping Toronto Blue Jays 6-3 on Wednesday night to complete a three-game sweep.

Morrison had three hits and scored twice for the Rays, who outscored the Blue Jays 31-7 over the series.

Tampa Bay set a team record with 44 hits in a three-game series. The Rays came in tied with Baltimore and the New York Mets for the major league lead with 55 homers.

Edwin Encarnacion, Jimmy Paredes and Michael Saunders hit solo homers, but Toronto lost its season-high fifth straight and dropped four games below .500 for the first time in 2016.

Jake Odorizzi (1-2) allowed two runs and two hits in five innings to win for the first time in nine starts this season.

Erasmo Ramirez pitched 2 2/3 innings, and Alex Colome got the final four outs for his 10th save.

Paredes connected off Odorizzi in the second, but the Rays answered in the fourth when Morrison and Jennings hit back-to-back homers, the first time this season Tampa Bay has hit consecutive home runs.

Tim Beckham doubled and scored on a throwing error by Paredes in the fifth, and Kiermaier made it 5-3 with a second-deck blast in the sixth.

All three Tampa Bay homers came off R.A. Dickey, who allowed five runs and eight hits in six innings. Dickey (2-5) has surrendered 94 home runs since the start of 2013, more than any other big league pitcher over that span.

Beckham scored from second base on a wild pitch by Gavin Floyd in the ninth. Blue Jays catcher Josh Thole couldn't find the ball, allowing Beckham to score standing up.

TRAINER'S ROOM

Rays: Manager Kevin Cash said RHP Ryan Webb was sore but otherwise fine after being hit in the jaw by Paredes' line drive on Tuesday.

Blue Jays: LHP Brett Cecil is expected to miss at least a month after an MRI revealed a torn lat muscle. Cecil was placed on the 15-day DL Sunday with a sore triceps muscle. ... 2B Devon Travis (left shoulder surgery) is set to join Triple-A Buffalo on Thursday as he begins the next stage of his rehab assignment. Travis hit .357 with no homers and five RBIs in four games at Class A Dunedin. ... 3B Josh Donaldson got the night off.

UP NEXT

Rays: Tampa Bay is off Thursday before opening a three-game series at Detroit on Friday. RHP Matt Andriese (2-0, 0.56 ERA) pitched a two-hitter against Oakland in his previous start. RHP Anibal Sanchez (3-4, 5.91) starts for the Tigers.

Blue Jays: Toronto begins a four-game series at Minnesota on Thursday night. RHP Marco Estrada (1-2, 2.89) is seeking his first victory in seven starts. RHP Ervin Santana (1-2, 3.38) starts for the Twins.