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ST. PETERSBURG, Fla. -- Marcus Stroman pitched eight strong innings for the Toronto Blue Jays, but Sunday's win didn't come until a fortunate break in the ninth inning, when the Tampa Bay Rays missed a chance for an inning-ending double play before Troy Tulowitzki hit a three-run home run in the Blue Jays' 5-1 victory at Tropicana Field. Tulowitzki came into the game hitting .169 and was in an 0-for-16 slump when he tagged reliever Alex Colome for his fifth home run of the year.
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With the bases loaded and one out, the Rays shifted their defense against Edwin Encarnacion, who hit a hard grounder deep to short. No one was in position to cover second, so instead of getting out of the inning with a double play and the game tied, only one out was recorded, a run scored and the inning was kept alive.
"In a straight-up infield, we wouldn't have fielded the ball -- it would have been a base hit," Rays third baseman Evan Longoria said. "We were in correct position and he just hit it in the perfect spot. ... It's just an unfortunate situation and we have to look past that and move on."
Tulowitzki followed with a home run off closer Alex Colome, who came in with a 1.08 ERA. The Tampa Bay bullpen had opened the inning by allowing a double to pinch-hitter Darwin Barney and two walks to load the bases, a rare breakdown from what had been a stellar part of the Rays' first month.
Tulowitzki got his fifth home run of the season and had three RBIs after totaling 10 in the Jays' first 25 games.
Stroman (4-0), who went eight innings in an Opening Day win at the Rays, did the same Sunday, holding Tampa Bay to three hits and one run while striking out nine on his 25th birthday.
"He's a special kid," Jays manager John Gibbons said. "It wasn't a must-win game, but the way they won last night (on a Rays walkoff) and how things have been going lately, it was a big, big win for us."
Rays starter Jake Odorizzi threw seven innings and held Toronto to one run on two hits. The Rays have lost three of four games, scoring exactly one run in each of the losses. Xavier Cedeno (2-1), who gave up the double and walk to start the ninth, took the loss.
"Their pitching staff held us in check all three games, really," Gibbons said of the dependence on home runs this weekend. "It doesn't matter how you do it as long as you win."
Odorizzi hadn't allowed a hit until one out in the fourth inning, when Josh Donaldson ripped a shot to left field for his ninth home run of the season and a 1-0 Toronto lead.
Stroman gave up a single to Logan Forsythe to lead off the game, but stayed out of trouble. He needed only five pitches for a 1-2-3 second and allowed only a third-inning single to Hank Conger through five innings after that.
Conger, who had not thrown out a baserunner in the last 49 steal attempts against him, got Toronto's Ezequiel Carrera trying to steal second to end the fifth inning.
The Rays tied the game in the sixth inning with a solo home run of their own, as Longoria sent a shot to left-center field to tie the game at 1-1. Longoria now has five home runs, tying him with Steven Souza and Corey Dickerson for the team lead.
Odorizzi lasted seven innings, striking out Tulowitzki on his 106th pitch with a runner at second to end the seventh. He held the Jays to one run on two hits, striking out six and walking two in what would end up a no-decision.
"I'm usually good for that once a year maybe," Odorizzi said of his emotional fist-pumping coming off the mound. "I'm pretty mellow besides that. It was a big spot in the game, 1-1 ... to keep the team right there, I was excited."
NOTES: Counting Saturday's 4-3 loss to the Rays, Toronto is now 0-11 this season when allowing four runs or more. The Jays are 11-3 when allowing three or fewer runs. ... The Rays had back-to-back starts where the only hits allowed by their starting pitchers were home runs -- two by LHP Drew Smyly on Friday and just one by RHP Chris Archer on Saturday. That had happened only 11 times in the Rays' history. ... The Rays open interleague play on Tuesday with a two-game set against the Dodgers -- they went 14-6 in interleague play last season, their third-best mark ever. ... Toronto also gets the Dodgers next weekend with a three-game series after getting the Rangers for four games in Toronto.
