TORONTO (AP) 鈥� Daniel Vogelbach homered and scored three runs, Alek Manoah struck out seven in seven innings to win for the first time since last August and the Toronto Blue Jays avoided their first sweep of the season by beating the Tampa Bay Rays 5-2 on Sunday.
Alejandro Kirk reached base three times and drove in two runs as the Blue Jays snapped a three-game losing streak with their third shutout win.
鈥淚 think it鈥檚 huge for this team,鈥� Manoah said. 鈥淎L East opponent, don鈥檛 want nobody coming in our house and sweeping us.鈥�
George Springer hit an RBI double, walked twice and scored twice as Toronto stopped Tampa Bay鈥檚 winning streak at four. The Rays had won 11 of their previous 15.
鈥淨uiet day offensively for us,鈥� Rays manager Kevin Cash said. 鈥淵ou鈥檝e got to appreciate that Manoah was tough. Everything was working.鈥�
Making his third start of the season, Manoah (1-1) walked one, hit two batters and allowed just one hit, Ben Rortvedt鈥檚 leadoff single in the third.
鈥淗e stepped up when we really needed him,鈥� Blue Jays manager John Schneider said. 鈥淭his was probably the best he鈥檚 looked, even going back to 2022.鈥�
Manoah went 9-2 as a rookie in 2021 and was a Cy Young finalist in 2022, when he finished 16-7. He struggled to a 3-9 mark last year and was sent down twice.
The right-hander said he鈥檚 not interested in comparing his current form to his standout sophomore season.
鈥淚鈥檓 not looking back,鈥� Manoah said. 鈥淚鈥檓 not going that way.鈥�
Sunday was Manoah鈥檚 first big league win since beating Boston at Fenway Park last August 4. He made one more start last season before 小蓝视频 demoted to Triple-A.
鈥淗e pitched at the top of the zone really well,鈥� Cash said. 鈥淲e just couldn鈥檛 get anything going against him.鈥�
Jonny DeLuca, who stole second after 小蓝视频 hit by a pitch in the fifth, was the only Rays runner to advance past first base against Manoah. The right-hander pumped his fist and yelled after striking out DeLuca swinging on a high fastball to end his outing.
鈥淭he energy from this crowd has been unbelievable,鈥� Manoah said. 鈥淛ust trying to feed off all that and let my emotions go freely there.鈥�
Trevor Richards pitched a 1-2-3 eighth. After Jonathan Aranda reached on a two-out infield single against Zach Pop in the ninth, Isaac Paredes followed with a two-run homer, his ninth. Paredes has reached safely in a career-best 18 straight.
Richie Palacios chased Pop with a single before Jordan Romano finished for his seventh save in eight chances.
Vogelbach finished 3 for 4. He homered off Rays right-hander Aaron Civale in the second, his first, doubled and scored in the fourth, and singled and scored in the sixth.
Later in the sixth, Kirk made it 5-0 with a two-out double off reliever Manuel Rodr铆guez.
Civale (2-4) allowed five runs, four earned, and six hits in 5 1/3 innings. His ERA rose from 5.83 to 5.92.
鈥淗e fell behind some guys and they made him pay a little bit,鈥� Cash said.
Civale is 0-3 in seven starts since an April 9 victory over the Angels.
TRAINER鈥橲 ROOM
Blue Jays: RHP Chad Green (teres major strain) struck out a batter in one scoreless inning in a rehab outing at Triple-A Buffalo on Sunday. Green allowed a leadoff double and retired the next three batters. 鈥� RHP Bowden Francis (forearm) got the win for Buffalo with 2 1/3 shutout innings in a rehab outing in Game 1 of Saturday鈥檚 doubleheader.
UP NEXT
Rays: RHP Taj Bradley (1-1, 2.45 ERA) starts Monday as Tampa Bay hosts Boston. RHP Tanner Houck (3-5, 2.17) goes for the Red Sox.
Blue Jays: RHP Jos茅 Berr铆os (4-2, 2.82 ERA) starts Monday as Toronto begins a three-game series against the White Sox. RHP Erick Fedde (4-0, 2.60) starts for Chicago.
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AP MLB:
Ian Harrison, The Associated Press
