Ray of light: Rene Rivera lifts Tampa Bay in the bottom of the ninth

Chris Cwik
·Staff writer

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The pitching may have been the story throughout most of the game, but Tampa Bay Rays catcher Rene Rivera turned in the biggest play of the night against the Boston Red Sox.

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With the game tied 1-1 in the bottom of the ninth, Rivera knocked a single to left field on a 79 mph curve from Anthony Varvaro, giving Tampa Bay the walk-off victory.

Up until that point, the game had been dominated by pitching. Boston starter Clay Buchholz turned in the more impressive start, striking out 10 batters over six innings. He allowed one run on just two hits during the outing.

He was matched by Rays pitcher Jake Odorozzi throughout the contest. Odorizzi allowed one run on three hits over 6 2/3 innings. He struck out three. With the performance, Odorizzi lowered his ERA to an exceptional 1.65 on the season.

The Rays bullpen was phenomenal once Odorizzi left the game. Over 2 1/3 innings, Tampa's relievers did not allow a hit against Boston.

The Red Sox pen didn't have the same luck. Varvaro struggled almost immediately in the ninth. After a leadoff single, he managed to pick up the first out of the inning with a fly out. Another single put men on first and second, and that's when Rivera struck.

With the win, the Rays improve to 8-8 on the season.

TORONTO NEARLY BLOWS HUGE LEAD IN THE NINTH

The Toronto Blue Jays nearly wasted an excellent start from pitcher Drew Hutchison on Thursday against the Baltimore Orioles.

Hutchison was on his game throughout most of the contest, turning in five perfect innings to open the game. A Manny Machado home run may have broken up Hutchison's shot at history, but he remained strong after the play. Hutchison wound up allowing two runs on just four hits over eight innings. He struck out seven and did not issue any walks.

That performance was almost all for naught, as Liam Hendriks and Miguel Castro had a tough time closing things out in the ninth. With the Blue Jays up by five, it seemed like things would be fine. Those two made it interesting.

Hendriks opened the inning by giving up a leadoff single. He was able to pick up a strikeout against the next batter, but allowed two more singles before being pulled from the contest.

Castro then entered with two men on and allowed a home run to Manny Machado. It was Machado's second big fly of the night.

With the Orioles now down by one run, Castro was able to settle in, picking up a fly out and strikeout to finish the game.

With the 7-6, Toronto improved to 9-7 on the year.

 

ANGELS ONLY NOTCH ONE HIT, WIN ANYWAY

The Los Angeles Angels only had one hit Thursday against the Oakland Athletics, but that was all they needed.

Kole Calhoun's two-run homer in the third inning wound up being the difference maker for Los Angeles. After Drew Butera reached on an error, Calhoun belted a 93 mph fastball from Jesse Chavez out to right for the two-run blast.

Chavez had some issues with walks during the contest, but that was the only real mistake he made all game.

Chavez was matched by Nick Tropeano, who was making his first start of the season. Tropeano was fantastic, tossing six scoreless innings against Oakland. He struck out five during the contest.

The game marked the third time in team history the Angels have won a game after picking up just one hit.

Los Angeles will begin a series with the Texas Rangers on Friday.

WACHA COMES OUT VICTORIOUS OVER SCHERZER

St. Louis Cardinals pitcher Michael Wacha had a tough task Thursday. He not only needed to shutdown a promising Washington Nationals' offense, but he had to out-duel the team's new ace Max Scherzer.

He was successful in both areas, turning in a spectacular performance. Wacha gave up just one run on five hits over seven innings. He struck out six and walked two.

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Scherzer was nearly as strong, giving up two earned runs over seven innings. Scherzer struck out four batters, but did not put anyone on base via the walk.

With the win, Wacha is now 3-0 on the season. Over 20 1/3 innings, he's posted a 1.35 ERA.

Want to see more from Thursday's slate of games? Check out our scoreboard.

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Chris Cwik is a writer for Big League Stew on Yahoo Sports. Have a tip? Email him at christophercwik@yahoo.com or follow him on Twitter! Follow @Chris_Cwik