Music: {allcanada} VILLANUEVA AND JOHNSON LEAD BLUE JAYS OVER RAYS

Thursday, August 30, 2012

{allcanada} VILLANUEVA AND JOHNSON LEAD BLUE JAYS OVER RAYS

TORONTO -- Right-hander Carlos Villanueva pitched six shutout innings and Kelly Johnson drove in two runs with a double as the Toronto Blue Jays defeated the Tampa Bay Rays 2-0 on Thursday.

It was the second win in a row for the Blue Jays who are 8-19 in August and last in the American League East.

The Rays, who entered the day four games out of first in the division, have lost five of their past six. Tampa dropped 1 1/2 games behind Baltimore for the second AL wild-card berth.

Villanueva (7-4) allowed five hits and one walk while striking out seven to win his first since July 27 against the Detroit Tigers. He lost four consecutive decisions over his previous five starts.

Casey Janssen pitched the ninth to earn his 18th save in the opener of a four-game series.

Rays' left-hander Matt Moore (10-8) allowed six hits, three walks and two runs in six innings. He struck out seven in his first loss since July 22.

The Blue Jays (59-71) scored the game's only runs in the first inning as Johnson, who was 4-for-27 on the 2-6 trip by the Blue Jays that ended Wednesday, drove in both runs with a double into the right-field corner.

Edwin Encarnacion started the rally with two-out walk, Adam Lind singled and Yunel Escobar walked to load the bases for Johnson, who entered the game batting .223.

The Rays (71-60) had their first two batters in the second on base after Evan Longoria and Matt Joyce singled. Jeff Keppinger sacrificed the runners to second and third. But Villanueva retired Luke Scott on a foul to the catcher and struck out Jose Lobaton to end the inning.

After Lobaton, Villanueva went on to strike out six in a row to equal a club record. It has been done three other times in team history, the most recently by left-hander J.A. Happ on Aug. 17 against the Texas Rangers.

The Rays had two more singles in the fifth but Villanueva retired the final two batters on a fly and a line out to left field.

Villanueva was removed after 94 pitches and left-hander Darren Oliver took over to pitch a 1-2-3 seventh. Right-hander Wade Davis matched him in the top of the seventh after replacing Moore.

Brad Lincoln sent down the Rays in order in the eighth.

Notes: Attendance at Rogers Centre was 22,711.... Right-handed reliever Jason Frasor (forearm) was scheduled to start Thursday for single-A Dunedin on a rehabilitation assignment and could rejoin the Blue Jays on Saturday when rosters expand. ...Catcher J.P. Arencibia (fractured hand) could rejoin the Blue Jays on Sept. 10. ....Toronto right-hander Brandon Morrow (7-5, 3.06 ERA) will start Friday against Rays' right-hander Jeremy Hellickson (8-9, 3.42 ERA).