Rays spoil home opener for Pompey, Blue Jays

RA Dickey had a quality start for the Blue Jays, but the two runs scored by walks in the fourth inning were enough for the Rays to spoil Toronto’s home opener 2-1.

TORONTO – The last time Dalton Pompey was at Rogers Centre for the home opener he was sitting in the stands. He remembers watching from the first base side of the 100 level about 10 years ago as he cheered for Roy Halladay, Vernon Wells and the Toronto Blue Jays.

A decade later, the Mississauga, Ont., native is starting in centre field for his hometown team, an assignment Pompey described as both “incredible” and nerve-racking as a sellout crowd of 48,414 trickled into the stadium.

"Growing up 30 minutes from here, having the chance to be here for the home opener and play centre field, I feel like that’s any kid’s dream that played baseball," Pompey said. "Since I was drafted I always had that vision — that I could be the starting centre-fielder — and now that I’m here it’s almost overwhelming."

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But the feel-good story didn’t unfold the way Pompey and the Blue Jays hoped Monday, as Tampa Bay starter Jake Odorizzi dominated Toronto’s bats on the way to a 2-1 Rays win. The 25-year-old right-hander out-pitched R.A. Dickey as the knuckleballer struggled to throw strikes, walking in both of the two runs the Rays scored.

Before the game, opening day pageantry was on full display. A giant Canadian flag unfurled across the outfield before first pitch, the RCMP colour guard standing at attention as fans sang the anthem themselves — no singer required; commissioner Rob Manfred took it all in, wearing a Blue Jays jacket while chatting with franchise icons including Carlos Delgado, Roberto Alomar and George Bell; an oversized media onslaught captured every moment.


But then the action began and the Rays simply outplayed the Blue Jays. On a day that Dickey had trouble throwing strikes, he still managed to escape six innings with just two earned runs allowed despite a rough fourth inning. His pitching line — five walks and just 57 strikes in 102 pitches — reveals that he battled command issues all night. He simply wasn’t as sharp as he needed to be.

"I lost my release point a bit in the fourth,” Dickey said. “They really made me work. They did a really good job of laying off some really close pitches and I didn’t make the big pitch when I had to.

"I hold myself responsible."

To Dickey’s credit, he limited the damage to two runs and gave the Blue Jays six solid innings before giving way to relievers Roberto Osuna and Aaron Loup, both of whom held the Rays scoreless.

"We have a lot of things to be upbeat about," Dickey said. "Nobody’s going to hang their head."


While the Rays’ bats sputtered, their pitching shined. Dickey was no match for Odorizzi, who limited the Blue Jays to one run on two hits over the course of eight innings. Their only run came in the fifth inning when Devon Travis singled home a Kevin Pillar double in a rare display of offence against Odorizzi.

"He moves the ball around pretty good," Blue Jays manager John Gibbons said. "He’s got a good arm. He pitches up and down. He’s effectively wild, you could say. You can’t sit there and dig in. He’ll run balls in on you hard."

To some extent, the low offensive output may be related to the new artificial playing surface at Rogers Centre. Players described it as slower and softer than the old turf, which was replaced following the 2014 season.

"It feels like there are no balls that are going to get to the wall," Jose Bautista said. "Maybe on a one-hopper, but nothing that rolls or has more than four, five bounces. It feels like nothing is going to get to the wall, so hitting a groundball through, it better be a one-hopper, or a low line drive, maybe one or two hops max."

Bautista walked three times Monday, but was caught stealing in the bottom of the ninth inning when the Blue Jays put a hit and run on and Edwin Encarnacion struck out swinging against Rays closer Brad Boxberger.

At least Russell Martin caught Dickey successfully, corralling the knuckleball to completely avoid the kind of opening day embarrassment suffered by J.P. Arencibia in the 2013 home opener.

And while Pompey’s day didn’t go exactly the way he envisioned it, he’ll remember the experience of opening the home schedule in front of friends and family for a long time.

"Words can’t even describe it, so to speak," he said. "It was an awesome experience for me and something that I’ll never forget."

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