ST. PETERSBURG — RHP Erasmo Ramirez made his season debut as a relief pitcher Wednesday and picked up the final six outs as the Rays rallied for a 5-3 victory against the Blue Jays.
Ramirez, who earned the victory thanks to a three-run homer in the bottom of the eighth inning by RF Steven Souza Jr., came on in the top of the inning and faced the meat of the Jays lineup: RF José Bautista, DH Edwin Encarnacion and SS Troy Tulowitzki. Encarnacion flied out to center field and Ramirez struck out the other two.
“We anticipated that very much just given the type of pitcher Erasmo is.