Blue Jays 1, Rays 0 (12)
ST. PETERSBURG, Fla. -- Chris Colabello hit a solo home run in the 12th inning to lift the Toronto Blue Jays to a 1-0 win over the Tampa Bay Rays at Tropicana Field on Wednesday.
Colabello, the first baseman, took a 1-1 pitch from Rays reliever Brandon Gomes (1-3) to right-center field, right of the 404-foot sign.
That ended an exciting battle between pitching staffs that included another strong outing from Blue Jays right-hander Marco Estrada, who took a perfect game into the eighth inning.
Estrada cruised through the first six innings and then needed a couple of nice defensive plays from left fielder Joey Bautista and third baseman Josh Donaldson to keep the perfect game alive before Rays second baseman Logan Forsythe ran out an infield chopper to third in the bottom of the eighth for the team's first hit.
Estrada went 8 2/3 innings and struck out 10 on a career-high 129 pitches (87 strikes).
According to Elias Sports Bureau, the 31-year-old Estrada became the first pitcher to take a no-hitter into the eighth inning in consecutive starts since Dave Stieb did it with Toronto in 1988. He also no-hit the Baltimore Orioles through seven innings in a 5-4 win on June 19; he left after giving up a leadoff single in the eighth.
On Wednesday, Rays starter Nathan Karns struck out five over six scoreless innings, giving up three hits and walking three.
Blue Jays reliever Brett Cecil (2-4) loaded the bases with two outs in the bottom of the 11th inning but retired left fielder David DeJesus on a grounder to short to get the win. Steve Delabar pitched a perfect 12th inning to earn his first save of the season.
NOTES: Blue Jays manager John Gibbons says 2B Devon Travis should return to the team Friday. He has been on the disabled list with a shoulder injury since May 16. ... Rays RHP Matt Moore will make his final rehab start for Triple-A Durham on Friday and next week will make his first major-league start since April 7, 2014. "We expect him to come back and give us a huge boost, but we're going to have to do it with controlled thoughts," manager Kevin Cash said. "We want him to be able to help us into September, for sure. He's coming back from an injury where he hasn't pitched in two years." ... Cash gave OF Steven Souza Jr. the day off. He is batting .229 with 14 home runs.