TORONTO -- Tampa Bay starter Chris Archer turned in a dominant performance and Tim Beckham hit a two-run homer as the Rays defeated the Toronto Blue Jays 4-2 on Thursday night at Rogers Centre.
Archer struck out 11 and allowed just two hits over seven shutout innings to help Tampa Bay (6-4) win for the fifth time in six games. Kevin Kiermaier had two hits and scored twice for the Rays.
Closer Brad Boxberger gave up a run in the ninth inning before picking up his fourth save. Blue Jays starter Aaron Sanchez was uneven over 5 1/3 innings in his second big-league start as Toronto (5-5) fell back to the .500 mark.
Toronto shortstop Jose Reyes left the game after his first at-bat due to soreness in his left side. He was replaced by Ryan Goins, who was called up from triple-A Buffalo earlier in the day.
The Rays loaded the bases in the third inning, when another Toronto infielder nearly went down due to injury. Second baseman Devon Travis was trying to turn a double play when David DeJesus plowed into his left leg with a hard slide.
Travis was shaken up but stayed in the game. A run scored on the play but Sanchez (0-2) escaped the jam when Asdrubal Cabrera struck out and Steven Souza Jr., was caught stealing.
The Rays made it a two-run game in the fifth inning. Kiermaier reached on a ground-rule double and scored when DeJesus hit a flare to left field that dropped in front of a sliding Kevin Pillar.
Evan Longoria led off the sixth with a double to move into sole possession of top spot on the Rays' all-time doubles list with 230, one more than Ben Zobrist. Aaron Loup relieved Sanchez and promptly gave up a two-run homer to Beckham, who was pinch-hitting for Allan Dykstra.
Archer (2-1) was masterful over the first six innings before getting into some trouble in the seventh. He hit Edwin Encarnacion with a pitch and issued a one-out walk to Toronto native Russell Martin.
Archer responded by striking out Dalton Pompey of Mississauga, Ont., and fanning Pillar.
Right-hander Steve Geltz relieved Archer in the eighth inning and loaded the bases without recording an out. Travis reached on a single, Goins walked and Josh Donaldson appeared to be grazed on the hand by a pitch.
The Rays challenged the Donaldson call but it was confirmed after a review. Tampa Bay manager Kevin Cash stormed out of the dugout to voice his displeasure and was ejected.
Reliever Kevin Jepsen entered the game and did well to limit the damage to one run.
He got sluggers Jose Bautista and Encarnacion to fly out, the latter going deep enough to bring Travis home from third. Pinch-hitter Dioner Navarro grounded out meekly to end the inning.
Sanchez, meanwhile, was wild at times but avoided major trouble. He gave up five hits, three earned runs, three walks and had four strikeouts.
Notes: Longoria left the game in the eighth inning after he was hit in the left hip area by a pitch from Marco Estrada. ... Announced attendance was 14,433 and the game took three hours to play. ... The Blue Jays will continue their 10-game homestand with a three-game series against the Atlanta Braves beginning Friday night. Toronto's Drew Hutchison (1-0) is scheduled to start the opener against fellow right-hander Julio Teheran (2-0). ... Toronto reliever Todd Redmond was designated for assignment before the game.
