Rios Returns And Helps Jays Beat Athletics
Posted July 29, 2006 12:00 pm.
This article is more than 5 years old.
Rios was back in the batting order after missing 26 games with a staph infection in his leg, and helped drive in two runs in Toronto’s slim victory.
“I felt pretty good; I don’t know why,” Rios said after the game. “It’s great to come back and help the team win.”
Manager John Gibbons liked what he saw from Rios his first game back.
“You never know how a guy will come back,” he admitted. “Just having him out on the field gave us a good look. He didn’t miss a beat.”
B.J. Ryan came in in the eighth inning to record the save, pitching a hitless ninth. It was the hurler’s 25th save in 28 opportunities.
“We were a little short-handed in the bullpen and B.J. had enough rest,” Gibbons said of bringing the all-star closer in for two innings. “This was a game I thought we needed to have and that was kind of a turning point.”
Toronto starter Shaun Marcum lasted 4 2/3 innings, giving up two runs on five hits. Rios got the team on the board in the fourth with a single to score Troy Glaus. The A’s then took a 2-1 lead with Mark Ellis’s two-run single. But a three-run rally – including singles by Rios and John McDonald – gave the Jays the lead again and they didn’t give it up.
The team is now five games out of first place in the American League East and four-and-a-half games back of the New York Yankees in the AL Wild Card race.
