ST. PETERSBURG, Fla. -- Blue Jays left-hander Mark Buehrle struck out 11 and came within one out of his 10th career shutout, while Jose Bautista hit a pair of solo home runs en route to a 3-0 win over the Rays on Wednesday night at Tropicana Field.Buehrle has been a notoriously slow starter, but there was no evidence of that against Tampa Bay. It was an almost effortless outing as he worked at his typically fast pace and breezed through the Rays' lineup.The 35-year-old allowed just four hits and one walk with 11 strikeouts during his 8 2/3 innings. He appeared headed for his 30th complete game until a Ben Zobrist line drive bounced off the glove of third baseman Brett Lawrie with two outs in the ninth. Blue Jays manager John Gibbons then opted to have right-hander Sergio Santos close things out. Santos walked Evan Longoria and was lifted for Brett Cecil, who struck out Matt Joyce to end the game. 
The only hitter Buehrle had any kind of trouble with was Logan Forsythe. Tampa Bay's designated hitter had a single in the second and a leadoff double in the fifth, but in both cases, his teammates were unable to cash him in.When Buehrle made his debut for the Blue Jays last year, he allowed six runs over 5 1/3 against the Indians. By May 6, Buehrle was reeling with a 7.02 ERA before eventually turning things around and recording at least 10 wins and 200 innings for the 13th consecutive year. Historically, April is the roughest month of Buehrle's career as evidenced by a 4.32 ERA.Bautista just missed a pair of home runs in the first two games, but he made up for that Wednesday night. He gave Toronto a 1-0 lead in the fourth with a home run to left field off Rays left-hander Matt Moore. Bautista went to work again in the seventh, this time with a deep homer to left off reliever Josh Lueke.That marked the 22nd multi-homer game of Bautista's career and his first since June 29, 2013, at Boston. Bautista has three hits, three runs scored and two RBIs in nine at-bats this season. Melky Cabrera, Maicer Izturis and Dioner Navarro also had a pair of hits in the win.Despite losing their first game of the season, the Blue Jays have an opportunity to win the four-game series in Tampa Bay. Toronto hasn't won a road series from the Rays since April 6-8, 2007, which is the longest streak in baseball since Tampa Bay went winless in 25 series against Boston from 2000-08.Gregor Chisholm / MLB.com
The only hitter Buehrle had any kind of trouble with was Logan Forsythe. Tampa Bay's designated hitter had a single in the second and a leadoff double in the fifth, but in both cases, his teammates were unable to cash him in.When Buehrle made his debut for the Blue Jays last year, he allowed six runs over 5 1/3 against the Indians. By May 6, Buehrle was reeling with a 7.02 ERA before eventually turning things around and recording at least 10 wins and 200 innings for the 13th consecutive year. Historically, April is the roughest month of Buehrle's career as evidenced by a 4.32 ERA.Bautista just missed a pair of home runs in the first two games, but he made up for that Wednesday night. He gave Toronto a 1-0 lead in the fourth with a home run to left field off Rays left-hander Matt Moore. Bautista went to work again in the seventh, this time with a deep homer to left off reliever Josh Lueke.That marked the 22nd multi-homer game of Bautista's career and his first since June 29, 2013, at Boston. Bautista has three hits, three runs scored and two RBIs in nine at-bats this season. Melky Cabrera, Maicer Izturis and Dioner Navarro also had a pair of hits in the win.Despite losing their first game of the season, the Blue Jays have an opportunity to win the four-game series in Tampa Bay. Toronto hasn't won a road series from the Rays since April 6-8, 2007, which is the longest streak in baseball since Tampa Bay went winless in 25 series against Boston from 2000-08.Gregor Chisholm / MLB.com
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