TORONTO - Brandon Morrow made his season debut with all his stuff intact. If he'd lasted a couple more innings he might have his first win as well.

The Toronto Blue Jays starter struck out 10 over 5 1-3 innings and allowed three runs on as many hits. But after Morrow was pulled, Ben Zobrist smacked a three-run homer in the sixth inning against Carlos Villanueva to give the Tampa Bay Rays a 6-4 win Saturday.

As disappointing as the loss was, there was encouragement that Morrow (0-1) can help bolster a struggling starting rotation. He started the season on the disabled list with inflammation of the elbow.

"He was outstanding," said Toronto manager John Farrell. "You continue to increase that over six, seven, eight innings, that's the guy that was very effective for the vast majority of last year. It was very good to see him walk to the mound and have that kind of stuff."

Jose Bautista drove in two home runs for Toronto and has hit three home runs in the first two games of the series to improve to seven for the season.

"I honestly felt like playing him in the bullpen, having them open up the gates there," Rays left-fielder Sam Fuld said. "I'd have a better chance of catching one of his balls than in regular left field. He's scary and he's pretty locked in right now."

Both homers came against left-hander David Price (3-2) who allowed eight hits and four runs in eight innings. Price is 7-0 with a 2.30 earned-run average in eight starts against Toronto in his career with the Rays (10-11). Tampa also won the game in which he did not figure into the decision.

Price, however, couldn't get an out in the ninth as he gave up three hits and two runs.

Bautista started the ninth-inning rally with a single to make it 10 plate appearances in a row in which he has reached base.

"It was just brought to my attention," Bautista said, "so I wasn't even aware of it. Again, like I said yesterday, I'm still seeing the ball well and hopefully I can transfer that into tomorrow and hopefully we can get more runs."

Adam Lind doubled Bautista home from second. Jose Molina singled and Kyle Farnsworth took over from Price. Juan Rivera singled in a run and Travis Snider nearly beat out a sacrifice bunt that put runners at second and third.

Farrell disagreed with the call at first on Snider. "The replay shows otherwise, he was safe," he said. "It was not a good call."

"It's not our job to question a close call like that that could go either way," Snider said. "I just felt I got a good bunt down and did the job I was asked."

Farnsworth got the final two outs for his fifth save.

"My arm felt great," Morrow said. "The ball was coming out good, kind of put it all together this week from what I was working on down in Florida. Minus the first two hitters I thought I did great."

Morrow walked his first batter, Fuld, although at least one call on a pitch was close.

"I can't speak to the umpiring today," Farrell said, "other than the fact that he threw a lot of quality pitches."

Morrow said he didn't feel as if the umpire was squeezing him on the strike zone early.

"I was missing a lot with the fastball," he said. "Maybe there was a slider in there that could have gone either way, but it went against me. You can't let it get to you."

Johnny Damon followed with his fourth home run of the season, a two-run drive to right on a 3-1 fastball that extended his hitting streak to 12 games. Morrow struck out the next three batters.

Bautista hit his sixth homer of the season in the bottom of the first on a 1-0 fastball.

The right-fielder also homered in Friday's Blue Jays win when he fell a single short of hitting for the cycle.

Bautista tied Saturday's game with his second homer of the game on a 3-1 change-up from Price.

It was tied 2-2 when Morrow walked Fuld to lead off the sixth. Fuld stole second as Damon struck out. Morrow was removed and in came Villanueva.

"It's tough but you understand what we're doing there," Morrow said. "You can't throw 25-30 more pitches than you did last time out. I would have liked to finish the inning but you can't go too far in those situations."

After Villanueva walked Matt Joyce, Zobrist homered into the second deck in right.

The Rays scored another run in the seventh against reliever Casey Janssen who hit Sean Rodriguez to start the inning. Reid Brignac's bunt up the first-base line was bobbled by Janssen and went for a single -- originally it was scored and error -- that left two on and none out. Damon and Joyce each hit grounders to second on which the Blue Jays could only get the force out at second, allowing Rodriguez to score.

A diving catch by Fuld in left field squelched a scoring opportunity for the Blue Jays in the bottom of the seventh. Snider had seemingly hit the ball into the gap with two on and two out when Fuld made his daring play.

Notes: Attendance at Rogers Centre was 21,826. ... Before Saturday's game, the Blue Jays put INF Jayson Nix (left shin contusion) on the 15-day disabled and called up INF Mike McCoy from triple-A Las Vegas. McCoy started at second base Saturday. Nix was injured when Tampa Bay infielder Sean Rodriguez slid into him breaking up a double play in the second inning of Friday's game won in 11 innings by Toronto on a home run by John McDonald who replaced at second base. ... Blue Jays third baseman Edwin Encarnacion was scratched from Saturday's game because of a sore wrist. ...James Shields (1-1, 3.07 ERA) for the Rays and Ricky Romero (1-2, 3.12 ERA) are the probable starting pitchers in the series finale on Sunday.