Rays reliever John Curtiss walked to the mound in the ninth inning Sunday afternoon at Tropicana Field focused on something other than his first career save, and maybe that’s how he remained so calm in possibly the most nerve-racking situation of his brief career.

Curtiss said his thoughts were to make sure teammate and friend Josh Fleming got the win in his Major League debut. Curtiss would check both boxes nicely as the Rays defeated the Blue Jays, 5-4, at Tropicana Field.

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Afterwards, Fleming and Curtiss were the focus of a clubhouse celebration that included beer, milk and powder showers. Or something like that. Neither player was quite sure.

Fleming pitched five solid innings in his debut, and after the Rays had rallied from a 2-0 deficit and waded through some late-inning trouble, Curtiss finished the deal with a five-out save.

“I’m kind of on cloud nine,” Fleming said. “I woke up this morning and was a little anxious. Once I got on the mound, it kind of all went away.”

He was asked if there was a moment in the game when it dawned on him that he was good enough to compete in the Majors. Surely, there had to be a teensy bit of doubt.

“I’ve kind of felt like I always belonged,” he said. “First pitch, I felt like I was where I needed to be and everything.”

So it goes for the resilient Rays (19-10), who began the day by placing reliever Nick Anderson on the 10-day injured list with a sore right foreman. If you’re counting -- and the Rays are -- that’s nine pitchers on the injured list.

Others keep taking advantage of their opportunity. One of them is Curtiss, who has now started a game as an opener and closed one out as a closer this season. He began 2020 with 18 career appearances for the Twins and Angels the last three seasons. Now comes the Tampa Bay experience.

“I’d say one of the main things they've done -- and this is kind of cliche and boring -- but they think I’m good,” Curtiss said. “And having them think that I'm good makes me think that I'm good. I’d say that’s like 75 percent of it.”

Fleming’s only trouble came in the top of the fourth when he briefly lost the strike zone. He gave up his second run that inning, but also got Brandon Drury on a grounder back to the mound to end it.

“He’s impressive,” Rays manager Kevin Cash said. “The poise he showed in that inning is pretty impressive. That’s the kind of competitor he is.”

Fleming and the Rays were in a 2-0 hole at that point, but Tampa Bay scored three in the bottom of the fifth and never trailed again. Cash had one card to play that inning.

That was sending José Martínez up to pinch-hit with runners on first and second and one out. Martínez’s run-scoring single to right got a run home, and the Rays went on to score three that inning.

As for Cash, he wasn’t around to see the end after being ejected in the top of the sixth inning for arguing a check-swing call -- or no call -- with Blue Jays catcher Danny Jansen at the plate and the tying run in scoring position. The Rays got out of that inning without giving up a run, but in the heat of the battle, Cash let go.

“Those are tough calls for umpires, and I understand that,” he said. “But it's a big part of the game. You know, we understand where our bullpen’s at [with so many injuries], and every pitch really, really matters a lot.”