Game #161 Toronto Blue Jays (73-88) @ Tampa Bay Rays (89-72) - game recap

Mallex Smith drove in the game winning run in the 7th as the Rays edged the Blue Jays 4-3

This will unofficially be the last game John Gibbons manages for the Blue Jays as he is handing over the reins to catcher Russell Martin on Sunday. Today was a rematch of last Sunday's epic pitcher's duel between Ryan Borucki and Blake Snell. The Blue Jays were looking to get their skipper a series win to end his time in Toronto. Here is today's game recap.

Game Highlights

• The Blue Jays took the lead in the top of the 1st as Jon Berti scored on a sac fly by Rowdy Tellez
• The Rays tied the game in the bottom of the 2nd as CJ Cron hit a solo HR to right-center
• Blake Snell pitching line: 5IP 3H 1R (earned) 4BB 10K 82 pitches (49 for strikes)
• The Blue Jays took the lead in the top of the 6th as Teoscar Hernandez homered to left
• The Rays tied it in the bottom of the 6th as Brandon Lowe singled home Tommy Pham
• The Rays took the lead in the bottom of the 7th as Austin Meadows hammered a solo shot to right
• Three batters later, Mallex Smith singled, scoring Andrew Velazquez
• Ryan Borucki pitching line: 6.2IP 7H 4R (all earned) 3BB 3K 94 pitches (56 for strikes)
• The Blue Jays got one back in the top of the 9th as Reese McGuire launched one deep to right
• Final score: Rays 4 Blue Jays 3

My Take

• Ryan Borucki had a solid final start of his rookie campaign, giving up 4 runs on 7 hits while walking 3. Borucki's command wasn't at it's best but he probably didn't have much left in the tank. His spot in the blue Jays rotation is pretty solid.
• Once again, the Blue Jays offence continues to not cash in runs when they should. They loaded the bases twice on Rays starter Blake Snell in the 1st inning and got only one run out of it, on a sac fly.
• Jon Berti batter leadoff and was playing at second base today. He was 1-4 at the plate and scored the Blue Jays 1st run. Defensively, he was involved in 4 plays
• Jonathan Davis was in CF and batted second. Davis was 0-4 at the plate and involved in 6 plays
• Rowdy Tellez was playing 1B today and batting 5th. He was 0-4 at the plate, but picked up an RBI on the Blue Jays 1st run with a sac fly. He was involved in 5 plays defensively
• Danny Jansen started at catcher and batted 6th. Jansen 0-3 at the plate, striking out in every at-bat. He picked off Willy Adames in the 4th off 2nd base. Tommy Pham stole second base off him
• Reese McGuire pinch hit for Jansen in the 9th and crushed a bomb to right to cut the Rays lead to 1
• Richard Urena started the game at SS, batting 8th. He was 0-4 at the plate with 4 strikeouts. He was involved in 5 plays defensively
• Anthony Alford started in RF and was batting 9th today. Alford was 0-3 and s truck out twice. He was involved in 3 plays defensively
• David Paulino threw a scoreless 8th inning, allowing one hit and walking a batter.
• Up next, the Blue Jays wrap up their 2018 season with Russell Martin being the unofficial manager. Sam Gaviglio takes the mound against Rays opener Ryne Stanek. In a quirky move, the MLB has scheduled every game tomorrow to begin at 3:15pm EDT