After a brutal blown save loss to the Red Sox last night, the Blue Jays were looking to get right back on track as they opened a four-game series against the Rays. It will be the final series in Dunedin. After a week long road trip in New York and Cleveland, the Blue Jays will play out of Buffalo until either they get permission to play in Toronto (unlikely with the border still closed and COVID still raging in Ontario, not to mention vaccination rollout is generally going slow in Canada. Tonight was a bullpen night for the Blue Jays. Anthony Kay got the start. Reese McGuirewas behind the plat. Vlad got the half day off, serving as the DH with Rowdy Tellez at 1B. Bo Bichette was back in the field after DH'ing last night. Marcus Semien was at 2B. Lourdes Gurriel Jr. was given the complete day off with Teoscar Hernandez in LF, Randal Grichuk in RF and Jonathan Davis in CF. Could the Blue Jays snap the 2-game losing streak? Here is tonight's game recap.
Game Highlights:
- The Blue Jays opened the scoring in the bottom of the 1st as Vladimir Guerrero Jr. singled scoring Marcus Semien
- A batter later, Teoscar Hernandez singled home Bo Bichette
- The Blue Jays added a run in the bottom of the 2nd as Semien tripled scoring Jonathan Davis
- The Rays got a pair back in the top of the 3rd as Brandon Lowe smacked a 2-run blast to right; also scoring Yandy Diaz
- The Blue Jays added a run in the bottom half of the inning as Guerrero Jr. belted a solo bomb to dead center
- Anthony Kay pitching line: 4IP 4H 2R (both earned) 4BB 4K 91 pitches (54 for strikes)
- The Rays got one back in the top of the 5th as Lowe cracked a solo blast to right
- The Blue Jays added run in the bottom half of the inning as Semien whacked a solo blast to left
- Tyler Glasnow pitching line: 4.2IP 9H 5R (all earned) 1BB 2K 93 pitches (61 for strikes)
- The Rays tied the game in the top of the 6th as Ji-Man Choi crushed a 2-run bomb to right; also scoring Joey Wendle
- The Rays took the lead in the top of the 12th as Francisco Mejia hammered a grand slam to right; also scoring Brett Phillips, Lowe and Wendle
- The Blue Jays got a pair back in the bottom half of the inning as Guerrero Jr. smashed a 2-run bomb to right-center; also scoring Semien
- Final score: Rays 9 Blue Jays 7
My Take:
- Anthony Kay threw the first four innings, giving up 2 runs on 4 hits while walking 4 and striking out 2. He threw a ton of pitches and didn't help himself walking 4 batters. If one had to choose between Kay and Ross Stripling for a spot in the rotation, it would be a tough call right now
- After the two teams traded five runs each through 6 innings, neither team could break the stalemate for the next 5 innings. The Blue Jays blew chances to win it. OK, I'll admit it was a terrible idea to bunt with 2 strikes, but the intention was there to move the runner 90 feet
- Marcus Semien was a single short of the cycle
- The Blue Jays were 4-15 with runners in scoring position
- Up next, the Blue Jays try to snap the 3-game winning streak. Robbie Ray gets the start against Rays lefty Shane McClanahan
