Toronto and Tampa Bay traded punches for five innings before the Rays broke the game open. A three-run sixth put them ahead for good, and the Blue Jays could never catch up, falling 4-2 at Rogers Centre.
| 1 | 2 | 3 | 4 | 5 | 6 | 7 | 8 | 9 | R | H | E | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| TB | 0 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 3 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 4 | 8 | 1 |
| TOR | 1 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 2 | 4 | 1 |
Griffin Jax was the story on the mound for Tampa Bay, working 6.0 innings and allowing just 3 hits and 1 run (1 earned) while striking out 5. He walked only 1 and needed just 83 pitches to get through six, setting up the bullpen to close it out. Bryan Baker worked a scoreless inning to secure his 26th save of the season.
The Rays' decisive sixth inning began with Chandler Simpson's sacrifice fly to center that brought home Díaz, snapping a 1-1 tie and putting Tampa Bay ahead for good. Victor Mesa followed with a single to left to score Caminero, and later in the frame, Ben Williamson walked to bring in Mullins, capping the three-run outburst that put the Rays up 4-1.
Toronto's own offense had opened the scoring in the first, when George Springer grounded out to first and Nathan Lukes came around to score, with Vladimir Guerrero moving to third on the play. Tampa Bay answered in the second when Victor Mesa singled to center to plate Simpson, tying the game before the sixth-inning surge put the Rays in front. Alejandro Kirk's solo home run to left center in the seventh, his third of the season, was the last gasp for the Blue Jays, but it wasn't enough. Toronto starter Braydon Fisher lasted just 1.1 innings, and reliever Jeff Hoffman was tagged for 3 runs in just 0.2 innings during the sixth-inning rally, taking the loss to fall to 5-7 on the season.
The result extended Toronto's losing streak to four games as the Blue Jays dropped to 46-56. Tampa Bay improved to 59-42, extending its winning streak to three and holding onto first place in its division. Jax, who improved to 6-7, sits at 487 career strikeouts, 13 shy of the 500 milestone.