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Blue Jays 8, Rays 4: Pitching Falters As Rays Can No Longer Get To .500

The Toronto offense is unsurprisingly good in another win against the Rays.

By Erik Hahmann
Kim Klement-USA TODAY Sports

Quick Hits

  • Even when the Rays were up 4-1 you knew the Toronto offense wasn't going to stay quiet for long. They've wrapped up the division title but are still playing for the number one overall seed, so that means their full lineup was on display. It was actually fairly impressive to watch Erasmo Ramirez only give up four runs on the 10 hits he allowed, and not let the homer happy Jays go deep.
  • However, Andrew Bellatti didn't have that kind of luck. He came in to pitch the seventh inning and after, somehow, getting Jose Bautista to ground out, allowed a homer to Edwin Encarnacion, a triple off the catwalk to Chris Colabello, and a homer to Russell Martin. Good luck, rest of the American League.
  • The offense did all of their damage in the fifth inning. Richie Shaffer lead off with a double and came around to score on a Luke Maile single. Brandon Guyer was hit by a pitch (one of three times on the night) and Mike Mahtook brought he and Maile home with his eighth homer of the year. It was his third homer of the year off Mark Buehrle and he absolutely crushed it -- the ball landed beyond the seats in left field. He's currently slugging an even .600 in 110 plate appearances.
  • As I mentioned, Guyer was hit three times bringing his season total to 24. Jose Abreu is second in the American League with 15. Anthony Rizzo is the only player outpacing Guyer with 30 and he has over 300 more plate appearances. Guyer has 21 doubles and 24 HBP. I'd love to know if anyone with at least 300 plate appearances in a season has had more HBP than doubles.
  • Shaffer got his taste of the pickoff majesty of Mark Buehrle. With two outs in a one run game in the sixth inning Buehrle just caught Shaffer sleeping. He wasn't trying to steal, he just wasn't paying attention to Buehrle and that's all a guy like him needs pick off a rookie.
  • This loss officially seals a second consecutive losing season for the Rays, though they certainly have some bright spots to look forward to next year.

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