Tyler Glasnow provided a quality start, yet took the loss for the second straight time in Toronto, as the Blue Jays beat the Tampa Bay Rays, 5-2, on Saturday afternoon. They look to bounce back and split the series with AL Cy Young Award contender Blake Snell on the mound.
The Rays got within a run in the seventh inning when Jesus Sucre delivered his first homer of the season, which followed a third-inning solo homer by Tommy Pham. Yet the bats went cold as they left a lot of chicken on the bone — going 0-5 wRISP.
Somebody clock this from bat to stands. pic.twitter.com/WFMi4WjncO
— Tampa Bay Rays (@RaysBaseball) September 22, 2018
Savor it. pic.twitter.com/vxuEIChgI3
— Tampa Bay Rays (@RaysBaseball) September 22, 2018
The Rays remain mathematically alive in the AL Wildcard race, although they will need help from the Twins on Sunday, as they sit 7.5 games behind the Oakland Athletics for the final Wildcard spot with 8 games remaining. However, Tampa Bay’s tragic number is down to one, meaning one more Oakland win or Rays loss officially ends it.
Even if we win out, I don’t see Oakland losing six games anyway, Rays third baseman Matt Duffy said. I’ve been saying it for a while — we understand the situation.
The New What Next
Blake Snell (20-5, 1.97 ERA) will make his final road start of the season, pitching opposite of Ryan Borucki (4-4, 3.86 ERA).
Snell allowed one hit across five scoreless innings in a win over Texas on Tuesday, striking out five and walking two. Snell was stellar once again, earning his eighth consecutive win and his 20th win of his 2018 campaign. He became just the second Rays pitcher to tally 20 wins in a season (David Price won 20 games in 2012) and he’s the only pitcher thus far to reach the mark in the majors this season. Snell also became just the 12th pitcher this year to break the 200-strikeout threshold, doing so in only 169 innings pitched. The southpaw’s 1.97 ERA trails only Jacob deGrom (1.78) in the majors and his .179 batting average against leads all starting pitchers.
Snell told Marc Topkin (Tampa Bay Times) he’s so serious about not wanting to hear, read or think about what he has done that when his mom started texting him links to stories and video clips after he won his 20th Tuesday, he blocked her on his phone. His own mom!
I don’t want to hear it, he said. I know I’m going to reply to my mom, so the only way I’m not is if I don’t see it. So I gave it a couple hours where I couldn’t see it, she had no clue, and then I unblocked her. Having to do that was funny in a way, and weird ’cause it was my mother, but I just don’t like hearing it.
Borucki threw eight scoreless innings on Monday, allowing three hits and one walk while striking out seven across eight innings. Borucki kept the Orioles off the board, eventually exiting the game after throwing 105 pitches (67 strikes, 64% K/BB). He’s been a reliable starter in 15 starts this season, owning a 3.86 ERA and 1.33 WHIP with 57 strikeouts across 84 innings. The right-hander allowed two runs on three hits on two walks in his last start against the Rays. Key Matchups: Carlos Gomez (1-2), Kevin Kiermaier (1-2), Mallex Smith (1-3, RBI)
Rays 9/23/18 Starting Lineup
Smith RF
Pham LF
Duffy 3B
Cron DH
Wendle SS
Lowe 2B
Kiermaier CF
Bauers 1B
Sucre C
Snell LHP
You can read about the series in our preview.
The New What Next: Rays vs Blue Jays — the penultimate series preview
Noteworthiness
— Per Topkin, OF Carlos Gomez said he had not heard anything yet from Major League Baseball officials after his Twitter rant and comments criticizing home-plate umpire Andy Fletcher stemming from a called third strike and ejection on Thursday. MLB tends to look closely at those situations, and a fine or suspension would seem possible. Gomez said he wasn’t worried and would appeal any disciplinary action.