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Recap: Blue Jays 3, Rays 2; Ezequiel, My Hero

Well wasn’t that a change from the hit-happy, time-heavy Red Sox series of this past weekend. Through five innings, only Logan Forsythe, the first batter of the game for the Rays, had mustered together an at bat that ended in a hit. Then in the sixth inning, the Blue Jays took a two run lead. First, Devon Travis doubled off Jake Odorizzi to start the inning, and Jose Bautista hit a home run to score two. Through that point in the game, the Blue Jays’ starter for the night, Francisco Liriano, had only given up one hit and issued one walk while striking out six Rays batters. Given that he hadn’t started since August 26th, Liriano’s pitching to begin the game looked very promising. However, in the top of the seventh inning, the Rays retaliated.

As the first batter of the inning, Evan Longoria took Francisco Liriano deep to cut the Jays lead to one run. Then, Brad Miller, the next batter, hit a home run of his own, and tied the game with the back to back jack. We’d seen a similar story just yesterday: after Troy Tulowitzki hit a grand slam home run, the Red Sox came back and added on six runs in the three innings that proceeded. Fortunately for the Blue Jays, the Rays, who currently have the fifth worst record in baseball, don’t have quite as robust of a lineup or bullpen as this past weekend’s opponent. With 2.5 innings remaining, that opened the door for a Blue Jays comeback.

In the bottom of the 8th, with right handed relief pitcher Brad Boxberger on the mound, Ezequiel Carrera was tagged to come in and pinch hit for the right handed hitting Melvin Upton. Carrera came in and immediately hit a homer just over the left field fence; Blue Jays 3 – Rays 2. That one run would be all that the Jays needed to secure a victory.

Top Play of the Game by WPA

As previously noted, there was little action in this game prior to the sixth inning, and the Blue Jays were the first team to shake that trend up. With two outs and Devon Travis on third base, Jose Bautista’s big home run to help the Jays take the lead increased their chances of winning by 26.6%.

Bottom Play of the Game by WPA

Even after their back to back home runs, the Rays ended up with a chance to take the lead in the 7th inning. After a walk by Steven Souza, and an error from Darwin Barney allowing Richie Shaffer to reach base, it was first and third with two outs when Luke Maile came up to the plate. Despite pitching each of the last two days, Joaquin Benoit was able to force the fly out from Luke Maile, reducing the Rays’ chances of winning by 8.8%.

False Alarm on the Field

The last out was a weird one in this game. With Steven Souza up to bat, Roberto Osuna threw a tough inside pitch that Souza barely foul tipped. Initially, it looked like Russell Martin had caught the ball to end the game…or so Roberto thought. Instead, it took another pitch from Osuna that resulted in a long fly out to centre field; Blue Jays win.

After the out, Russell Martin and Steven Souza had a quick, not-so-heated chat. However, because they’d stayed on the field, both benches cleared to try and figure out what was up. Things diffused quickly, and Martin clarified after the game that there was, “no bad blood.”

Up Next

Tomorrow at 7:07 PM, the Blue Jays and Rays will face off again at the Rogers Centre. Another win, and a Red Sox loss, could reduce the lead in the AL East to 0.5 games. For their part, the Blue Jays will toss out Marcus Stroman to face the Rays glut of right handed batters. Stroman has had a lot of success recently, save for one poorer start against Minnesota. It’d be nice to see him follow up Liriano’s relatively successful appearance with another strong outing.

Lead Photo: Nick Turchiaro-USA TODAY Sports

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