There weren't many fireworks at the plate Sunday. The Toronto Blue Jays put on a holiday dud in a 5-1 loss to the Tampa Bay Rays that ended the longest homestand over their last two seasons in Sahlen Field.
The Jays had a 1-0 lead through five innings on Randal Grichuk's solo homer in the second but starter Robbie Ray was touched for a pair of runs in the sixth and struggling reliever Rafael Dolis, just back from a quick injury rehab stint with the Buffalo Bisons in Trenton, N.J., gave up three in the ninth.
Still, the Jays took two of three games against the defending American League champions and won two of the three series on the homestand to finish it at 6-4.
"Coming into the series, I was thinking and the whole team was thinking to take at least two out of three," said manager Charlie Montoyo. "And we did so I'm really pleased, because that's one of the best teams in baseball. Today it wasn't our best game but yeah, I'm pleased with two of three."
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Here are eight takeaways from the homestand:
Getting in the race: Once 33-35, the Blue Jays (43-39) have won 10 of their last 14 to get to four games over .500 and within four games of the Rays in the wild-card hunt. But they're going to need to do better against the AL East (19-19, including 4-6 vs. Tampa Bay) and at home. Toronto went 10-11 during its stint in Dunedin, Fla., and is 9-9 at Sahlen Field over 18 games.
Ray's day vs. Rays: The three Toronto starters against the Rays (Alek Manoah, Ross Stripling and Ray) combined for a 1.37 ERA and struck out 21 in 19 2/3 innings. Ray was strong Sunday, allowing two hits through the first five innings and getting out of a second and third jam in the second with three straight strikeouts.
Ray got in trouble in the sixth when mega Tampa Bay prospect Wander Franco earned his second MLB home run on a wallscraper to right-center field. Yandy Diaz and Austin Meadows followed with back-to-back doubles, with Teoscar Hernandez getting burned over his head by Meadows' drive. That put the Rays up for good, 2-1.
Toronto Blue Jays starting pitcher Robbie Ray.
Ray (6-4, 3.36) has allowed three runs or fewer in 14 of his 16 starts and his 119 strikeouts trail only Roger Clemens (122 in 1997) for the most through 16 games of a season in franchise history. But the Franco home run was the 20th against Ray this year, tied with Chicago's Kyle Hendricks for the most in MLB.
"I feel really good about where I'm at," Ray said. "The homers are kind of baffling. That one today, I didn't really think that it had a chance. But you know, it happens in baseball."
Wander over the wall pic.twitter.com/wYRBnHCXYL
— Tampa Bay Rays (@RaysBaseball) July 4, 2021
More on the starters: Stripling has a 2.35 ERA over his last eight starters and Manoah already looks like a dominant frontline starter early in his rookie season. He set a franchise record with seven straight Ks here Friday while taking a no-hitter into the sixth inning. The Blue Jays' biggest concern right now is whatever is up with lefty ace Hyun Jin Ryu, who is 2-3, 5.35 in his last six outings since the calendar hit June. Ryu was 5-2, 2.62 in April and May.
Ben Wagner and Pat Malacaro are away from the microphone and not by choice.
The Vladdy Jr. Show: The crowds buzz at the start of every at-bat and roar at every fly ball Vladimir Guerrero Jr. hits. He went 1 for 4 Sunday, with a first-inning double to left that was his 100th hit of the season. He fell just short of home run No. 28 with a long fly to right in the sixth.
At game's end, Guerrero led the Majors in RBI (69), OBP (.438), OPS (1.109), times on base (155), and total bases (200). He was second in home runs (27), tied for second in runs (66) and third in average (.336).
"Watching the kind of struggles he had in 2019, you can look back and you can say maybe he was trying to do too much and the swing was too big," Blue Jays radio voice Ben Wagner said during the week while visiting his former Triple-A home. "And 2020 had its own conditioning obstacles for him. He gets all the credit for his incredible turnaround (a 42-pound weight loss) because he had to look at his teammates and apologize when he had to look himself in the mirror to change."
Star Watch: Guerrero, second baseman Marcus Semien and right fielder Teoscar Hernandez were all honored in a pregame ceremony as starters for next week's All-Star Game in Denver. Later Sunday night, another Blue Jay was added as shortstop Bo Bichette was named an American League reserve.
All four players will be making their first All-Star appearances as the Jays will have three starters for the first time since 1993. Bichette will be playing in the park where his father, Dante, has the most success of his big-league career. Guerrero's father, Hall of Famer Vladimir Guerrero Sr., tweeted congratulations to his son with a picture from the 2004 game in Houston, when Vladdy Jr. was 5 and sporting the glove of Los Angeles Angels closer Francisco Rodriguez.
When you were a little kid you used to go with me to the all star game, today you become the youngest player ever to lead the MLB in all star voting. I’m a proud dad! #VG27 pic.twitter.com/dvNdAHFWZe
— Vladimir Guerrero (@VladGuerrero27) July 2, 2021
Bullpen: Things are improving with the club's key trouble spot as lefty Tim Mayza has been red-hot, closer Jordan Romano remains extremely reliable and sidearmer Adam Cimber has looked strong in his first two outings since being acquired from Miami. Ryan Borucki, a key lefty who has been out since mid-May, is about to start rehab with the Bisons. And former Milwaukee closer John Axford, the Canadian who pitched one year at Canisius College, is now stashed with the Bisons at Trenton as well after coming out of Olympic camp.
"He looked great. I don't think there was a pitch under 97," Jays catcher Danny Jansen said Sunday after returning from rehab in Trenton. "Closed the game one of the doubleheader (Friday) and he's throwing two-seam, curveball and cutter. He had a heavy mix of the fastball and moving around both sides. It was great to see."
Hometown feeling: The Blue Jays drew their top two crowds of the season for this series, getting 10,011 on Friday night and adding 9,189 on Saturday. Sunday's figure of 7,537 gave the Jays an average of 8,912 for the series and the atmosphere was excellent all weekend.
"Definitely it felt great," Guerrero said after Friday's 11-1 win. "You feel so happy when you go out there and, especially when you get a base hit, you feel the support of the crowd getting loud. We really needed that and it's an unbelievable feeling."
"It was great, because last time we played the Rays, all the fans were on their side," Montoyo said, referring to a May series in Dunedin, Fla., where Tampa fans heckled Toronto players in the Jays' spring home "So it was good to have that support."
An overall view of Sahlen Field as the Toronto Blue Jays play the Tampa Bay Rays on the Fourth of July.
What's next for the Jays: They're off Monday and have six games on the road before the All-Star break, three in Baltimore that start Tuesday and then three at Tampa Bay. They're playing in Buffalo again against Texas (July 16-18) and Boston (July 19-21) and tickets remain on sale. After that, no announcements have been made.
The feeling around the ballpark has been that the homestand of July 30-Aug 8 (Kansas City-Cleveland-Boston again) most likely will be in Buffalo, and a change in the status of the Canadian border later this month could give the Jays the pathway to return to Toronto later in August. Sportsnet reported late Sunday night the Blue Jays, as expected, have submitted an application to the Canadian federal government to return home starting July 30.
There's no way of knowing yet if that request will be approved by the government or if MLB and the MLB Players' Association would sign off on it based on what Covid-19 protocols would need to be enforced.
