[Art Deco]

Game 1: An old friend helped do them in and Asa Lacy was absolutely horrible in his return to the rotation as the Blue Jays bombed the Rays 11-5. Lacy was so bad, so early and dug the team so big a hole that he stayed in just to try and save the bullpen. However it took him 98 pitches just to get to 2 out in the 4th inning as he ended up 3.2 12 9 9 3 3. Oof. After he gave up a leadoff double to Adrian Hernandez, former Ray 4th OF Yusniel Diaz took Lacy deep to make it 2-0, and Grayson Jenista had a 3-run shot later in the inning. Diaz had an RBI double off Lacy in the 3rd and hit his 2nd HR of the evening in the 6th off Liam Hendriks. Lacy left the Rays down 9-2 and the offense did have a few moments in what could be called garbage time. Wander was 3-5 again, Hunter Bishop had an RBI single and a homer in the 9th (#9), Andrew Knizner added an RBI triple and Judson Fabian was 2-4 with a double and 2 RBI. Hendriks went 2 1/3 in relief of Lacy so he's out for a day or two, a tired Mike Bayley gave us 2 innings (and 5 whiffs), and Jack Filby pitched the 9th. Really not sure if I want to give Lacy another start. The good news was that the Yankees lost to Minnesota, so the lead remains at 6 games.

Game 2: The Rays are playing some really bad baseball right now as they were thumped by Toronto again 7-1. It was Matt Manning's turn in the dunk tank as after the Jays put 5 men on in the first 2 innings and he got out of it, the dam broke in the 3rd with 4 runs as Adrian Hernandez's bases-clearing double was the big hit. Unlike Asa Lacy yesterday, Manning managed to make it through 5 and was whiffing people, going 5 7 4 4 3 9. The problem was the "offense" couldn't get anything going, managing a grand total of 3 hits on the night against immortals like Eleiser Medrano and Ljay Newsome. Jhon Diaz doubled and scored on a wild pitch in the 3rd for the only Rays run. Steven Casey went a career-high 3 innings giving up only a Vlad Jr. moonshot that made it 5-1, and Jack Filby came on again in the 9th and melted down after getting the first two batters out, allowing 2 runs and throwing consecutive wild pitches to score one of them. For all their struggles, though, they were bailed out by Minnesota again as the Yankees suffered their own drubbing 12-3. It's been a strange year as the Rays are a brilliant 21-7 on the road but now a mediocre 17-13 at the Trop.

Game 3: The Rays turned the tables on Toronto today and salvaged the third game of this series with an 8-1 win behind Mack Anglin. The second-year righthander was dominant today, going 8 5 1 1 1 9 on 108 pitches and even holding the mighty Vlad Jr hitless. He's now 7-2, 3.16 and showing last year wasn't a fluke. The offense had a ton of baserunners early but could scratch across a couple of early runs before they exploded for 5 in the 5th to break it open. Triston Casas, who had his first MLB 4-hit game, singled in a run in the 1st and Hunter Bishop's RBI groundout plated another but Toronto starter Jared Jones had allowed 5 hits and 5 walks through 4 and it was still a close game. That all changed in the 5th when Keston Hiura's 2-run triple made it 4-0, Keibert Ruiz doubled in Hiura to make it 5-0, Jhon Diaz doubled in Ruiz, and Vidal Brujan singled in Diaz. And our long national nightmare is over as Judson Fabian hit HR #2 in the 8th inning to give us the final margin. Hayden Johns finished up with a perfect 9th as the beleaguered bullpen mostly got a rest today. And the Yankees continue to circle the drain with their 6th straight loss as the division lead grows to 7.

Team record: 39-20. Next up: A rare Friday off-day (so even more rest for the pen), followed by 2 interleague games at home vs the Milwaukee Brewers.

Also this just in: The San Francisco Giants claimed Alec Bohm on waivers. Good luck Alec!

Also on our off day (Friday), Ryan Weathers of the Padres pitched a no-hitter against the Columbus Lightning, walking 2 and whiffing 14 on 110 pitches.