Another series that encapsulated all that is wrong with the 2037 Rays as they dropped 2 of 3 including one due to another bullpen failure and won a game in a rout that will further cement their -5 difference with their Pythagorean record.
Mario Urizar gave up a couple of critical homers in the opener and although the offense fought gamely the Rays fell short 7-6 to the Jays. Urizar (5-8) went 5 7 6 6 2 7 and squandered a 4-2 lead by surrendering a 3-run homer in the 5th.
Danny Charlton, Joe Stack and
Agustin Lopez each had 2-run singles to provide the offense.
The second game was yet another loss chalked up to the bullpen as
Danny Morales pitched his heart out with 7 shutout innings and left up 2-0 before the pen let it get away in a 4-3 loss to Toronto. Morales went 7 2 0 0 2 8 and lowered his ERA to 2.76 but took another no-decision when
Jamie Arnold loaded the bases with nobody out and
Ruben Abeyta let all the runners score to put the Jays ahead.
Agustin Lopez came off the bench to deliver a clutch 2-out RBI double in the bottom of the 8th to tie it back up, but Abeyta (2-4) loaded the bases himself in the 9th and a
Danny Arroyave boot at 3B helped allow the winner to score. Earlier the blazing hot
Tony Fisher homered (#22).
The Rays took out their frustrations on Toronto in the finale, obliterating them 20-4. There was too much offense to chronicle so I'll post part of the box below and will note that Gabe Bryant (4-4) got the win going 5 9 3 3 2 7 after they were up 16-0 after 4. Here are the details:
Team record: 43-40, 2 back of Baltimore in the AL East but in third place behind the Jays as well. Next up: An off-day then fellow wild card rivals San Antonio (42-39) come to town for 3.
Also Fisher's recent exploits were recognized:
