*Photo from the Tampa Bay Times*
Tampa Bay wins series 2-0
The Tampa Bay Rays are flexing some serious muscle, the same muscle that led to them being the top seed in the AL playoff picture. That would be effective pitching and clutch hitting. Tyler Glasnow dominated, Hunter Renfroe hit a grand slam, and the Rays routed the Toronto Blue Jays by an 8-2 score to sweep the Blue Jays and advance to the ALDS.
The Rays got the scoring started early, when Manuel Margot hit an RBI single in the first inning to make it 1-0 Rays. In the second inning, Mike Zunino hit a two run homer, and Renfroe mashed a grand slam to make it 7-0 Rays quickly. In the 3rd inning, Danny Jansen hit a solo homer to get the Blue Jays on the board, but Randy Arozarena hit an RBI double in the bottom of the 3rd, getting that run right back and making it 8-1 Rays. In the 5th, Jansen hit another solo homer to make it 8-2, which held for the rest of the game.
Glasnow got the win for the Rays, throwing 6 innings in his first start of the playoffs. Glasnow allowed two runs on 6 hits and one walk, striking out 8 hitters. Glasnow said after the game that ''We've been confident since Day One. So if we put the our heads down and just do what we've been doing and prepare like we've been preparing, the sky's the limit."
Rays manager Kevin Cash was also pleased, saying that ''We have very good players first and foremost. I understand the back of the baseball card stuff and some of our guys are not as established, what we do have, what makes it formidable is that the entire roster is used to help us win games. We do that consistently during the season and are definitely going to do it in the postseason.''
Despite the early exit in the playoffs, Blue Jays manager Charlie Montoyo said that they had a ''Great season. I'm proud of my kids to make it to this point. It's obvious that the Rays are a pretty good team, that's why they're picked to go to the World Series, in this series, we didn't hit. We only scored three runs. That's not enough to beat that team.''
Hyun-Jin Ryu got the loss for the Blue Jays, lasting just 5 outs into the game, or 1 2/3 innings pitched. Ryu allowed 7 runs on 8 hits and one walk, striking out 3 hitters. Ross Stripling came in after Ryu, working 1 1/3 innings, largely escaping further damage. Nate Pearson, Anthony Bass, Thomas Hatch, and Rafael Dolis also pitched for the Blue Jays.
The Rays move to the ALDS, where they will face the 5th seed in the New York Yankees in the California bubble. The Blue Jays head back home for the offseason.
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