*Photo from DraftKings Nation*
With a comfortable lead in the AL East as the season is winding down, the Tampa Bay Rays were looking to formally solidify what had already been figuratively confirmed. Austin Meadows homered, Yandy Diaz drove in two runs, and the Rays defeated the Toronto Blue Jays 7-1 on Wednesday afternoon.
With the win, the Rays improved to 94-59 in what has been another fantastic season for the bunch from South Florida, despite all the questions after they got rid of star pitching in the offseason. With the win, they've also locked up yet another playoff berth. It's the 3rd season in a row the Rays have punched their ticket to October baseball, and they've become the 4th team in MLB to clinch this season, and the first in the AL.
Rays infielder Brandon Lowe expressed the mindset of the Rays in the playoffs after the game, saying that "We’re in the postseason. That's great. We're all excited about that. But to say that we don't have bigger aspirations in that clubhouse, we'd be lying to everybody. We have our eyes on something else, and we'll celebrate when we do what we want to do."
The Rays got on the board in the 3rd inning, when Diaz hit a sac fly, scoring Lowe and making it 1-0 Rays. Later that inning, Meadows cranked a 3 run home run to center field, giving the Rays a crooked inning with a 4-0 lead. The onslaught continued thanks to a two run single from Taylor Walls, making it 6-0. In the 4th, an RBI single from Diaz made it a 7-0 lead. The Blue Jays got one run back in the 6th inning on a sac fly, making it a 7-1 ballgame.
JT Chargois got the win in relief for the Rays, pitching a scoreless top of the 4th inning, improving to 6-1 this season. Luis Patino started the game and threw 3 shutout innings, allowing one hit and one walk while striking out one. Adam Conley came on and threw 1 2/3 innings, getting charged with one run. Then, it was JP Feyereisen who threw 1 1/3 innings, followed by scoreless innings from Pete Fairbanks and David Robertson.
Rays center fielder Kevin Kiermaier said of the win and playoff berth that "We're going to do everything in our power to go win the division, try to get the best record in the AL, and then go from there. We're happy right now, but we're not satisfied by any means. We know we have a lot more work to do, and hopefully, many more celebrations to come."
Ross Stripling got hit with the loss for Toronto, allowing 5 runs on 5 hits and one walk, lasting just 1 1/3 innings in relief of a bullpen game for the Blue Jays. His record is now 5-7. Julian Merryweather opened the game and provided a scoreless inning. Tayler Saucedo was charged with the other two Rays runs in his relief appearance. Anthony Castro, Ryan Borucki, and Nate Pearson also pitched.
Blue Jays manager Charlie Montoyo said of the loss that "There were some good things today, of course, like Pearson coming in there at the end and doing a good job. Castro looked really good. Merryweather, the more he pitches, the better he’s looking, so that’s only good news for us. It’s just that a couple of guys struggled and we got in a hole against good pitching, so it was tough to come back."
After a day off on Thursday, the Rays begin a series with their in state rival Miami Marlins on Friday, with no announced starter for the Rays yet. The Blue Jays open a series against the Twins on Thursday, with Steven Matz taking the mound as the Jays look to keep up in the wild card race.
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