Series Recap: Blue Jays lose all three to Rays, the second time they’ve been swept this season

After playing so well for about two weeks, the Toronto Blue Jays hit a road block in the form of the Tampa Bay Rays.

Coming into the series against their American League East foe, the Blue Jays were 9-5 in their last 14 games. Well, a three-game sweep at the hands of the Rays set them back quite a bit. It was just the second time that the Blue Jays’ have been swept all season, and the first series loss since mid-April.

Monday’s game saw the Blue Jays go down 3-0 early, as Eric Lauer gave up a three-run home to Ryan Vilade. In the top of the third, the Blue Jays got a run back thanks to an RBI single from Vladimir Guerrero Jr., but the Rays loaded the bases in the bottom of the sixth off Spencer Miles, then Mason Fluharty gave up a single to Taylor Walls, making it 5-1.

In the end, the Blue Jays were 1-8 with runners in scoring position and left 10 runners stranded. Their pitching wasn’t great, but even though all but one player had at least a hit, the Jays just couldn’t string runs together. On the positive side, Yohendrick Piñango went 3-5 with his first career extra-base hit, a double.

The Blue Jays officially lost their first series since April 19th thanks to a 4-3 loss on Tuesday. This one should not have been a loss. In the top of the first, Kazuma Okamoto hit his team-leading 10th home run of the season. Then with runners on first and second with one out, Andrés Giménez hit an RBI single.

As expected, the Rays responded, scoring one run in both the third and fourth inning, but the Jays restored the lead thanks to a Piñango single, making it 3-2. The score stood that way until the bottom of the eighth. With one out, Jonathan Aranda hit a double, then was cashed in thanks to Yandy Díaz. Following another single, Ben Williamson hit an RBI single to give the Rays a 4-3 lead, which they held on to.

Looking to avoid their first sweep since the third series of the season, the already cold Blue Jays’ bats found a way to get even colder. On Wednesday, they mustered just four hits, including a double by both Kazuma Okamoto and Myles Straw. In the end, they went 0-4 with RISP, while stranding five.

Patrick Corbin pitched three scoreless innings, but the Rays tagged him for two runs in the bottom of the fourth. The lefty departed in the sixth inning. In the bottom of the eighth, the Rays scored a third run on what should have been an inning-ending double play. However, Ernie Clement made a throwing error, tagging Louis Varland with an unearned run.

If there’s any saving grace from this performance, it’s that the Blue Jays were swept by the Rays in their early-season series last year. Three games later, Bo Bichette hit a ninth inning, go-ahead home run against the Texas Rangers, which kick-started one of their best stretches of the season. This season isn’t a carbon copy of last year, but the Jays have always struggled with the Rays.

Thankfully, the Blue Jays have had the Angels’ number for quite a few years now. The Angels haven’t won in Toronto since 2023, losing all four games the two teams played in Ontario’s capital in 2024, and all three last season. In their last 10 games, the Angels are 1-9 when playing the Blue Jays in Toronto. The Blue Jays need to get back on track this weekend.