The Tampa Bay Rays remain the Blue Jays’ biggest AL East hurdle to finish the year

This move is rooted in keeping the Rays off their game. Not only does the organization likely have minimal tape on the Jays’ right-hander, but Yesavage pitched at George Steinbrenner Field earlier this year and found success at the minor league park. The Rays share this park with the Yankees’ Single-A affiliate, the Tampa Tarpons, after Tropicana Field’s roof was destroyed by a hurricane.

Yesavage faced the Tarpons on April 25th and went 4 2/3 innings, allowing just one hit, two walks, and two earned runs while striking out ten on 62 pitches. While the difference between the Tarpons and the Tampa Bay Rays is easily noted, it’s an interesting point in the grand scheme of things, considering the Jays called up a hot arm to make a pivotal start at this particular venue.

Another hurdle the Blue Jays will have to overcome is their lack of run production against the Rays. They scored 15 runs when they faced the Rays at the Rogers Centre, but struggled to give their pitchers any run support down in Tampa. Getting on the board early and giving the Jays starters some leverage to work with, especially for Yesavage during his debut, will go a long way despite the organization being the comeback kings this season.

The fact of the matter is, producing two runs across three games, similar to their earlier numbers this year, is not good enough to make the ‘magic number’ for the postseason come down any faster. It will be a difficult task, especially since Bo Bichette is out of the lineup and the Rays are projected to send Ryan Pepiot (13 IP, 9 hits, 3 runs, 12 K’s through two starts vs the Jays this year), Ian Seymour (rookie arm the Jays haven’t faced before), and Shane Baz (10 1/3 IP, 8 hits, 4 runs, 10 K’s through two starts) as three of the four starters this week. Getting on board early will be a key part for the Jays, and these three starters, plus a Rays bullpen that ranks ninth in the league with a 3.71 ERA, will not make it easy for the Jays if they leave their bats at the Rogers Centre.

Tampa Bay won’t be causing issues for the Jays in October, but if Toronto can’t find a way to slay this particular AL East demon over the next month, it makes for a tighter division race that could come back to bite the Blue Jays in a big way.

Avoiding the Wild Card series is key for the Jays if they want to break the ‘haven’t won a postseason game since 2016’ narrative, and continuing to win and beating the Rays this week will go a long way to earn that significant bye week.