The Blue Jays beat the rays tonight, walking off in the bottom of the tenth inning thanks to a grand slam homer.
Winning this game felt like a tough challenge even before the game started. Apart from a poor start against the Red Sox, the Blue Jay’s Dylan Cease has been very effective. And the Rays countered with something of a bullpen day, as the effort to turn Griffin Jax into a starter continues. Jax has been good in that starter role but as he gets stretched out he’s been largely a 4-5 inning pitcher.
So I didn’t expect a win tonight. But I also didn’t expect to lose in quite this fashion. I didn’t expect to see a reliever who until two weeks ago had been pitching in the Mexican League come in (unsuccessfully, obviously) for the save. I certainly did not expect the Rays pitching staff to give up ten walks.
Unsurprisingly, Cease was very good. It took the Rays until the fourth inning to get their first baserunner, in the form of a Junior Caminero single.
Jax was, perhaps uncharacteristically, flailing a bit with his control. Prior to tonight, he’d given up ten walks in 18 innings, but tonight he gave up three walks in just five innings, and had base runners every inning. His performance was definitely not pretty, but you can’t argue with giving up no runs. He was aided by several double plays, like this one:
After five innings, he gave way to Hunter Bigge.
Cease lost some of his sharpness in the seventh inning and the Rays took advantage. Two Rays hitters walked, and with one out Richie Palacios came through with a single, Aranda charging around the bases to score.
Hunter Bigge was replaced by Garrett Cleavinger, and his outing did not go very well. He did get one out, but also gave up a single, and then hit a Jays batter on the wrist. (Were you thinking that the Rays would be trying to get payback after Aranda had been hit on Monday? Well, I don’t think you avenge your hit batter by putting a guy on base when you have just a one run lead). Kevin Kelly came into the game and miraculously he got Sosa to hit a liner to Walls, which turned into an inning ending double play.
The Rays loaded the bases in the eighth inning, but failed to score, which was fortunate for the Blue Jays both for the obvious reasons, but also because they misplayed a ground ball — with runners on first and second, Diaz grounded to first base, the Jays’ pitcher never went to cover the base and everyone was safe. Unfortunately Jake Fraley popped up the first pitch he saw and ended the inning.
Bryan Baker took over for the bottom of the eighth inning, and walked the leadoff batter. And the second batter. And the third batter.
The Blue Jays were then able to tie the game with a sac fly. But Baker then walked yet another batter, and in a strange turn of events, Cash brought in Cole Sulser, the man who blew last night’s lead, to get out of the bases loaded jam. Which he did.
The game went into extra innings with the score tied 1-1. The Rays were able to start the scoring in their half of the tenth. Ben Williamson singled home the so-called “ghost runner” from second to take a 2-1 lead.
Williamson stole second, and Diaz then drove him in with another single, give the Rays a two run lead.
That would seem to be a fairly comfortable position, but the next Rays pitcher was a fellow named Aaron Brooks, someone I’d didn’t realize existed on the Rays roster but he was apparently promoted recently from Durham, and before he was with the Bulls he had been playing in the Mexican League.
Apparently he decided to use Bryan Baker as his role model, but not Bryan Baker the effective closer but rather Bryan Baker who couldn’t find the strike zone, and he walked the bases loaded with no outs.
His misery ended quickly thereafter, however, when he gave up a grand slam home run to Daulton Varsho, ending the game with a 5-3 Blue Jays victory. Maybe this is 20-20 hindsight, but I swear that once he had loaded the bases that grand slam seemed inevitable.
So the Rays have to settle for a series win, and can enjoy a day off tomorrow before starting a home stand against the Marlins.
Let’s just hope the Bryan Baker we saw today was an aberration, and that the next time we see Aaron Brooks it will be with the Rays ahead by ten runs.
