The Blue Jays are going to need a lot more than a change of venue to overcome the difficulties they experience as a road team against the Tampa Bay Rays.
Tropicana Field has long been considered a house of horrors for the Jays, who have an all-time record of 92-142 in the dingy dome. Few within the organization would have shed tears knowing it was unavailable this season because of damage sustained during a hurricane.
The thing is, it was never about the ballpark; it was about the team. In 2008, the Jays played the Rays at Disney’s Wide World of Sports complex in Orlando and were swept in three games. It was a repeat this weekend at George Steinbrenner Field, where they lost three more. Three stadiums, similar results.
Chris Bassitt was roughed up for five runs across four-plus innings and the offence was non-existent as the Jays were swept out of Tampa Bay with a lopsided 13-0 loss on Sunday afternoon. The Jays were outscored 19-2 in the series and slipped to fourth place in the American League East.
The Rays haven’t been the Rays since they were a 99-win wild-card team in 2023. Last year, they finished two games below .500, and they have spent most of this season second-last in the division. That mattered little this weekend, because when it comes to the Jays, the Rays are still the ultimate rally killer.
Two weeks ago, the Jays were riding high after sweeping the Mariners in Seattle. They returned home looking to extend a four-game win streak, only to have the Rays ruin the party by taking two of three. The Jays got the good vibes flowing again by sweeping the San Diego Padres, but that run proved to be short lived, too — because of the Rays.
The Jays are 1-5 against Tampa Bay this season. Dating back to last year, they’re 5-14. They’re also winless in the last seven season series, and they’ve only gotten the best of the Rays in one year since Kevin Cash was hired as manager in 2015. It doesn’t look like this year will be any different.
Sunday’s loss was as ugly as last week’s sweep of the Padres was pretty. Bassitt laboured through long innings under sweltering conditions (31.7C at first pitch) en route to surrendering five runs on nine hits and a pair of walks. Meanwhile, the Jays produced three hits across seven scoreless innings by right-hander Ryan Pepiot, who hadn’t earned a victory in nearly a month.
Brandon Lowe, once again, led the way for the Rays on offence. He hit a two-run homer off Bassitt in the first inning and finished the day 3-for-4 with a pair of runs. In his last 12 games against the Jays, Lowe is batting 19-for-47 (.404) with seven homers, four doubles and 16 RBIs. He also has four homers and two doubles off Bassitt, which are the most extra-base hits by Lowe against any pitcher.
A lack of execution with runners in scoring position cost the Jays during the first two games of this series. It wasn’t an issue on Sunday, because they didn’t move a baserunner beyond first all afternoon.
Vladimir Guerrero Jr. was stranded at first base during the first and fourth innings, and backup catcher Ali Sanchez — recalled from Triple-A Buffalo with Tyler Heineman placed on the seven-day injured list with concussion symptoms — was left standing there in the fifth. The only other baserunner, Jonatan Clase, was picked off in the second.
A couple of weeks ago, a column in this space began with the line: “One week, they’re down. The next, they’re up.” The premise of that piece was to outline a season of extreme highs and lows. The only thing that has changed since then is that emotions aren’t fluctuating each week. They’re switching every series.
The Jays have played their best and some of their worst baseball within a span of six games. Every time people want to write them off, they do something positive to hang around. Every time it looks like they might go on a run, they fall down. They are the definition of what a .500 team is supposed to be.
There was an explosion of 24 runs against the Padres and then two against the Rays in a hitter-friendly ballpark. That’s particularly problematic because of what comes next.
On Monday, the Jays will open a three-game series on the road against the Texas Rangers, who will be starting Jacob deGrom (2.33 ERA), Nathan Eovaldi (1.60) and Tyler Mahle (1.80).
Logic suggests the 25-27 Jays are going to be in for a very difficult series that won’t involve much offence. Based on how the year has gone so far, that probably means the lineup will put up double-digit runs and they’ll win two of three, or maybe even sweep.
Hey, that’s baseball. Or, at least, that’s these Jays.
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