After winning the first two games of their series against the Tampa Bay Rays, the Toronto Blue Jays went down in the next three. They lost 7-3 to home fans at Rogers Center on Sunday.
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The Jays struggled to demystify starting pitcher Shane Baz (1-1). He allowed just one earned run on seven hits in six innings of action, recording seven strikeouts in passing.
Only Vladimir Guerrero Jr. was able to produce a run at the expense of Baz. His single in the third inning allowed George Springer to cross home plate. Guerrero also sent an offering of Shawn Armstrong to safety late in the game to close the gap, but Jason Adam made his third save of the season to put an end to hostilities.
George Stripling (4-3) took a bit of a beating after he held the mound for four and two-thirds innings. A defensive error led to the Rays’ first run of the game, but Stripling then allowed a productive single to Yandy Diaz and a two-run home run to Ramirez.
The counter-performance of his successor Trent Thornton, however, took the Jays out of the game. He allowed Ji-Man Choi and Randy Arozarena back-to-back long balls to stretch the Rays’ lead to six points.
The Blue Jays will be happy to cross swords with a different opponent on Monday. They will be visiting Oakland for a three-game series against the Athletics.
Jeremy Pena plays heroes in Houston
At Minute Maid Park, shortstop Jeremy Pena homered in the ninth inning to power the Houston Astros to a 4-2 win over the Los Angeles Angels.
With the game presumably headed for an extra inning, Pena dispatched an offering from Ryan Tepera (1-2) out of bounds. The Astros stadium was in jubilation as Pena and Jose Altuve hit the trails.
It was also Pena’s second homer of the game and his 11th of the season.
Reliever Ryan Pressly (2-2) scored the victory with a perfect ninth inning, where he passed all three opponents in the mitt. Starter Framber Valdez had given his team every chance to win by not less than 13 strikeouts in six innings, allowing two earned runs and three hits.
Luis Renfigo (home run) and Shohei Ohtani (productive single) got the Angels on the board.