Josh Lowe hit a three-run long ball and hit a single to give his team the lead as the Tampa Bay Rays beat the Toronto Blue Jays 7-6 on Saturday.
The Rays rallied after blowing a five-run lead in the game.
“Everyone knows that when it happens, the emotion goes down,” said Rays player Yandy Díaz. Afterwards, we stayed positive and heightened the emotions. »
Rays prospect Junior Caminero was making his debut in the Majors at 20 years old. He finished the game with one hit in four at-bats and one walk.
Caminero, who wears number 1, singled in the third inning in his first official at-bat. His walk came a little earlier in the game, in the first inning.
“It’s a dream come true,” Caminero said through a translator. It became real. »
When asked the reason, the player replied with a smile on his face that it was “because I am number one”.
Díaz had four hits, while he, Lowe and Christian Bethancourt hit home runs for the Rays (95-61), who ensured they finished at least first among teams drafted in the American League.
The Rays started the day a game and a half behind the leaders of the American East section, the Baltimore Orioles, who faced the Cleveland Guardians.
The Blue Jays (86-69) started the day in second place among the American drafted teams, a game ahead of the Rangers and a game and a half ahead of the Mariners. These two teams were facing each other on Saturday evening.
With the Blue Jays trailing 6-5, Díaz hit a double in the ninth inning. He advanced to third base on Harold Ramírez’s single, then scored on Curtis Mead’s single. Díaz, second for the best batting average in the American, increased his average to .327.
The Blue Jays were down 5-0 after four innings. However, they scored four runs in the sixth to get closer.
Díaz hit a homer that gave his team the lead and Lowe hit a three-run homer in a four-run first inning for the Rays, against pitcher Hyun Jin Ryu. Bethancourt made it 5-0 with a long ball in the fourth inning.
Blue Jays manager John Schneider and an athletic therapist introduced themselves to reliever Jordan Romano during the ninth inning. Schneider said Romano broke a nail during the Blue Jays’ win Friday.
“We knew the situation,” Schneider said. We just wanted to make sure it was correct. He was looking at his nail, but I don’t think it affected him physically. He said he was able to throw. »
With a crowd of 22,655 for the game, the Rays reached 1.4 million spectators for the first time since the 2014 season.