TORONTO — Manager Kevin Cash has been harping for the last few days about the need for the Rays to score earlier in games to put pressure on the opposing team.
He had grander things in mind, but the Rays made it work in Tuesday’s opener of a day/night doubleheader, scoring three times on outs and a fourth on a mad dash by Randy Arozarena to beat the Blue Jays 4-2.
The Rays snapped a three-game losing streak, improving to 79-61, and moved back ahead of the Jays to the top of the three-team American League wild-card field, tied with the Mariners, who play late Tuesday.
Jeffrey Springs gave the Rays a strong start with six shutout innings, allowing just three hits and two walks. Shawn Armstrong gave up two runs in the eighth, and Pete Fairbanks survived a tense ninth, retiring Vlad Guerrero Jr. and Bo Bichette with two on, to end it.
The Rays got started quickly. Yandy Diaz led off the game with a single off the Jays’ fill-in starter Julian Merryweather, then Wander Franco followed with another to put runners on the corners. With one out, Arozarena grounded hard to third but hustled to first and beat the relay from Jays second baseman Santiago Espinal, allowing Diaz to score.
Diaz and Franco each singled again to start the third against Mitch White, then rookie Jonathan Aranda reached on an infield single — thanks to a replay reversal he signaled for immediately — to load the bases. Arozarena hit a grounder up the middle, and the Jays could get only a forceout at second as Diaz scored.
The Rays made it 3-0 on another productive out, as David Peralta’s line drive to left served as a sac fly to score Franco.
Arozarena’s persistent hustle — and some daring decision making — led to another run in the third.
Having swiped his 29th base of the season in the first, Arozarena was foiled twice in what were successful bids for No. 30 when interference was called on Manuel Margot for hitting catcher Danny Jansen with his back swing.
So Arozarena instead took off running when Margot singled softly to leftfield to from first to third, then with Jays leftfielder Teoscar Hernandez playing the ball casually, Arozarena turned up the speed and raced home, scoring safely as a surprised Hernandez airmailed a throw home, well over Jansen’s head.
The Rays seemed to catch a break even before the players got to the stadium, as the Jays informed them that hard-throwing right-hander Alek Manoah would not make his scheduled start in the matinee due to a stomach bug.
That seemed especially fortuitous since Manoah had been tough on the Rays, with a 1.47 ERA over five starts (and a 3-2 record) and 40 strikeouts in 30 2/3 innings.
The Jays instead used Merryweather as a one-inning opener, then Mitch White for six innings before going to the bullpen.
Armstrong got the Rays through the seventh, but got into trouble quickly in the eighth as Vlad Guerrero Jr. and Bo Bichette singled and both came around to score. Fairbanks took over and got the final out.
