TORONTO — The Rays are going so bad now that not even Drew Rasmussen’s months-long hot streak, nor his new dad strength, could help them.
Rasmussen had his worst start since June, and the offense was missing again as the Rays lost for the fifth time in their past six games.
Making it worse, Wednesday’s 5-1 loss, like their previous two, was to the Blue Jays, one of the teams the Rays are competing with for seeding in the three-team American League wild-card race. They play again Thursday afternoon to wrap up a five-games-in-four-days series.
At 79-63, the Rays are 1 1/2 games behind the Jays, and one behind the Mariners, with 20 games to play. Also of note, they are 4 1/2 games ahead of the fourth-place Orioles.
Rasmussen had been on a remarkable run, 4-1, 1.34 with 43 strikeouts in 40 1/3 innings and an August AL Pitcher of the Month award over his past seven starts; and 5-1, 1.81 over his past 12.
He missed a scheduled Sept. 6 start for a bigger event, as his wife, Stevie, went into labor early that morning and delivered their first child, a son they named Rhett.
Rasmussen rejoined the Rays on Friday in New York and was dominant, throwing six shutout innings and striking out 10. The Rays allowed him to return home for a few days to be with his family, and do his between-starts work at Tropicana Field, and he arrived in Toronto on Tuesday afternoon, joking that he needed a nap.
He was not sharp when he took the mound Wednesday, allowing a first-inning homer to Vlad Guerrero Jr. — the 100th of his meteoric career — then three more runs before being taken out after four innings. In addition to the six hits and four runs allowed, it was notable he struck out only one.
The Rays hitters didn’t do much of anything to help, shut out by Ross Stripling until Harold Ramirez homered to lead off the seventh.
They didn’t have many other opportunities and didn’t do much with them.
Later in the seventh, they had two on against reliever Adam Cimber, but pinch-hitter Jonathan Aranda grounded into a forceout.
Yandy Diaz and Wander Franco singled to open the eighth against Yimi Garcia, but Randy Arozarena, Ramirez and Ji-Man Choi went down swinging.
