TORONTO BLUE JAYS NOTES:
THE LATEST: The Blue Jays plated two runs in the 9th inning in Tampa Bay last night and then loaded the bases with two out but were unable to complete the comeback as they lost, 6-4, to the Rays…Are now 9-7 in series openers, having dropped each of their last three such games. Toronto has lost five straight games, matching their longest skid this season (also: April 30-May 4)…Last had a longer losing streak from May 19-24, 2021 (6G)…Outhit Tampa Bay, 11-7, during last night’s loss and has now dropped seven of its last eight contests while outhitting opponents, 74-67, over that span.
WHIT GREAT POWER, COMES RESPONSIBILITY: Whit Merrifield gave Toronto some life last night as he hit a two-out, two-run homer in the 4th inning….Was his 2nd longball of the year and his 7th in 85 games as a Blue Jay. The 34-year old added three singles as he finished a perfect 4-for-4 on the night…Marked his 11th game with 4+ hits in his career (last: May 11, 2022 at TEX), tied for 9th most among AL hitters since his debut in 2016…Has batted .287 (43-for-150) this year with nine doubles, two homers, 19 RBI, 12 walks, and 13 stolen bases (.726 OPS).
HITTING IT VERY VAR: Daulton Varsho sparked the Jays’ 9th-inning rally as he smashed a 446-foot ball over the Ray tank in right-center field…Marked the 2nd-farthest hit ball of his career (451 feet on July 22, 2022 vs. WAS)…The solo shot was his 7th homer of the season and his 6th on the road. The outfielder is now batting .276 (27-for-98) during his 26 road games, including 13 extra-base hits and 15 RBI for an .861 OPS…Has two extra-base knocks and two RBI in 21 home contests (.383 OPS).
HOUNDING HISTORY: Chris Bassitt allowed six runs, two earned, across 6.1 frames of work last night…Had his career-best scoreless innings streak ended at 28.0, which was the longest active streak in the Majors…Marked the 2nd-longest single-season streak in franchise history (Roger Clemens: 33.0 IP from Aug. 15-Sep. 5, 1998), and the 3rd-longest overall (Dave Stieb: 34.0 IP from Sept. 13, 1988-April 5, 1989).
Over his last nine starts, the righty has posted a 5-2 record and a 1.83 ERA (12 ER/59.0 IP) while keeping hitters to a .153 AVG…His .186 opponents’ batting average for the year is 4th best among AL pitchers while his 62.1 innings of work are 5th most.
BO KNOWS BASE HITS: Bo Bichette singled last night and has now gone 65-for-205 (.317) with 10 doubles, nine homers, and 30 RBI while playing in all 48 games this season (.855 OPS…The .317 batting average trails only Yandy Díaz (.322) for the best in the AL. The 25-year-old leads all MLB hitters with 65 hits (2nd: Freddie Freeman – 64) and leads the AL with 102 total bases (2nd: Luis Robert Jr. – 100)…Currently leads the team in hits, home runs, and RBI – a feat which has been accomplished by six other players in team history (last: Randal Grichuk in 2019).
SPRINGER HAS SPRUNG: George Springer singled and walked twice last night as he finished 1-for-3…Has reached base multiple times in each of his last four games (7-for-16, 4BB)… Has gone 14-for-44 (.318) with a double, two home runs, six RBI, and seven walks during his last 11 contests (.889 OPS).
ON THE ROAD AGAIN: The Blue Jays are on a seven-day, seven-game road trip (0-1 so far)…After this four-game set in Tampa Bay, will head to Minnesota (25-23) for three contests over the weekend…Own a 12-14 road record this year for a .462 win% (9th in the AL). Blue Jays hitters rank 4th in the AL in road AVG (.257), 5th in road OBP (.326), 3rd in road SLG (.421), and 3rd in road OPS (.748)…The pitching staff ranks 12th in the AL in road ERA (4.69), 13th in road opponents’ batting average (.267), and 13th in road WHIP (1.38).
QUITE A STRETCH: The Blue Jays are in the midst of playing 17 games in 17 days, their most consecutive days with scheduled games this season…Have gone 4-7 so far…Their opponents over this 17-game stretch (ATL, NYY, BAL, TB, MIN) have a combined record of 149-91 (.621).
NO DONUTS DIET: The Blue Jays have notched 431 hits so far this season, 5th most in the AL…Are also 5th in the AL in team AVG (.258), 5th in OBP (.329), 6th in OPS (.738), and 7th in SLG (.409). The Blue Jays are one of two AL teams who have scored in every game this season (also: LAA)…Have gone 66 straight games without being shut out, the 2nd-longest active streak in the Majors (LAA – 90G).
WHAT A PLAY BY KK: MLB announced yesterday that Kevin Kiermaier has won Play of the Week for his catch high on the wall o take extra bases away from Gunnar Henderson on Sunday…Was his 2nd career Play of the Week nod, also earning one earlier this year on April 11 vs. DET… Is the 1st player this year to earn two Play of the Week Awards…Toronto now has seven Play of the Week Awards since the inception of the honour in 2019, tied with the Brewers for the most in the Majors.
THE D-JAYS: According to Sports Info Solutions, Toronto fielders have recorded a total of 33 Defensive Runs Saved to lead all MLB teams (2nd: MIL – 28)…The group is led by an MLB-high 14 runs saved in center field – 10 from Kevin Kiermaier and four from Daulton Varsho.
DIVISIONAL DOWNTURN: The Blue Jays have now gone 5-13 against divisional opponents this season (5th among AL East clubs).
VS. THE RAYS: All-Time: 202-240
2023: 2-2 Road: 87-134
Road: 0-1 Tropicana Field: 87-131
The Blue Jays handed the Rays their 1st series loss of the season as they took two of three games when the clubs met last month at Rogers Centre…Went 9-10 vs. TB last year, including a 4-5 record at Tropicana Field…Have not bested the Rays in a season series since going 10-9 in 2017.
Bo Bichette went 7-for-13 (.538) with two doubles and two RBI in the three games vs. the Rays in April… Has now hit .262 (58-for-221) with 13 doubles, seven home runs, and 27 RBI in 54 career contests vs. TB. Vladimir Guerrero Jr. picked up a hit in all three meetings with the Rays in April, going 3-for-11 (.273) with two walks and an RBI…Is a lifetime 66-for-256 (.258) across 65 games against the Rays, including
16 doubles, two triples, 11 homers, and 36 RBI (.790 OPS).
Brandon Belt has multiple hits in four of his 11 career games played vs. Tampa Bay…Has now gone a combined 11-for-32 (.344) with one double, one triple, four home runs, eight RBI, and five walks since the 2013 season (1.260 OPS).
STARTING PITCHER – José Berríos, RHP #17
TODAY’S GAME: Making his 10th start of the season and his 6th on the road…Took the loss his last time out, on 5/18 vs. NYY, giving up 3 runs on 6 hits and a walk over 6.2 frames with 8 strikeouts. Over his last 7 starts, has gone 3-2 with a 3.14 ERA (15 ER/43.0 IP), 40 strikeouts, and a 1.12 WHIP. Owns a career record of 15-7 in the month of May (.682), the 7th-best mark among active pitchers (min. 30 starts). Has made 149 starts since the beginning of 2018, tied for the 3rd most among MLB hurlers (Aaron Nola – 153, Gerrit Cole – 150).
2023 HIGHLIGHTS: Took a no-decision on 5/13 vs. ATL, giving up 2 runs on 6 hits and 3 walks over 5.2 innings with 3 strikeouts. Improved to 3-3 on the year on 5/6 at PIT, giving up 2 runs on 5 hits and a walk over 6.1 frames with 7 strikeouts. Worked 7.0 shutout frames on 4/25 vs. CWS, scattering 4 singles and a walk with a season-high 9 strikeouts…Completed 7.0 innings in consecutive starts for the 13th time in his career (last: 3G from 6/4- 15/22)…Has allowed 3 runs over his last 3 starts, posting a 1.42 ERA (3 ER/19.0 IP) with a pair of walks and 18 punchouts. Took the loss on 4/19 at HOU, giving up 2 runs on 3 hits and a walk over 7.0 frames with 3 strikeouts…Was his 1st quality start of the year. Picked up his 1st win of the year on 4/14 vs. TB, tossing 5.0 innings of one-run ball with 4 hits, no walks, and 6 strikeouts…Was removed from the game with a left knee contusion after being hit by a comebacker from Yandy Díaz.
TAMPA BAY RAYS NOTES:
SERIES-OPENING DUB — The Rays clubbed a trio of homers and staved off a late rally attempt to secure a 6-4 victory over the Blue Jays on Monday night at Tropicana Field… LF Randy Arozarena (2-for-4, 2B, HR, RBI, 2R), CF Jose Siri (1-for-3, HR, 2RBI, R) and RF Luke Raley (1-for-3, HR, RBI, R) all homered for Tampa Bay while 3B Isaac Paredes (1-for4, RBI) added an RBI-single and SS Wander Franco (2-for-3, 3B) recorded his first triple of the season.
RHP Trevor Kelley (2.0IP, 2H) made his second start as an opener, working a pair of scoreless frames…LHP Josh Fleming (6.0IP, 5H, 2ER, BB, 2SO) entered in the third inning and matched his longest outing of the season (also 4/26 vs. HOU)…Fleming is the only MLB pitcher with multiple relief appearances of 6.0+ IP in 2023.
The Rays improved to 9-0 in series openers at Tropicana Field…per Elias, Tampa Bay is the first club to win each of its first nine series openers at home in a season since the 2013 Detroit Tigers (13-0).
HOME FIELD ADVANTAGE — Tampa Bay’s 22-4 record at Tropicana Field ties eight other clubs for the best 26-game home start in the majors since 1901…the last team to start 22-4 in their home ballpark was the 1979 Montreal Expos…the Rays are the fourth team in the Integration Era (since 1947) to record a 22-4 start at home, joining the 1979 Expos, 1978 Boston Red Sox and 1972 Chicago White Sox.
Rays pitching paces MLB in several categories at home, including ERA (2.67), opp. AVG (.200), opp. OBP (.268), opp. OPS (.604) and WHIP (1.03)…meanwhile, Rays hitters rank highly at home in home runs (T1st, 46), extra-base hits (2nd, 102), slugging pct. (2nd, .495) and OPS (3rd, .838).
START YOUR ENGINES — Rays starters have pitched to a 1.80 ERA (30.0IP, 6ER) over their last seven games, holding opponents to a .187 average (20-for-107) with 26 strikeouts and seven walks in that span…it marks the lowest ERA by any major league rotation in that timeframe (since 5/16), ahead of Texas (1.96); only Pittsburgh (.178) has a lower opponents’ average in that stretch.
CLOSE SHAVES — Fourteen of Tampa Bay’s last 18 games have been decided by two or fewer runs, including 11 one-run games in that span…the Rays are 10-8 overall in that stretch, including 5-6 in one-run games and 1-2 in two-run games…this comes after just six of Tampa Bay’s first 31 games were decided by two or fewer runs.
On the season, Tampa Bay is 9-7 in one-run games, the fifth-best mark in the AL.
Twelve of the Rays 14 losses have come by three or fewer runs, including nine games decided by two or fewer runs…they have lost only two games by 4+ runs, the fewest such losses in MLB, ahead of Atlanta (3).
BAG BANDITS — The Rays lead the majors in stolen bases (28) and stolen base attempts (35) during the month of May…Wander Franco leads the club with eight steals this month, third most in MLB during May, followed by Josh Lowe, Luke Raley and Taylor Walls (4SB each)…the Rays have been successful on 14 of their last 16 stolen base attempts dating back to 5/14 at New York-AL.
Tampa Bay has five players with 5+ stolen bases, tied with Cleveland for second most in the majors behind Pittsburgh (6)…the Rays also have an MLB-best three players with 9+ steals (Wander Franco – 14SB, Josh Lowe – 9SB, Taylor Walls – 9SB).
BEASTS OF THE EAST — The Rays have gone 11-7 (.611) against the AL East, the most wins against the division by any club…among teams with 5+ games played against AL last opponents, only the St. Louis Cardinals (5-1, .833) and Houston Astros (4-2, .667) have posted better winning percentages against the division…collectively, the AL East’s .606 winning pct. is the highest in the majors, ahead of the NL West (.510).
The only teams in the majors with more intra-divisional wins than the Rays are Los Angeles-NL (12-7) and Arizona (12-9).
GETTING DEFENSIVE — According to FanGraphs, the Rays 23 defensive runs saved are third most in the majors behind only Toronto (33) and Milwaukee (28)…Tampa Bay’s 15 errors are tied for second fewest in the majors while its .992 fielding percentage is second behind San Diego (.993).
Individually, Wander Franco’s seven defensive runs saved pace all shortstops and are second most in MLB, while Taylor Walls’ five are seventh among AL infielders.
GOING STREAKING — Yandy Díaz has an 19-game on-base streak since 4/27, slashing .354/.468/.677 (23-for-65) with 11 extra-base hits, 12 RBI, 12 walks and only 12 strikeouts in that stretch…it marks the second-longest streak of his career behind a 22-game run from 7/24-8/16, 2020…it is the third-longest active run in the AL behind MIN Byron Buxton (22G) and TEX Marcus Semien (20G).
Díaz has reached base safely in 29 of his last 30 games overall, going .352/.453/.620 (38-for-108) at the plate during that span…he leads all qualified major leaguers during that stretch (since 4/15) in batting average, OPS (1.073) and OBP while ranking third in SLG (.620).
THE BAY BOMBERS — The Rays have hit a major league-best 94 home runs, the fourth-most long balls through a club’s first 49 games in MLB history (since 1901), trailing only the 2019 Minnesota Twins, 2000 St. Louis Cardinals and 1999 Seattle Mariners (98HR each).
The Rays have an MLB-best 27 multi-HR games, ahead of New York-AL (24G); they are 22-5 in those contests…this includes 16 games with 3+ homers, most in the majors ahead of Los Angeles-NL (14G); they had 13 games with 3+ HR in 2022.
The Rays have an MLB-best 11 players with 5+ home runs this season, ahead of San Francisco and Atlanta (8 players each)…per Elias, Tampa Bay is the first team in MLB history to have 10 or more players with 5+ HR before reaching the 50-game mark in a season; the Rays accomplished the feat in their 43rd contest (5/16 at NYM).
LEADING THE PACK — The Rays rank second in the majors in runs scored (296) behind Texas (301) while surrendering the second-fewest runs (170) behind Houston (165)… Tampa Bay’s +126 run differential is the seventh-best mark through the first 49 games of a season in MLB history (since 1901), including the best since the 2016 Chicago Cubs (+133).
BATTER UP — Rays hitters lead the majors in OBP (.346), SLG (.502), OPS (.848), homers (94), extra-base hits (191), total bases (835) and at-bats per HR (17.69).
BLUE JAYS FLY SOUTH — Tampa Bay and Toronto continue a four-game series this evening with the fifth of 13 matchups between the two clubs this season…the Rays have fallen in four of their last six games against the Blue Jays, but the clubs have split their last 20 matchups, 10-10, dating back to 6/30/22.
The Rays are 6-4 against the Blue Jays at home since the beginning of 2022, holding a narrow +4 (41-37) run differential in those games.
TONIGHT’S STARTER: RHP TAJ BRADLEY (3-0, 3.52)
YOUTH MOVEMENT — Tampa Bay’s No. 1 prospect and the No. 18 prospect in baseball (MLB.com) will make his fifth career start tonight vs. Toronto, including his third home start…went 7-4 with a 2.57 ERA (133.1IP, 38ER) over 28 starts between Double-A Montgomery and Triple-A Durham in 2022…was selected by the Rays in the fifth round of the 2018 First-Year Player Draft.
BIG LEAGUE DEBUT — Bradley earned the win in his MLB debut on 4/12 vs. Boston after tossing 5.0 innings, allowing three runs on five hits and a walk with eight strikeouts…fanned Rafael Devers in the first inning for the first strikeout of his career…became the second of three player to make their big league debut for the Rays this season, joining RHP Kevin Kelly on 4/1 vs. Detroit and RHP Braden Bristo on 4/13 vs. Boston
LAST TIME OUT — Bradley did not factor into the decision on 5/18 at New York-NL…he threw 5.0 innings, allowing two runs on three hits with two
walks and four strikeouts.
He has worked 5+ innings in each of his first four career starts, the longest such streak by a Rays pitcher since Jake Faria in 2017 (9GS).
Bradley is the third pitcher in Rays history to throw 5+ innings while allowing three runs or fewer through his first four career starts…Jake Faria had seven such starts from 6/7-7/14, 2017 and Jeremy Hellickson made six such starts from 8/2/10-4/11/11.
Bradley’s 27 strikeouts are the fourth most by any Rays pitcher through their first four career appearances, trailing Jake Faria (29 SO), Chris Archer (28 SO) and Wade Davis (28 SO)…the franchise record for most strikeouts through five career appearances is held by Jake Faria (35 SO).
ONE TO REMEMBER — Bradley’s eight strikeouts on 4/12 vs. Boston were second most by a Rays player in his major league debut in club history, trailing only Wade Davis’ nine punch outs on 9/6/09 vs. Detroit…since the beginning of 2020, only Cleveland’s Triston McKenzie (10SO, 8/22/20 vs. DET) and Washington’s Joan Adon (9SO, 10/3/21 vs. BOS) have fanned more batters in their debuts.
After recording nine strikeouts over 5.1 scoreless innings on 4/18 at Cincinnati, Bradley became the first pitcher in American League history to strike out 8+ batters and earn the win in each of his first two career appearances (OptaSTATS).
PUTTING IT IN THE REARVIEW — Following his start on 4/24 vs. Houston, Bradley was optioned and made three outings for Triple-A Durham, going 0-3 with a 16.00 ERA (9.0IP, 16ER) and five strikeouts against six walks…he surrendered a career-high eight runs in 1.0 inning on 4/30 vs. Memphis.
