But then the Rays come crashing back in the fourth and the Blue Jays abandoned the run factory.
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The Blue Jays will start right-hander Marco Estrada (8-8, 3.68 earned-run average) on Wednesday and will face Tampa Bay right-hander Alex Cobb (0-0, 4.09 ERA) for the second time this month. He started against Toronto on September 2 and also did not factor in the decision, allowing four hits and two runs in five innings. “They’re going to take a look at it and give me a prognosis and we’ll go from there”. “It’s why starters go out there”.
“That’s the way the game works”.
Ramirez hit a three-run homer off Marcus Stroman (9-8) in the fifth, and Souza drilled a solo shot off Joe Biagini in the seventh. Forsythe scored on the play.
Ryan Garton replaced Smyly after Martin’s homer.
“I’m really big on my rhythm right now”, Dickerson said. Before it was even caught I started having those feelings of satisfaction.
Erasmo Ramirez came on to shut the door for Tampa Bay and did so beautifully. “I’m happy for him. I don’t know exactly what point it was where it happened”.
Donaldson has played in 138 of Toronto’s 144 games this season, batting.284 with 34 homers and 92 runs batted in.
Toronto Blue Jays slugger Josh Donaldson is day to day with a sore right hip, but the reigning AL MVP hopes to return Wednesday. The results were not immediately available. “Hopefully by tomorrow I’ll be able to get back in the lineup”.
The Toronto Blue Jays remain firmly in the race to defend their American League East title and still have a hold on a wild-card spot, but their lack of recent success against the last-place Tampa Bay Rays is putting their postseason aspirations in some peril. Marco Estrada wasn’t bad on Wednesday, but he wasn’t great either, finishing with four runs allowed on eight hits over 5.2 innings.
“I think Gibby might’ve said something about that, but I think when I hit the base, it was more some other things going on”, Donaldson said. You could throw that pitch 9-out-of-10 times and maybe get more sink on it, get a ground ball and we’re out of the inning.
Despite poor performances against the rest of the AL gang (7-9 against both Boston and NY; 4-11 against Baltimore), the Rays managed to solve the Jays over and over again this season.
Xander Bogaerts clubbed his 19th homer, Travis Shaw was 3-for-4, and Dustin Pedroia and Jackie Bradley Jr. had two hits apiece for Boston.
Hardy launched a 3-2 pitch from Pomeranz for a three-run homer, which bounced off the Selfeo sign on top of the Green Monster in left field with one out in the second. Estrada left after Nick Franklin’s one-out single in the sixth. Matt Dermody came on as a lefty specialist to get Dickerson; however, Dickerson reached on an infield single.
The Rays have won three straight and six of seven on days when they are travelling.
Just before the final out of Wednesday’s game, the Jays announced the hiring of former Red Sox GM Ben Cherrington as VP of baseball operations.
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Atkins said that while the team is happy with their depth at third base – Darwin Barney can also play there and started at third the last two games – they don’t want to see Donaldson have to sit out an extended period.
