The Blue Jays suffered their second straight blowout loss to the Tampa Bay Rays on Tuesday night, falling 12–2 at Rogers Centre. Toronto has now lost six of its last seven games, sits at 46–55 and is guaranteed to finish its seven-game homestand with a losing record. Tampa Bay has outscored the Blue Jays 19–3 through the first two games of the series.
On game preview 102 of Flight Deck, hosted by Nick Paleolog, we break down another difficult outing from Kevin Gausman. The veteran right-hander allowed five runs—four earned—on nine hits and two walks over just 3.1 innings, striking out only one batter. After surrendering three runs with two outs in the opening inning, how concerning is Gausman’s recent form with the trade deadline approaching?
Toronto had an immediate opportunity to answer after loading the bases with one out in the bottom of the first, but Daulton Varsho popped out before Kazuma Okamoto struck out to end the threat. The Blue Jays did not score until the sixth inning, when Varsho drove in Ernie Clement and George Springer scored on a double play. Toronto has now produced only eight runs in five games since returning from the All-Star break.
The defensive problems also continued. Toronto has committed five errors through the first two games of the series, while Tampa Bay has repeatedly used its speed and aggressive baserunning to force mistakes. Nick Fortes hit a three-run home run for the second straight night, Yandy Díaz added another three-run shot in his 1,000th career game and the Rays finished with a season-high 21 hits.
We’ll also discuss Vladimir Guerrero Jr.’s continued struggles. Guerrero went 0-for-4 on Tuesday and is now hitless in his last 13 at-bats. He is just 2-for-27 against Rays pitching this season. Can Toronto’s franchise player finally break through and help an offence desperately searching for a spark?
Looking ahead, the Blue Jays will use Braydon Fisher as an opener against Griffin Jax in Game 3 of the series. Fisher enters with a 3–3 record and a 3.65 ERA, while Jax is 5–7 with a 4.08 ERA and 77 strikeouts. Fisher owns a 2.08 ERA across 10 career relief appearances against Tampa Bay, while Jax has posted a 3.80 ERA in 17 career games against Toronto. Can Fisher and the Blue Jays’ bullpen slow down a Rays lineup that has scored 19 runs over the past two nights?
Finally, Tampa Bay enters at 58–42, owns the best record in the American League and has already clinched the season series after winning seven of eight games against Toronto. With the Blue Jays nine games below .500 and their playoff hopes fading, has the organization reached the point where selling at the trade deadline is inevitable?
We finish with Nick’s picks presented by bet365.
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