The Toronto Blue Jays are one game away from elimination after a loss to the Tampa Bay Rays in the American League wild card round on Tuesday, Sept. 29. Toronto lost the first game of a best-of-three series on the road by a score of 3-1.
In only his second game back since returning from a right shoulder injury, Matt Shoemaker got the Game 1 start for the Blue Jays and threw three scoreless innings, allowing two hits and zero walks. He struck out two batters.
Robbie Ray came on in relief and threw three innings, allowing one run on one hit and one walk. He finished with five strikeouts as he picked up the loss. The lone run he gave up was on a wild pitch in the fourth inning to score Randy Arozarena from third base for the first run of the game.
The Rays remained ahead 1-0 till they extended their lead to three thanks to a two-run home run for Manuel Margot off of A.J. Cole. He allowed two runs on one hit and one walk with a strikeout, which was the only out he recorded on the mound.
Toronto’s lone run came in the top of the eighth when Bo Bichette drove in Rowdy Tellez on a sacrifice fly. A runner was stranded on second in the eighth and ninth innings, as the Blue Jays dropped Game 1 of the series.
Toronto outhit Tampa Bay 5-4 but struggled to get runs across throughout the game. Lourdes Gurriel Jr. led the Blue Jays at the plate, hitting 2-for-4 with a double.
Wednesday Primer
The Blue Jays will try to move on Wednesday afternoon and force a Game 3. The second game of the series will get underway at 4 p.m. ET. With a Toronto victory, Thursday’s game would begin at 4 p.m. ET to decide which team advances to the American League Divisional round of the playoffs. If the Blue Jays lose on Wednesday, their season is over and the Rays advance.
Toronto will turn to its ace Hyun-Jin Ryu to even the series. He has been a major addition to the Blue Jays’ pitching rotation in 2020 in his first season with the organization. After pitching several years with the Los Angeles Dodgers, Ryu started 12 games this season and finished with a 5-2 record with a 2.69 ERA. He last pitched against the New York Yankees on Sept. 24 and threw seven scoreless innings, allowing five hits and two walks with four strikeouts. The Blue Jays won in nine of Ryu’s 12 starts this season. In two games against the Rays, he allowed four runs in 9.2 innings of work with 10 strikeouts.
After putting out Blake Snell on Tuesday, Tampa Bay will start righthander Tyler Glasnow on the mound for Wednesday’s game. He is coming into the series with a 5-1 record and a 4.08 ERA. Glasnow has not faced Toronto in any of his 11 games this season. In his last game on Sept. 23, he threw six innings and allowed two runs on three hits and a walk in an 8-5 win over the New York Mets. He also struck out eight batters.
The winner of the series will play either the No. 4 seed Cleveland Indians or the fifth seed New York Yankees in the next round. The Yankees lead the series 1-0 after a 12-3 victory in Game 1 on Tuesday night.
All odds for Game 2 are via a popular United States sportsbook.
Run Line
- Toronto Blue Jays +1.5 (-186)
- Tampa Bay Rays -1.5 (+155)
Previous results: In 11 games against the Rays, Toronto would’ve covered the +1.5 run line at an 8-3 pace.
Total Runs
- Over 7 (-110)
- Under 7 (-109)
Previous results: In 11 games against the Rays, Toronto hit the over at a 6-4-1 pace.
Moneyline
- Toronto Blue Jays +123
- Tampa Bay Rays -143
Previous results: In 11 games against the Rays, Toronto has a 4-7 record straight up.
Series Winner Odds
- Toronto Blue Jays +450
- Tampa Bay Rays -625
