ST. PETERSBURG, FLA.—There is very little separating the Blue Jays and Rays these days. Back-and-forth games with almost no margin for error have become the norm. Every matchup feels like it’s taking place in October.
Historically, there hasn’t been much of a rivalry between these two teams, but that appears to be changing.
Last season, the Rays were the ones responsible for knocking the Jays out of the post-season. This year, the team from up north is out for revenge.
The Jays and Rays have played each other 18 times this season and 10 of those were decided by two runs or fewer, and another three games were decided by three. While the Rays hold the edge in the season series, 10-8, the run differential is plus-1. They’re as evenly matched as two teams can get.
The only real difference can be found in the standings, where the Rays are cruising to another American League East Division crown, their second in as many years. The Jays, meanwhile, are scratching and clawing, doing everything possible just to qualify for the post-season in a battle against the Yankees and Red Sox for the two wild cards.
It was more of the same Tuesday at Tropicana Field. One night after the Rays scored the early advantage by taking the series opener, the Jays returned serve with a hard-fought victory of their own. In a game that saw each team take the lead and then give it right back, it was Charlie Montoyo’s crew that came out on top with a 4-2 victory.
Jays left-fielder Lourdes Gurriel Jr. led the way with a 2-for-4 night, including a home run. Vladimir Guerrero Jr. added a pair of hits, while rookie right-hander Alek Manoah tossed six strong innings as the Jays hung onto the second AL wild card with the crucial victory.
“We all know our games go down to the wire, but it’s good. It’s good baseball,” Gurriel said through an interpreter after the Jays picked up their 16th win over the last 20 games. “It’s great. I love it and we’ll see if it continues that way.”
Every rivalry needs some off-the-field entertainment to rile up opposing fan bases and make things more interesting. The last playoff version of the Jays had that with the Texas Rangers, after José Bautista’s bat flip led to a war of words and eventually a punch. Those same Jays also had beefs with the Baltimore Orioles. In 2015-16, every at-bat Bautista had against Darren O’Day became must-see TV. So did the post-game news conferences.
Montoyo is a former bench coach in Tampa Bay and counts Rays manager Kevin Cash among his closest friends, so there hasn’t been drama between these two parties. At least there wasn’t until this week.
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After Rays outfielder Kevin Kiermaier swiped Alejandro Kirk’s data card — which contained scouting reports and plans to attack the Rays’ hitters — off the ground on Monday night and refused to give it back, all bets are off. According to a report from Sportsnet, the Jays are “pissed.”
The drama is fun to watch from afar. Internally, the Jays shouldn’t be wasting their time with any of it. Forget about getting even, forget about sending a message. The only thing that matters is racking up wins to beat out the Yankees and Red Sox. On Tuesday night that was mission accomplished for the Jays, and once again Gurriel played a pivotal role.
The numbers Gurriel has produced this month are borderline ridiculous. Since the start of September, he is batting .366 (26-for-71) with five doubles, two triples and seven homers. His 29 RBIs over the same span are five more than any other player, and only Kelly Gruber had more in franchise history with 30 in 1990.
The accolades don’t stop there. The homer off Rays starter Drew Rasmussen was his 21st of the season, a career high. Gurriel also entered the night with an AL-best .761 slugging percentage in September, and ranked second with a 1.190 on-base plus slugging this month. Pick whichever leaderboard you want, Gurriel’s name likely will be found somewhere near the top.
Manoah’s role also shouldn’t be overlooked. He deserves credit for keeping the score close on a night when he was battling control issues. The rookie walked four batters and allowed three hits through the first two innings alone, yet found a way to limit the Rays’ damage to one run during that same stretch. After he walked off the mound at the end of the sixth, he had surrendered just two runs on five hits despite issuing a career-high six walks.
“I don’t think it was a battle of command,” said Manoah, who lowered his ERA to 3.36. “I was around the zone. Nothing was sporadic, nothing was too crazy. That’s just a really good ball club, a lot of pitches that they’re not swinging at. I did a pretty good job of not giving in either, and just pitching my game.”
That’s how you get some redemption. You do it on the scoreboard, not by throwing at Kiermaier, or anyone else in the Tampa Bay lineup.
The impact the Jays want to make isn’t by adding names to the list of suspended players. It’s by continuing to move up the standings, and the Jays have been doing a lot of that lately.
Tuesday’s victory allowed the Jays to hold onto their slim half-game lead over the Yankees for the second wild card. It also allowed them to keep up with the Red Sox, who they trail by 1 1/2 games for the first wild card.
The Jays and Rays are set to face each other for the 19th and final time of the regular season on Wednesday afternoon. With any luck it won’t be the last time these two teams play before the end of the year.
If the Jays qualify for the post-season and find a way to survive the wild-card game, their opponent in the AL division series is almost guaranteed to be Tampa Bay. That’s a matchup every diehard baseball fan should be clamouring for. With so little separating these two sides, it would be a thrilling back-and forth affair that could go the distance.
In other words, it’s what October baseball is all about.
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There’s bad blood between the winning Jays and first-place Rays, and it might just spill over into the playoffs - Toronto Star
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