In a thrilling extra-inning contest, the Toronto Blue Jays fell 7-6 to the Tampa Bay Rays on Saturday at Rogers Centre, extending their losing streak against the Rays to five games. Trailing 5-0, the Blue Jays mounted a five-run rally in the seventh inning to tie the game, but ultimately lost in the 10th.
Kazuma Okamoto, the Blue Jays’ infielder, drew a walk in his fifth at-bat with two outs in the 10th inning, improving his on-base streak to 13 games. However, he went 0-for-4 with two strikeouts and a walk, ending his hitting streak at 10 games, the longest since his arrival in the majors. His batting average dropped to .242. The Blue Jays are now 2-3 in extra-inning games this season.
With the Blue Jays trailing by one in the 10th, Okamoto, who had been hitless in his previous four at-bats, calmly worked a walk to keep hope alive. But the next batter, Vladimir Guerrero Jr., grounded out to third base, ending the 3-hour, 24-minute game and leaving the crowd of 41,265 in disappointment.
“The Rays played well against us again. They’re a tough team to come back against once they gain control in a pitcher’s duel,” said Blue Jays manager John Schneider, visibly downcast. The Rays’ starter, reliever Ryan Thompson, who had faced the Blue Jays six days earlier, held them to just two hits over 5 2/3 innings, including a double by Okamoto. The Blue Jays managed only one hit against Thompson in five innings. Making his return from his second Tommy John surgery after a three-year absence, the left-hander earned his fifth win of the season, extending his consecutive scoreless innings streak to 21 2/3, a run that began on April 25 against the Minnesota Twins.
Okamoto’s on-base streak reached 13 games, but he went hitless for the first time this month. He had been on a 10-game hitting streak, which fell just short of matching the Blue Jays’ rookie record of 11 consecutive games with a hit set by Bo Bichette (now with the New York Mets) from July 29 to August 9, 2019.
“We fought back well. The season is a marathon, not a sprint, and it’s tough to have quick turnarounds,” Schneider added. Despite the team’s third straight loss, they found a spark in their seven-run seventh-inning rally, looking ahead to the long season.