Rays lose to Jays look to get back to winning today

The Tampa Bay Rays lost 10-5 to the Toronto Blue Jays on Tuesday night at Tropicana Field, trimming their lead over the New York Yankees to five games in the American League East.

Tampa Bay’s offense produced 13 hits and scored five runs, but a difficult night from the pitching staff kept the Rays from taking control of the series opener. The Rays will look to respond Wednesday when Drew Rasmussen faces Toronto veteran Max Scherzer.

Nick Martinez struggles early

Nick Martinez endured one of his toughest starts of the season as Toronto built an early advantage. The Tampa Bay All-Star allowed six earned runs over 3 2/3 innings, giving up nine hits and two walks.

Alejandro Kirk hit a home run against Martinez, and the Blue Jays consistently put traffic on the bases. The right-hander’s outing was especially notable because he has now allowed 10 earned runs over his last two starts.

That recent stretch follows one of Martinez’s best outings of the season. He threw a complete game in Tampa Bay’s 12-4 win over the Athletics in his previous start, demonstrating how quickly results can change during a long major league season.

Rays offense does its job

The Rays had few problems creating offense against Toronto pitching. Every Tampa Bay player who recorded an at-bat had at least one hit as the club finished with 13 hits.

Tampa Bay also showed strong situational hitting. The Rays went 4-for-8 with runners in scoring position and struck out only three times. In many games, five runs, 13 hits and that kind of production in key situations would be enough to win.

Instead, the Blue Jays’ offense proved too much for Tampa Bay’s pitchers. The Rays could not overcome Toronto’s early scoring surge, even with their lineup continuing to put runners on base throughout the night.

Blue Jays are gaining momentum

Toronto remains 14 games behind Tampa Bay in the AL East standings, but the Blue Jays have recently played some of their best baseball. The victory was Toronto’s 13th in its last 19 games.

Rookie Kazuma Okamoto added another significant moment Tuesday night. Okamoto hit his 25th home run of the season, setting a Blue Jays rookie home-run record while continuing an impressive first season in Toronto.

The Rays still control their position atop the division, but series against a surging Toronto team carry added importance. Tampa Bay cannot allow a difficult pitching performance to become a longer slide in a division race that remains crowded behind the Rays.

Rasmussen faces Scherzer Wednesday

Tampa Bay will turn to Drew Rasmussen in Wednesday’s series finale as it tries to regain momentum. Rasmussen is scheduled to face Max Scherzer, giving the Rays another major test against a veteran Toronto rotation.

First pitch at Tropicana Field is scheduled for 6:40 p.m. Eastern.