Jays use smart base-running to even series with Rays

The Toronto Blue Jays gave the Tampa Rays a taste of their own medicine Tuesday night.

The Rays are known far and wide for their ability to do all the little things right. The kind of things that turn losses into wins. Any advantage the opposition gives them, the Rays jump on it and turn it into runs.

But Tuesday night it was the Jays turn to turn some of those little things into big things and it all added up to a big win in the heat of a very tight playoff race as the Jays eked out a 4-2 win.

Now the Jays didn’t take advantage of every opportunity, going just 1-for-9 with runners in scoring position for the evening, but it was their base-running instincts on this night that put them in a position to win this game and keep pace with both the Boston Red Sox, who they trailed by a game and a half, and the New York Yankees, who they lead by a half game — both winners last night as well.

Two of the Jays’ first three runs were made possibly by some heady base-running.

Lourdes Gurriel Jr. opened the third with a sharply hit single to left and then put the Jays in a great position when he went first to third on a Corey Dickerson single to right.

Gurriel would score the Jays first run on Breyvick Valera’s groundout.

Three innings later, after Gurriel would add another run to the linescore with his career-best 21st homer, Marcus Semien opened the sixth with a walk and, when Vladdy Guerrero Jr. would hit a rare soft liner to left, Semien read it perfectly and was running on contact, easily going first to third and drawing the throw from the outfield, allowing Guerrero to take second on one of his softest hits of his season.

Semien would score on Bo Bichette’s fly ball to centre giving the Jays a 3-2 lead.

Jays starter Alek Monoah’s slider in his previous start against these same Rays was so nasty and unhittable a number of the Rays were simply laughing at the movement he was getting as they walked back to the bench following another strikeout.

Things weren’t quite that comical for Manoah on this night, but you had to marvel at the big man’s perseverance.

It was a battle from the opening pitch for the Jays starter, but he somehow managed to stick around for six innings and leave with a 3-2 lead despite walking six Rays, which was a career high.

“I don’t think it was a battle of command,” Manoah said afterwards. “I was around the zone, nothing was sporadic or too crazy. That’s just a really good ball club. There’s a lot of pitches they weren’t swinging at that they are taking and I did a pretty good job of not giving in either and still pitching my game. There were a lot of close pitches that could have gone either way but I continued to attack and keep throwing pitches and continued to give my team a chance.”

That slider that was so unhittable a start earlier was something the Rays weren’t offering at on this night, forcing Manoah to rely mainly on locating his fastball and keeping hitters off balance with his change-up. He made do with

what he had on the night, striking out seven in a gutsy performance from a rookie in name only.

“I pride myself on never being an easy pushover or ‘let’s get to this guy early because he’ll fold.’ I will constantly fight and constantly give my team a chance. If I don’t have my stuff that day, at least I know my competitiveness will always be there and that’s the main thing. Just trying to give the team a chance.”

With the Jays treating Wednesday’s matinee (3 p.m. first pitch) as a bullpen day, there was some need from Monoah to get as deep as he could in the game and with all those walks early on, that felt very unlikely.

Credit the Jays remarkable rookie with fighting back and getting the game into the seventh before the Jays went to their bullpen.

With the win, Manoah improved to 7-2 on the season.