ST. PETERSBURG -- The way the Rays are pitching right now, you can’t ever count them out of a game.
That was once again the case on Tuesday night at Tropicana Field, as the Rays overcame an early two-run deficit and erased another one-run margin to beat the Blue Jays, 4-3. It was Tampa Bay’s 10th comeback victory, no small part of the reason the club is now 23-12 on the season.
The Rays have won five straight, 11 of their past 12 and 21 of 28 games since April 4. They have also won nine games in a row at Tropicana Field, their longest home winning streak since they reeled off 14 straight wins at the Trop to begin the 2023 season.
Tuesday night was the 12th straight game in which the Rays held their opponent to three runs or fewer, tying the franchise record set from Aug. 4-16, 2014. There hasn’t been a longer streak in the Majors since the eventual World Series champion Astros allowed three runs or fewer in 12 straight from Aug. 23-Sept. 5, 2022.
The Rays fell behind right away, as Drew Rasmussen allowed a solo shot to Kazuma Okamoto on a 1-1 fastball. It was the first home run Tampa Bay’s pitching staff had yielded since April 27, snapping a six-game and 60-inning streak.
Toronto tacked on another run in the second, but Tampa Bay answered in the third and fourth. Jonathan Aranda continued to be one of the Majors’ best run producers in the early going, picking up his 29th RBI on a two-out single to center in the third. The Rays tied the game in the fourth on a double-play grounder by Hunter Feduccia, but it was still a wasted opportunity considering they had loaded the bases with nobody out against Kevin Gausman.
The Jays pulled ahead again in the fifth, when rookie Yohendrick Piñango rolled a two-out single up the middle off Rasmussen. It was still a quality start for Rasmussen, who struck out five while allowing seven hits and one walk over six innings.
The Rays came back again in the eighth against side-arming righty Tyler Rogers. The suddenly red-hot Aranda slapped a one-out double to left field, then pinch-runner Taylor Walls dashed home on a single up the middle by Yandy Díaz. After another single by Jake Fraley, Ben Williamson slapped the go-ahead single back up the middle.