TORONTO -- With nothing at stake in the standings, the Rays figured they could spend this weekend at Rogers Centre providing rest for the regulars who need it, evaluating their young players and preparing their pitching for Tuesday’s postseason opener.
But there was one way they could make life a little more difficult for the Blue Jays -- and potentially easier for themselves.
If Toronto hadn’t clinched a spot in the playoffs by Sunday’s regular-season finale, the Jays will have had to send ace Kevin Gausman to the mound with their season on the line, likely leaving him unavailable for the Wild Card Series that Toronto could very well wind up playing at Tropicana Field.
The Rays did their part to force Toronto to use its ace on Saturday afternoon, pulling out a 7-5 win in the 10th inning that at least put the Blue Jays’ clinching celebration on hold. But Toronto got to celebrate late Saturday night, long after the Rays and Blue Jays left Rogers Centre, as the Mariners' loss to the Rangers guaranteed the Jays a Wild Card spot and allowed them to save Gausman for Tuesday.
“We're kind of just going out there and trying to cause some chaos right now, so it's pretty fun,” outfielder Josh Lowe said. “We've just got to do the best we can. We did that today. We took care of business. Come out tomorrow and do the same thing.”
- Path to the Postseason: The Rays (98-63) previously clinched the top American League Wild Card spot as the No. 4 seed in the AL. Regardless of what happens in their regular-season finale on Sunday, they will host a best-of-three Wild Card Series beginning Tuesday at Tropicana Field.
After Lowe was intentionally walked and pinch-hitter Raimel Tapia worked a walk with one out, Taylor Walls hit a two-out, two-run single off Jordan Hicks to put Tampa Bay ahead in the 10th. Top prospect Junior Caminero then hustled down the line for a run-scoring infield single to make it a three-run lead.
“That was awesome. We're going to need moments like that,” Lowe said. “That was really huge of him to step up there and get that done, and then Junior to hustle down the line and get another run across for us.”
Reliever Chris Devenski pitched the final two innings to pick up the win, much to the frustration of Saturday’s sold-out crowd looking for a reason to celebrate along with the home team. After the last out, Walls turned to second baseman Osleivis Basabe and remarked, “It’s really quiet right now.”
The Rays want to play well to finish the season, creating some momentum heading into the playoffs. They have done that despite a number of key injuries, as Saturday’s win was their 15th in their past 23 games. The extra-inning victory also gave Tampa Bay the second-highest win total in franchise history, behind only the 2021 club that won 100 games.
“The priority is us feeling good about ourselves,” manager Kevin Cash said.
And if they play well against a team they could see again next week? That’s a bonus, as far as they’re concerned.
“To put pressure on them, I guess, is a good thing. I feel like our mindset is always just to do what we can to win ballgames,” Walls said. “From an individual standpoint, every guy in here is trying to do what they can to have the best season that they can have, especially with one or two games left. And then as a team, you want to have some momentum, especially against a team that you're probably going to face.”
The Rays created some on Saturday after losing Friday’s lopsided opener, tying the season series between the AL East rivals at 6-6 heading into Sunday’s Game 162.
Isaac Paredes started the scoring with a first-inning single off Blue Jays starter Hyun Jin Ryu, collecting his 98th RBI of the season. Lowe delivered an RBI double with two outs in the third, extending a 10-game hitting streak during which he has hit .400 (16-for-40) with five doubles, two homers and seven RBIs.
“Over the last month, it feels like when he's coming up in those big spots, he’s really come through for us,” Cash said. “With these injuries that we have, we need guys like Josh to continue to step up -- and he has.”
The Rays ran out several key relievers for one inning each, preparing them for the postseason without working them too hard or overexposing them to Toronto’s lineup. Shawn Armstrong, Andrew Kittredge, Jake Diekman, Robert Stephenson and Pete Fairbanks combined for five scoreless innings while allowing one hit and three walks with a pair of strikeouts.
But the Jays got back in the game against right-hander Cooper Criswell, who was called up from Triple-A Durham to fill a bulk-inning role Saturday and is likely to be replaced by another bulk-inning arm on Sunday.
Criswell gave up a homer to Daulton Varsho in the third, and the Blue Jays capitalized on an uncharacteristic error by Walls as they pulled ahead with a three-run fourth inning. Harold Ramírez ensured that lead wouldn’t last long, blasting a game-tying two-run homer off reliever Trevor Richards in the fifth.
“We came right back and answered back,” Cash said. “That was nice.”