The Toronto Blue Jays' climb to an AL Wild Card berth just got a little tougher after dropping a 6-4 game to the Tampa Bay Rays at Rogers Centre on Tuesday night.
Jays starter Marco Estrada allowed all six runs in an outing to forget, as Josh Donaldson's hot bat wasn't enough to rescue Toronto this time.
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With both teams part of a seven-team logjam behind Minnesota and New York for the two AL wild card spots, Tuesday's loss stings even more for the Jays. However, the two games remaining in the series still represent a big opportunity for Toronto to enhance its own case while simultaneously harming a direct competitor.
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Runs allowed
After three straight games where Toronto was able to keep the opposition to two runs or less, the Rays' four runs in the first four innings were a relative outburst by comparison.
Tampa Bay managed to get a pair of home runs off Estrada in the early going, forcing the Blue Jays to play from behind.
Duda flips the script. #RaysUp pic.twitter.com/Fvrw1cQy4W
— Tampa Bay Rays (@RaysBaseball) August 15, 2017
The Rays would get another two runs in the fifth inning, enough to keep Toronto at bay.
Donaldson brings the rain, again
The third baseman is red hot, having hit a home run in three-straight games.
His latest — a three-run shot — came at a crucial time for the Jays, with the team trailing 6-1 in the bottom of the fifth inning and looking listless against Tampa Bay pitcher Blake Snell. It wasn't enough to spur a comeback, but Donaldson still managed to set a personal mark in the loss.
Congrats to @BringerOfRain20 on reaching 500 career RBIs! ☔️☔️☔️ pic.twitter.com/HQUax8dO9a
— Blue Jays (@BlueJays) August 16, 2017
Even though he has hit nine home runs in the past 17 games, Donaldson's big bat hasn't been limited to homers. Eleven of the 31-year-old's most recent 18 hits have gone for extra bases.