After dropping their series with the Rays, the Blue Jays are 2-13 against the AL East in May

Things worth mentioning…

• The story of the game is obviously Alek Manoah. It looked like things were starting to move in a positive direction after his solid start against the Orioles on the weekend but things came crashing down at The Trop. Manoah went just three innings and allowed five runs (four earned) on three hits and five walks while striking out six. Of the 87 pitches that Manoah threw through those three laborious innings, only 44 were strikes.
• The bullpen was saved by Trevor Richards, who came into the game and tossed three clean innings in relief on only 32 pitches. Richards now has a 3.86 ERA on the season.
• The Blue Jays got things going in the first inning and they had a rally in the ninth inning but there wasn’t much going on otherwise for the bats. The tying run came to the plate when the Blue Jays had the bases loaded in the ninth inning and John Schneider opted to pinch-hit Ernie Clement for Daulton Varsho. To his credit, Clement drove in a run with a sac fly, but it was somewhat surprising to see one of the team’s bigger bats take a seat for a recent call-up.
• The Manoah and Alejandro Kirk battery tandem had a very difficult time handling Tampa’s speed on the bases. The Rays stole seven times against the Blue Jays on Thursday, which is the most the Blue Jays have allowed in a single game since September 19, 2012.

ARTICLE PRESENTED BY BETANO