Blue Jays fend off Rays in final set of 2019 season

Well, it’s all over now, folks.

In the last series of the 2019 season, the Blue Jays (cumulatively 67-95) handled the playoff-bound Tampa Bay Rays (96-66) admirably, holding their ramshackle lineup at bay and stringing together some solid starts and relief appearances to take the series and finish the season on a winning note.

Here’s a final look at the good, the bad, and the weird from this weekend’s series against Tampa:

Cavan Biggio (3-for-11, 2 R, 2B, BB, SB) continued his streak of dominance, closing his rookie campaign with a .234/.364/.429 slash, while Jonathan Davis (1-for-2, R, 2 BB, SB), Justin Smoak (3-for-7, 2 2B, 3 RBI), and Breyvic Valera (3-for-4, 2 R, 2B, HR, 2 RBI) were also productive. Smoak played in what could be his final game as a Blue Jay Sunday, while Valera mashed his first career home run and finished the day a triple short of the cycle.

Of course, Teoscar Hernandez (5-for-7, 4 R, 2B, 3 HR, 6 RBI, 4 BB, 2 SB) also had a monster series at the dish.

Jason Adam (1.2 IP, H, 0 R/ER) was solid once again, with Buddy Boshers (1.0 IP, 0 H, 0 R/ER, 3 SO), Clay Buchholz (5.0 IP, 4 H, R/ER, 6 SO, W), Wilmer Font (2.0 IP, H, 0 R/ER, 3 SO), Ken Giles (1.0 IP, 0 H, 0 R/ER, SO, SV), Elvis Luciano (1.0 IP, 0 H, 0 R/ER, SO), Ryan Tepera (1.2 IP, 0 H, 0 R/ER, SO), and Trent Thornton (5.0 IP, H, 0 R/ER, 8 SO, W) all pitching well.

Brandon Drury (0-for-3, 2 SO, CS) faltered, so too did Derek Fisher (0-for-4, 2 SO), Randal Grichuk (1-for-11, R, 3B, RBI, 5 SO), Vladimir Guerrero Jr. (1-for-4, SO), and Billy McKinney (0-for-5, R, 3 SO).

On the mound, Sam Gaviglio (0.2 IP, H, R/ER, BB) was tagged for a single run, and the combination of Derek Law (1.0 IP, 4 H, 2 R, ER, 2 SO), Jordan Romano (0.1 IP, 3 H, 2 R/ER), and T.J. Zeuch (5.0 IP, 4 H, 3 R/ER, HR, 3 BB, 4 SO, L) wasn’t so effective.

In a brilliantly bizarre display of awareness, Cavan Biggio, facing a gnarly infield shift (and four outfielders) bunted on the first pitch of an at-bat in Friday’s game, looping the pitch over the infield and hustling into second for the rare, yet immensely satisfying, bunt double.

Now finished for the season, the Blue Jays will look to improve their starting rotation and outfield depth as they head into the 2019 offseason. Of course, player development will also be at the forefront throughout much of the winter.

On a personal note, I’d like to say that I greatly enjoyed bringing you these recaps for every series. I’ll still be around these parts writing various pieces of analysis, so please stay tuned! As well, you can follow me on Twitter (@haydengodfreyy) for the latest on this crazy game. Thanks for reading, and happy offseason!