Instant Reaction: Bats remain quiet as Blue Jays drop second game in a row to Rays

After a big win on Opening Day that saw the Toronto Blue Jays score eight runs and smash three dingers, the bats have gone completely silent.

Toronto managed just six hits in a 5-1 loss to the Tampa Bay Rays on Saturday afternoon, bringing the team’s record to 1-2 on the season. Since that eight-run outburst on Thursday, the Blue Jays have scored just three runs.

Yusei Kikuchi took the mound for the Blue Jays for his first start of the season and didn’t have his best stuff. The lefty worked around some walks and singles in the first two innings before the Rays were able to punch a run through in the third inning. After getting the first two outs of the innings, Kikuchi issued walks to Randy Arozarena and Isaac Parades and then Amed Rosario came to the plate and drove in Tampa’s first run of the game with a single.

Kikuchi settled down for a three-up, three-down fourth inning but was pulled after allowing a home run and a single in the fifth. All told, he went four-and-one-third innings and allowed three earned runs on six hits, three walks, and four strikeouts. The third run came when Trevor Richards allowed a double off the bat of Amed Rosario that easily could have been more damage.

The Blue Jays finally got on the board in the seventh inning. Daulton Varsho drew a walk, Ernie Clement followed it up with a single, and Cavan Biggio later singled to bring home Varsho. George Springer came up next and made good contact but lined out to centre-fielder Jose Siri.

Things got surprisingly tense for a late-March baseball game in the bottom half of the seventh inning. Genesis Cabrera came in to pitch for the Blue Jays and got into a shoving match with Jose Caballero after he made it from first to third base on a bunt attempt that was thrown into the outfield.

After the game, Cabrera said through the team’s interpreter: “It was more the heat of the moment. I think I kind of overreacted a little bit. He looked at me and I just reacted.”

Tim Mayza came into the game for the eighth inning and allowed another run to make the score 5-1, which wound up as the final. The Blue Jays will look to salvage the series on Sunday afternoon when Kevin Gausman takes the mound against what appears to be a bullpen day by the Rays that’ll be opened by right-hander Shawn Armstrong.