DAZ CAMERON'S FIRST HOMER AS A JAY IS A 442-FOOT BOMB! 3-1 JAYS!
Instant Reaction: Backed by three home runs, Shane Bieber silences Rays to pickup series victory
Photo credit: Nathan Ray Seebeck-Imagn Images
Aug 20, 2026, 16:04 EDT
The Toronto Blue Jays have a series victory at Tropicana Field.
With a 5-1 victory in the series finale against the Tampa Bay Rays on Thursday, the Blue Jays won their seventh series in a row and improved their record to 63-66 through 129 games.
With the Minnesota Twins being idle on Thursday, the Blue Jays’ victory pulled them within a 0.5 game for the American League’s final Wild Card spot and continuing to raise the significance of every one of the remaining 33 games.
The Blue Jays rode the long ball to victory, slugging three home runs off Rays starter Ian Seymour to give themselves a much-needed victory.
Kazuma Okamoto, who broke Eric Hinske’s franchise record for home runs by a rookie in a single season on Tuesday, slugged his 26th of the season. Leading off the top of the second inning, Okamoto smashed an 0-1 slider from Seymour 415 feet into the left-field bleachers to give the Blue Jays an early lead.
In the bottom of the fourth, the Rays struck back with a run of their own. Chandler Simpson chopped a ground ball to second base that forced an errant throw from Charles McAdoo that allowed Simpson to advance to second base.
After getting ahead 1-0 in the count, 2026 All-Star Junior Caminero smashed a 114.6 MPH line drive off the left-field wall for an RBI single. The RBI was Caminero’s team-leading 81st of the season.
With the game tied 1-1, Nathan Lukes wasted no time answering right back. Lukes drove the second pitch of the top of the fifth from Seymour 380 feet over the right-field wall for his seventh home run of the season and first of the year off a left-handed pitcher.
Two batters later, newcomer Daz Cameron made his mark. Cameron slammed a 2-2 changeup from Seymour 442 feet – the second-longest home run by a Blue Jay this season – to give the club a 3-1 lead. After being selected to the roster on Saturday, Cameron has gone 4-for-11 with two RBIs across his first three games.
With the bases loaded with one out against Rays right-hander Casey Legumina in the top of the seventh, George Springer provided some much-needed insurance for the Blue Jays. On a 2-2 count, Springer was sawed off by a Legumina sinker, but it rolled between second baseman Richie Palacios and first baseman Jonathan Aranda to bring home two runs and make it a 5-1 game.
While the Blue Jays put up five runs, all Shane Bieber required on Thursday was two. Bieber was brilliant for his second straight outing, turning in a pitching line 7.0 IP, 4 H, 1 R, 1 ER, 0 BB, 7 K.
For the season, Bieber has now made 11 starts and is 5-2 with a 4.53 ERA and a 1.44 WHIP. The right-hander has now struck out 44 across 55.2 innings pitched, while also lowering his opponents’ batting average to .258.
Bieber has had the Rays’ number this season as across two outings, Bieber has thrown 14 innings and allowed only two runs on seven hits, zero walks, while striking out 10.
Spencer Miles and Louis Varland combined to finish off the game’s final two innings and shut down the Rays in the finale.
The Blue Jays will now head to New York to open a three-game series against the Yankees on Friday. A starter has yet to be announced by the Blue Jays, but Spencer Arrighetti could come off the injured list to work as the starter or in a bulk role. The Yankees are projected to throw right-hander Cam Schlitter.
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