There was a perfect game alert for the Tampa Bay Rays, before the Blue Jays came back. What a weird game.
On Friday evening the Blue Jays headed back to Toronto to host the first game of three against the Tampa Bay Rays, falling 4-3 to bring their record to 19-24, last in the American League East.
It was a low scoring affair for the first five + innings, but a throwing error by Vladimir Guerrero Jr. allowed the Rays to take a 1-0 lead in the top of the sixth. Shortly after, Richie Palacios hit his fourth home run of the season, giving the Rays a 3-0 lead.
In the top of the seventh, Yandy Díaz singled in a fourth run, which was all the Rays would need to win this game, but that doesn’t mean that the Jays went down quietly.
In the bottom of the eighth, Danny Jansen broke up the perfect game with a bloop single, before Davis Schneider hit a bomb to make it a 4-2 game, his fifth of the season.
Later in the inning, Cavan Biggio hit a single that drove in Daulton Varsho to make it a 4-3 game with runners on first second with two outs. However, George Springer grounded into a double play, ending the scoring threat. It was the last time the Blue Jays had a base runner.

Things worth mentioning…

Before the start of the season, I wrote an article about how George Springer hasn’t declined after one bad season. Well, after the first month and a bit, it’s safe to say he has in fact, declined. It’s sad for sure, but Springer should be nowhere near the lead-off spot at the moment.
Danny Jansen continued to hit, breaking up the perfect game bid with a single. This season, the catcher is slashing .300/.377/.617 with four homers in 69 plate appearances for a 179 wRC+. Re-sign him.
Davis Schneider hit his fifth home run of the season and drove in two runs, he’s now slashing .260/.370/.490 for the season and has become an everyday player. Goes to show that not every MLB player is a highly touted prospect.
Chris Bassitt nearly had a quality start, finishing with a line of 5.2 IP, 5 H, 3 ER, 3 BB, 5 K with a home run given up. Sadly, the sixth inning sunk that bid and also saw him take the loss.
Up next: The Blue Jays return to action on Saturday, as they’ll have an opportunity to tie the series at one with a win. That game will take place at 3:07 PM MT, let’s hope the Jays win. However, the big news will be Ross Atkins’ press conference. Hopefully we’ll have some clarity on this team moving forward.
As always, you can follow me on Twitter @Ryley_L_D.