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Instant Reaction: Daulton Varsho’s grand slam walks off the Rays, snaps Toronto’s three-game skid
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Photo credit: © Kevin Sousa-Imagn Images
Michael Coyle
May 14, 2026, 07:00 EDTUpdated: May 14, 2026, 04:19 EDT
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The Toronto Blue Jays have finally beaten the Tampa Bay Rays in 2026. 
Blue Jays’ center fielder Daulton Varsho walked off the Rays in the bottom of the 10th inning, hitting a grand slam for his fifth home run of the season, and sending the Blue Jays into their off day with a 5-3 win.
The Blue Jays’ offence was their own worst enemy on Wednesday, hitting into four double plays and going 0-for-9 with runners in scoring position, but Varsho made sure that total stopped there, driving an Aaron Brooks fastball to the Blue Jays’ bullpen beyond the left field wall. 
With George Springer starting the inning on second base as the automatic runner, Vladimir Guerrero Jr. and Kazuma Okamoto worked back-to-back one-out walks to set the stage for Varsho’s heroics. Brooks, who was making his first appearance in the big leagues since 2024, continuously challenged Varsho with the high fastball, eventually losing the battle when the 29-year-old deposited the sixth pitch of the at-bat over the left field wall. 
With the win, the Blue Jays snapped their three-game losing streak and improved to 19-24 on the season, 9.5 games back of the first-place Rays, who dropped to 28-14 on the year.
For one of the first times all year, the Blue Jays’ offence bailed out the pitching staff.
After Blue Jays reliever Braydon Fisher was charged with the loss on Tuesday, John Schneider turned to Jeff Hoffman to try to cut down the automatic runner situation to begin the 10th. Two pitches in, Ben Williamson singled home the speedy Chandler Simpson to put the Rays ahead. After picking up his fourth steal of the year, Williamson was brought home on a one-out single by Yandy Díaz, the 34-year-old’s 24th RBI of the season, extending the Rays’ lead to 3-1, and putting the pressure on the Blue Jays’ offence to come through. 
Runs in this game were tough to come by as Blue Jays’ right-hander Dylan Cease and Rays right-hander Griffin Jax traded zeroes on the scoreboard. Cease breezed through the first six innings, setting the Rays’ batters down with ease. It was only in the seventh inning that Cease looked human on the mound. Jonathan Aranda worked a leadoff walk and advanced to second on a Jake Fraley one-out free pass. Rays’ light-hitting second baseman Richie Palacios then served a Cease changeup to center field to bring home the game’s opening run. 
Cease dazzled for the second straight outing, turning in a line of 7.0, 3 H, 1 R, 1 ER, 3 BB, 9 K. The 30-year-old completed seven innings for the third straight start, continuing to build on a run of better pitch efficiency. Following Wednesday’s outing, Cease has now made nine starts with the Blue Jays and has posted a record of 3-1 with a 2.41 ERA and 1.18 WHIP. Cease’s nine strikeouts raised his season total to 75, placing him in second in Major League Baseball, trailing only Jacob Misiorowski of the Milwaukee Brewers, who has recorded 80. 
After former Blue Jay Bryan Baker entered in the bottom of the eighth inning, the Blue Jays stayed patient as Baker struggled to find the zone. Baker walked Springer, Yohendrick Piñango, and Guerrero to begin the inning before Okamoto drove a first-pitch changeup to left field for a sacrifice fly, tying the game at 1-1, and giving Okamoto his team-leading 27th RBI of the season. 
The Blue Jays will go into Thursday’s day off feeling a little bit better, as they prepare to embark on a seven-game road trip that runs through Detroit and New York. 
Trey Yesavage is set to take the ball for the first game of the series against the Tigers and will look to continue his strong run he’s been on through his first three starts of 2026. The 22-year-old is 1-1 with a 0.68 ERA and 1.35 WHIP and has struck out 15 batters across his first 13 1/3 this year. 

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