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Instant Reaction: Blue Jays slug their way to series opening victory over Rays
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Photo credit: Nathan Ray Seebeck-Imagn Images
Michael Coyle
Aug 18, 2026, 21:34 EDT
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The 2026 Toronto Blue Jays now officially have a win at Tropicana Field. 
In the series opener, the Blue Jays rode 17 hits to defeat the Tampa Bay Rays 10-5 and improved their record to 62-65 through 127 games played. 
The Blue Jays got themselves off and running early against Rays starter Nick Martinez, scoring two in the first inning. George Springer singled home an Alejandro Kirk two-out double, before Jesús Sánchez stroked a double off the left field wall for his 33rd RBI of the season and gave the Blue Jays a quick 2-0 lead. 
After a scoreless second inning, Nathan Lukes worked a leadoff walk off Martinez to bring up Kirk once again. Down 1-2 in the count, Kirk drove a 92 MPH fastball from Martinez 414 feet over the left-centre field wall for his sixth home run of the season. 
After originally struggling in his return from a fractured thumb, Kirk has found his groove at the plate as of late. Over his last 15 games, Kirk is batting .392 with three home runs and 13 RBIs, while reaching base at a .459 clip. 
Up 4-0, the Blue Jays were able to extend their lead in the top of the fourth inning. With runners on second and third with one out, Kirk brought home Ernie Clement by way of an infield single, before Martinez uncorked a wild pitch that allowed Brett Bateman to scamper home to give the club a 6-0 lead. 
After walking Springer, Rays manager Kevin Cash opted to pull Martinez after turning in a pitching line of 3.2 IP, 9 H, 6 R, 6 ER, 2 BB, 5 K, and marked the shortest outing of the season for the right-hander. 
After three scoreless innings, the Rays finally found a way to crack José Soriano in the bottom of the fourth. Three of the first four Rays hitters reached via singles to load the bases, but a 1-3 groundout by Richie Palacios gave the Blue Jays a chance to escape the threat unscathed. 
With two outs, Soriano uncorked a wild pitch, allowing Ryan Vilade to come home to score, and then Taylor Walls immediately singled, bringing home two more runs to make it a 6-3 game. 
That was all the Rays could muster off Soriano, as the right-hander used two 3-6-1 double plays to escape jams and give the Blue Jays another strong outing since being acquired from the Los Angeles Angels at the trade deadline. 
Through 25 starts this season with both the Angels and Blue Jays, Soriano is 10-6 with a 3.25 ERA and a 1.27 WHIP. Since joining the Blue Jays, Soriano has made three starts and is now 1-0 with a 2.76 ERA and a 1.35 WHIP. While the righty has struck out only nine batters across his 16.1 innings pitched, he has quickly become a reliable arm in the Blue Jays’ rotation. 
Up 6-3 entering the top of the fifth, Kazuma Okamoto slugged his first home run in 17 games. The homer was Okamoto’s 25th of the season and set a Blue Jays franchise record for home runs by a rookie in a season, passing Eric Hinske, who had 24 in 2002.
The Blue Jays continued to flex their muscle against the Rays relievers as Josh Smith slugged a two-run home run in the top of the seventh off right-hander Jesse Scholtens. The home run was Smith’s third of the season, and second since being acquired by the Blue Jays. 
Mason Fluharty, Matt Waldron and Spencer Miles followed Soriano to close out Tuesday’s victory, helping keep the bullpen fresh through the stretch of six games in six days. 
The Blue Jays will look to make it two wins in a row on Wednesday when they hand the ball to Max Scherzer. The Rays will counter with right-hander Drew Rasmussen. 
First pitch is set for 6:40 p.m. ET at Tropicana Field. 
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