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Series Preview: Blue Jays face Rays for second time this past week
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Photo credit: © Gerry Angus-Imagn Images
Ryley Delaney
May 11, 2026, 17:30 EDTUpdated: May 11, 2026, 17:24 EDT
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For the second time this month, the Toronto Blue Jays play the Tampa Bay Rays.
Last time, it didn’t go so well for the Jays. Over three games at Tropicana Field, the Blue Jays mustered just four runs, falling 5-1 last Monday, 4-3 on Tuesday, and 3-0 on Wednesday. A week later, the Blue Jays are looking to have a better series.
That series loss to the Rays is their lone series loss in the last six. Since April 19th, the Blue Jays are playing .500 baseball, going 11-10, with four of those losses coming consecutively. Entering Monday’s game, the Blue Jays are 18-22 through their first 40 games, as opposed to 20-20 after the 40-game mark last season.
Simply put, the Jays can’t be swept again. Both the New York Yankees and Rays have a signficant cushion over the Jays. Enter Monday, the Jays are 8.5 games behind the division-leading Rays, and seven and a half games back of the Yankees. They have to string together some wins.

Examining the Rays

Like the Jays, the Rays have only played on series since these two teams played each other last. They were supposed to play a four-game series at Fenway Park, but Saturday’s game was rained out. In the end, the Rays took two of three from the Boston Red Sox, giving up just seven runs.
In fact, the four runs that the Rays’ pitching staff surrendered on Thursday were the most since giving up 12 on April 21st. Since April 22nd, the Rays have given up just 24 runs, 26 fewer runs given up than the Milwaukee Brewers. The saving grace is their offence hasn’t been terrific in that stretch. Since April 22nd, the Rays have scored just 61 runs, tied for the fourth-fewest in Major League Baseball.
This has been the trend throughout the season, and something I highlighted in the last Series Preview between the teams. The Rays’ starters have a 3.11 ERA (third-lowest) and a 3.71 FIP (sixth-lowest). Their bullpen sits in the middle of the pack in both those categories, so that may be the best way for the Blue Jays to score runs.
On the hitting side of things, the Rays have a 97 wRC+, tied for 11th-worst this season in MLB. They’ve also went deep 32 times, which is tied for the fifth-fewest in all of MLB. They don’t strikeout all that much, with only the Blue Jays having a lower K%.

One player to watch: Jonathan Aranda

Last week, I selected Yandy Díaz as the player to watch on the Rays. He managed two hits while driving in a run. Jonathan Aranda turned out to be the best Rays’ hitter in that series.
The first baseman notched three singles last Monday, two hits on Tuesday, including a double, then was hit by a pitch and walked twice in the series finale. These three games, plus the two prior games, was Aranda’s best stretch of hitting so far this season.
Heading into Monday’s game, the 27-year-old is slashing .268/.370/.457 with seven home runs in 165 plate appearances, which is good enough for a 129 wRC+. Aranda is coming off a career-best season in 2025, where he salshed .316/.393/.489 with 14 home runs in 422 plate appearances.

Quick Hits

  • The Blue Jays will face two of the three starters they saw in the last series. Due to the rainout, Drew Rasmussen will now start Monday’s game. The good news is that the Blue Jays scored three earned runs off him, before blowing a late lead.
  • Shane McClanahan is the other Ray starter they’ve faced this season. In Wednesday’s series finale, the left-handed pitcher went five and two-thirds innings with just two hits allowed, a walk, and four strikeouts.
  • Griffin Jax is the expected start for the series finale, and he has a 5.00 ERA and 5.06 FIP in 18 innings pitched this season, starting just three of the 14 games he’s appeared in.
  • Offensively, Yandy Díaz has been the Rays’ best hitter (140 wRC+), while Junior Caminero leads the team with 11 home runs. Ryan Vilade hit one of two home runs in that three-game series, taking Eric Lauer deep last Monday.
  • Speaking of Lauer, the Blue Jays made a handful of roster moves before the start of Monday’s game. Lauer, after giving up six earned runs on Sunday, was designated for assignment. In his place, Yariel Rodríguez’s contract was selected, and he’ll be active Monday evening.
  • The other move saw Addison Barger return to the 10-day injured list, retroactive to Sunday. Thankfully, it does seem too concerning. Yohendrick Piñango was recalled, and he had a good series against the Rays last week.
  • Piñango will hit second on Monday. He notched his first career double and his first career three-hit game last Monday, then hit an RBI single on Tuesday.
  • Set to start for the Blue Jays are Kevin Gausman, Patrick Corbin, and Dylan Cease. Gausman threw a quality start against the Rays, going six innings with two earned runs.

Probable pitchers

Monday: Kevin Gausman/Drew Rasmussen
Tuesday: Patrick Corbin/Shane McClanahan
Wednesday: Dylan Cease/Griffin Jax

Game times

Monday: 7:07 PM ET
Tuesday: 7:07 PM ET
Wednesday: 7:07 PM ET
Ryley Delaney is a Nation Network writer for Blue Jays Nation, Oilersnation, and FlamesNation. She can be followed on Twitter @Ryley__Delaney.

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