 in the third and also scored on a first-inning sacrifice fly.Meanwhile, the Rays bullpen - beginning with opener Ryne Stanek - limited the Blue Jays to four singles and a pair of doubles.Ryan Yarbrough (4-1) pitched 3 2/3 innings for the win, working out of a jam after Justin Smoak singled and Rowdy Tellez doubled to begin the Toronto fourth. Chaz Roe, Emilio Pagan and Diego Castillo, who yielded two hits and Brandon Drury's sacrifice fly in the ninth inning, finished up.The Blue Jays have dropped six of seven and fell to 0-8-1 in their series against Tampa Bay, dating to August 2017.The Rays used an opener for the 17th time this season. Stanek has made 15 of those starts, holding opponents scoreless in 13 of those outings.Yarbrough, meanwhile, continued to prosper in what's become his customary role of following an opener. The 27-year-old left-hander led major league rookies with 16 victories last season, 14 of them as a reliever.Richard, acquired from San Diego in an offseason trade, made his second start for Toronto after beginning the season on the injured list (right knee). He allowed two runs, three hits and four walks over four innings - the biggest blow Garcia's routine fly that dropped behind right fielder Randal Grichuk and rolled to the wall.Garcia, who singled in the first and scored on Travis d'Arnaud's sacrifice fly, circled the bases for the first inside-the-park homer of his career.''He said that he got disorientated,'' Blue Jays manager Charlie Montoyo said of Grichuk, who broke in on the ball before realizing it was going to land well behind him.''He was looking up, looking up and then he was like, it was weird,'' the manager added. ''He felt bad about it, too.'' TRAINER'S ROOMBlue Jays: RHP Aaron Sanchez, who left Monday's series opener with a finger injury, will throw a side session Thursday or Friday before a decision is made on whether he'll go on the injured list or remain in the rotation. ... A flu bug has affected several Blue Jays the past week, including INF Cavan Biggio, who was not in the lineup Tuesday.Rays: C Mike Zunino (left quadriceps strain) started a rehab assignment with Class A Charlotte and will have his status evaluated this weekend. ... INF Matt Duffy, out all season with a strained left hamstring, will see a specialist Wednesday. ... INF Yandy Diaz still felt some discomfort in his bruised left hand during his first batting practice session. He plans to hit again Wednesday.MCKAY'S DAYRays two-way prospect Brendan McKay allowed three hits and struck out four over five scoreless innings in his first start with Triple-A Durham against Louisville. The lefty went 3-0 in eight games, striking out 62 and walking nine over 41 2/3 innings with Double-A Montgomery. He struggled offensively at Double-A, hitting .167 (13 for 78).UP NEXTReigning AL Cy Young Award winner Blake Snell (3-4, 3.07 ERA), who's received a combined two runs of support over his last three outings, starts the finale of the three-game series Wednesday night. The Blue Jays counter with right-hander Trent Thornton (1-4, 4.42).---More MLB: https://apnews.com/MLB and https://twitter.com/-Sports)
Rolling Rays look to add to dominance of sickly JaysFLMThe visiting Toronto Blue Jays will get another chance to try to contain the top of the Tampa Bay Rays' lineup Tuesday night.Tampa Bay's leadoff hitter, Austin Meadows, had three hits, including a home run, and three RBIs on Monday afternoon as the Rays won the opener of a three-game series 8-3. Meadows was coming off a 4-for-4 game with a homer and three RBIs in Sunday's 6-3 win over the Indians at Cleveland.Tommy Pham, the Rays' No. 2 hitter, had two doubles, a walk and an RBI Monday to extend his hit streak to 13 games.The Blue Jays continued to struggle against the Rays, who lost two of three games in Toronto in April in the first series this season between the American League East rivals.Over the past two seasons, the Rays are 16-7 against the Blue Jays -- 8-2 at Tropicana Field -- and have won the season series with Toronto in nine of the past 11 seasons.As if playing at Tropicana Field is not difficult enough for the Blue Jays, the team is dealing with illness."It's been like that for a week now," Blue Jays manager Charlie Montoyo said. "One guy gets it, spreads it to the other guy and so on. Everybody's catching it right now." Rookie second baseman Cavan Biggio was moved to designated hitter on Monday because he was feeling ill. He went 0-for-3 with a walk.Justin Smoak sat out Monday with the illness, although Montoyo, a coach with the Rays for the previous four seasons, said it was a planned day off for the first baseman anyway.The Blue Jays also were playing the 14th of 16 straight games without a day off."It is what it is, no excuses," Montoyo said. "It's been a pretty good grind, especially with guys sick, but it is what it is." The Rays, however, are in a stretch of 34 games in 34 days through June 23, with a day off June 3 followed by a June 8 doubleheader.The Blue Jays will start left-hander Clayton Richard (0-0, 2.25 ERA) Tuesday while Tampa Bay will go with right-hander Ryne Stanek (0-1, 3.18) as the opener.Stanek has made 22 appearances (14 starts, all as an opener) this season. He is 0-1 with a 1.64 ERA in his starts, allowing 13 hits in 22 innings.Stanek was an opener in Toronto on April 12, striking out three in two perfect innings. He is 0-0 with a 2.19 ERA in 11 career outings (seven as an opener) against Toronto.Richard, 35, will make his second start of the season after opening on the injured list with a knee issue.Richard did not factor in the decision in his first start Thursday against the Boston Red Sox, allowing two hits and a run with two strikeouts and two walks in four innings.He has faced the Rays three times (one start) in his career, all in 2009, and is 0-0 with a 0.79 ERA against them.The Rays had a strong start Monday from Yonny Chirinos, who struck out seven and walked two in five hitless innings. Center fielder Kevin Kiermaier made a superb catch at the wall in the fourth on Rowdy Tellez to preserve the hitless outing.Rays manager Kevin Cash said it was not a difficult decision to remove Chirinos with a no-hitter. "Not at all," Cash said. "We're going to prioritize a guy's health and be responsible with him." --Field Level Media
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