Opportunity squandered as Rays rally over Jays
ST. PETERSBURG— It will go down to the final day between the Blue Jays and the Kansas City Royals for first overall and the American League’s top seed after the Royals won and the Jays lost on Saturday.
The Jays squandered control of their own fate after a 4-3 loss to the Rays on a blown save in the ninth.
While the Royals have Johnny Cueto, their prized acquisition at the trade deadline, lined up to start on Sunday, the Jays did not know who they were going to call upon, either Drew Hutchison or Mark Buehrle.
Buehrle started on Friday and needs just two more innings to extend his streak of 200-plus innings to15 consecutive seasons. It was going to be a bullpen day in any case, with David Price shut down. The Jays squandered control of their own fate after a 4-3 loss to the Rays on a blown save in the ninth.
“For us, we’ve been so good at home,” Jays manager John Gibbons explained his desire to finish ahead of the Royals. “We’re a home-run hitting team and it’s a great place to hit. It’s a great home-run hitting park. Look at what our crowd’s turn into, not just big crowds but crazy crowds.”
The Jays were forced to come from behind against the Rays for the second straight game, but Osuna could not hang on. Osuna gave up a two-run single to Tim Beckham for the loss.
Left fielder John Jaso led off the game with a home run against Marco Estrada. The Jays’ right-hander allowed just two more hits in 62⁄ innings, although one
3 was another homer to Asdrubal Cabrera leading off the seventh.
Estrada allowed 24 homers this year with a career-high 181 innings. Osuna gave up a two-run single to Tim Beckham for the loss.
“I think the slider I threw against (Steven) Souza was a strike,” Osuna said. “He didn’t give it to me. But we still had a chance (to get out of it).”