Glasnow has been out since Mah 11./JEFFREY S. KING
Monday, 3 a.m.
They started with a broken pitcher. They finished with another broken pitcher.
But in the middle, the Tampa Bay Rays continued to do well at the expense of the Toronto Blue Jays.
The Rays won, 8-3, sweeping the four-game series against the Jays. They have now won 10 of their last 11, their best 11-game stretch since 2014. The Rays have swept five of their last 12 series since July 30 at Boston and have swept nine series this season.
The game marked the return of Tyler Glasnow, who went two innings and gave up a two-run homer, and of Anthony Banda, who gave up a run in the ninth.
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Meadows hit his 28th home run./JEFFREY S. KING
“Good win," said Rays' manager Kevin Cash. "Really encouraging. Glasnow came out and set the tone. That was impressive in the first inning. I know the 2nd inning he gave up the home run and the walk, but still, the ball was coming out of his hand and he threw strikes for the most part. Really, really big step in the right direction for us as far as he is concerned. Rest of the pitchers followed suit. Richards was outstanding. Chaz gets a big out. Lined up from there. Really impressed with Anthony Banda, it’s a long road to get back and you have to go through a lot rehabbing. Unfortunately we’ve probably seen too many of those guys go through that rehab process, but certainly the efforts and to get him back on a big league mound has to be pretty special for him and for us. Offensively, (Robertson) came up with a big hit. Austin Meadows stays on fire. (García), a little game separation.”
Cash was pleased for Glasnow to get in two innings and throw 41 pitches.
“That was what we were hoping for – get him two ups," Cash said. "If he was super efficient, potentially 3. I’m guessing he’s going to say he felt really good. He looked the part. I think there’s still a buildup, there’s still some tweaking and fine tuning that I know he will get after it with Kyle (Snyder), and the same to be said with Blake (Snell) and Yonny (Chirinos) when he gets out there. You don’t just flip a switch like we talked about last night, but he certainly looked like he did in the first inning and then probably came back to life a little bit. I bet on [Glasnow] working through some things and the rest of the guys feeding off that.”
Glasnow liked being back on the mound.
"It feels really good to be back," he said. "Nice to get that game atmosphere and go out there and compete with all the guys.
Banda felt good, too.
“It was good," Banda said. "The results are what they are. Overcoming the emotions and seeing myself out on the big league mound, it was a good accomplishment. Obviously, there’s still some work to be done (for) the results to get better. Overall, I felt good and it’s been a long road.
“I was excited. I’ve been telling myself to be ready for that, and I felt like I was. It is a little difficult to stay in a routine, especially up here. In the bullpen you don’t really know when you’re going to throw. Overall, I felt ready and I felt good.”
The Rays scored eight times, including home runs by Austin Meadows (his 28th) and Avi Garcia (his 19th).
Trevor Richards got the win for the Rays.
“They’re better than we are," Blue Jays' manger Charlie Montoya said. "That’s a fact. They’ve got the pitching. They’ve got people that throw 98, 97. You know what’s funny? I was looking at our stats and since the All-Star break we’re fifth in pitching in baseball. That’s why we’re in every game. But now we’re not swinging the bats. We’re facing good pitching. From Verlander, Morton, Glasnow today—we’re facing good pitching. That’s a good test for our kids. Besides today, it was a big margin, we’ve been in every game. But we’re not swinging the bats now. Our hitters have got to make an adjustment, and for the first time they’re learning what it’s like to play in September.”
The Rays are at Texas on Tuesday night at 8:05 p.m. Ryan Yarbrough will pitch for the Rays against Lance Lynn.
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