Tommy Pham kept his on-base streak intact./JEFFREY S. KING
Sunday, 3 a.m.
For most of the month, we knew the chase was futile. They were too far behind. There were too many teams to pass. They had waited too late to get hot.
Still, as the Tampa Bay Rays face elimination, it is an empty, hollow feeling. They are on the verge of officially falling short. They were good, but they weren't good enough.
The point was rubbed in on Saturday, when Tampa Bay's offense braked to a stop, and the team lost a 5-2 decision. The only Rays' runs came on solo homers by Tommy Pham and Jesus Sucre.
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Glasnow hasn't had a lot of run support./JEFFREY S. KING
It left the Rays two games behind the A's (who played later Saturday). Any combination of A's wins and Rays losses totaling two eliminates them.
The Blue Jays led 3-2 before scoring two runs in the eighth
Toronto lefty Thomas Pannone went 6 2/3 innings and gave up just six hits.
“He threw the fastball really well," Ray's manager Kevin Cash said. "He mixed a couple of slow breaking balls in there, but ultimately he threw the fastball at the bottom of the zone. The guys kept saying that out of his hand it looked like it was going to below the zone, but it stayed kind of true. Once he got to two strikes he was able to elevate some pitches to get some soft contact. He really threw a good ballgame for them."
Tyler Glasnow was almost as good for the Rays, throwing six innings and allowing three runs (technically, a quality start). But the Rays let a bases-loaded situation pass them by in the second and a two-out opportunity get away in the seventh.
"I thought Glasgow was fine," Cash said. "I really did. I mean, we have to figure how to get (Rowdy) Tellez out. Other than one blip, I thought Glas threw another strong outing."
The Rays are 8-0-1 in their last nine series. Already Toronto has clinched a tie in this four-game series. Tampa Bay tries to avoid that today at 1:07 p.m. when Cy Young candidate Blake Snell goes for his 21st win against the Jays' Ryan Borucki.
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