Thursday, 4 a.m.
It was late in the evening Wednesday night when the Tampa Bay Rays blew up.
They imploded. They crumpled. All at once, they collectively forgot how to play baseball.
The Rays, who went on to lose a 6-3 game to Toronto, had fought their way back to a 2-2 tie. It was the eighth inning, and they had Jason Adam on the mound. No problem there. Adam has 19 holds this season.
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And then things went ka-blooey.
With one out, George Springer singled and stole second. After another out, the Rays intentionally walked Vlad Guerrero.
Adam then gave up back-to-back singles to Justin Turner (hard hit, but off Jose Caballero’s glove) and Daulton Varsho.
From there, things continued to come apart. There was a passed ball. There was a dropped popup by Taylor Walls. Before the inning was over, the Rays had given up four runs.
For the night, Tampa Bay had just four hits for the second straight game. Randy Arozarena had two of those, scored a run and drove one in.
The Rays are now 51-51, the 24th time they have been at .500 this season.
Jays pitcher Yariel Rodriguez came in with a 1-3 record and a 3.78 ERA. He handled the Rays, however, allowing just two hits through 5 2/3 innings.
The Rays and Jays play again today at 3:07 p.m. at the Rogers Centre.