Rays 1, Blue Jays 4
Record: 96-65
Attendance: 20,293. Rogers Centre.
In a day game after clinching a wild card berth and partying until way after normal bedtime, the Rays took the field hung over and worn out. Not surprisingly they were beaten in a lackluster affair, 4-1.
It was literally over in the bottom of the first when Ryne Yarbrough gave up a lead off home run to Teoscar Hernandez (25) and then followed that by giving up another three hits and two more runs. The Rays couldn't get on the board until the seventh when Matt Duffy, who had two of the Rays three hits, hit one over the left field fence, his first homer in his injury-shortened season, the first in fact in 427 at-best, according to Tampa Bay Times. Toronto got the run back in the bottom of the seventh, and that's how the game ended with the Rays players heading off the field and toward their rooms no doubt for more rest and more headache pills.
The Times reported that longtime Toronto clubhouse manager Kevin Malloy, who was in charge of cleaning up the mess, said "It was as bad as it's ever been." He needed to call in a professional cleaning crew to help. The clubhouse was finally cleaned up at 4 A.M. But carpets were still wet and smelly even with fans and dehumidifiers running all night. That's what nearly $10,000 of beer and champagne will cause. Maybe that's one part of baseball culture that can be changed for the better--maybe cutting back to $5,000 and a slightly toned down celebration would still be fun but not so damaging.
Yarbrough, now 11-6, put the wobbly first inning behind him and went on to pitch four more innings of solid baseball, so it's a bad-new, good-news situation. There's concern over Yarbrough's continuing troubles, and relief that he was able to right the ship.
In Sunday's game, the last of the season, Blake Snell will take the mound and hopefully regain the magic he lost in his last start. Yonny Chirinos will also get some work.
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