[Art Deco]

Game 1: Well here's the biggest series of the year to date as the Rays host the Jays for 3, holding a 4-game lead. And thanks to the Rays' inability to hit lefty Anthony Kay, it's now a 3-game lead. Max Fried took the hill for the Rays and after getting through the first 2 innings started dying the death of a thousand cuts as the Jays ended up touching him for 10 hits and 4 runs, two of which came on a Lourdes Gurriel HR in the 4th. He lasted 5 2/3 before giving way to Austin Adams, who yielded a 2-out RBI single to Cavan Biggio to allow the 4th Jays run to score. This game played out similarly to the Wild Card Game last year as the Jays built the mid-inning lead and the Rays chipped away. It wasn't until the 5th that they finally got some hits against Kay, and Vidal Brujan hit his first MLB HR in the 6th to make it 4-1. Nelson Cruz hit his 4th HR of the week in the 7th to make it 4-2, but the Rays wasted a 1-out Whit Merrifield triple in the 8th and got the first two on in the 9th via walk against Keith Ginkel only for Choi to fly out and Toro to ground into a DP to end the game. Shane McClanahan pitched another 2 hitless innings, striking out 3 including the tough to K Vlad Guerrero Jr. The Rays drop to 2-4 against LH starters this year (technically 3-4 but Daniel Strumpf was an opener for Nate Eovaldi), and considering the likes of Meadows, Choi and Kepler are all lefty hitters it does make some sense.

Game 2: I guess all we needed was for a righty to start and Jordan Romano & Co. were all that was needed to revive the Rays offense as they obliterated the Jays 17-1. Max Kepler was the star as his 2-run double in the first got the Rays going, and his 3-run HR in the third was the highlight of a 9-run inning that made the game a rout. Nelson Cruz had 2 more dingers, giving him 6 this week and the inside track on AL Player of the Week, Meadows broke out of his mini-slump with 4 hits including a HR to dead center, and Whit Merrifield was 4-5 with 3 RBI. The only Ray not to get in on the action was Ji-Man, 0-5 with 3 strikeouts as he seems to be getting into one of his patented slumps. Just like last week against Boston, Zack Greinke coasted with all this run support, going 8 6 1 1 2 2 with the only blemish a Randal Grichuk HR as the Rays restore their lead to 4 games.

Game 3: A white-knuckle affair at the Trop in the rubber match of the first big series of the season. The Rays were going against Nate Pearson, coming off a no-hitter but someone they've had more success against than most other teams the last couple of seasons. And it didn't take long to be sure Pearson wouldn't be the next Johnny Vander Meer as Ji-Man hit a two-out, two-run HR off him in the first and Kepler followed with a blast of his own to make it 3-0. In games past this would be enough for Jay-killer Joe Ryan, but he gave 2 runs right back on a Cavan Biggio HR in the 2nd and then Vlad Jr tied it in the 5th with an RBI single. But Ronaldo Hernandez restored the lead in the bottom of the 5th with his 6th HR in 38 AB, and Vidal Brujan followed with a triple and scored on Abraham Toro's sac fly to make it 5-3 and chase Pearson. The Jays struck right back in the 6th against Ryan, with Bo Bichette knocking in a run to cut the lead to 5-4. With the Jays threatening more, Jose Alvarado got an early call in the 6th and whiffed Shogo Akiyama to end the inning. He stayed on for a 1-2-3 7th, and then with two lefties due up to start the 8th, he stayed in to whiff Ryan Noda and get Biggio to ground out for an outing that lasted 2 perfect innings with 3 Ks (it helps that there are two off-days in the next 4 coming up). For the season Alvarado has pitched 12 scoreless innings with a 5/22 BB/K ratio, some damn impressive numbers. Nick Anderson came on and promptly walked the first two batters he faced (he's been unusually wild this year with 7 walks in 9 1/3 IP) but got Bo Bichette to fly out to end that threat. And Brad Hand got the Jays 1-2-3 in 9th to preserve a hard-fought 5-4 victory to go 11-for-11 in saves. Ryan goes to 5-0 despite a somewhat rough 5.1 5 4 4 3 8 line as the Rays go to 27-6 and extend their lead back to 5 games over Toronto.

Tyler Glasnow Rehab Update: Over 78 pitches, Glasnow went 5 2 1 1 2 9 vs Lehigh Valley so he's just about ready.

Team record: 27-6.