Rays rally and hang on to beat Jays, 7-6

Marc Topkin, Tampa Bay Times on Aug 19, 2026

Published in Baseball

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ST. PETERSBURG, Fla. — The way things have been going for the Rays over the last week, they’ll take any win and be happy with it.

So, bottom line, Wednesday was a good day, as they beat the Blue Jays, 7-6.

The win came after they had lost four of the first five games on their homestand, following a 9-0 cross-country road trip. They improved their American League-leading record to 76-50 and, at the least, maintained their five-game East Division lead over the Yankees, who were playing at Baltimore.

The good on Wednesday was that the Rays muscled and hustled their way to seven runs, showing off the versatility of their offense.

They got two runs on a homer by Yandy Diaz, two on a bloop double by Richie Palacios, two on back-to-back sacrifice bunts by Taylor Walls and Chandler Simpson (who both ended up safe at first), and one on a ground out by Junior Caminero.

The bad was a rough outing by starter Drew Rasmussen — or, more specifically, a rough fifth and final inning — as he allowed more runs Wednesday than in his previous five starts combined.

There also was some less than smooth work by the bullpen, though closer Bryan Baker, after making an error on Charles McAdoo’s leadoff comebacker, got the next three batters out for his team-record-extending 25th straight save and MLB-leading 36th of the season.

After a Caminero fly to deep left that seemed to hit the C-ring catwalk (and thus would have been a home run) was ruled a ground-rule double, Diaz delivered a no-doubt 414-foot blast to left-center for a 2-0 first-inning lead.

Blue Jays catcher Alejandro Kirk launched his daily damage versus Tampa Bay with a solo homer in the top of the fourth. The Rays countered by sending all nine batters to the plate in the bottom of the inning for a rally that showcased their offensive versatility, producing five runs and several bad words from pitcher Max Scherzer.

The Rays started by loading the bases on a Diaz walk, a Liam Hicks single and a Cedric Mullins walk. With one out, Palacios blooped a ball to shallow left that Toronto’s Jesus Sanchez seemed to have in his sights but pulled off, resulting in a two-run double.

With runners on second and third, the Rays shifted to their high-speed, small-ball offense.

Walls pushed a sacrifice bunt toward first, and Mullins slid home ahead of the toss. Simpson then bunted toward the mound and, thanks to a replay reversal, beat Scherzer’s throw, with Palacios scoring. Walls moved to third on a wild pitch and scored on a ground out by Caminero, who notched his 80th RBI.

A six-run lead with Rasmussen on the mound seems as safe as things can be, but the Rays starters have been going through a rough stretch.

That continued with one out in the fifth, as Rasmussen struggled through a stretch where he allowed six of seven batters to reach — five singles and a walk, with a sac fly mixed in — and four to score.

That ended Rasmussen’s night, and it wasn’t much to feel good about.

Rasmussen, who had allowed a total of four runs over his previous five starts and 30 innings, was tagged for five in five innings Wednesday. He gave up seven hits and walked two.

The Blue Jays cut their deficit to 7-6 with a run in the sixth off relievers Cam Booser (who allowed a leadoff single) and Kevin Kelly (who came in and gave up a second-pitch double).