Rays finish homestand 2-5 as Ian Seymour allows 3 HRs in loss to Blue Jays

Marc Topkin, Tampa Bay Times on Aug 20, 2026

Published in Baseball

By clicking submit, I authorize Arcamax and its affiliates to: (1) use, sell, and share my information for marketing purposes, including cross-context behavioral advertising, as described in our Privacy Policy , (2) add to information that I provide with other information like interests inferred from web page views, or data lawfully obtained from data brokers, such as past purchase or location data, or publicly available data, (3) contact me or enable others to contact me by email or other means with offers for different types of goods and services, and (4) retain my information while I am engaging with marketing messages that I receive and for a reasonable amount of time thereafter. I understand I can opt out at any time through an email that I receive, or by clicking here

ST. PETERSBURG, Fla. — Ian Seymour could not have started Thursday’s matinee any better on the mound for the Rays.

He struck out Toronto leadoff man Charles McAdoo on three pitches and did the same to Daz Cameron. Seymour then got ahead of Alejandro Kirk 0-2, leaving him one strike shy of an immaculate inning.

But Kirk wasn’t going down easy, battling through eight more pitches, then singling on the 11th of the at-bat.

Though Seymour got out of that inning unscathed, his day went downhill from there, as he allowed three solo homers over five innings, and the Rays lost again, 5-1 to the Blue Jays.

After a 9-0 cross-country road trip in which they added three impactful players via trade and improved their record to the best in the majors, the Rays returned to Tropicana Field — where they’ve had the majors’ best home record — and lost five of seven games to American League East foes Baltimore and Toronto.

Overall, the Rays dropped their AL-best record to 76-51, and pending what the Yankees do Thursday night in Baltimore, could have their East division lead cut to four games.

Seymour put the Rays in a 1-0 hole when Kazuma Okamoto took him deep in the second inning, and Nathan Lukes and Cameron got him in the fifth, which was Seymour’s last of the game.

In 101 1/3 innings over 40 appearances (11 starts), Seymour has allowed 18 homers, including five in his last two outings.

The Jays added two runs in the seventh off reliever Casey Legumina, though it wasn’t all his fault.

McAdoo singled with one out, Cameron followed with another single and the Jays ended up with runners on third and second when Jonny DeLuca misplayed Cameron’s ball. The Rays intentionally walked red-hot Kirk, bringing up George Springer.

Legumina got Springer to break his bat and hit a slow grounder — clocked at just 50.5 mph off the bat — but it was well placed to the right side, rolling between second baseman Richie Palacios, who was shifted up the middle, and first baseman Jonathan Aranda, who was left to play zone defense.

The Rays didn’t do much offensively, rapping just four hits on the day off starter Shane Bieber and two relievers.

The Rays got their lone run off Bieber in the fourth when Chandler Simpson singled, extending his hitting streak to 11 games, and Junior Caminero lashed a 114.6-mph single to left. They had a chance for more as Yandy Diaz singled with one out, but neither Cedric Mullins (fly out) or DeLuca (ground out) could get a run home.