TORONTO -- The alternative was proper there.

The Rays entered Friday’s recreation as baseball’s most fearsome squad. Their offense was thriving, their pitching was untouchable and so they’d racked up 13 straight wins to start out the yr. One extra victory would have surpassed the 1982 Braves and ‘87 Brewers for the longest winning streak to start a season in MLB’s Modern Era.

Against Blue Jays starter José Berríos (who got here in with an 11.17 ERA), Tampa Bay was teed as much as feast but once more. But a 6-3 loss at Rogers Centre confirmed that historical past could be elusive. From the get-go, the Rays weren’t crisp -- an oddity given how constant the season started.

Drew Rasmussen's command uncharacteristically drifted all night, however the mess didn’t actually start till he departed within the fifth, leaving the bases loaded for reliever Colin Poche. The lefty walked in two runs earlier than an error by Brandon Lowe turned a sure-fire double play into two extra tallies for the Blue Jays.

Give credit score to the Rays for battling again. Even because the record-breaking desires light, Tampa Bay clubbed back-to-back house runs within the seventh inning off Jays reliever Yimi García. The membership’s 34 house runs this season tied the 2019 Mariners and '00 Cardinals for essentially the most in AL/NL historical past by way of 14 video games.

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