Rays blow lead, rally in 9th, then hang on to beat Blue Jays

Marc Topkin, Tampa Bay Times on May 13, 2025

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

There were several points Tuesday when it appeared the Rays did enough to beat the Blue Jays.

But it wasn’t until rookie reliever Mason Montgomery retired Daulton Varsho, who had already homered twice, with two on to end it that they did, 11-9.

After taking an early 4-0 lead and carrying a 6-4 advantage into the eighth, the Rays saw it go to waste when Edwin Uceta gave up a three-run go-ahead homer to Varsho in the inning.

The Rays rallied to take the lead back, scoring five in their ninth, including a grand slam by Junior Caminero.

Then the Jays threatened in their ninth, scoring two runs off closer Pete Fairbanks and getting the go-ahead run to the plate in Varsho.

The Rays continued to enjoy the comforts of not being at home, winning for the eighth time in their last nine road games. That improved them to 8-5 away from Steinbrenner Field, a stark contrast to their 11-17 record there.

Down 7-6 in the ninth, Travis Jankowski started the winning rally with a one-out walk off Jays closer Jeff Hoffman. After singles by ex-Jay Danny Jansen, rookie Chandler Simpson (that scored Jankowski) and Brandon Lowe, Caminero delivered the big blow with a grand slam.

Early on the Rays had much to be pleased with as Lowe, Jonathan Aranda and Jansen had big hits, Kameron Misner scored on a heads-up baserunning play, and reliever Manny Rodriguez got what looked to be a key out, retiring Vladimir Guerrero Jr. to end the fifth in relief of Shane Baz.

The Rays jumped out to a 4-0 lead, with Lowe and the red-hot Aranda sparking a third-inning rally.

Jansen was hit by a Jose Berrios pitch — extending his career-high on-base streak to 18 games — Simpson doubled to right and Lowe singled them both in.

An out later, Aranda launched a 433-foot homer to right-center to expand the lead to 4-0. Aranda had homered in three straight games against the Jays in September, and has hit seven of his 16 career homers off Toronto pitchers.

The Jays answered back against Baz, cutting the lead to 4-3 with a pair of home runs, then chasing him in the fifth.

Bo Bichette hit a two-run homer off the top of the left-field wall with two outs in the third on a slider, which is Baz’s fourth-best pitch, and Varsho hit a solo shot with two outs in the fourth.

The Jays threatened in the fifth when Tyler Heineman singled with one out and Bichette walked with two, bringing up Guerrero. Rays manager Kevin Cash didn’t like that matchup with Baz and brought in Rodriguez, who got Guerrero to ground out. Rodriguez came back to work the sixth, Garrett Cleavinger the seventh, Uceta the eighth and Pete Fairbanks the ninth.

The Rays added a run in the fifth on an odd play with Misner on second and Taylor Walls on first with two outs. Walls got picked off first but stayed in a rundown, helped when first baseman Guerrero dropped the ball, allowing enough time for Misner to score.

They made it 6-3 in the seventh when Jansen homered, his first since April 11 and second as a Ray.