The pitchers held up their end of the bargain, allowing just nine base runners and just one earned run. A throwing error by Danny Jansen at an inopportune time, the defense was also big. Winning this series is almost a must if the Jays want a shot at the top of the wild card, and getting a win against a guy who has been one of their most volatile players is a good start toward that goal. With their win tonight, they match Seattle’s record at 79-61, and jump a half game ahead of the Rays, one up in the win column. The Yankees, like the Mariners tonight, are now 5.5 games out. We got good Jose Berrios tonight. He gave up two runs, one earned, over six and a third, gave up six hits, one walk and one hit while striking out four. The winning run came in the second. David Peralta, Manuel Margot and Jonathan Aranda combined for back-to-back singles, none hitting hard. The unearned run came in the sixth. Randy Arozarena reached on a ground ball single and stole second on ball four from David Peralta. It was a borderline pitch and Danny Jansen looked forward to the call, but sent his throw to second, allowing Arozarena to go to third. He came in to score on homer Manuel Margot’s choice. The Jays lineup had a bad night. Minor League call-up Cooper Criswell was perfect through three innings, striking out four of nine batters. They finally caught up to him in the fourth. George Springer walked and Wladimir Guerrero Jr. followed by breaking up the no hitter with a ground ball to the left side. Bo Bichete singled to center to redeem Springer. Criswell got one more hit, picking up Alejandro Kirk, before he was pulled for JT Chargois, who got Teoscar Hernandez to ground into a double play to end the inning. Chargeois would stay in the game to pitch a clean fifth inning. There was some drama in the bottom of the sixth. Javy Guerra delivered a buzzer-beating double to Guerrero, then lost control of a 99 mph fastball that bounced off the lip of Bichette’s helmet. Bo was a little shaken but not in pain and was able to stay in the game. After Kirk singled to end the inning, Berrios hit Francisco Mejia in the buttocks to open the seventh. It is not clear if it was intentional. It would be silly, but then again the timing is suspect and while I’m sure Guerra wasn’t trying to move on, it was a pretty scary moment when Bo went down and the Jays were mad. Anyway, Berrios got one more hit, a foul out by Taylor Walsh and stood up for Yimi Garcia. Yandy Diaz immediately grounded into a double play to end the inning. Colin Poche hit a home run in the seventh for Tampa Bay, protecting a 2-1 lead. He allowed a bloop single to Matt Chapman, but the Jays couldn’t do anything against him. Garcia stayed in to handle the eighth. After two routine pitches, he hit Arozarena on the arm. That certainly wasn’t intentional, it was an 0-2 pitch that leaked a bit, but it was the end of Garcia’s night anyway as John Schneider called on Tim Mayza to play the lefty Peralta. Kevin Cash responded by submitting to Wander Franco, who is just returning to the lineup after a long IL stint. He cut an easy ball to Santiago Espinal at second for the third out. In the bottom of the inning, the Rays called on setup man Jason Adam and made six defensive changes, trying to preserve their one-run lead. Raimel Tapia singled and stole second, but Springer grounded out and Vlad struck out, putting it all on Bisset’s shoulders. Bo looked over the Rays’ flattened defense and decided to just hit on them, blasting a two-run shot over the glove of a leaping Arozarena to give Toronto a 3-2 lead. With the lead secured, Jordan Romano came in to close it out. Manuel Margot led off with a fly ball laced down the center field, but shortstop Jackie Bradely jr made a stunning run just off the wall to turn what looked like sure extra bases into an out. Romano tipped his cap to his center fielder and took it from there, striking out Isaac Paredes (strikeout for Aranda) and getting Mejia to strike out. Jays of the Day: Romano (), Bichette (.728) and Tapia (.123) had the number. Berrios didn’t, but I’m giving him the nod anyway, as the strikeout wasn’t his fault and he kept a sleepy offense in it, as long as Bo’s heroics matter. Jackie Bradley Jr. he has no WPA at all since he never came to the plate, but that catch is also worth a tip. Not so much: Springer (-0.117), Kirk (-0.170) and Hernandez (-0.169) We have a double header tomorrow. The first game will feature Alek Manoah (14-7, 2.42) taking on Jeffrey Springs (7-4, 2.54), with first pitch scheduled for 1:07 p.m. ET. The second game will follow at 19:07. The Jays are likely to start Mitch White, although that has not been confirmed. The Rays starter has not been announced.
