TORONTO — The Rays went on a 13-game winning streak to start the season, tying the major league modern-day record shared by the 1982 Braves and ’87 Brewers, by playing exceptionally well in all aspects of the game.
They lost the chance to stand on their own on Friday by playing so poorly they had arguably their worst match in their 14th attempt.
Poor shooting, costly defensive errors, and a lack of timely hitting contributed to the 6-3 defeat by the Blue Jays, as the Rays walked off the field without shaking hands for the first time since their March 30 opener.
The 13 victories to open the season are the second most of all time, behind only the 1884 St. Louis Maroons’ 20. They also surpassed the previous Rays franchise record of 12 in a row at any point in the season.
Drew Rasmussen, who did not allow a run in his first 13 runs within two innings, gave up Friday on his second pitch, a homer to George Springer.
Not sharp, Rasmussen only worked the fifth, allowing eight hits and four walks. He faced 23 jays, and needed 93 runs to get 13 runs.
Didn’t get much help.
The Jays got a run in the second when former Ray Kevin Kiermaier singled two outs, then moved to second on an errant throw by catcher Christian Betancourt. Kiermayer scored the inning with the walk and double going.
With the Rays down 2-1, Rasmussen loaded the bases to open the fifth, allowing singles to Bo Bichette and Vladimir Guerrero Jr. to strike. (inhaled by Wander Franco) and walking. It was lifted after hitting Matt Chapman.
Manager Kevin Cash went with lefty Colin Butch, which turned out to be a bad move. Poche walked pinch hitter Alejandro Kirk on four force pitches in one run and Santiago Espinal on five (a strike on first pitch, followed by four outs) to add another.
Things turned sour when Danny Jansen hit a coach to Franco that should have been a double play at the end of the first inning, but second baseman Brandon Lowe missed the throw, allowing two more runs to score.
The Rays took a 6-3 lead in the seventh when Josh Lowe and Bethancourt hit back-to-back homers, continuing the team’s streak of at least one home run in every game this season.
Kiermayer said before the game that he was “not surprised” that the Rays came off such a long streak given their overall talent and especially the quality of their display, but he hoped his new team would be the team to finish it off.
He said, “I like it.” “We go out on the field every day to win, and that’s our goal. They’ve got a lot of bars, a lot of titles, right, well deserved, but we’re going to do everything we can to keep a three-way tie or a four-way tie, whatever it is, for all of us.” The difference is 13-0 there.”
• • •
Sign up for the Rays Report weekly newsletter to get fresh perspectives on the Tampa Bay Rays and the rest of the majors from sports columnist John Romano.
Want more than just a score box?
Subscribe to our free radiology report newsletter
Columnist John Romano will be sending you the latest radiology insights and analysis to keep you in the loop on a weekly basis through the season.
You are all signed up!
Want more of our free weekly newsletter in your inbox? Let’s get started.
Explore all of your options
Don’t miss the latest with college sports from the Bucs, Rays, Lightning, Florida College, and more. Follow our Tampa Bay Times sports team on Twitter Twitter And Facebook.
“Alcohol enthusiast. Twitter ninja. Tv lover. Falls down a lot. Hipster-friendly coffee geek.”