Rays turn to Shane Baz to defeat Blue Jays in series

The Tampa Bay Rays will look to sweep the Toronto Blue Jays in a three-game series on Sunday afternoon when the American League East rivals play in St. Petersburg, Florida.

On Saturday, the Rays (77-78) secured a home victory with a two-run homer from Jonathan Aranda, a win from starter Taj Bradley and Drew Rasmussen’s first save with the club in a 3-2 victory.

“You sit on the sidelines for so (a long time) and have to watch everybody compete — it’s really tough,” said Rasmussen, a former Rays starter who missed most of 2024 while recovering from Tommy John surgery but hit 100 mph on the radar Saturday. “To be back … it’s so exciting. It’s really a blessing.”

Sunday starter Shane Baz (3-3, 3.21 ERA) allowed two runs on two hits in seven innings in his last appearance in the 8-3 win over the Boston Red Sox on Tuesday.

Against the Blue Jays, the right-hander has a 2-0 record, a 2.45 ERA and 12 strikeouts in 11 innings in two starts.

The Rays received promising news regarding the injury to Shane McClanahan, who anchored the rotation as a top striker since arriving in 2021 before undergoing Tommy John surgery on his left elbow last August.

McClanahan appears to be on schedule to return to his regular schedule once the team is ready for spring training.

“Next week I have live blood pressure, and then the normal, healthy offseason begins,” McClanahan said Friday.

In his three-year career, the local product of the University of South Florida has a record of 33-16 with a 3.02 ERA. In 404 2/3 career innings, the flamethrower has 456 strikeouts.

McClanahan was 11-2 with a 3.29 ERA in 21 starts last season.

The Blue Jays (73-82) fell to 1-4 on their six-game road trip and are 19-28 in one-point games this season. They are 20-28 within their division.

Their season problems against opponents from the AL East have continued in the current encounters: Toronto has lost seven season series in a row against the Rays and last won a series in 2017, when they won 10 of 19 encounters.

Manager John Schneider’s club suffered a 4-8 loss to the team from Florida and now awaits the final on Sunday.

On Friday, star pitcher Jose Berrios narrowly missed the chance to put his name in the organization’s record book.

Trying to win his eighth straight start and tie Roger Clemens (1997) for the second-longest winning streak by a Toronto pitcher all-time, Berrios (16-10) allowed a solo home run by Jonathan Aranda and took the loss as the Blue Jays were beaten 1-0 for the ninth time this season.

“(He) has been as consistent as anyone in the league this year,” Schneider said of Berrios. “And today was just another example of that.”

Fans in Canada can expect to see Berrios one last time, likely on Wednesday against the Boston Red Sox.

Toronto is expected to play a bullpen game in the final against Tampa Bay on Sunday afternoon.

–Field level media