The Blue Jays toppled the Tampa Bay Rays on Tuesday night in Tampa, and now they are just one win shy of the 90-win threshold in this special season.
The Toronto Blue Jays held onto beat the Tampa Bay Rays 6-5 on Tuesday night at Steinbrenner Field in Tampa, moving to 89-62 on the season.
The Jays are now five games up on the New York Yankees in the American League East with 11 games to play, and they are closing in on their first division title since 2015 as a result. The Jays are also moving closer to the No. 1 seed in the American League playoffs, which would give them homefield advantage throughout.
Nathan Lukes and Joey Loperfido hit home runs for Toronto, and Vladimir Guerrero Jr. stayed hot at the plate, going 2-for-5. With the multi-hit game, he moved up another impressive list in team history, according to @StatsCentre:
(Related) Most career multi-hit games in #BlueJays franchise history (1977-):
441- Tony Fernandez
434- Vernon Wells
379- Carlos Delgado
363- George Bell
343- Lloyd Moseby
313- Shannon Stewart
296- Guerrero Jr.
296- Damaso Garcia
275- Joe Carter
269- Willie Upshaw
268- Bo Bichette
It's been an excellent season for Guerrero, who signed a $500 million extension early on. He's followed that up by hitting .302 with 23 home runs, 81 RBIs and six stolen bases. He's carrying a .395 on-base percentage and an .884 OPS.
He made the All-Star Game again this season and helps make up one of the deepest lineups in the entire league as the playoffs near.
A seven-year veteran, Guerrero is a career .290 hitter with 183 home runs and 588 RBIs. By signing the $500 million extension, Guerrero is missing a chance to be the most coveted player on the looming free agent market. That title now belongs to Kyle Tucker.
The Blue Jays and Rays will play again on Wednesday night at 7:05 p.m. ET. Right-hander Kevin Gausman, who is 10-10 with a 3.44 ERA, will take the mound against left-hander Ian Seymour. Seymour is 3-2 with a 2.95 ERA in limited action.
The two teams will finish out the series on Thursday at 1:10 p.m. ET.