Jonathan Aranda hit a home run for the third straight game, helping the Tampa Bay Rays defeat the Toronto Blue Jays 4-3 on Sunday and complete a three-game sweep.
Aranda gave the Rays a 2-1 lead with a two-run homer off Zach Pop in the sixth inning. He has now hit six of his 10 career homers against the Blue Jays.
“Very well-rounded weekend for me personally and the team as well,” Aranda said through an interpreter.
In the seventh inning, pinch hitter Christopher Morel had a sacrifice fly off Génesis Cabrera (3-3), and Brandon Lowe hit a solo homer in the eighth to make it 4-2. Lowe now has 20 homers this season.
Vladimir Guerrero Jr. brought the Blue Jays closer at 4-3 with a single for his third hit of the game in the ninth inning against Edwin Uceta, who managed to secure his fourth save.
Guerrero had back-to-back three-hit games, leading the majors with 21 such games this season, and is hitting .327. His RBI gave him 100 on the year, along with 30 homers.
“What else can I say about Vlad?” said Toronto manager John Schneider. “Thirty and 100. I think it’s great. It’s a great personal kind of accomplishment.”
Schneider was ejected in the seventh inning for arguing about balls and strikes.
The Rays have now won four games in a row, bringing their record back to .500 at 78-78. This is their longest winning streak since a four-game stretch from May 15 to 18.
The announced attendance was 20,567, bringing the Rays’ home season total to 1,337,739. Tampa Bay started the day averaging 16,465 fans per game, which was the third-lowest in the majors, ahead of Miami and Oakland. The Rays had 1,440,301 fans in 2023.
Ernie Clement’s run-scoring single in the seventh off Kevin Kelly (5-2) tied the game at 2. Leo Jiménez had put the Blue Jays ahead 1-0 with a bases-loaded sacrifice fly off Shane Baz in the fourth.
Baz allowed one run and four hits over six innings, ending his team record streak of five consecutive starts with five or more innings and three hits or fewer.
