Rays tag Bassitt with 3 home runs to send Blue Jays to 5th straight defeat | CBC Sports

Jose Siri, Randy Arozaena and Luke Raley homered, and the major league-leading Tampa Bay Rays beat the sliding Toronto Blue Jays 6-4 in Florida on Monday night.

After opener Trevor Kelley pitched two scoreless innings, Josh Fleming (1-0) allowed two runs and five hits over the next six as the Rays improved to 22-4 at home.

The announced crowd at Tropicana Field was a season-low 8,857. Tampa Bay started the day averaging 18,045, 10th in the American League.

Toronto’s Chris Bassitt (5-3) pitched 28 consecutive scoreless innings before the Rays scored three times in the second. He allowed six runs — two earned — and seven hits over 6 1/3 innings.

Whit Merrifield and Daulton Varsho homered for the Blue Jays (25-23), who have lost seven of eight and dropped 9 1/2 games behind Tampa Bay.

Varsho hit a solo homer in the ninth against Zack Littell, who was replaced by Pete Fairbanks with two on and one out. Fairbanks allowed a two-out RBI single to pinch-hitter Brandon Belt and loaded the bases with a walk of George Springer before getting a comebacker from Bo Bichette for his fifth save.

Arozarena had a leadoff double in the second and scored with two outs when first baseman Vladimir Guerrero Jr. was charged with an error after mishandling second baseman Merrifield’s throw from behind the base on Christian Bethancourt’s grounder. Siri followed with a homer to centre.

Guerrero got his second error after dropping a flip from Bassitt on a hard-hit ball by Wander Franco that the first baseman blocked. Guerrero stayed in the game after Franco stepped on his foot, which was on the base.

Isaac Paredes’ two-out RBI single later in the third made it 4-0.

Merrifield cut the deficit to 4-2 on a fourth-inning, two-run drive.

Arozarena went deep in the sixth, and Raley added his shot one inning later.

Toronto’s Jose Berrios (3-4) and Rays’ Taj Bradley (3-0) are Tuesday night’s starters.