By Canadian Press

Josh Lowe’s 4 RBIs lead Blue Jays over Rays 7-6 as 20-year Junior Caminero makes debut

Sep 23, 2023 | 6:02 PM

ST. PETERSBURG, Fla. (AP) — Josh Lowe hit a three-run homer and a walk-off single that capped a two-run ninth inning, lifting Tampa Bay over the Toronto Blue Jays 7-6 on Saturday after the Rays wasted a five-run lead.

Rays prospect Junior Caminero made his big league debut at 20 years, 80 days and went 1 for 4 with a walk. He beat out what would have been an inning-ending, double-play grounder in the ninth — the initial out call by first base umpire Alex Tosi was reversed in a video review. Lowe then sliced an opposite-field single down the left-field line off Jordan Romano (5-6), who blew a save for the fourth time in 40 chances.

Yandy Díaz had four hits, and Díaz, Lowe and Christian Bethancourt homered for the Rays (95-61), who assured themselves no worse than the top AL wild card. The Rays started the day 1 1/2 games behind AL East-leading Baltimore, which played at Cleveland.

Toronto (86-69) began the day holding the second AL wild card, one game ahead of Texas and 1 1/2 games in front of Seattle, which played at the Rangers on Saturday night.

With the Blue Jays trailing 6-5, Díaz doubled leading off the ninth, took third on Harold Ramírez’s single and scored on Curtis Mead’s single. Díaz, second in the AL batting race, raised his average to .327,

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Toronto trailed 5-0 and was down 5-4 in the eighth when Pete Fairbanks threw a run-scoring wild pitch, walked Vladimir Guerrero Jr, and Cavan Biggio, hit Matt Chapman with a pitch and forced in a run with a walk with Whit Merrifield. Fairbanks has blown four of 28 save chances.

Díaz hit leadoff homer and Lowe added a three-run drive in a four-run first against Hyun Jin Ryu. Bethancourt made it 5-0 on his fourth-inning homer.

Rays starter Zack Littell took a shutout in the sixth but was pulled after the Blue Jays put two runners on with two outs due to Mead’s throwing error at third and a wild pitch on a strikeout.

Shawn Armstrong entered and gave up four straight hits, including George Springer’s two-run double, Guerrero’s RBI single and Biggio’s run-scoring double.

UNIFORM SELECTION

Caminero is wearing No. 1.

When asked why, he said with a smile through a translator “Because I am No. 1.”

FANS IN THE STANDS

The announced crowd was 22,655 as the Rays’ reached 1.4 million in home attendance for the first time since 2014. Tampa Bay has the major’s fourth-lowest home attendance this season

TRAINER’S ROOM

Blue Jays: 1B Brandon Belt (back) may be back in the next couple days.

Rays: 2B Brandon Lowe (fractured right patella) and RHP Jason Adam (oblique) went on the IL. … LF Randy Arozarena (left quadriceps) didn’t play and is day to day.

UP NEXT

Blue Jays LHP Yusei Kikuchi (10-6) and Rays RHP Taj Bradley (5-7) are Sunday’s starters.

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AP MLB: https://apnews.com/hub/MLB

Mark Didtler, The Associated Press