Home runs by Smoak, Donaldson lift Blue Jays to 5-3 win over Rays
TORONTO — “Get Right Witcha” by Migos was blasting in the Blue Jays clubhouse, with team attendants and players quickly packing up after a 10-game homestand so they could catch a flight to Chicago for a matinee game against the World Series champion Cubs.
A 7-3 record on that homestand, punctuated by a 5-3 win over the Tampa Bay Rays on Thursday, has energized the team. Justin Smoak’s two-run homer in the eighth inning and Josh Donaldson’s pair of solo shots earlier in the game anchored the Blue Jays’ victory over their division rival as Toronto won its third consecutive series and continued to close in on the second wild card spot in the American League.
“It’s a breath of fresh air to be able to come to the yard expecting to win and getting those breaks that are going our way and sometimes making our own breaks” said Donaldson, who now has six homers in his past five games.
The Blue Jays, Rays and Baltimore Orioles now have identical .488 win percentages and are three games back of the Los Angeles Angels for the AL’s final wild card spot. The Angels were off on Thursday. However, there are four teams between Toronto, Tampa, Baltimore and the Angels.