Rays vs. Blue Jays Game Highlights (9_26_25) _ MLB Highlights

It felt like last night the Blue Jays flipped the switch to the postseason and now their magic number is three to clinch their first AL East division title in 10 years. The Toronto Blue Jays hoping to lock down the division championship here this weekend against the Tampa Bay Rays. Shane Bieber the veteran who has traded from Cleveland to Toronto and now a Blue Jay in his seventh start this season back from Tommy John surgery. Now Bieber suddenly is a big part of this Blue Jay rotation. This is the Shane Bieber the Cy Young Award winner the two-time all-star that the Blue Jays traded for. Here's Yandy Diaz. He swings and misses here for strike three. Another one of the weapons that Shane Bieber has. It's kind of a cutter slash slider hybrid. The two outs and Bieber gets his first strikeout. Now he'll face Brandon Lau. Lau he's tormented Toronto pitching so far this season. Bieber even more as Lau pops one up. It's Clement taking over in the shallow part of right center field to make the catch and Shane Bieber trying to help lead the Blue Jays to the American League East crown. Their magic number is three and Bieber works a scoreless first. Adrian Hauser on the mound acquired from the White Sox earlier this season. Hauser having really his best year in the majors this season. George Springer having just a massive season especially since the all-star break as he leads it off. Springer attacks one of the gap in left center and has an extra base hit to get things started to lead off double for Springer in the first. From the stretch the pitch to Nathan Lucas. To the left side on the ground and through in the left center. Springer around third he'll come into score and it's one nothing Blue Jays in the bottom of the first. 62 RBIs this year for the 31 year old Lucas. Damon Arrow on the precipice of Ray's franchise history. Has a chance to tie or even break Carlos Peña's Ray's record for the most home runs in a single season. Looking in the air deep towards right field ranging back as Lucas looking up at the wall gone. Number 45 for Junior Caminero and the Rays tie it up one to one. Junior Caminero gets one closer to Carlos Peña's Ray's record. Jonathan Aranda is the batter now. Aranda was having a really strong season until he had a collision at first base that knocked him out for a couple of months. And there's a fly ball to right this one sent way back and that's gone. The Rays lift back to back homers. Caminero and the returning Aranda put Tampa Bay on top. Boy this is what the Rays had been known for prior to this year. Drawing walks and hitting a lot of home runs. I guess that wrist is okay. Aranda with a home run. This is Alejandro Kirk leading things off at the bottom of the second. Now Kirk does strike out an unusual punch out there for Alejandro Kirk as Hauser gets his first strikeout here tonight. Colton Varshow is the batter here. Hit high and deep right field. On the run back is Lowe. He reaches out and it's down. Bouncing into the fence. Varshow speeds into second. He has a double with one out in this inning. Ernie Clement to the plate. Varshow on second with two outs. There's a little blimp to right that falls for a base hit. A broken bat floater from Clement ties the game as Varshow comes in and the Blue Jays making contact finding a hole and tying the score. It's two to two. Those are the kind of swings. Those are the kind of approaches that the Blue Jays have been so good at all season. George Springer's kind of carried this offense the last three weeks. Base hit here could give the Blue Jays the lead again and Springer taps one to the third baseman. Caminero will play it to first and in the inning Toronto ties it up on a base hit by Ernie Clement and it's two to two after two. The good news is he allowed back-to-back homers in his last start as well and those were the only two runs he gave up over six in the third innings against Kansas City. So let's see if Bieber is able to correct course and keep the Rays off the board from here. There's a chopper to the left side. It's Barger getting into second base for one. Clement has a quick turn but Guerrero couldn't hold the bag as the throw was wide. The Blue Jays unable to turn that double play although it looked fairly traditional even after the third baseman was the one shoveling to the shortstop. Aranda reaches first on the fielder's choice. One ball two strikes on Josh Lowe. Lined up the middle a base hit so with two outs Bieber gives up a hit to Lowe. Aranda takes second base and it'll be Carson Williams standing in. So they really need Bieber to be on his game. Called strike three throws him with a fastball over the outside third to get Williams and end the top of the fourth inning. No runs on a hit two left on base two two game. Blue Jays and Rays are tied at two. We're in the fifth inning here at Rogers Center. Shane Bieber still on the hill for the Blue Jays now 72 pitches into his start. Three and one and Diaz takes ball four. Second walk issued by Bieber tonight. Two out walk brings up Brandon Lowe. You want nothing to do with Yandy Diaz but you want to face Brandon Lowe. That's a slippery slope. On the ground up the middle dive by Clement at second it's under him and into right center. Diaz stutter step stops at second Lowe into first with a single. Two aboard here with two outs. Yeah this is the kind of situation that you dread as a starting pitcher. You have a couple of runners on you have a base open at third base but you have Comanero coming up hit that laser line drive homer as first at bat. Comanero and what turns out to be now pretty important at bat in this game. Hit in the air left center field moving back Santander. He's camped under it and he's got it to end the top of the fifth. A little two out scare from the Rays. A run and a hit but they leave both on do not score at the middle of the fifth. Looks like the night is over for Shane Bieber. The 1-1. Springer lines it left center field it's down bouncing on the turf. Cut off quickly Simpson he'll get it back in. A good play in the outfield to limit George Springer to a single but George is two for three in the game. Two more hits tonight for Springer brings up Nathan Lucas. 1-0 Springer takes off and the pitch is clubbed right center field indeed Lowe going back to the wall it's out of here. Big fly Nathan Lucas Blue Jays up 4-2 in the bottom of the fifth. That was a hit and run that went about 400 feet. An unbelievable season an unbelievable night for Nathan Lucas. Vladimir Carrero Jr. swinging at the first pitch and he'll roll it through the middle of the infield. The fans on their feet again as Vlady's on with a one-out single. Kirk strikes out for the second time tonight. Hauser gets back-to-back strikeouts to win the inning. 54th appearance of the rookie season for the former Liberty Flame. Mason Flewharty 4-7-4 ERA in just under 50 innings. Called strike three. Putter at the top of the zone awkward jack swing from Miranda and that was a borderline pitch but Flewharty gets the call one out. Swing and a miss. Mangum is out on strikes. Flewharty has struck out the first two. Flewharty set at the belt. His two-strike pitch poked towards short. Jimenez racing back to haul in the line drive and end the inning. 1-2-3 for Mason Flewharty in the top of the sixth inning. 4-2 Blue Jays. Tommy Nance is the new pitcher for Toronto. He's been good at the major league level this year. Smack through the middle. Caminero's on base with a two-out single and here's Brendan Little who's in his 78th game. That's the most in the American League and he takes ball four. So Little issues yet another walk. The Rays trying to make some noise here with two outs. A pinch hitter Christopher Murrell will bat for Jake Mangum. It's two balls and a strike and Murrell pops it up. It's Nathan Lucas in right field and he squares it up to end the inning. Murrell flies out. Brendan Little does the job and the Blue Jays keep the lead. It's 4-2. Jeff Hoffman is on the mound for Toronto in a two-run game trying to trim the Blue Jays magic number down to two. He's only allowed one run in his last 11 appearances. Now it's ball four to low and the leadoff man is on for Tampa here in the ninth inning. Yeah you can see the look on Pete Walker's face and John Schneider. Those last couple of pitches Hoffman didn't look very comfortable. Fly ball left center field. This one will stay up. It's Varsho moving over. He's there. One out. A walk to Feduccia puts two on with one out. The tying run on first and for the second straight inning the winning run comes to the plate for the Rays. Chandler Simpson is due out. One he doesn't strike out and he's impossible to double up here. And Simpson hits a ground ball to short. Jimenez has it. Flips to second one. Over to first. Too late. The speed of Simpson comes into play. He keeps the game alive by racing down the line and beating the throw from Keiner Falefa. Now the Blue Jays will have to deal with Yandy Diaz, former batting champion, a dangerous man at the plate for the Rays. Also with Simpson speed you would think he's going to be off here early on. Hoffman still in there. There goes Simpson. The throw to second by Kirk. Not in time. Simpson steals the bag and the tying run is in scoring position. On the ground at third. Backhanded Clement pumps. Throws to first. The Blue Jays win the game. Two to go. The Blue Jays win it four to two over the Rays and they'll wake up again tomorrow still leading the American League East. Able to wiggle out of trouble. The big blow for the Blue Jays. The big two-run homer by Nathan Lucas in the fifth inning. The bullpen made it hold up. A little bit dicey there in a ninth for Hoffman but a win is a win and they're so precious and so hard to get down the stretch in the month of September.