Bo Bichette produced a pair of home runs and three RBIs but it was not enough as the Toronto Blue Jays dropped their series opener following a 6-4 loss to the Tampa Rays on Thursday night.
Bichette started off by hitting a solo bomb on the 13th pitch of the game, blasting it over the wall in left field. The 21-year-old then popped his second homer of the game in the seventh, his 10th of the season, which briefly tied things up at four.
Toronto (55-86) has now dropped six of its last seven, including four consecutive losses. Vladimir Guerrero Jr. went 2-for-3 and earned his 60th RBI of the season.
Trent Thornton (4-9) allowed four hits and one run in 4.2 innings in what was his fourth start against the Rays this season. Buddy Boshers (0-3) picks up the loss after allowing a home run in just two pitches.
Oliver Drake (4-2) claimed the win for Tampa Bay, striking out three batters while allowing two hits in his lone inning on the mound. Austin Pruitt allowed just one run in the first five innings as the starter, striking out four.
Austin Meadows was the offensive leader for the Rays, going 3-for-4 including a homer in the bottom of the seventh which proved to be the winning run. That came shortly after Bichette tied the game up 4-4 in the top of the inning.
With the game sitting at 5-4 in the eighth, an RBI-double from Meadows brought in Joey Wendle to score to seal the game for Tampa.
The opener of the four-game set was a part of the new MLB Game of the Week Live on YouTube series that launched in 2019. A total of 13 games will be broadcasted in this format during the season.
The series will continue Friday night at Tropicana Field.
Notes: Brock Stewart allowed one hit and one run in 1.1 innings after being called up from triple-A Buffalo on Thursday. Fellow right-hander Justin Schafer was also recalled from the Bisons and was active for the game.