Blue Jays let another one slip away as struggles at Tropicana Field continue

Solid start by Kevin Gausman goes to waste as Toronto suffers death by 10 singles in 4-3 loss to Rays

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Published May 05, 2026  •  4 minute read

Kevin Gausman of the Toronto Blue Jays throws against the Tampa Bay Rays during the first inning of a baseball game at Tropicana Field on May 5, 2026, in St. Petersburg, Fla. Photo by Mike Carlson /Getty Images

In all likelihood, Kevin Gausman will record his 2,000th career strikeout in his next start.

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Or perhaps his milestone moment will have to wait a bit longer after a 4-3 loss to the Tampa Bay Rays.

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Either way, the veteran right-hander will soon join an exclusive list of active pitchers who have reached the target, including teammate Max Scherzer.

In his first two starts to begin the season, Gausman recorded a combined 21 strikeouts, a rate that was not going to be sustained. He’s slowed down considerably on the K train, having compiled a combined five strikeouts in his last two outings heading into Tuesday’s night’s start against the host Rays.

Oddly enough, his velocity experienced a bump.

Gausman cares little about individual acclaim, knowing the team goal of winning supersedes everything else. He did give his team six complete innings of two-run ball, an outing that featured three strikeouts to move him three shy of 2,000 in his career.

When Gausman’s night had ended, the Jays were leading 3-2.

After Jeff Hoffman pitched a clean seventh, Trevor Rogers gave up the tying run in the eighth on three successive hits. A fourth straight hit would allow the Rays to take the lead, their first on the night.

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Rogers would be replaced by Louis Varland, who kept the Jays to within one run.

In typical Tampa fashion, it found holes in the field and ultimately found a way to eke out the win.

The following are three takeaways on a night the Rays recorded 11 hits, but only one went for extra bases as they go for a series sweep on Wednesday.

Blue Jays batter George Springer is checked by a medical trainer and manager John Schneider after getting hit by a pitch on the foot against the Twins during the third inning at Target Field in Minneapolis, Saturday, May 2, 2026. Photo by David Berding /Getty Images

1. Springer in the air

While his fractured big toe hasn’t healed and likely won’t heal for some time, it has done little to discourage veteran George Springer from returning to the lineup.

Not once but twice has Springer been hit on his left foot when facing the Minnesota Twins, the first in Toronto when he took a foul tip, the second in Minnesota when he was hit by a pitch on Saturday with X-rays coming back negative.

Springer was back in the leadoff spot on Tuesday at DH. He hit the first pitch he saw foul followed by a called strike to fall quickly behind in the count, which eventually ended with a groundout.

Nothing, it seems, will alter Springer’s aggressive approach at the plate nor will anything deter him from playing.

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One inning later, Springer was back at the plate, only this time the Jays were leading 2-0. Once again, he swung at the first pitch that would see Springer ground out to end the frame

In his third at-bat, Springer had runners on first and second with none out in a 2-2 game. Surprise, surprise, he swung at the first pitch in an at-bat that resulted in a long out to centre.

He ended the game on a lineout.

Kazuma Okamoto of the Toronto Blue Jays celebrates his home run by receiving the jacket from Vladimir Guerrero Jr. against the Tampa Bay Rays during the first inning of a baseball game at Tropicana Field on May 5, 2026, in St. Petersburg, Fla. Photo by Mike Carlson /Getty Images

2. Double trouble

With two outs and none on in the top half of the first inning, Kazuma Okamoto stepped up the plate.

The No. 3 hole in the order has been the domain of Vladimir Guerrero Jr., who had started all 35 games so far this season.

It changed Tuesday when Guerrero was given the day off, though he was available and would eventually come off the bench.

Okamoto was inserted into the No. 3 spot and he introduced himself early by launching a ball into the seats in right-centre field for a solo blast. For Okamoto, it was his 10th homer of the season and fifth in his last five games.

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Okamoto made a nice play in the field to start an inning-ending double play in the fifth.

Okamoto singled in the eighth to give him a multi-hit night. One out later, Guerrero entered the game as a pinch hitter. He grounded out on a soft roller.

Guerrero stayed in the game as a defensive replacement for Lenyn Sosa at first base.

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3. Something to yell about?

Observers of a certain vintage will remember the good old days when managers and umpires went face to face arguing balls and strikes long before the days of analytics and spreadsheets.

Those confrontations at home plate were epic, the type of scene that is so rare in the modern game.

It looked like things were about to turn ugly in the third inning when the Jays were out of challenges. That did little to prevent manager John Schneider and pitching coach Pete Walker from offering an opinion directed at home plate umpire Chris Guccione.

At one point, Guccione turned toward the Jays’ dugout. Even the most amateur lip reader could see Guccione say: “Don’t be yelling!”

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Schneider responded by saying: “OK, OK, don’t wave your f—ing finger at me.”

Classic.

In a way, the exchange took a bit of the attention off rookie catcher Brandon Valenzuela, who has been quite good. The one area he needs to improve on is working the ABS system and how prone he is to asking for a challenge early in games.

Valenzuela had a 10-pitch at-bat in the fifth inning that resulted in a walk. A mental error would see the kid tagged out at second when he tried to advance on a deep fly ball.

Fear not because fellow rookie Yohendrick Pinango picked up Valenzuela by stroking an RBI single up the middle to give the Jays a 3-2 lead.

Up next

The Jays’ seven-game trip ends Wednesday afternoon at Tropicana Field with an all-lefty pitching matchup featuring Patrick Corbin making the start for the Jays, while Shane McClanahan is scheduled to be on the bump for Tampa.

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