TORONTO _ Friday's bounce back didn't carry over for the Rays, and after a 5-2 loss to the Blue Jays on Saturday, they are close to being officially bounced from the race for the final American League playoff spot.
The Rays opened the series in Toronto on Thursday knowing they likely needed a four-game sweep to make the final week of the season interesting.
They sustained a crushing loss Thursday, blowing a six-run lead in the ninth, but seemed to regroup with an 11-3 win Friday.
That obviously didn't carry over Saturday as they dropped to 86-68, and seven games behind the A's, who played later, with only eight left, meaning the end could come as soon as Sunday. Any combination of two Oakland wins or Tampa Bay losses makes it formal.
The Rays took a 1-0 lead in the third against Jays lefty Thomas Pannone, who was making his fifth big-league start, on a homer by Tommy Pham with two outs.
Pham continued his hot streak, and extended his AL-long 24-game on-base streak while logging his 20th homer of the season between the Cardinals and Rays.
But Tyler Glasnow was not sharp on the mound, and the Jays got to him in the fourth.
Trouble started with a leadoff walk to Justin Smoak, against whom the Rays were again playing a four-man outfield. The big blow was a one-out homer by Rowdy Tellez. And the Jays added another run with two outs when Glasnow gave up a single to Kevin Pillar and a double to Reese McGuire.
The Rays got back to within one in the seventh when Jesus Sucre delivered his first homer of the season. But the Jays tacked on two more in the eighth off Jose Alvarado, who hadn't allowed a run over his previous 15 appearances.
The Rays wrap up the series, and the road portion of their schedule, on Sunday, when Blake Snell takes the mound seeking his 21st win.
