The Blue Jays are just temporary tenants at Sahlen Field in Buffalo, N.Y., but their new "home" ballpark seems to resemble a summertime launching pad.
The Rays opened their three-game series Friday night in Buffalo, where the Blue Jays are playing their home games this season because Canada won't let them play in Toronto amid the pandemic. Tampa Bay learned quickly that the ball can fly at the renovated Triple-A park, finding themselves on the wrong end of an offensive explosion.
The Blue Jays hit six home runs, including three in the sixth inning, to hand the Rays a 12-4 loss.
The loss snapped the Rays' six-game winning streak and, at least temporarily, took some steam out of the momentum they had built from battering Red Sox pitching to the tune of 42 runs in a four-game sweep at Fenway Park, including a 17-8 rout on Thursday.
The ball can fly out of Toronto's Rogers Centre during the summer months. Sahlen Field has done a good imitation in the three games the Jays have played there, which includes the Jays hitting six home runs Wednesday in a 14-11 loss to the Marlins.
The Rays (12-9) entered the bottom of the sixth with a 4-3 lead, but Randall Grichuk opened the inning with a tying homer off reliever Ryan Thompson.
Former Blue Jay reliever Aaron Loup entered with one on and one out. He hit Cavan Biggio with his first pitch, then served up a three-run homer to Bo Bichette on his second pitch.
Two batters later, Teoscar Hernandez hit a 0-2 cutter over the left-center fence, 459 feet off Loup for Toronto's fifth homer of the game.
Loup, who opened the season with five straight scoreless outings, allowing just three hits in 21 plate appearances, has allowed four runs in his past two outings
Toronto's big inning came immediately after the Rays failed to take control of the game in the top of the sixth, scoring just once in an inning in which they loaded the bases with no outs.
After Willy Adames opened the inning with a double off lefty Anthony Kay, pinch-hitter Yandy Diaz and center fielder Kevin Kiermaier drew back-to-back walks.
Hunter Renfroe hit a sac fly to plate Adames, giving the Rays a 4-3 lead. Manager Kevin Cash brought Jose Martinez up to pinch-hit for catcher Michael Perez to get a righty-lefty matchup, but right-hander Wilmer Font entered the game.
Martinez then hit a 1-2 fastball to short, and Bichette began an inning-ending double play.
It got worse in the eighth, when the Jays plated four runs off Jose Alvarado, three coming on Hernandez's second homer of the game.
Cash needed to summon infielder Mike Brosseau to get the final out of the inning, and he struck out Grichuk looking on a 64-mph curveball.
Lowe hit his fourth homer in his past five starts two batters into the game, taking a Tanner Roark change-up over the right-field fence after Austin Meadows opened the game with a leadoff walk.
Lowe also added an RBI single in the second, giving him 10 RBIs in his past six games.
Right-hander Trevor Richards, who got his first start of the season to fill a rotation spot made vacant by Charlie Morton going on the injured list, gave the Rays his longest outing of the season. He went 4 1/3 innings, allowing three runs on four hits.
All three runs off Richards came on home runs, Rowdy Tellez' two-run shot in the second and Biggio's solo blast in the fourth.
