Toronto Blue Jays vs Tampa Bay Rays Match Player Stats On Sep 25, 2022

George Springer slugged two of Toronto's four homers as the Blue Jays widened the gap in the American League wild-card race with the Tampa Bay Rays, beating the division foe 7-1 Sunday afternoon in St. Petersburg, Fla.

The Blue Jays (86-67) pounded three home runs off ace Shane McClanahan to increase their lead to two games over Tampa Bay (84-69) in the chase for the No. 1 wild-card spot and home-field advantage.

Springer went 3-for-4 with a walk, two runs and three RBIs. Teoscar Hernandez launched a mammoth two-run shot, and Alejandro Kirk ripped a solo homer as Toronto won its second straight game after dropping a pair to open the four-game series.

Over five innings, Ross Stripling (9-4) yielded one run on six hits, while fanning three without a walk.

Harold Ramirez went 3-for-4 to raise his average to .313, and Wander Franco had a single to stretch his hitting streak to a career-high 12 games. Randy Arozarena doubled and drove in a run.

Back on the mound after a brief four-plus-inning start Tuesday, McClanahan (12-7) gave up six hits over five innings. He allowed four runs and two walks to go with two strikeouts.

Tampa Bay won the season series 10-9 and owns the wild-card tiebreaker over Toronto.

The Blue Jays used an impressive power display to grab a 3-0 lead.

Batting fourth as the club's designated hitter, Kirk took McClanahan deep while leading off the second. He drove the southpaw's 97-mph four-seamer to left for his 14th homer.

Springer provided the pop in the third after Raimel Tapia opened with an infield single. The center fielder lashed a slider from McClanahan and sent out a 375-foot opposite-field blast to right field for a 3-0 lead.

In the bottom half, Taylor Walls hit a leadoff double and came home to score after a groundout by Manuel Margot and a sacrifice fly from Arozarena.

Springer barreled up another blast off McClanahan in the fifth -- a colossal 439-foot rocket to center for his 23rd homer and a 4-1 lead.

In the eighth after Matt Chapman walked, Hernandez launched the day's longest homer -- a 464-foot shot to left-center -- for his 22nd long ball.

Tapia led off the ninth with his third triple and scored the final run on Vladimir Guerrero Jr.'s two-out single.

--Field Level Media