Tampa Bay Rays at Toronto Blue Jays

	1	2	3	4	5	6	7	8	9	R	H	E
TB	0	1	1	0	2	1	1	0	1	7	13	0
TOR	0	0	0	1	0	0	0	0	0	1	8	3

Nick Martinez (8-2, 2.63 ERA) got the ball for the Rays looking to stop the bleeding, while Dylan Cease (6-4, 2.64 ERA) took the mound for Toronto trying to keep pace with an AL East race his own team is 10.5 games out of. Cease had owned this matchup earlier in the season, so nobody in Toronto was sweating the assignment.

Show fees

FINAL

Spread

ML

Total

Rays(56-42)

LLLLL

7

+1.5-144+153o7.5+113

Blue Jays(46-53)

LWLLL

1

-1.5+138-156u7.5-111

Best BetRays +128

Postgame

The Rays cashed easily, winning 7-1 and validating the plus-money price on the better team.

Pregame

The Rays came in as the plus-money side despite sitting atop the AL East, with the market pricing in their five-game skid more than their season-long track record. That price was value against a Blue Jays team stuck in last place, and Tampa Bay backed it up by putting this one away early.

That history didn't matter much on Monday. Cease was coming off one of his best starts of the year, an 8-inning, 0-run, 11-strikeout gem against the Giants, but the Rays lineup found a way to touch him up regardless. Tampa Bay chipped away with runs in five different innings, the kind of steady pressure that turns a close game into a rout by the middle innings.

Nick Martinez

(10-3)·2.77 ERA

Jul 10 vs Mariners

W

5.1IP

2ER

1K

1BB

70P

07/20 Lineup

Dylan Cease

(7-5)·2.41 ERA

Jul 8 @ Giants

W

8.0IP

0ER

11K

3BB

118P

07/20 Lineup

Toronto's night got worse from there. The Blue Jays committed 3 errors behind Cease, the kind of sloppy defense a last-place club can't afford against a first-place opponent. A lineup already without Anthony Santander, Addison Barger and Lenyn Sosa needed a clean night in the field to stay competitive, and it didn't get one.

Martinez, meanwhile, did just enough to get through his outing and hand the ball to a Rays bullpen that made the 7-1 final hold up without much drama. Tampa Bay's five-game losing streak had been the story of their week, with four straight losses in Boston piling up right before this series, but a laugher in Toronto is exactly the kind of get-right game a first-place team needs.

Tampa Bay Rays

(56-42)

Jul 19L@ Red Sox1-6

Jul 18L@ Red Sox6-7

Jul 17L@ Red Sox3-5

Jul 17L@ Red Sox0-10

Jul 12Lvs Mariners2-8

Toronto Blue Jays

(46-53)

Jul 19Lvs White Sox0-3

Jul 18Wvs White Sox1-0

Jul 17Lvs White Sox4-12

Jul 12L@ Padres4-5

Jul 12L@ Padres7-8

The Rays still sit atop the AL East at 56-42 even with the recent stumble, and this win is a reminder of why: even a shaky week doesn't change the talent gap between this roster and a Blue Jays team stuck in last place at 46-53. Toronto had won just once in its previous five games coming in, and this one did nothing to change that trend.

Tampa Bay Rays

(9)

• 10-Day-ILJake Fraley (RF) — Fraley (groin) was pulled off his rehab assignment Sunday at Triple-A Durham after feeling something in the area of his hernia surgery, Ryan Bass of Rays.tv reports.07/12
• 15-Day-ILJesse Scholtens (RP) — Scholtens (wrist) struck out a batter and allowed four earned runs on six hits and one walk across three innings Saturday in a rehab start with Triple-A Durham.07/20
• 15-Day-ILSteven Matz (SP) — Matz (ankle) will embark on a rehab assignment Thursday, Marc Topkin of the Tampa Bay Times reports.07/06
• 60-Day-ILGavin Lux (LF) — Lux (shoulder) was pulled off his rehab assignment earlier this week, Marc Topkin of the Tampa Bay Times reports.07/17
• 60-Day-ILSteven Wilson (RP) — Wilson (back) has been sent to the rookie-level Florida Complex League to begin a rehab assignment.07/10
• 60-Day-ILEdwin Uceta (RP) — Rays manager Kevin Cash said Monday that Uceta has yet to resume throwing and will meet with a doctor to have his nagging right shoulder injury examined, Marc Topkin of the Tampa Bay Times reports.07/06
• 60-Day-ILManuel Rodriguez (RP) — Manager Kevin Cash said Friday that Rodriguez (elbow) will begin throwing live batting practice June 30, Marc Topkin of the Tampa Bay Times reports.06/19
• 60-Day-ILJonathan Heasley (RP) — Heasley was returned to the major-league roster and placed on the 15-day injured list Tuesday with a right elbow stress reaction.06/08
• 60-Day-ILRyan Pepiot (SP) — Pepiot will undergo surgery on his right hip May 13 and miss the rest of the 2026 season, Ryan Bass of Rays.tv reports.05/08

Toronto Blue Jays

(10)

• 10-Day-ILLenyn Sosa (2B) — Sosa (wrist) resumed hitting in the batting cages earlier this week after experiencing a setback in his rehab program, Arden Zwelling of Sportsnet.ca reports.07/17
• 10-Day-ILAddison Barger (RF) — Barger (back/elbow) remains shut down from baseball activities, Ben Nicholson-Smith of Sportsnet.ca reports.07/17
• 10-Day-ILJesus Sanchez (RF) — The Blue Jays announced July 6 that Sanchez (ankle) has been running and hitting at the club's complex in Florida, MLB.com reports.07/14
• 15-Day-ILMax Scherzer (SP) — Scherzer (back/thumb) will resume his rehab assignment with Triple-A Buffalo on Wednesday, Ben Nicholson-Smith of Sportsnet.ca reports.07/20
• 60-Day-ILYimi Garcia (RP) — Garcia (elbow/neck/biceps) will throw a live batting practice session Tuesday, Mitch Bannon of The Athletic reports.07/20
• 60-Day-ILAnthony Santander (RF) — Santander is still dealing with discomfort in his surgically repaired left shoulder and recently received another cortisone shot, Keegan Matheson of MLB.com reports.07/17
• 60-Day-ILJoe Mantiply (RP) — Mantiply will undergo arthroscopic surgery to repair some damage in his left knee, Arden Zwelling of Sportsnet.ca reports.06/04
• 60-Day-ILJose Berrios (SP) — Blue Jays manager John Schneider said that Berrios underwent full Tommy John surgery Wednesday in addition to having a stress fracture repaired, Hazel Mae of Sportsnet reports.05/27
• 60-Day-ILCody Ponce (SP) — Ponce underwent surgery Friday to repair the ACL in his right knee, Arden Zwelling of Sportsnet.ca reports.05/08
• 60-Day-ILBowden Francis (SP) — The Blue Jays placed Francis (elbow) on the 60-day injured list Wednesday.05/08