Arozarena 6 RBIs, Rays beat Blue Jays, tie for AL WC lead

ST. PETERSBURG, Fla. (AP) — Randy Arozarena hit his 20th homer and drove in six runs as the Tampa Bay Rays beat Toronto 10-6 Friday night, tying the Blue Jays at the top of the AL wild-card standings.

The win clinched the season series — and the tiebreaker — for the Rays, who have won 10 of 17 against the Blue Jays.

Arozarena’s three-run homer gave Tampa Bay a 6-4 lead in the fifth inning. He hit a two-out, two-run single in the eighth off Yimi Garcia (4-5).

Javy Guerra (1-0) won in relief.

Bo Bichette and Vladimir Guerrero Jr. hit RBI singles during a four-run fifth off Jeffrey Springs that put the Blue Jays ahead 4-3.

After Arozarena put Tampa Bay ahead, Toronto tied it at 6 in the sixth on George Springer’s sacrifice fly.

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Springs struck out six in five innings, giving up four runs and six hits.

Toronto starter Mitch White pitched four innings, giving up three runs and five hits.

Miles Mastrobuoni, who made his major league debut as a defensive replacement Thursday night for Tampa Bay, singled in the fifth for his first hit.

TRAINER’S ROOM

Blue Jays: OF Lourdes Gurriel Jr, who has been out two weeks with a strained left hamstring, resumed running Friday and might be re-activated next week. . . . INF Santiago Espinal (left oblique strain) will miss at least 10 more days.

Rays: INF Yandy Diaz missed a fourth straight game with a sore left shoulder. . . . LHP Ryan Yarbrough (right oblique strain) was placed on the 15-day injured list. . . . RHP Calvin Faucher was recalled from Triple-A Durham for the fifth time this season.

UP NEXT

RHP Alek Manoah (14-7, 2.40) will pitch Saturday night for the Blue Jays against RHP Drew Rasmussen (10-6, 2.92), who has given up eight runs in his last two starts (both losses) after giving up eight earned runs in his preceding eight starts.

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