Aranda homers, drives in three as AL East-leading Rays beat Blue Jays 8-5 for 15th win in 17

TL;DR

Jonathan Aranda hit a home run and drove in three runs as the Tampa Bay Rays defeated the Toronto Blue Jays 8-5, marking their 15th win in 17 games. The Rays improved their record to 21-4 when scoring four or more runs this season.

Key points

Jonathan Aranda hit a home run and drove in three runs
Tampa Bay Rays won 8-5 against Toronto Blue Jays
Rays improved to 21-4 when scoring four or more runs
Rays have won 15 of their last 17 games
Kevin Gausman allowed seven runs in 4 2/3 innings

Jonathan ArandaRichie PalaciosTampa Bay RaysToronto Blue Jays

TORONTO (AP) — Jonathan Aranda hit a home run and drove in three, Richie Palacios had three hits and three RBIs, and the AL East-leading Tampa Bay Rays beat the Toronto Blue Jays 8-5 on Monday night, their 15th win in their last 17 games. Chandler Simpson had three hits, stole two bases and scored three runs as the Rays improved their AL-best record when scoring four runs or more to 21-4. Tampa Bay has won 10 straight and 20 of 21 when scoring four or more. Andrés Giménez hit two home runs for the Blue Jays, the first multihomer game of his career. Giménez hit a three-run drive off Drew Rasmussen in the second and added a two-run shot off Ian Seymour in the seventh. Giménez’s homers ended Tampa Bay’s franchise-record streak of allowing three earned runs or fewer at 16 games. Rasmussen (3-1) allowed three runs and four hits in six innings. Hunter Bigge got five outs and Bryan Baker finished for his 11th save in 13 chances. Aranda went 2 for 3 with a sacrifice fly and was hit by a pitch. After Aranda opened the scoring with his sacrifice fly off in the first inning, Palacios made it 3-0 with a two-out, two-run single. hit an RBI triple in the second and Aranda added an RBI hit. Simpson stole third and scored on a throwing error by catcher Brandon Valenzuela in the fourth. Aranda made it 7-3 with a leadoff homer in the fifth. Gausman (2-3) allowed season-highs of 10 hits and seven runs (six earned), in 4 2/3 innings. The right-hander struck out five, reaching 2,000 for his career by fanning to begin the fourth.

Q&A

What were Jonathan Aranda's contributions in the Rays vs Blue Jays game?

Jonathan Aranda hit a home run, drove in three runs, and had two hits in the game against the Blue Jays.

How many games have the Tampa Bay Rays won recently?

The Tampa Bay Rays have won 15 of their last 17 games.

What was Kevin Gausman's performance against the Rays?

Kevin Gausman allowed a season-high 10 hits and seven runs (six earned) in 4 2/3 innings pitched.