Rays homer three times to down Blue Jays 7-1 in series opener at Rogers Centre

TORONTO — When Vladimir Guerrero Jr. struck out with Ernie Clement on first and one out in the eighth inning, there were plenty of dissenters among the 40,837 fans at Rogers Centre on Monday night.

The struggling Toronto Blue Jays slugger was booed as he failed to cash in, or at least, advance the runner from first base in each of his four at-bats in a 7-1 series-opening loss to the Tampa Bay Rays.

Guerrero, who has yet to hit a homer at home in 2026, flew out to right in the first. He smacked a shot to the base of the wall in left for the final out in the second, and flew out to right in the fifth.

After the near-miss in the third, he showed his discontent, slamming his bat as he jogged to first base.

“I know he was frustrated today,” Toronto manager John Schneider said. “He had some pitches that he could hit, has hit and will hit.

“No one feels it more than him, probably. I’ve said it a million times. I don’t know what it feels like to wake up and be Vlad, and the expectations and the pressure that come with it.

“He wants to be the guy. That part I appreciate, and I’ve got a lot of confidence that he will be the guy. He’s here for a reason. We signed him for a reason. He’s frustrated, like we’re all frustrated.

“But I’ve got no problem with him showing it every now and then. You know what I mean? The dude’s been everything we could have asked for his entire career here. So I think that just speaks for everyone right now, the level of frustration.”

In the series opener, Toronto committed three errors. Two infield miscues from Kazuma Okamoto and Andreas Gimenez led to a two-run third inning from the American League leaders.

Dylan Cease (6-5) didn’t help his own cause with a wild pitch, a balk and surrendering solo homers to centre field from Victor Mesa Jr. and Cedric Mullins. Reliever Brendon Little gave up another to Nick Fortes to lead off the ninth.

“We’re not playing to our potential, and it’s frustrating,” Cease said. “We know it’s on us, not the coaches or anybody else.”

The Blue Jays hit the 100-game mark Monday last in the AL East at 46-54, eight games under .500 for the first time this season. They’re also 13 wins behind the 100-game pace they set a year ago when they marched to the World Series.

Toronto sits 5 1/2 games behind the Rays and are 5 1/2 games out of the final AL wild-card spot with five teams to jump over.

On top of these woes is a slumping offence that has produced only six runs in the four games since the all-star break, resulting in three losses.

“You (reporters) probably want me to get pissed off, or the fans probably want me to get pissed off,” Schneider said. “If they were going after it in the way they should, then I’d be pissed off.

“It’s tough right now. You have to pick yourself up tomorrow and go at it again. Really, the energy’s fine, the work is fine. You just need someone to get it going. Really, that’s the biggest thing.

“But frustrating, yeah. But these guys are frustrated as heck, too.”

This report by The Canadian Press was first published July 20, 2026.

Tim Wharnsby, The Canadian Press