Rays Take Two of Three From Jays

(Photo by Jim McIsaac/Getty Images)

The Toronto Blue Jays ended the Tampa Bay Rays' seven game winning streak, but not before dropping two of three to a team that has surpassed them in the AL Eastern division.

The Rays were the hottest team in the majors in June and a lot of it was due to their starting pitching coming around.

In the first two games of the series against the Blue Jays, Tampa Bay received sterling performances from Jeff Niemann and Matt Garza, while getting timely hitting as the long ball powered the offense.

The Rays saw home runs from BJ Upton, Pat Burrell, Willy Aybar, and two from Carl Crawford in a pair of 4-1 decisions, beating Blue Jays Ace Roy Halladay in game one , and young right hander Scott Richmond in the second matchup. Neimann became the team leader in victories with his seventh of the season, while Matt Garza got himself back over the .500 mark (6-5).

Problems continued for James Shields, though.

In the third game of the series, Shields was touched for three home runs while young lefty Ricky Romero continued Tampa Bay's struggle against left handed pitching, befuddling the Rays hitters and scattering four hits and no runs while striking out seven. Rod Barajas, Alan Lind, and Scott Rolen would make a close 2-0 ball game heading into the seventh into a 5-0 whitewash.

Despite the setback, the Rays put distance between themselves and the Blue Jays while moving past their next opponent, the Texas Rangers, into second place in the American League Wild Card race.

They're currently two games behind the New York Yankees (though tied in the win column) but are still five back of the AL East-leading Boston Red Sox.

You're currently logged into Facebook

Do you want to share your Bleacher Report activity on Facebook?