MLB Game Preview - Toronto at Tampa Bay

Mon Aug 5, 2019 7:10 PM EDT

The Tampa Bay Rays are on a roll, and that can only be bad news for the visiting Toronto Blue Jays when the teams open a three-game series Monday night.

The Rays won their sixth game in a row Sunday, a 7-2 decision over the Miami Marlins. By matching their longest win streak of the season, they are 17 games over .500 for the first time since June 10.

The Blue Jays, meanwhile, have lost two in a row after winning the first five games of a 10-game road trip, going with a young core after shedding several players before the July 31 trade deadline. After sweeping three games from the Kansas City Royals and the first two games of a four-game series against the Orioles, they left Baltimore with a split after losing 6-5 Sunday.

The Blue Jays have their problems, anyway, against the Rays, who lead the season series 7-2 and are 3-0 at home against Toronto. The Rays have a 20-8 edge over the past two seasons.

The Rays are getting help from recent acquisitions with Eric Sogard, obtained in a trade last week from the Blue Jays, hitting two home runs Saturday, and Jesus Aguilar, obtained from the Milwaukee Brewers, hitting his first homer for Tampa Bay on Sunday.

"From the outside in, this should be a pretty fun team to join because we're so bought in on the approach that everybody's going to contribute," Rays manager Kevin Cash said. "Day to day, it could be a different person."

The Rays have hit more than one homer in each of the past seven games, tying a team record. They have scored at least six runs in seven straight games, a team record. During the stretch, the Rays have batted .320 with 36 extra-base hits, including 18 homers.

"Our offense right out of the gate from Opening Day on was really hot for a while," Cash said. "You're going to have some peaks and valleys in there."

The Blue Jays played a sloppy game on the bases and in the field Sunday.

"It's all about learning," Blue Jays manager Charlie Montoyo said. "And that's our job, to teach our kids. They're kids and that's going to happen. The routine ground balls, in the bigs, you have to make those plays because when you're playing good teams, big league teams, they are going to come back and it's going to haunt you.

"I'm not saying we're going to be happy playing like this but that's going to happen. We have played really good for the last month and a half but (Saturday) and (Sunday) have not been that great."

The Blue Jays were able to work closer Ken Giles into a game Sunday after he had not pitched since July 27 because of elbow inflammation. He pitched around a walk in his one inning.

"I'm going to be careful with him," Montoyo said. "It's up to him, if he feels great tomorrow in a save situation, we might use him."

The Rays will start right-hander Charlie Morton (12-3. 2.78 ERA) Monday against Blue Jays right-hander Jacob Waguespack (2-1, 4.60).

Morton is 2-0 with a 1.82 ERA in four career starts against Toronto, including a no-decision this season.

It will be the fifth career start and seventh appearance for Waguespack. He has faced the Rays twice (one start) and is 0-1 with a 5.00 ERA.

--Field Level Media