Bats leave Manoah no room for error

Here are the three things you need to know about the Blue Jays’ 3-0 loss to the Rays in Tampa on Sunday afternoon:

Offence MIA

After springing into action during the eighth inning of Saturday’s 5-1 victory, the Jays’ bats went back to their slumbering ways. They finished with five hits in the series finale and were shut out for the third time this season. One of the only scoring opportunities came in the third, when the Jays put runners on first and second with one down before George Springer and Vladimir Guerrero Jr. flew out in back-to-back at-bats. The Jays went 0-for-3 with runners in scoring position and left four on base.

Slipping away

Jays righty Alek Manoah was in complete control until the bottom of the sixth, when the Rays put runners on first and second with one out. Manoah appeared to have the second out when Harold Ramirez hit a chopper between second and third, but Matt Chapman’s toss to Santiago Espinal was wide of second base and rolled into shallow right field. One run scored, and another soon followed on a wild pitch as part of the three-run frame. Manoah took the loss after being charged with one earned run on five hits across six innings.

Springer returns

Springer’s left ankle injury apparently wasn’t that big a deal after all. Following a one-game absence, the 32-year-old outfielder was back in the leadoff spot, this time as designated hitter. Springer was healthy enough to play, but he did appear to be favouring his ankle at times and finished 0-for-4 with a strikeout. The big test will come Monday, if there’s any lingering soreness that would cause him to miss additional time, but the Jays appear to have avoided the worst.