None of that ended up mattering much once the game actually started.
Toronto scored in six different innings and never let Tampa Bay get comfortable, piling up 17 hits against a Rays pitching staff that couldn't find a groove. The Rays clawed back with 3 runs in the 4th and 2 more in the 8th, but a Tampa error compounded the damage and the Blue Jays' lineup kept answering every time the home crowd found a reason to get loud.
It's the kind of loss that fits a rough stretch for Tampa Bay, which had dropped 4 of its last 5 games after getting run over by Baltimore for most of last week. The Rays still sit at 75-50 and hold the better record in the division by a wide margin, but the last-5 window has flipped from dominant to shaky in a hurry.
Toronto's own injury list is still enormous — Trey Yesavage and Jameson Taillon are both only just resuming throwing programs, and the rotation has been patched together with names like Soriano, a deadline pickup who's now settled in fast. Guerrero's absence didn't stop the offense from cashing in on almost every mistake the Rays' staff made, which says plenty about the depth Toronto's found even with its top bat out of the lineup.