Blue Jays: A game of milestones in Tampa

The Toronto Blue Jays squeaked out a see-saw battle versus the Tampa Bay Rays last night ending their 4-game losing streak thanks in part to the long ball. The Jays connected for 6 home runs and accomplished a number of personal milestones along the way to their 60th victory of the season.

Donaldson Connects For 100th Homer

Third baseman Josh Donaldson continued his torrid August hitting his 22nd home run of the season. The round tripper was Donaldson’s 100th in a Blue Jays uniform since the slugger was acquired from the Oakland Athletics on November 28th, 2014.

Smoak Reaches Hit Milestone

First baseman Justin Smoak also got in on the home run parade slugging his team leading 34th homer of the season. The long-ball was Smoak’s 700th career hit since breaking into the league with the Texas Rangers in 2010.

Lopez Gets Monkey Off Back

Backup catcher Raffy Lopez hit his first MLB home run in the second inning off Rays starter Austin Pruitt. The 29-year old backstop has 25 career games under his belt with the Cubs, Reds and now Blue Jays.

Goins Sets Career Mark

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Ryan Goins hit his 6th home run of the season eclipsing his previous career best of 5 homers in 2015. The infielder also had previously set a career-high in runs batted in with 49 on the season surpassing the 45 he knocked in two years earlier.

Franchise First

For the first time in franchise history, the Jays connected for 4 deep flies in the first 2 innings of a contest. They also slugged 6 home runs for the first time in a game this season as both teams combined for 9 during the game.

Next: Blue Jays to deploy thirteenth different starter of the season

The Jays will shoot for the series victory this afternoon as Tom Koehler will make his Blue Jays debut opposite Alex Cobb at Tropicana Field. Koehler will be the 13th different hurler that manager John Gibbons has deployed to start a game this season.

It’s been one of those years.