Mesa’s bat powers Rays past Blue Jays, pushing win streak to three

Mesa’s bat powers Rays past Blue Jays, pushing win streak to three JOHN CHIDLEY-HILL TORONTO THE CANADIAN PRESS PUBLISHED 2 HOURS AGO Open this photo in gallery: Tampa Bay Ray Cedric Mullins (31) scores a run after a walk while the bases were loaded as Toronto Blue Jays catcher Alejandro Kirk (30) looks on during sixth inning action in Toronto on Wednesday. NATHAN DENETTE/THE CANADIAN PRESS COMMENTS SHARE SAVE FOR LATER Listen to this article Learn more about audio Log in or create a free account to listen to this article. Victor Mesa Jr. had two RBI singles as the Tampa Bay Rays topped the Toronto Blue Jays 4-2 on Wednesday for their third-straight win. Chandler Simpson’s sacrifice fly in the sixth gave Tampa Bay (59-42) its first lead of the game, with Mesa tacking on a run in the next at bat. Pinch-hitter Ben Williamson drew a bases-loaded walk for the Rays’ third run of the sixth. Mesa’s RBI single in the second had tied it 1-1 for the American League East-leading Rays. Griffin Jax (6-7) pitched six innings of one-run ball, allowing just three hits and a walk, but striking out five. Relievers Cam Booser, Kevin Kelly and Bryan Baker preserved the win. Alejandro Kirk’s third home run of the season gave Toronto (46-56) a glimmer of hope in the seventh inning before it dropped its fourth straight. George Springer’s ground out scored Nathan Lukes for a 1-0 lead in the first. Braydon Fisher gave up a run in 1 1/3 innings as the Blue Jays’ opener. Spencer Miles followed with 3 2/3 scoreless innings, before Jeff Hoffman (5-7) gave up three unearned runs in 2/3 of an inning. Mason Fluharty completed the sixth for Hoffman before Tyler Rogers, Brendon Little and Louis Varland each had a scoreless inning. Takeaways Rays: Jax was effective for Tampa Bay, keeping Toronto off the scoreboard aside from Springer’s ground-out RBI. He dropped his earned-run average from 4.08 to 3.89 over the course of the game. It also allowed the Rays to rest most of their bullpen with one game left at Rogers Centre. Blue Jays: Toronto’s anemic offence continued to be an issue as it managed only four hits. The Blue Jays have a total of six runs in their past five games. Their 402 runs are the fewest in all of Major League Baseball this season. Open this photo in gallery: Jeff Hoffman (front) of the Toronto Blue Jays reacts in a break in play against the Tampa Bay Rays during the sixth inning of their game at Rogers Centre on Wednesday in Toronto. MARK BLINCH/GETTY…