Blue Jays close disappointing season with 7-6 loss to Tampa Bay

In a year full of disappointment, the Toronto Blue Jays were left to focus on small victories as they closed out a regular season with games that became rather meaningless several weeks ago.

They were resigned to the role of spoiler and nearly put a significant dent in Tampa Bay’s post-season hopes on Sunday, with a furious comeback attempt coming just short as the Rays held on for a 7-6 victory.

At the start of the day, the Rays and Texas Rangers were one game behind the Cleveland Indians in the race for the two wild-card spots. Texas played the Los Angeles Angels later Sunday while Cleveland played the Minnesota Twins.

Toronto (74-88) finished last in the A.L. East division and fell to 40-41 on the year at Rogers Centre. It was the first season since 2004 that Toronto had a sub-.500 record at home.

Watch highlights of the game courtesy of Sportsnet

Blue Jays starter Todd Redmond (4-3) struck out David DeJesus to open the game before running into trouble. Wil Myers doubled, James Loney drove him in with a single and Evan Longoria followed with an RBI double.

Longoria moved to third on a groundout and scored when Delmon Young singled up the middle. Matt Joyce walked to end Redmond’s day.

Neil Wagner came on in relief and didn’t fare much better. Jose Lobaton drove Wagner’s first pitch off the wall in centre field to bring home two more runs.

Former Toronto shortstop Yunel Escobar added an RBI single as the Rays batted around. Escobar tried to take second base on the throw home but was thrown out by catcher J.P. Arencibia.

Tampa Bay starter Matt Moore (17-4) struggled with his command in the first inning. He walked three batters but escaped unscathed by striking out Mark DeRosa with two runners on base.

Anthony Gose singled in the third inning for Toronto’s first hit of the game. He was left stranded when Brett Lawrie of Langley, B.C., grounded out.

The Rays padded their lead in the fourth on a poor defensive play by left-fielder Kevin Pillar. He misjudged a drive from Myers that bounced off the wall for a double, allowing Escobar to score.

The Blue Jays chipped away at the lead in the sixth inning. DeRosa energized the crowd of 44,551 with a two-run double and later scored on a sacrifice fly by Arencibia.

Moore was pulled with one out in the frame. He allowed three earned runs, six hits, three walks and had four strikeouts.

Blue Jays reliever Darren Oliver, who plans to retire this off-season, received a standing ovation when he came out in the seventh inning. The 42-year-old left-hander retired the Rays in order.

In the bottom half of the frame, Jose Reyes scored on a one-out double by Lawrie. Gose was held at third base and Joel Peralta relieved Jake McGee.

Peralta walked Moises Sierra to load the bases, drawing a visit by Tampa Bay manager Joe Maddon. Home-plate umpire Paul Schrieber came to the mound and Maddon started to argue with him and was ejected.

Pinch-hitter Adam Lind then grounded into an inning-ending double play.

The Blue Jays made it a one-run game in the eighth inning. Reyes drove in Ryan Langerhans with a single off Fernando Rodney and Gose followed with an RBI single of his own that scored Pillar.

Lawrie drew a two-out walk to load the bases but Sierra followed with a strikeout.

The Blue Jays put a runner on in the ninth but Rodney got Ryan Goins on a lineout to end the game. It was Rodney’s 37th save of the year.

Toronto manager John Gibbons gave several relievers some work on the final game of the season. Oliver, Wagner, Luis Perez, Chad Jenkins, Jeremy Jeffress, Steve Delabar and Sergio Santos all made appearances.