Another Ray masterpiece and some booming Blue Jays bats sweep away Athletics

Give Robbie Ray a boost of offensive power to support his elite stuff from that mound and the Blue Jays ace starter looks even more formidable.

If that’s possible.

The Blue Jays got just that and then some on Sunday as the explosive offence returned for a third consecutive day in a series-sweeping 8-0 win over the Oakland Athletics.

Mix it with the Cy Young Award form of lefty Ray and the Jays showed all that they can be as they pitched their winning streak to four games and left a sellout crowd of 14,988 screaming for more later this month.

“Man, he’s the best pitcher in baseball right now,” manager Charlie Montoyo said after his team improved to 73-62. “When he takes that mound, everybody feels he’s going to give you a chance. He does what he does.

“He’s getting stronger, which is unusual to see that for somebody who has pitched that many innings.”

Ray got a well-deserved standing ovation when he exited after 6.2 innings of shutout work, tipped his cap to the crowd then, in a bit of a twist, was presented with the Jays’ home run jacket by Alek Manoah when he reached the dugout.

Overall, it was a rousing send-off for a crucial eight-game, seven-day road trip.

“It’s definitely a momentum swing in our favour,” Ray said after a gem he acknowledges as one of the better performances of his career and extended a streak in which he has pitched to a 1.62 ERA in his past five games. “It was a good all around win.

“I go about my business and focus on putting up zeroes for my team, but this team can hit, there’s no question about that. They’ve been starting to come around the last few days and it’s been really fun to watch.”

Overall, it was a dominating team effort against the A’s, who allowed the Jays make up three games in the AL wild-card race over the weekend series at the Rogers Centre.

And now it’s off to the Bronx for a four-game series with the Yankees, starting with a Labour Day matinee. It’s still too early to place too much emphasis on one series, but the Jays are well aware of the magnitude of what awaits in the Bronx.

“We’re confident, but we’ve got to keep our head down and play as hard as we can,” shortstop Bo Bichette said. “Our rotation has been amazing and when we hit like this, we’re (hard to beat.)”

And all of a sudden, the playoff race looks dramatically different after huge Sunday developments around the American League East. With Boston falling to Cleveland 11-5, the Jays are now just four games behind the Red Sox for the second wild-card spot.

The Yankees, who hold down the first wild-card berth, also lost to the lowly Orioles for the second game in a row and are now only 4.5 games up on the Jays, whom they face seven times before the season is done.

As prolific as the offence was in the series — putting up a whopping 29 runs in three games — the performance by Ray was shut-down sensational, extending a stretch in which he has been as strong as any starter in the AL.

The Jays’ most reliable arm all season, Ray allowed just one hit — and that didn’t come until the fifth inning — and struck out 10. It was the ninth time he had double-digit strikeouts and the 11th time he’s pitched into the seventh inning.

The 10 strikeouts allowed Ray to become the first pitcher in franchise history to record double-digit strikeouts in four consecutive games. It was also the ninth time this season that Ray reached 10 or more Ks, matching the Yankees’ Gerrit Cole (his possible Cy Young voting opponent) for the most in the majors.

That type of reliability has been a huge stabilizer for the Jays, who have now won seven of their past eight and are marking their territory for what they hope will be a September to remember.

You can bet the Yankees took notice and will throughout the series in the Bronx, that will no doubt have a playoff feel.

The Jays are still a long shot to snag a wild-card playoff spot, but those odds have shortened based on their results and play over the past week.  While Ray has doing his thing on Sunday, the bats were booming in many and varied ways.

There was Lourdes Gurriel Jr. getting the fun started, building on his huge weekend with a two-RBI triple.

There was Alejandro Kirk, chugging all the way home from first on Gurriel’s triple, before adding a three-run homer in the next inning as part of a three-run afternoon.

There was Bichette, also heating up and extending his hit streak to 10 games with four — three singles and a double.

There was a three-hit day for Vlad Guerrero Jr., who extended his hitting streak to a career-high 13 games.

And then there was the Jays’ Mr. Steady Marcus Semien, socking his 35th homer of the season.

It all added up to a rare burst of run support for Ray, but more importantly, took the stress off a weary bullpen that no doubt will be needed in New York.

What started out as a potential disaster on Friday, only to see the Jays score five in the eighth and three more in the ninth to pull out an 11-10 win, was both an eye-opener and a reminder of how deep the team’s talent is when firing.

“We were done in that game and somehow we came back and got it done,” Bichette said of Friday’s comeback. “It took a weight off of our shoulders. It reminded us of how good we are.”

GAME ON

With the blowout in effect, manager Charlie Montoyo was able to get some work from recent bullpen additions, Bryan Baker and Nate Pearson, who pitched the eighth and ninth, respectively. Pearson was particularly impressible, flashing a 100-mph fastball and striking out the side in the ninth … The contest began with a catch-of-the-year candidate from Jays centre fielder Randal Grichuk in the first to easily rob the A’s Sterling Marte of an extra-base hit. Running and lunging on his backhand before crashing into the wall, Grichuk covered a large chunk of outfield to make the grab on the warning track and subsequently fire up the Rogers Centre crowd from the start. “Randal comes out of nowhere and I almost fell down on the mound. It was amazing,” Ray said. “When he caught that ball, I was ecstatic.” … The win capped a 5-1 homestand at the Rogers Centre … The Jays rotation will stay on turn in New York with Hyun-Jin Ryu getting the ball Monday followed by Steven Matz, Alek Manoah and Jose Berrios … It was the Jays’ seventh series sweep and 13th shutout of the season … The Kirk homer was his fifth of the season but the first of his career at the Rogers Centre.