COLIN POCHE

Wander Franco had three RBIs, Jonathan Aranda homered and the Tampa Bay Rays beat the Toronto Blue Jays 10-5 in the opener of a big four-game series between playoff contenders.

Jeffrey Springs pitched neatly into the sixth inning, Christian Bethancourt hit a two-run homer in the seventh, and the Tampa Bay Rays moved within five games of the AL East-leading New York Yankees with a 9-0 victory.

Yu Chang and Yandy Diaz drew bases-loaded walks in a seven-run ninth inning to help the Tampa Bay Rays beat the Detroit Tigers 7-0.

The Baltimore Orioles’ winning streak ended at 10 as Christian Bethancourt hit his first home run for Tampa Bay and the Rays rallied for a 5-4 victory.

Aaron Judge hit his major league-leading 26th and 27th home runs, Jose Trevino delivered a two-run shot that put New York ahead in the eighth inning and the Yankees beat the Tampa Bay Rays 5-4.

Corey Kluber and Gerrit Cole dueled evenly for six impressive innings before the Tampa Bay Rays scored a pair of late runs to beat the Yankees 3-1, ending New York’s four-game winning streak.

Jean Ramirez dies suddenly at age 28 This is a 2021 photo of Jean Ramirez of the Tampa Bay Rays baseball team (Mary DeCicco/MLB Photos via AP) (Mary DeCicco/AP)The Tampa Bay Rays announced that bullpen catcher Jean Ramirez died Monday, but did not release any further details. The Tampa Bay Rays posted a tribute to Ramirez on social media saying, “The Rays baseball family mourns the loss of bullpen catcher Jean Ramirez.”The Rays baseball family mourns the loss of bullpen catcher Jean Ramirez pic.twitter.com/CSasYv7Aqm — Tampa Bay Rays (@RaysBaseball) January 11, 2022MLB.com shared a statement from Rays president Erik Neander: “He was a caring teammate and friend. From being teammates at Arkansas and again with the Rays, I can’t say enough good words about Jean and the kindness he showed to other people. He was such a great friend and his presence will truly be missed.”RIP to Jean and prayers with his family. From being teammates at Arkansas and again with the Rays, I can’t say enough good words about Jean and the kindness he showed to other people.