ST. PETERSBURG — Despite his triple-digit pitch count, Taj Bradley was confident he could pull off the decisive home run in the fifth inning Saturday and qualify for the win if the Rays held on to their slim lead.

All he had to do was make sure Rays manager Kevin Cash was on the same page as he allowed a two-out walk, a hard single and then a slow 35-foot roller from the Blue Jays’ Spencer Horwitz that scored a run.

“I just kept looking at the dugout and tried to get a look that said, ‘Cashy, stay there, let me finish,'” Bradley said. “I don’t think he got it. But I was glad he let me stay out there and showed me that he trusted me and that he believed I could get out of there.”

Bradley did it by striking out Alejandro Kirk with his 101st, 102nd and 103rd pitches. The Rays held on to a 3-2 victory and the second-year right-hander picked up his first win since July 25, snapping a streak of nine frustrating starts (0-7, 7.88).

“I was really proud of him getting through the fifth inning,” Cash said. “That’s a lot of pitches in five innings. You can get really frustrated when you see how those at-bats unfold. Horwitz definitely put the ball in play where we couldn’t capitalize on it, and that run came about.”

“It was really nice to see Taj take a deep breath, keep his composure and pull it all out at the end and secure the win.”

With four wins in their last five games – and three in a row for the first time since mid-August – the Rays secured sole third place in the American League East for the first time since May 21, half a game ahead of the Red Sox.

The Rays also secured their 41st win of the season at Tropicana Field, their eighth consecutive winning season under the pitched roof. At 77-78, they need to win at least four of their final seven games to avoid their first losing season since 2017. And, whatever that means, they mathematically remained in the race for the American League wild-card spot, 4½ behind the No. 3 Twins, who play a doubleheader in Boston on Sunday.

“I’m pleased, there’s no doubt about that,” Cash said. “We can talk about all the frustrations, whatever. But right now, if you look at it all in isolation, I’m really pleased with the way the guys are doing their jobs, offensively, defensively, getting timely hits and then highlighted by just outstanding pitching.”

“Outstanding” might be an understatement. They had a 23-inning scoreless streak, including two consecutive shutouts, until the Jays scored in the fifth inning; and they have allowed two or fewer earned runs in six straight games, and five in their last 43 innings.

“That’s pretty good,” said Drew Rasmussen, who made the final six outs for his second major league save and his first since 2021 with Milwaukee.

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“You just see what we can do as a team, and I mean, it’s incredible. It’s a lot of fun. It keeps us in the game and gives our offense a chance. We’re starting to string together some multi-run innings, and I’m really happy with our chances of winning.”

They did just enough on Saturday.

In the second inning, catcher Ben Rortvedt delivered the winning hit they had been missing: a two-out single that brought Jonathan Aranda home from third base. Rortvedt, who was on a miserable losing streak (6 of his previous 63), threw his arms up in celebration as he reached first base.

Aranda, who scored the only run in Friday’s win with a sixth-inning home run, showed again on Saturday how well he could pitch and continue to take advantage of his regular playing time, hitting a two-run home run with two outs in the third inning that just cleared the center field wall.

“I rounded first base and said to myself, ‘I hope it’s gone. I hope it’s gone,'” Aranda said of communications director Elvis Martinez.

Cash wasn’t sure either, but was obviously pleased.

“Jonny is playing with a lot of confidence at the plate and on defense,” Cash said. “I’m so happy for him. And he continues to make the most of all of his at-bats.”

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