Toronto, Canada - The Toronto Blue Jays blew out the Tampa Bay Rays at home on Monday night to keep pace with their divisional foes as the MLB postseason is quickly approaching.

The Jays routed the Rays 8-1 in the first of their three-game set against their AL East-leading rivals.

The bats were alive for Toronto, led by right fielder Teoscar Hernández (28), who went 5-for-5 for the first time in his career, including four singles and a double.

All-Star slugger Vladimir Guerrero Jr. went 1-for-5 with his only hit being his now league-leading 45th homer, while Bo Bichette also went 1-for-5, hitting a solo shot.

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It was a spectacular night on the mound for the Blue Jays, with Alek Manoah pitching a shutout through eight innings, striking out 10 batters, and improving his record to 6-2, for his efforts.

The Rays on the other hand are going through a slump of sorts, having now dropped four out of their last five games. However, they’re still holding on to the top spot in their division, over Toronto, Boston, and New York, the three teams all fighting for two Wild Card spots in the American League.

Because of Manoah’s pitching performance, the Rays could only muster two hits in the game, one of which was a ninth-inning solo home run from Rays outfielder Austin Meadows that broke up a potential Blue Jays shutout.

Tampa’s Ryan Yarbrough allowed seven earned runs and 10 hits in 2.1 innings to drop his record to 8-5.

Both teams are back at it on Tuesday night for the second of their three-game series, back in Toronto.