Eric Lauer News: Hit hard in Friday's loss

Lauer (1-1) took the loss Friday as the Blue Jays were downed 3-1 by the Rays, giving up three runs on six hits and two walks over 4.1 innings. He struck out two.

The southpaw gave up plenty of hard contact among his 85 pitches (50 strikes), as five of the six hits off him went for extra bases, including homers by Brandon Lowe in the third inning and Curtis Mead in the fourth. Lauer sports a 3.31 ERA, 1.10 WHIP and 16:5 K:BB through 16.1 innings over five appearances (two starts) for Toronto, and he'll continue to fill in as the team's fifth starter next week on the road against the Rangers.