Game 1: After a pair of heartbreaking losses in Philly the Rays snapped back and won a big 7-3 game over the Yankees, dashing any hopes of the Bronx Bombers to significantly cut into the division lead which now stands at 7. Christian Little got the start and was his usual self again, even if it didn't look that way in the early innings when he gave up 2 runs (1 earned) on 4 hits and had only two whiffs through 3 innings. But after that he was untouchable and ended the day 7 4 2 1 1 10 to lower his ERA to 2.66 and finally get on the winning side of the ledger at 4-3. Joe Barker and Jasson Dominguez led the offense, with the former rapping a pair of RBI singles and the latter with an RBI and 2-run HR (#3/#11). Keibert Ruiz also had an RBI single and Ricky Widmar was 2-4 with a sac fly and a steal. Christian Chamberlain had a nice 8th including a whiff of Vlad Jr to end the inning but as usual when I push him to a 2nd inning he struggled, and after he put two on I had to summon JDLC to get the final two outs in a non-save situation.
Game 2: Jack Leiter, who grew up in nearby New Jersey while his dad was a Yankee broadcaster, pitched another fine game before the locals as the Rays took care of the Yankees again 6-2. Leiter was 6.1 3 2 2 1 6 and was only dinged for HRs by Juan Pereyra (in his MLB debut) and Joe Allen, before giving way to Evan Godwin who pitched 1 2/3 scoreless, with Aaron Ashby pitching the 9th. Leiter left with a 4-2 lead thanks to an RBI grounder from Jud Fabian, a bases-loaded walk to Jasson Dominguez, a Yordan Alvarez sac fly and a Bobby Witt Jr solo shot (#7). Keibert Ruiz's 8th inning 2-run HR (#4) off Mike Tudor gave the Rays some breathing room as they now go ahead by a commanding 8 games in the division. Leiter improves to 6-2, 3.34.
Game 3: The Rays completed the sweep of the Yankees and opened up a 9-game lead in the AL East with a 3-1 win. Blake Money started and wasn't his sharpest, but got the job done including getting Vlad Jr to ground into a double play in the 5th with the bases loaded and one out. He struggled with his control but limited the damage to an Alan Trejo HR in a 5.2 5 1 1 5 5 performance. The bullpen was solid over the final 3 1/3, with Jack Filby going 1 1/3, Daniel Espino getting 5 outs and Jose Alvarado coming in to retire Juan Pereyra for the final out of the game and save #4. Money goes to 8-0, 2.23. The offense was almost exclusively supplied by Yordan Alvarez and Judson Fabian, who combined for 6 of the team's 8 hits. Alvarez had an RBI double in the 1st and a solo HR (#9) in the 3rd, and Fabian hit HR #7 in the 7th to make it 3-1.
Team record: 38-18. Next up: An off-day followed a weekend in Kansas City.
And here's some league recognition for Blake Money:
Also, from Durham:
