Just realized I goofed the dates above, should be September 30-October 2, 2031. Don't know any way of editing the post title.
Game 1: The Publix Park crowd witnessed MLB history being made tonight as the Rays downed the Lightning 8-3 to set the MLB wins record with victory #123, breaking their own record of 122 set in 2028. As Jose Alvarado struck out Mathieu Nelson to end the game, the crowd gave the team a 5-minute standing ovation even though some of the players were quoted later as saying they hadn't won anything yet as the culture around this team is World Series or bust. The winning pitcher for this historic victory was a rookie, Jon Soranno, as he went an impressive 6 7 1 1 0 9 to improve an equally impressive 6-1, 3.09 as he lays down his marker to be in the 2032 rotation. Tim Siqueiros and Evan Godwin combined for a scoreless 7th & 8th, and with history on the line Alvarado was given the ball in honor of his 15 seasons with the team. It wasn't quite as storybook as hoped as he allowed 2 runs on 3 hits to Columbus but he got to be on the mound when it ended. Offensively, Nate Clark got things started in the 1st, hitting a Christian Rodriguez (not to be confused with their slugging All-Star 3B,
Cristhian Rodriguez) 3-0 pitch into the RF bullpen for HR #37 to make it 2-0. Clark added a fielder's choice RBI as he hits the 140-RBI mark for the second straight season. Jasson Dominguez had a big day, going 3-4 with HR #30 and Connor Kirkley and Luis Corpus were each 2-4 with an RBI. The loss wasn't as costly for Columbus as it could have been with Washington losing and staying 1 game ahead but the Phillies won to pull into a tie with the Lightning so we have a legit 3-team race in the NL East.
Also this happened tonight:
A truly impressive outing from the Rangers righty who also achieves a rare 100+ game score at 101. The loss was big for Detroit as they are 2 out of the second AL wild card.
From the league office:
Jon Hayes and Aparicio continue to tag-team this award for five months running, Hayes won it in June and August and now AA has taken it in May, July and September. The Angels' Trent Black, who won in April, kept the Rays staff from clean-sweeping this award.
Game 2: Andy Aparicio made his final regular-season start and it was a summation of his season to date as he hurled 7 shutout innings in a 2-0 Rays win over Columbus. AA was dealing again, although he had to get out of a bases-loaded, 1-out situation in the 2nd with a pair of whiffs, going 7 4 0 0 3 9 to finish his first season as a starting pitcher 22-2, 1.59 with 38 walks and 247 strikeouts in 226 IP. The 22 wins ties the team single-season record just set a few days ago by Jon Hayes (who can claim it as his own in his final start coming up) and the 1.59 ERA is the lowest since Greg Maddux's 1.56 in the strike-shortened 1994 season and the lowest in a full season since Dwight Gooden's 1.53 in 1985. He also finishes with an MLB-best 9.4 WAR, so he's earned Cy Young and MVP in my book. Evan Godwin had a 1-2-3 8th and Jordan Diaz likewise in the 9th for save #25, but there was some bad news I'll get to in a second. The two runs came via homers with Eloy Jimenez, who hit only 1 in all of September launched #56 for the year and #13 as a Ray in the 2nd inning, and Jakob Runnels, from whom I was hoping for 8-10 homers in part-time play based on his track record, hit his 3rd in the 5th. Now about that bad news:
Ouch. That one might hurt more than the Witt loss. The injury came on the final pitch of the game as he struck out Freddy Zamora. So Jose Alvarado goes from job-share to full-time closer and Tim Siqueiros is promoted to late-game righty. Not sure if I'm going to promote Eric Carter or Chris Hicks to take his place or maybe bring up Malachi Benford, who's been a starter the last couple years with Durham, to pitch relief.
MLB Playoff Race Update: Things are really wild in the NL East now as in addition to Columbus losing, Washington lost but Philadelphia won, meaning the Phillies and Nationals are now tied for the division lead with the Lightning one game behind. Cleveland has retaken the AL Central lead from the White Sox by 1/2 game, and Detroit pulled to within 1 game of the Angels for the 2nd AL wild card. The Dodgers now lead Arizona by 1 game in the NL West, although both teams are assured of at least a wild card.
October 2: Placed P Jordan Diaz on the 15-day IL with a sprained elbow, purchased the contract of P Chris Hicks from AAA Durham.
I ended up going with Hicks as he seemed the best short relief option with 75 stuff and 50 movement (but only 45 control) as opposed to Carter who is 80-40-40 and Benford who's 65-50-55 as a reliever. I was eyeing Hicks as a possible addition to the 40-man this offseason and now he's on it.
Game 3: Alec Sachais closed out his regular season in brilliant fashion as the Rays beat Columbus 5-2 to sweep the series and effectively eliminate the Lightning from playoff contention, as both Washington and Philly won today to open up a 2-game lead on Columbus. Sachais was nearly unhittable, allowing only an infield single in a 7 1 0 0 1 8 outing which concludes his regular season at 17-8, 3.14 with a 36/217 BB/K ratio in 189 innings, good for 4.5 WAR. In a normal year on a normal team, he might be considered a Cy Young contender with those numbers; here, he's the 4th starter. Jon Whiteleather pitched an effective 8th with 2 whiffs to bounce back from a couple of shaky outings, but shaky was the kindest adjective to describe Brad Ballmann, who entered the 9th with a 5-0 lead and proceeded to allow 2 hits and 2 walks without getting anyone out as he pitches himself off the playoff roster. Newly-minted right-handed closer Tim Siqueiros came in to bail him out, and although Siqueiros wild-pitched the man on 3rd home and then issued a walk to re-load the bases, he got a whiff and a double play to end the game and pick up his 3rd save of the year. All five of the Rays' runs came in the 4th inning, with the big blow a 3-run blast from Joe Barker, his 30th of the season. Barker's at 95 RBI so it will take a big final weekend for him to hit the century mark. Jasson Dominguez is at 97 RBI so he has a slightly better shot, although he didn't get one today as Luis Corpus's double and a GIDP accounted for the other two runs. Dominguez does have a shot at the batting title, though, as he's at .331 and Houston's Alex Padilla leads at .333.
Team record: 125-34. Next up: We close out the regular season with a weekend set at home against Toronto. Hopefully nobody else gets hurt.
MLB Playoff Race Update: In addition to the goings-on in the NL East chronicled above, Arizona and the Dodgers are once again tied atop the NL West. In the AL, Cleveland is 1/2 game up on the White Sox while the Tigers trail the Angels by 1 1/2 games for the second wild card. I just discovered that the schedule has shorted Detroit and Cleveland by a game so I have tentatively scheduled a game for the two to play on Monday if it means anything, which it probably will at least for the Central race.