Game 1: Jeff Brockman remained untouchable as he led the Rays to a 7-0 win in the series opener at Cleveland. Brockman was 6.2 3 0 0 1 6 and trimmed his ERA to a Bob-Gibson-in-1968-like 1.18 to go with a 9-0 record as a Cy could be in sight for him. Josh Alexander gave him all the support he'd need with a 3-run homer in the 1st (#15) and Ramon Ruiz added a 2-run shot (#5).
May 24: Activated OF Jimmy Leonard from the restricted list, optioned P Alex Stephens to AAA Durham.
Looks like we had the optimal outcome from Leonard's suspension:
We're all one big happy family now, Kumbaya and all that.
Game 2: After rescuing the rotation upon joining it in mid-season last year, Vinny Willard has been the weak link this season, and he and Chris Toombs couldn't hold a 6-1 lead as the Rays fell 7-6. They hit four doubles in a 6-run 2nd with Kevin Morley's driving in a pair but Willard gave Cleveland 3 runs back in the 4th and limped to a 5 9 4 4 1 2 outing which sees his ERA at 4.42 amid an alarming drop in whiffs, only 33 in 55 IP after averaging nearly a K an inning in the past. Chris Toombs, who had a rough year last year but has pitched well this season, had a rough outing in relief, allowing a pair of homers for Cleveland to go ahead and the offense couldn't come back.
Game 3: Jose Mendoza got over a tough first inning and led the Rays to a taut 4-2 win to keep them from falling into a losing streak. Mendoza walked 3 in the first, including one with the bases loaded to put Cleveland briefly ahead, but was locked in after that and finished 6 4 1 1 3 7 to improve to 7-0, 3.25 as he's been on a nice run of late. Kikuo Kawase notched his 15th save with a clean 9th. Jimmy Leonard swung the big bat today, homering in the 4th (#12) and doubling and scoring in the 2nd while Jeff Baez contributed a 2-run double in the 3-run 2nd.
Game 4: Like in the second game the Rays built a big early lead and watched Cleveland come back, but this time they held on to take a 9-6 win and 3 of 4 in the series. Tampa Bay was up 8-0 after 2 innings with some sloppy play by Cleveland contributing. Jimmy Leonard had another big game, going 3-5 with a double and 2 RBI, Josh Beckett drove in a pair and Seth Williams had a 3-hit game. Danny Romero started and was rolling until the wheels came off in the 6th and Cleveland pulled within 8-6. A Ramon Ruiz error opened the door for the runs to score, but Romero was hit hard and finished 5.2 7 6 1 1 3. He still picked up the win to go 8-1, and Chris Williams had a 2-inning save (#4) to preserve the win. One bit of bad news, though: Dan Gregory, who has almost single-handedly turned us into a decent defensive club, strained his forearm making a throw to the plate in that 6th inning and suffered a "moderate" injury for 2 weeks. Theoretically he could play through it but there's no need, so off to the IL he goes.
Team record: 44-8. Next up: 3 at home vs Toronto.