October 6, 2048: AL Wild Card Game
 

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So for the second straight year we'll be facing the White Sox in the playoffs after a back-and-forth affair in Chicago tonight.

October 7, 2048: NL Wild Card Game
 

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Four straight walks in the bottom of the 8th forced home the winning runs for Milwaukee in another back-and-forth wild card game.

October 8, 2048: ALDS Game 1
 

Ouch...

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Dave Rose couldn't keep the ball in the park and a furious rally in the bottom of the 9th wasn't enough as the Rays dropped Game 1 at Publix Park. Hindsight being 20/20 and all, I would have brought in better relievers late in the game with the game seemingly out of hand as the "B" pen ended up giving the runs that made the difference in the end. Greg Bookhart will try to keep our backs away from the wall tomorrow.

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October 9, 2048: ALDS Game 2 & NLDS Game 1
 

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Mario Saro to the rescue! Just when it looked like the Rays might go into an 0-2 ALDS hole after Chicago scored 4 times in the 3rd to go up 4-1, Saro came through with a 3-run homer to put the Rays ahead to stay in the bottom of the frame. The LF is now 6 for 9 in the two games. Greg Bookhart was pretty good outside that disastrous 3rd, and the bullpen came through with Steve Falcon notching a 5-out save after Satoshi Sato put a couple on base in the 8th. We now head to Chicago with Chad Gardner taking the hill. With Chicago's heavy lefty lineup Bob Riley will get the nod over Melvin Delgado for Game 4, solving a dilemma that vexed me coming into the series.

Elsewhere around the other DSes:

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You think we play high-scoring games? How about that shootout in Anaheim. Julio Monjaras had a historic game for the Angels but notice who was the #3 star of the day, our old friend Seth Williams who had a 5-hit game in a losing cause. Sadly it looks like we won't face him should we advance to the ALCS as the Angels are now up 2-0. Elsewhere the road teams got it done to start the NLDS.

October 10, 2048: ALDS Game 3
 

Another "holy crap" moment...

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They seem to do this at least once a postseason but every time it happens it's shocking as the Rays scored 6 times in the 9th to turn a 7-2 blowout loss into a thrilling 8-7 win and went up 2-1 in the ALDS. Today played out eerily similarly to Game 1 as the Rays were blasted early and looked like big losers until a furious 9th-inning rally. But this time Juan Davila's 9th-inning homer was the winner instead of consolation as his 3-run shot with two out will be another chapter in Rays lore. Not to be overlooked is rookie Tony Olivo, who came on for Jose Castillo against a lefty and with the Rays down to their last out and down 7-3, came through with a 2-run single to set the stage for Davila. Also big (although it didn't seem so at the time) was Doug Johns throwing a runner out at the plate with two out in the bottom of the 8th or Chicago would have been up 8-2 going into the 9th instead of 7-2. Bob Riley will get the call tomorrow to try to win the series for Tampa Bay.

Meanwhile it will definitely be the Angels waiting for an opponent in the ALCS as they completed the sweep of Detroit:

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This despite a heroic effort by former Ray Seth Williams with all that playoff experience who homered today and was 7 for 13 with a homer and 5 RBI in the three losses.

October 12, 2048: ALDS Game 4 & NLDS Game 3
 

Whew...

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Run prevention has been an adventure this year and today was no exception as the Rays took an 8-3 lead by the 3rd only to watch it dwindle to one before getting some insurance in the 9th, only to see Steve Falcon struggle in the 9th before they finally held on to win the game 10-8 over the White Sox and the ALDS in 4 games. The White Sox and their fans will be seeing Juan Davila in their nightmares as the 2B blasted a 3-run homer in the third, his third of the series, to make it 8-3 but Bob Riley couldn't handle the big lead, hit hard by the Sox and unable to make it out of the 5th. It became a bullpen game after that and that is where the Rays have the advantage, and that 8-7 lead held up until Jose Castillo provided what turned out to be necessary insurance with a 2-run homer in the 9th as Falcon gave up a leadoff homer in the 9th and put two more men on before escaping with the save. So it's on to face the Angels in the ALCS.

*Have to disagree with OOTP's naming of Mario Saro as series MVP; while he hit for average and was great, Davila's 3 homers and 10 RBI should trump anything Saro did.

In the NLDS:

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Three of MLB's Final Four are set with the Phillies eliminating San Francisco in excruciating fashion in 16 innings while Milwaukee got a pair of homers from former Ray Daniel Malone and a 2-run walk-off shot in the 9th to take the advantage over St. Louis.

October 13, 2048: NLDS Game 4
 

We're going the distance with this one:

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October 15, 2048: NLDS Game 5
 

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An epic Game 5 in this series as the Cards came back from 4-1 down late to pull it out and advance to the NLCS against Philadelphia. It almost looked like St. Louis would squander a bases-loaded, nobody-out opportunity in the bottom of the 9th when Milwaukee got a strikeout and a pop-up but Mike Jacobson's 2-out single won it.

October 16, 2048: ALCS Game 1
 

They sure do have a flair for the dramatic...

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Another Patented Playoff Publix Park come-from-behind win for the Rays as they scored twice with two out in the 9th to snatch victory from the jaws of defeat and take a 1-0 ALCS lead on the Angels. Mario Saro, scoring hot this postseason, was the hero with the walk-off RBI single, his second RBI knock of the game, after Chris Parham came through with the equalizer. Dave Rose no-hit the Angels through 4 before things came apart in the 5th, but Tim James and Abelaldo Gray did a great job holding LA at 3 runs enabling the comeback. Greg Bookhart will try to put us up 2-0 tomorrow.

October 17, 2048: ALCS Game 2 & NLCS Game 1
 

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Take a bow Chad Gardner! Filling in for scheduled Game 2 starter Greg Bookhart, who had food poisoning, Gardner was brilliant in 7 efficient shutout innings (78 pitches) to lead the Rays to an unusually low-scoring 2-0 win at Publix Park, the same margin by which they now lead the ALCS. All the offense came in the 2nd on Vinny Rodriguez's first playoff homer, a solo shot, and Nelson Bocardo's RBI single. Gardner, Jose Carrasco and Steve Falcon made those two runs stand up and now we head to Anaheim in two days with a chance to really put away this series with Bookhart expected to be well enough to take the mound.

St. Louis gets off to a good start in the NLCS:

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October 18, 2048: NLCS Game 2
 

Just like the Rays did yesterday, the Cardinals won 2-0 to go up 2-0 in their championship series:

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October 19, 2028: ALCS Game 3
 

Almost there...

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Every time the Angels got close the Rays pulled away, and they've pulled away from LA in this series to the tune of a 3-0 series lead, putting Tampa Bay one game away from a return to the World Series after missing out last season. The bats set the tone with a 2-run first and didn't look back from there with the big inning coming in the 7th when the game had sat at 3-2 Rays through the middle innings. Tomas Laboy came off the bench for a 2-out pinch-RBI double to make it 4-2 and Luis Barela creamed a Jose Ordinario pitch into the LCF berm to up the lead to 6-2. The Angels got a couple back off Tim James in the bottom of the inning but a 3-spot in the 9th salted it away. With LA's lineup almost exclusively righty, Melvin Delgado will get the call in Game 4 tomorrow instead of Bob Riley as we look for the sweep.

October 20, 2048: ALCS Game 4 & NLCS Game 3
 

Back in the Series...

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The Rays are on to another World Series as they swept the Angels with a tidy 5-3 win at Anaheim Stadium. The offense came via the homer with Doug Johns giving them a quick 1-0 lead, Yuji Morioka hitting the eventual game-winner in the 3rd to break a 1-1 tie, and Jose Castillo breaking the game open with a 3-run shot in the 4th. Melvin Delgado was outstanding and the pen survived Steve Falcon allowing a leadoff homer in the 9th to hold on. One amusing note: Juan Davila was hit by a pitch and charged the mound after Castillo's homer; fortunately, OOTP doesn't do suspensions in the postseason so we won't have to use the light-hitting Josh Sprouse in the starting lineup come World Series time. Who will we play? Still an open question, especially after today's result:

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October 21, 2048: NLCS Game 4
 

Looks like we're going to have to wait a while for an opponent:

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October 22, 2048: NLCS Game 5
 

Advantage Phillies as the series heads back to St. Louis:

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October 24, 2048: NLCS Game 6
 

And we'll be playing the Phillies, who came all the way back from 0-2 down in the series to win the next four, including an extra-innings thriller in Game 6:

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October 27, 2048: World Series Game 1
 

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Luis Barela tormented his former team as the Rays opened defense of their crown with a 5-3 win over the Phillies in Game 1 of the World Series. The MVP-elect had an RBI double in the 3rd and provided some separation in the 5th with a 2-run homer. Dave Rose was in good form for his first postseason win and while the bullpen had a few shaky moments they didn't relinquish the lead. Greg Bookhart will go tomorrow in Game 2.

October 28, 2048: World Series Game 2
 

Finding new ways to win...

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The Rays have won 16 titles in this save over the last 27 years but they did something today in a World Series game they've never done before: won it on a walk-off walk. That's what happened today as Mario Saro took ball 4 on a 3-2 count with the bases loaded in the 11th and the Rays took a hard-fought 2-1 win over the Phillies to take a 2-0 series lead. The winning rally started when Tony Olivo, who had come into the game in the 9th as a pinch-runner and stole second only to be cut down at the plate trying to score on a grounder, tripled with one out. Juan Davila was intentionally walked and then pinch-hitter Tomas Laboy drew an unintentional walk, bringing up Saro who worked the count until he got the pitch he wanted - to take. Ironically the Rays' only run in regulation also came on a bases-loaded walk to Luis Barela in the 8th. Once again Greg Bookhart was under the weather so Chad Gardner had to fill in for him and once again Gardner was great, allowing only an unearned run due to Nelson Bocardo's passed ball. Bookhart should be good to go in Philly in two days' time as the Rays will look to put a stranglehold on the series.

October 30, 2048: World Series Game 3
 

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Rays are one game away from sweeping their second straight World Series but these have all been tough games. Spending a fortune on the bullpen (Sato, Carrasco and Falcon combined made $40M this year, although Colorado picked up $6M of Carrasco's salary) is paying off as once again they were lights-out after Mario Saro's 7th inning homer immediately answered a Philly comeback to tie after the Rays were up 3-0. Melvin Delgado will get first crack at closing out the Phillies tomorrow on Halloween.A

And I almost forgot to mention that Dave Frick is back! Our longtime SS was activated off the IL and Josh Sprouse was optioned to Durham. Since he didn't get the benefit of a minor league rehab I'm using Frick as a defensive replacement right now but will probably give him the start tomorrow in case it's his last Rays game.

October 31, 2048: World Series Game 4
 

World Series Title #17, they never get old!

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They did it again, and did it in grand, exciting fashion with Juan Davila singling in a pair of runs with two out in the 9th to tie it after coming off the bench and then the former Phillie broke Philadelphia hearts as Luis Barela clubbed a 2-run homer in the 10th to win it for the Rays, their 7th title in 8 years and 17th overall (they'll have one chance next year to tie the Yankees' record of 8 titles in a decade set in the 1950s next season). With Steve Falcon and Satoshi Sato tired from working the first three games of the series it was the unlikely battery of Abelaldo Gray and Akio Suzuki (as Nelson Bocardo was pinch-run for after singling the lead off the 10th) who got to have the bear hug at the mound before they were piled onto, after Gray got a double-play grounder to end the game. Before that it was a back-and-forth affair with Bocardo's homer in the top of the 6th making it 2-1 Rays before I left Melvin Delgado in one batter too long to face a lefty, who homered off him to put Philly up 3-2 with Mel Mejia giving up a solo shot in the 8th to make it 4-2. But in the top of the 9th the Rays caught a break when Philly 3B Greg Proietti threw high to second on what should have been a double play ball with one on and nobody out and led to the bases-loaded situation when Davila came through after Dave Frick was pinch-hit for in his likely final Rays game. It was also the likely final game in a Tampa Bay uniform for slugger Doug Johns as both are set to be free agents. But first they'll partake in one more parade.