October 31, 2053: World Series Game 3
 

Beating the Dodgers at their own game...

https://i.imgur.com/2pIeSsH.png

LA had made a name for itself getting through the NLDS & NLCS with a string of one-run wins and they grabbed one in Game 2 as well, making it all the more satisfying to see the Rays come out on top on one of those in Game 3 and taking a 2-1 series lead. David Morales' 2-run double in the 8th was the winning hit and it ended a one-run game thanks to some shakiness from Steve Talbott in the 9th, giving up a leadoff homer and then putting men on 1st and 3rd with 2 out before fanning Dodger playoff hero Andy Randall, who had earlier walked off consecutive Dodger wins in this postseason. Ben Hilton will try to put us up 3-1 tomorrow.

November 1, 2053: World Series Game 4
 

One more to go...

https://i.imgur.com/WQFnWGG.png

Another tight game between the teams went Tampa Bay's way and now the Rays find themselves on the brink of their first title in four seasons. And Luis Barela made MLB history again by becoming the all-time postseason home run king as he hit career #32, breaking Cody Bellinger's record. 561 career homers, 6 rings (with a 7th one win away) and 6 MVP awards are on Barela's resume and the only question is whether he's voted in unanimously in his first year of Hall of Fame eligibility. Meanwhile as for the rest of the game Ben Hilton had dominant stuff (10 Ks) and Dantel Chinchilla brought home the winning run with a bases-loaded walk. Dave Rose will try to clinch a title tomorrow night in Game 5.

November 2, 2053: World Series Game 5
 

Everything in its right place...

https://i.imgur.com/4NEBAKy.png

Champions again! The Rays win their 19th World Series in the last 31 seasons and their first in four years after routing the Dodgers in Game 5 after playing 4 close games before that, prevailing in the matchup of the two 100-win teams in MLB this year. David Morales, who was 9-for-21 with 5 RBI, was named Series MVP. The Rays only hit 4 homers in the entire series, 2 each from Luis Barela and Tony Vasquez, and scored 10 tonight without the benefit of one as the bases were a carousel for Tampa Bay batter while Dave Rose was in excellent form.

2053-54 Offseason: State of the Team
 

State of the Team? Here's your answer:

https://i.imgur.com/ZYUOSx8.png

We do have quite a few free agents likely to leave the club but we'll have somewhere in the neighborhood of $30M to spend. The big hits come on the pitching staff where starters Ben Hilton and Vinny Miranda are free agents, although we have an offer out to Hilton I think he'll sign. The back end of the bullpen is out the door as well with 8th-inning guy Willie Navarro and closer Steve Talbott out of contract. Swingman Alec McInerney is another one gone as is veteran slugger Tony Vasquez, who'll leave a bit of a hole in the lineup. Re-signing Vasquez is also a possibility, although it would eat up much of our available $.

Position-by-position:

C-David Morales is due a big raise in arbitration this year but will be kept. Backups will either be light-hitting, decent-glove guy Cesar Scroggins or lousy-good, good-hitting youngster Dave Gonzalez.

1B-Nesty de la Rosa is set.

2B-Jose Machado hit well in his rookie season although his glove is a bit suspect.

SS-Dantel Chinchilla is also due a hefty raise in arbitration but he's our most consistent glove and hit .280 last year, albeit with less power than previous.

3B-Luis Barela, the man, the myth, the legend. He'll be 39 in March but he keeps getting it done. One of these years he won't but I'm hoping/better it's not 2054.

IF-Alex Brown was acquired to be our SS with Chinchilla moving to 2B but he didn't hit and Machado sent him to the bench, which is where he'll be next season but a more than capable backup. One or both of Cameron Holly (2B/OF) and Manny Mendoza (RH 1B backup) will likely figure in as well.

LF-With Vasquez likely gone, Ezequiel Avalos should slide over here from RF and be his usual middle-of-the-order force.

CF-Jesus Avalos was our top player with 7 WAR in his first full season and while he's a below-average CF defensively, he's good enough.

RF-Jose Lozada, who hit in a part-time role and hit in the postseason, will get first crack at an everyday job and probably allow J.Avalos to move down in the order for more RBI opportunities.

OF-This is where we're thin, needing a backup OF or a potential starter. We have some usual suspect types in the minors like Brian Whittaker and Daniel Alba, but they're somewhat limited in one facet or another. Definitely an area of need.

DH-Sung-min Yang had a fine rookie season even if he did cool off some in the second half. He's a lefty with a platoon split so we might want to find him a RH partner. That was Lozada with Vasquez taking over DH last season but one may now be a regular and the other is gone. Mendoza and the up-and-down Takayuki Tsujimura are platoon possiblities.

Rotation: The ace returns (Rose) as does the potential ace (Mastropietro) along with Tim Johnson. Assuming Hilton takes us up on the extension offer that will still leave Vinny Miranda's spot open. We could give Melvin Lopez another shot although he was dreadful in long relief but odds are we'll be on the lookout for at least one more starter.

Bullpen: As mentioned the 8th and 9th-inning guys are gone which elevates Mario Berumen to the closer role, which he can handle. September waiver pickup Chris Resnick is another power arm capable of setting up and middle guys like Chris Hetzel and Steve Cleland excelled last year and could get bumped up an inning or two. Lefty Joe Roberts will return for largely specialist duty. Nevertheless we're thin here and will add a reliever or two, possibly high-leverage.

Prospects: Our farm system remains pretty dire with catcher Gonzalez the best prospect as such. Bobby Tafoya is a bat-first 3B/2B with 60 contact who hit .309 at Durham, but he's a lefty hitter otherwise he'd make a good potential platoon mate with Yang at DH.

So the tl;dr version of our goals:

1) Find a starting pitcher
2) Find a reliever or three
3) Find an OF, preferably a RH bat

2053-54 Offseason: Part 1
 

A couple of former Rays retired: one-time leadoff guy Mike "Slingshot" Willis, who was a regular in 2041-44 with us including a 339/403/485 season with 54 steals in 42 and had 4 rings to show for it, and more significantly Seth Williams who played alongside Willis and had a great 7-year run with us:

https://i.imgur.com/NVPL9eQ.png

He was Rookie of the Year in 2041 and AL MVP in 2042. While he tailed off the near the end of the stint with us and had to be moved off 2B, he was still a key member of 6 championship squads.

Some (not unexpected) news:

https://i.imgur.com/s6UImtF.png

Awards season:

Gold Glove: Nope, no Rays as expected.

Reliever of the Year: LA's Danny Arellano, 6-2, 2.74 with 18 saves, and only 0.8 WAR, was an inexplicable winner. Our Steve Talbott for example had a league-high 40 saves, the same ERA, and was worth 2.1 WAR yet only received my first-place vote and no others. And Arellano got 25 of 32 first-place votes! A much more worthy winner in the NL as former Ray and current Cub Steve Falcon, who had 43 saves, a 1.74 ERA and 3.7 WAR took the nod.

Silver Slugger: Luis Barela (3B) and Jesus Avalos (CF) took home the awards for the home team.

Rookie of the Year: Toronto's Keith Billingsley was a unanimous winner, as he should have been after a .297-46-128 season. Apparently our 19-game winner Randy Mastropietro was ineligible as I wasn't able to vote for him even though he came into the season under the 50-inning threshold (44.2 IP). He would have been a worthy 2nd place finisher. In the NL the fabulous freshman was Indianapolis OF Bill Jones, who hit .326-19-61 in 316 AB after being called up in June.

Cy Young: LA's Marco Agria was the clear winner with 26 first-place votes after a 15-9, 3.07, 6-WAR season. Our boy Mastropietro finished 3rd and Dave Rose placed 7th. The NL winner was unanimous as Randy Heller and his 15-4, 1.94 showing led MLB in pitcher WAR at 6.8. The Rays vanquished both these hurlers in the playoffs on the way to a championship.

MVP: Toronto's superstar C David Evans was a runaway winner thanks to a .327-40-100, 8-WAR season. Our Jesus Avalos was the runner-up and managed 3 first-place votes to Evans' 27. Luis Barela and Ezequiel Avalos got a handful of down-ballot votes. The Dodgers' Gerald Minotes was a near-unanimous winner in the NL with the teammate and Cy Young winner Randy Heller getting the lone non-Minotes first-place vote. Minotes hit .305-44-115 and earned 7.2 WAR.

November 25: We lost our two arbitration cases with the guys who didn't want to sign 1-year deals, with David Morales making about $130K more than offered and Ben Hilton about $500K so no big deal.

December 5: Two of the big award winners became free agents, and while NL MVP Gerald Minotes tested the waters he decided to stay with the Dodgers thanks to a massive 8/304 deal. However his former teammate and Cy Young winner Randy Heller has moved on to Houston for 4/118.

December 14: Some team news:

https://i.imgur.com/I87bIYO.png

We fill a hole on the pitching staff with Villarreal, and while his numbers aren't eye-popping consider he's spent his entire MLB career to date pitching at Coors Field. In 2052 he was worth 4 WAR although he fell off to replacement value last year. The righty can start or relieve and is rated 55/60/65 as a starter (and still with a little potential to get the stuff up to 60). How the rest of the winter shakes out will determine what role we use him in but at a little over $5M/year he's not breaking the bank.

And the pitching staff rebuild continues on:

https://i.imgur.com/nbTnJ2d.png

Voisin had been Cleveland's closer the last five years, racking up 177 saves in the process and enters the final year of his contract at a modest $3.5M. He boasts 75 stuff and 65 movement (along with 45 control), and will likely slot in as our closer with Mario Berumen (who's capable of multiple innings) setting up. The price was Correa, our first-round pick in 2051 who may yet turn into an MLB starter, but if so it should be at the back end of a rotation.

December 22: It's Rule 5 time but we didn't really have any minor leaguers worth adding to the 42-man even though we have several openings. And instead we added a guy:

https://i.imgur.com/7OqAlU3.png

Aside from having a great name, B.J. Boys has a very interesting profile. Most importantly for us, he's a RH hitter who can play the corner OF positions well, and he has an incredible eye, drawing 98 walks in AAA last year. He hit 321/433/460 and was good for 5.3 WAR in Omaha last year and while he won't do anything close to that in the bigs he'll make a great 4th/5th OF who can platoon a bit, pinch-hit and play defense. He's also versatile and played 52 games at SS where he was frankly terrible, but that's another feather in his cap.

We did lose AAA 1B Danny Orosco to the Mets - he has a somewhat similar offensive profile to Boys as he has a 70 eye but is average elsewhere. Unlike Boys though he's a LH hitter and a 1B only, so of no use to us.

December 29: Who says you can't go home again?

https://i.imgur.com/UKM3xvy.png

Welcome back Doug Johns! Yes he's in the twilight of his career at age 38 but still hit 31 HR and 96 RBI for the Cubs last season and gives us a (sorry BJ Boys) legit RH OF threat. Johns of course was a fixture in our lineup from 2041-2048 and was a key player in winning 7 titles in those 8 seasons, hitting 310/366/527 with 204 homers in that time.

December 30: The first of our free agents to sign elsewhere was starter Vinny Miranda, who was kind of our bad-luck charm and never did pitch in the postseason, joined Oklahoma City for 3/47. Meanwhile former Ray and reigning NL Reliever of the Year Steve Falcon decided to stay with the Cubs for 2/25.

2053-54 Offseason: Part 2
 

January 1: Another of the key players from our dominant 40s teams is on the move as SS Dave Frick joined the Padres on a 1/4.5 deal. The 36-year-old had spent the last three seasons with St. Louis after leaving us.

January 7: The Hall of Fame balloting is in and nobody got the requisite 75% for enshrinement. Here's how it went:

CL Kikuo Kawase 70.8 (3rd year)
SS Bo Bichette 63.1 (7th year)
SP Josh Doyle 60.0 (4th year)
CL Chris Martin 56.3 (2nd year)
LF Victor de Jesus 46.8 (2nd year)
3B Bo Angeac 33.6 (4th year)
SP Andy Aparicio 28.5 (8th year)

Former Rays standout closer Kawase is the best bet to make it next year while another Tampa Bay star in de Jesus had a good 2nd-year showing. Looking bleak for Aparicio.

January 17: Lefty reliever Steve Bourassa, who flopped with us last season on a 1-year deal and ended up released in September, signed a 1/3.3 deal with Boston.

January 20: Another of our free agents found a new home as Tony Vasquez joined the Pittsburgh Isotopes on a 4/66 contract.

January 22: And there goes another one. Alec McInerney is a Met for one year and $6.8M.

January 25: Signed P Chris Parham to a 1-year, $1.5M contract.

Reunion Winter continues in Tampa Bay as we bring back Chris Parham but this time as a pitcher, not a CF. Parham's had an interesting career going back to 2043 when he was a Gold Glove CF with Boston before we traded for him and he became a 4th OF for us from 2044-47 before taking over our full-time CF job in 48 and 49. He always had two-way ability and pitched occasionally for us but when he joined the Cubs in 2051 they made him their closer and he saved 84 games over two seasons including an incredible 2052 when he saved 49 and put up 3.7 WAR as a reliever. Last year though he battled injuries (not to his arm though) and struggled to a 5.88 ERA but was victimized some by a .358 BABIP. He's now rated 55/70/60 and will be used in middle relief. His batting skills have atrophied though and he's no longer rated in the OF.

January 27: Signed international amateur P Jose Morell.

The 17-year-old Dominican has 80/50/60 as a starter, so that's certainly something to dream on even if he's a long way away.

February 9: Reliever Kevin Leonard, who spent four seasons with us, the last three injury-plagued, somehow got a 3-year, $11M deal with St. Louis.

February 10: Preseason begins, and I'm given the green light by owner Jorge Rios to add $12M to the payroll in addition to the $14M we had to spend. I've done most of my shopping but perhaps another pickup could be had. One guy I won't be (re)signing will be closer Steve Talbott, who got a 2/22 contract with Detroit.

March 1: Oof, just got a scouting report from my head scout that informs me Luis Barela's defense at 3B was downgraded from 50 to 35. That could be problematic.

2054 Opening Day Roster and Preseason Predictions
 

We were injury-free and 11-7 during spring training.

The Opening Day roster:

C-D.Morales, Scroggins
1B-N. de la Rosa
2B-Machado
SS-Chinchilla
3B-Barela
IF-A.Brown, Tsujimura*
LF-E.Avalos
CF-J.Avalos
RF-Lozada
OF-Johns*, Boys
DH-Yang

*will start against LHP

SP-Rose, Mastropietro, T.Johnson, Hilton, Villarreal
LR-M.Lopez
MR-Cefalo, Cleland, Hetzel, Parham, Resnick
SU-Roberts (L), Berumen (R)
CL-Voisin

No real surprises here except Tsujimura won a job to platoon with de la Rosa at 1B. NDLR had played against lefties last year but only hit 230/269/309 against them hence the platoon. Doug Johns will platoon with Kim at DH and also rotate some with Lozada in RF.

The preseason picks:

https://i.imgur.com/sBsll7h.png

They believe in Jesus and Rose but not the Rays as a whole, not sure I've seen them picked to finish 4th before. We shall see as we open the season with 4 games in Toronto.

April 2-5, 2054: at Toronto (4)
 

The traditional Opening Day box:

https://i.imgur.com/qQslLf9.png

It looked good early as the Rays built a 3-0 lead and Dave Rose fanned 8 through 4 scoreless innings. But the wheels fell off in the 5th as Rose suddenly couldn't get anyone out and Steve Cleland threw gas on the fire. Joe Roberts then gave up a 2-run homer and that was that as the offense couldn't recover afterwards.

Game 2: The Rays rallied from 5-2 down to tie it with 3 in the 8th but Mario Berumen (0-1) gave up a run in the bottom of the frame and Tampa Bay started the season 0-2 after a 6-5 loss. The 3-run 8th was capped by a pinch-RBI single from Doug Johns, back in Rays colors, and earlier they got solo homers from Sung-min Yang and Jesus Avalos, the first of the season for both. Ben Hilton struggled in his start, going 5.2 6 4 4 1 5 with 3 homers allowed but was taken off the hook for the loss.

Game 3: Tampa Bay finally got into the win column for 2054 and it should have been easy but it wasn't as they raced out to an 8-1 lead and had to hold on to triumph 8-6. Sung-min Yang had a huge game, missing out on a cycle by not getting the easy one as he doubled, tripled and homered (#2), driving in 3 in total. Ezequiel Avalos (#2) and David Morales (#1) homered as well, with Morales going back-to-back with Yang in the 5th. Randy Mastropietro (1-0) was fine at 5 5 2 2 1 5 on 88 pitches but the bullpen made it shaky with Chris Parham (who didn't retire anyone) and Chris Resnick each giving up a pair of runs to let Toronto close within 2. Edgar Voisin made his Rays debut in the 9th and nailed down the save with a 1-2-3, 11-pitch inning.

Game 4: The Rays came from behind again but this time made it stick as they salvaged a split with Toronto after a 5-4 win. Tim Johnson was hit somewhat hard at 4.1 7 4 4 0 5, allowing a couple of homers and they trailed 4-0 going into the 6th. A 3-run inning got them back in the game capped by a 2-run Jose Machado double and then in the 8th the red-hot Sung-min Yang (#3) and Dantel Chinchilla (#1) hit solo homers to win it. Joe Roberts (1-0) got the win in relief and Edgar Voisin saved again without incident, his 2nd.

Team record: 2-2. Next up: off to Baltimore for 3 games before heading home.

April 6-8, 2054: at Baltimore (3)
 

Game 1: The newest Ray Brad Villarreal had a dazzling debut and the oldest Ray Luis Barela had a monster game at the plate as they led Tampa Bay to a 7-0 rout of the Orioles at Camden Yards. Villarreal was an impressive 7 2 0 0 2 6 on 89 pitches with another new (old) Ray Chris Parham going two perfect to finish the shutout. Meanwhile Barela was 3-4 with his first two homers of the season (giving him 563 for his career) and 3 RBI while Ezequiel Avalos chipped in a solo shot, his 3rd.

Game 2: The Rays got more good pitching and just enough hitting to eke out a 3-2 win over the Orioles, their fourth straight. Dave Rose rebounded from his rough Opening Day start by evening his record at 1-1 after going 6.2 6 2 2 1 3 while Edgar Voisin made it 3 saves in as many appearances, retiring Baltimore on 5 pitches in the 9th. Luis Barela was a one-man band on offense again, driving in all 3 runs including a 2-run homer (#3) in the 4th.

Game 3: Tampa Bay completed the sweep with a 6-4 win in 12 innings over the Orioles. Nesty de la Rosa, who tied the game with an RBI single in the 8th after coming off the bench, had a 2-run homer (#1) to cap a 4-run 12th after Ezequiel Avalos' 2-run double put them ahead. Ben Hilton was a solid 5.1 3 2 2 1 6 with the start, Chris Resnick earned the win in relief, and after Steve Cleland struggled mightily in the bottom of the 12th allowing 2 runs on 4 hits Chris Parham came in to get the final out for his first Rays save.

Team record: 5-2. The Yankees are off to a 7-0 start so the Rays' fine record is good for 2 games behind. Next up: An off-day then we return to Tampa for our home opener as part of a 3-game set with Austin.

April 10-12, 2054: vs Austin (3)
 

Game 1: The Rays won their 2054 home opener 5-3 over the Austin Dukes at Publix Park with Randy Mastropietro continuing to pick up where he left off last year with another quality outing. The lefty went to 2-0 after going 7 7 2 2 0 3 and Mario Berumen picked up his first save despite some shakiness in the 9th which saw him give up a run and put the tying runs on base. Light-hitting SS Alex Brown was the unlikely hero as he got the start for his defense with the ground-balling Mastropietro pitching but made the headlines with his offense, belting a 3-run homer (#1) in the 2nd to put them up 4-1. Earlier in the inning the red-hot Ezequiel Avalos hit a solo shot for #4.

Game 2: Tim Johnson had an odd game, striking out 11 in only 5 innings but giving up a pair of 3-run homers as the Rays saw their 6-game winning streak end with a 7-3 loss to Austin. Johnson (0-1) ended up with a busy 5 7 6 6 3 11 line as he gave up 3-run dingers in the 4th and 5th innings. Nesty de la Rosa had a good game in a losing cause, going 3-4 with an RBI.

Game 3: It looked early like the Rays would lose their first home series of the season after the Dukes jumped on Brad Villarreal to take a 6-0 lead in the 3rd, but as they've done so many times over the years at Publix Park the bats led by Ezequiel Avalos fought back and the Rays took a 10-6 win over Austin. 4 of the runs against Villarreal were unearned due to a Dantel Chinchilla error as he finished 4.2 6 6 2 2 8. But Avalos hit a 3-run homer in the 6th to cut the deficit to 6-5 and after BJ Boys in his first Tampa Bay start tied the game with an RBI double in the 8th Avalos won it with a grand slam, giving him a 7-RBI day and the AL lead in homers (6) and RBI (15). Joe Roberts (2-0) picked up another relief win.

Team record: 7-3. The Yankees won their first two games over the weekend to start the year 9-0 but finally lost on Sunday so they stay two games ahead of the Rays. Next up: The trip home was a short one as we head back on the road for 3 in Minnesota.

April 13-15, 2054: at Minnesota (3)
 

Game 1: The bats fell silent and the Rays wasted a fine Dave Rose performance as they fell 2-1 to the Twins at Target Field. Rose (1-2) was 6.2 4 2 1 1 9 in a brilliant outing marred only by a 2-run homer allowed in the 4th which was enough to give Minnesota the win. Nesty de la Rosa's solo homer (#2) was all they could manage.

Game 2: With Ben Hilton nursing a sprained ankle an emergency spot start was given to Melvin Lopez and it did not go well at all as the Twins jumped all over him on their way to a 7-2 win over the Rays. Lopez (0-1) was a brutal 3 9 5 5 0 2 and the offense had little response save for an Ezequiel Avalos solo homer (#7).

Game 3: Thinks looked good early in the finale for Tampa Bay when Luis Barela smacked a 3-run homer in the first (#5) with Randy Mastropietro on the mound. But the lefty couldn't hold the lead and was hit hard at 3.1 10 5 5 1 3 as Minnesota came back to complete the sweep with a 5-4 win.

Team record: 7-6. The Yankees swept Boston in Fenway to extend their insane start to 12-1, dropping the Rays a full five games back early in the season. Next up: A day off then our road-heavy early season schedule continues with 3 in Toronto, where we opened the season with four only a couple of weeks ago.

April 17-19, 2054: at Toronto (3)
 

Game 1: The Rays rallied to tie the Jays in the 8th on solo homers from Dantel Chinchilla and Jesus Avalos, the second of the year for both, but lost to Toronto 7-5 in 11 when Chris Resnick (1-1) gave up a 2-run walk-off shot. Avalos had a big day, collecting 4 hits including the homer and an RBI double and the Rays bounced back from a poor Tim Johnson start (3.1 3 5 4 5 7). Johnson has fanned a whopping 23 in 12.2 IP this season but sports a 9.95 ERA in large part to 8 walks and 5 homers allowed.

Game 2: Tampa Bay snapped back to take a 5-1 win over the Jays in the second game behind a dominant Ben Hilton start. The righty won his first decision of the year in going 7 5 1 1 1 8 and the runs he needed came on a pair of homers: a 2-run Jesus Avalos shot (#3) in the first and a 3-run blast from Jose Lozada (#1) in the 5th.

Game 3: Heartbreak for the Rays in the finale as they lost a 5-2 lead (and a 5-4 lead going into the 9th) when Edgar Voisin (0-1) gave up his first runs with Tampa Bay at an inopportune time, allowing the equalizer on an RBI single and then surrendering a 3-run walk-off homer to last season's Rookie of the Year Keith Billingsley to send them to an 8-5 loss. The red-hot Jesus Avalos made it homers in each games of the series with a first-inning slam (#4) and Ezequiel Avalos added his AL-best 8th homer for insurance but it wasn't enough. Dave Rose deserved a better fate after going 6 5 3 3 3 8.

Team record: 8-8. The Yankees have officially attained ludicrous speed, sweeping Baltimore and improving to 15-1 to move 7 games up on the Rays. Next up: The never-ending road start to the season finally concludes with 3 in Oklahoma City where the once-expansion Sunbirds are off to a 10-6 start.

April 20-22, 2054: at Oklahoma City (3)
 

April 17: Claimed P Warren Dalton on waivers from the Dodgers, optioned 1B Takayuki Tsujimura to AAA Durham.

Forgot to include this one with the previous post. Dalton gives us a second lefty in the pen to go with Joe Roberts and is rated 60/65/55. He can also start, having done it 18 times for Oklahoma City last year on his way to a 1.4 WAR season. Tsujimura was surplus to requirements as BJ Boys can platoon at 1B with Nesty de la Rosa.

Game 1: The Rays dropped the opener 5-2 to the Sunbirds and in the process fell below .500 at 8-9. Randy Mastropietro (2-2) got knocked around some at 4 10 4 4 1 6 while Sung-min Yang's 6th-inning solo homer (#4) was the lone Tampa Bay highlight.

Game 2: Tampa Bay got right after a stretch which saw them lose 6 of their previous 7 with a 3-2 win over Oklahoma City. Jesus Avalos (on a tear) drove in all 3 runs with a 2-run 1st-inning homer (#5) and a 3rd-inning RBI single. Brad Villarreal (2-0) made that hold up, going 6.2 8 2 2 1 3 and Edgar Voisin bounced back from his blown save in Toronto by converting his 4th.

Game 3: The Rays finally unloaded their frustrations, slamming the Sunbirds 11-2 in the finale. Sung-min Yang homered twice and drove in 5, including a 7th-inning grand slam (#6) that put the game away, Doug Johns hit his first homer since rejoining the Rays with a man on in the 4th, and Alex Brown was 3-4 with HR #2 and 2 RBI and he didn't even start the game, coming in after Jose Machado sprained his thumb in a collision at 2nd base. Tim Johnson (1-1) overcame a first-inning 2-run homer to turn in his first good start of the year at 7 4 2 2 3 6.

Team record: 10-9. The Yankees finally proved mortal, splitting 4 games with Toronto and are now 17-3. Next up: An off-day then we finally play some games at home after starting the year with 16 of 19 on the road. The opponent: A familiar one in Toronto, whom we already played two series against in Canada.

April 24-26, 2054: vs Toronto (3)
 

Game 1: The Rays returned home to play at Publix Park for only the fourth time in 20 games this season and responded to the friendly surroundings by starting the game off triple, homer, homer as they went on to rout the Jays 8-1. Those back-to-back homers came courtesy of Nesty de la Rosa and Jesus Avalos and both of them added a second shot later in the game to give them 4 and 7 respectively with Avalos knocking in 3. In fact all 8 Rays runs came on homer with Sung-min Yang (#8) and Alex Brown (#2) adding longballs in the 8th. Ben Hilton (2-0) was outstanding again for the win at 7 6 1 1 1 7.

Game 2: Dave Rose and three relievers made Sung-min Yang's 2-run homer (#9) in the 2nd stand up as the Rays beat the Jays once again 2-1. Rose (2-2) was 6.2 7 1 1 3 9 in a game where he had constant traffic on the bases but pitched around it. Edgar Voisin fanned a pair in a perfect 9th for save #5.

Game 3: Tampa Bay came back from 5-3 down in the middle innings to rally for a 7-5 win in the finale, giving them a sweep and five straight wins overall. Jesus Avalos cracked a 2-run homer (#8) in the 7th to provide the winning margin after Nesty de la Rosa had gone deep earlier with his 5th. Randy Mastropietro was wild today and finished 4.1 2 3 2 5 3, Chris Parham won his first decision of 2054, and Edgar Voisin saved again (#6) despite giving up a couple of hits to start the 9th.

Team record: 13-9. The Yankees are out there channeling the 1984 Tigers as they swept Seattle to move to 20-3, so the Rays remain 6 1/2 behind. Next up: We actually play consecutive series at home for once as Boston visits for 3 games.

MLB News: Angels OF Angel Pena slugged four homers in a game against Baltimore this weekend, driving in 6. Also this:

https://i.imgur.com/luqULh1.png

April 27-29, 2054: vs Boston (3)
 

Game 1: It was your classic "opponent gets a big early lead, Rays bats come back to win at Publix Park" kind of game as Boston's 5-1 advantage in the 6th transformed into a 7-5 Tampa Bay win in the opener. Brad Villarreal had a rough go of it at 5 9 5 5 0 5 but the comeback began in earnest in the 6th when Jose Machado launched a 2-run homer, the first of the year for the slumping sophomore. Luis Barela added a solo shot to make it 5-4 and then the Rays put 3 more on the board in the 7th with Sung-min Yang's pinch-homer (#9) tying it and Barela's second bases-empty blast of the day (#7) providing the winning run and capping a 4-5, 2-double, 2-homer day for the living legend. Steve Cleland (1-0) got the win with two scoreless in relief and Chris Parham closed it out for his 2nd save.

Game 2: Tim Johnson's early-season struggles with the long ball continued and the bats couldn't overcome it this time as Boston got by the Rays 4-2. Johnson (1-2) went 4 7 4 4 2 4 and yielded 2 more homers giving him a whopping 8 allowed so far in only 23.2 IP, giving him a 7.61 ERA. Melvin Lopez and Devin Cefalo (yet to allow a run or a walk in 14.2 IP) kept them in the game with a combined 5 innings of shutout relief but Doug Johns' solo homer (#2) in the 8th was the extent of the fightback.

Game 3: Another Rays rally in the rubber game meant a series win as three times Boston went ahead by a run but each time the Rays came back, walking it off in the 9th on a Jesus Avalos RBI single to prevail 4-3. Doug Johns hit solo homers in the 6th (off former Ray Greg Bookhart) and the 8th to twice tie the game as Johns doubled his homer output for the year and made it 3 in 2 games. Ben Hilton started and went 5 8 2 2 2 4 and Edgar Voisin (1-1) picked up his first win for Tampa Bay.

Team record: 15-10. The Yankees also won twice to start the year 22-4 so no ground was gained. Next up: An off-day then it's back on the road again with 3 games in Detroit. At least it isn't Toronto.

Some honors from the league:

https://i.imgur.com/B19zZF9.png

May 1-3, 2054: at Detroit (3)
 

Game 1: The Rays jumped out to a 6-0 lead by the 4th and coasted to a 9-3 win over the Tigers at Comerica. Ezequiel Avalos was 3-5 with a triple and 2 RBI, Nesty de la Rosa was 2-4 with a double and 3 ribbies, and Sung-min Yang hit his AL-best 10th homer to lead the attack. Dave Rose (3-2) turned in a decent start at 6 8 3 3 2 7.

May 2: Claimed LHP Alan Rutherford on waivers from the Dodgers, traded 29-year old RHP Melvin Lopez and 23-year old minor league LHP Willie Espinoza to the New York Yankees, getting 25-year old minor league 2B Jayden Woodard and 24-year old minor league CF Rogelio Macias in return.

Welcome back Alan Rutherford, whom we signed in 2052 only to have him suffer an injury-riddled and inconsistent season. He hooked on with the Dodgers last year and turned in an excellent 2-WAR season but LA had a roster crunch and needed to waive him so we now have a third lefty in the pen. To make room for Rutherford we dealt Melvin Lopez to the Yankees as seen above. Woodard is an excellent glove man rated 75 at 2B and potentially 65 at SS to go with an average (45 contact, 50 power) bat who will report to Durham. Macias also has a great glove, potentially 80 in LF, 70 in RF and currently 65 in CF. He too has contact issues but has 70 gap, 50 power and 65 eye potential and will play at High-A Charlotte. Not bad for Lopez, who was lousy last year and was lousy in limited action this year as our mop-up guy.

Game 2: Things looked good early when grizzled vets Doug Johns (#5) and Luis Barela (#8) hit solo homers in the first but that would turn out to be the extent of the Tampa Bay scoring as the Rays were edged by Detroit 3-2. Randy Mastropietro (2-3) hasn't found the going as friendly this year as last and took the loss after a 6 6 3 3 2 1 outing which actually lowered his ERA to 5.46.

Game 3: Brad Villarreal was sharp and a 6-run 4th inning was the difference in a 7-1 Rays win to take the series from the Tigers. Villarreal (3-0) was 6 6 1 1 1 3 and lowered his ERA to 3.07 and the Rays kept the turnstiles moving in the 4th, stringing hit after hit together with Jose Machado's 2-run triple the big one. Ezequiel Avalos was 2-4 with a double and 2 RBI as well.

Team record: 17-11. The Yankees also took 2 of 3, are now 24-5 and sit 6 1/2 up on the Rays. Next up: We'll finally get a chance to do something about that situation as New York comes to Publix Park for 4 games.

May 4-6, 2054: vs NY Yankees (3)
 

Game 1: The Rays won the opener of their big early-season series with the Yankees, scoring twice in both the 7th and 8th to take a 4-1 win. Luis Barela started the comeback with a game-tying solo shot (#9) in the 7th and Dantel Chinchilla's RBI single later in the inning was the game-winner. Tim Johnson turned in a fine start at 6 5 1 1 4 6, Chris Hetzel (1-0) got the win and Edgar Voisin closed it for save #7.

Game 2: The bullpen let the Rays down in the second game as a 6-3 lead through 6 evaporated and the Yankees handed them a 7-6 loss. Mario Berumen and Joe Roberts conspired to allow 3 runs in the top of the 7th to let New York tie right after the Rays went ahead with a 4-run 6th, and then the Yankees got the winner off Edgar Voisin (1-2) in the 9th. Before that Ben Hilton had a rough start (5 10 3 3 1 6) and Sung-min Yang had a 3-run go-ahead homer (#11) that briefly looked like the game's big blow.

Game 3: The Rays bounced back from the previous night's tough loss to beat the Yankees 7-3 in the finale, taking the series and moving within 5 1/2 of New York. Dave Rose (4-2) was good at 7 7 3 3 1 8 and Alex Brown was the unlikely hero on offense, doubling, tripling and driving in 3 runs. Doug Johns was also 3-5 with an RBI.

Team record: 19-12. Next up: An off-day then Baltimore visits for 3 games.

May 8-10, 2054: vs Baltimore (3)
 

Game 1: Randy Mastropietro returned to his 2053 form and pitched the Rays to a 3-1 win in the opener at Publix Park. The lefty evened his record at 3-3 with an outstanding 7.2 5 1 1 1 3 outing and Edgar Voisin had a 1-2-3 9th for his 10th save. All 3 Rays runs came on solo homers with both Avaloses homering in the 4th, the 9th for both Jesus and Ezequiel, and Nesty de la Rosa added #6 for insurance in the 8th.

Game 2: Baltimore went up 8-3 and the Rays came back to erase that lead in a patented Publix Park shootout, but the Orioles wouldn't play by the script and scored twice in the 10th to win anyway 10-8. Brad Villarreal had a wild start (4 5 6 2 4 3) and was hurt by a Jose Machado error to put them in the hole before they came back to tie it at 8 on 2 RBI from Nesty de la Rosa and a 2-run Doug Johns single. But Edgar Voisin (1-2) put two men on in the 10th in his second inning of work and Joe Roberts gave up a single to let them both score.

Game 3: Tampa Bay took the rubber match in emphatic fashion, blowing out Baltimore 11-3. Tim Johnson (2-2) didn't allow a hit until the 5th and finished 5.2 3 3 3 3 8 for the win. Danny Morales and Dantel Chinchilla each drove in 3 runs while Nesty de la Rosa was 3-5 with 2 RBI and Jose Machado knocked in a pair with a double.

Team record: 21-13. Frustratingly the Yankees swept their series to improve to 28-7 so the Rays lost ground, falling 6 1/2 back. Next up: 4 games at Fenway against the Sox.

May 11-14, 2054: at Boston (4)
 

Game 1: Ben Hilton's excellent start to 2054 continued and Jose Lozada provided the offense as the Rays squeaked by Boston 3-2 at Fenway. Hilton improved to 3-0 behind a 6 5 2 2 2 7 outing and Mario Berumen pitched a perfect 9th with 2 whiffs for his 2nd save. Lozada's bases-clearing double in the 5th was all the offense they got (and needed) as part of a 3-hit day for him.

Game 2: The offense was AWOL today, managing only three hits in a 3-0 loss to the Red Sox. Dave Rose (4-3) was decent at 7 5 3 3 0 6 but a pair of homers (and a total lack of support) did him in.

Game 3: Another ugly day in Beantown for the Rays as they were shellacked 10-1 by Boston and have 4 runs in 3 games to show for themselves in the series so far. Randy Mastropietro (3-4) had looked to turn the corner in his last start but ran into an oncoming bus today, going 1.2 8 6 3 1 0.

Game 4: The Rays' offensive drought continued for another 6 innings and they trailed 2-0 in what looked to be another futile day. But Cesar Scroggins of all people hit a 3-run homer (#1) in the 7th to put them up 4-2 and Tampa Bay went on to salvage a split with a 7-2 win. Rays hitters also banged out six doubles which helped pile on the runs and turn Brad Villarreal (4-0) from a potential hard-luck loser into a comfortable winner after a 6 7 2 2 0 5 performance. The only negative was an injury to Chris Resnick, who left after facing one man in the 9th and will require shoulder surgery to remove scar tissue sidelining him about 2 1/2 months.

Team record: 23-15. The Yankees took 2 of 3 so the Rays now find themselves 7 games back of New York.

May 15-17, 2054: vs NY Yankees (3)
 

May 15: Placed P Chris Resnick on the 15-day IL with shoulder surgery, recalled 1B Manny Mendoza from AAA Durham.

Game 1: The Rays came into this series with a chance to finally make up some ground against the high-flying Yankees and after a rollercoaster ride in the opener, did so with a 7-6 walk-off win at Publix Park. Trailing 6-4 heading into the final frame, Nesty de la Rosa's third hit of the game, a 2-run double, tied it before Sung-min Yang singled him home with the winner. Tampa Bay had taken an early 3-0 lead on a 2-run David Morales single and Ezequiel Avalos' 10th homer of the year but Tim Johnson couldn't hold it, getting hit for 5 runs in the 4th and finishing 4 6 5 5 3 2. Yang had a solo homer (#12) in the 6th and Chris Parham (2-0) earned the win in relief.

Game 2: Another day, another walk-off win over the Yankees as Nesty de la Rosa's 2-run homer (#7) in the 9th gave the Rays an 8-6 win after they allowed New York to tie it in the top of the frame. The Rays erased another big Yankee lead as they trailed 5-0 before scoring 6 times in the 5th on a bases-clearing Doug Johns double and a 3-run Luis Barela homer (#10). Ben Hilton started rough but hung in there to go 6.2 5 5 5 1 11 and was in line for the win before Edgar Voisin (2-3) blew the save in the 9th.

Game 3: The Rays nearly made it 3 comeback wins in 3 games against the Yankees but New York turned the tables, coming back from their own deficit to post a 7-6 win in the finale. Tampa Bay was up 4-2 after 6 behind Dave Rose (5.2 4 2 1 2 8) but the bullpen faltered with Chris Hetzel, Joe Roberts (2-1) and Mario Berumen combining to allow 5 runs over the final frames to allow the Yankees to go ahead 7-4. Jesus Avalos capped a 4-hit, 4-RBI day with a 2-run triple in the bottom of the 9th to shave the lead to 1, and was on 3rd with one out before Luis Barela flied out to shallow right and Ezequiel Avalos hit a weak grounder to first to end it.

Team record: 25-16. In the end we did gain a game on New York to pull within 6. Next up: 3 games in Arlington against the Rangers.