All-Star Break 2034
 

The All-Star rosters (the asterisked are starters, Jaiden Hardaway had the most votes far and away):

AL:
https://i.imgur.com/iAPkVaz.png
https://i.imgur.com/EGQ08ib.png

NL:
https://i.imgur.com/BKoMFV6.png
https://i.imgur.com/hyT5SYI.png

Tyler Jefferson is a real head-scratcher for the AL, he had the lowest WAR of all AL pitchers selected and he's the 13th man on our staff.

The HR Derby:

https://i.imgur.com/I4lLvzH.png

Congrats to Rodolfo Rivas, who made it through the ex-and-current-Rays portion of the bracket.

And the game itself:

https://i.imgur.com/wcUvay3.png

Rays hitters were a weak 1-10 in the game but the pitchers fared better. Kevin Kersetter got the surprise start and went a scoreless inning, Tyler Jefferson ended up the winning pitcher although he allowed an unearned run, and Nate Schultz struck out the side in his inning of work including whiffing former teammates Nate Clark and Jasson Dominguez. No action for Luis Corpus and Kikuo Kawase.

July 21-23, 2034: vs Columbus (4)
 

July 21: Optioned 3B Stan Melton to AAA Durham, recalled SS Jeff Baez from AAA Durham.

The All-Star break enabled Baez to get over his back tweak, so he'll fill at short until Ricky Widmar is back in 4 days.

Game 1: The Rays went into the All-Star break with a shutout and started the post-ASB with one as Andy Aparicio and the bullpen combined to outduel 3-time all-star Mitchell Stone and the Lightning 2-0. We got the good Aparicio today as he went 6 5 0 0 1 8 and is now 11-6, 4.81. Tim Siqueiros struck out the side in the 7th, Mike Wherry got through the 8th, and Kikuo Kawase struck out 3 Bolts around a walk in the 9th for his 19th save. Runs were tough against Stone but in the 3rd Jaiden Hardaway singled, stole second, went to third on the bad throw and scored on Dayle Jenkins' single. Omar Rodriguez then led off the 4th with HR #4 off Stone and those two runs held up the rest of the way.

Game 2: After winning two straight low-scoring shutouts, the bats were back tonight to tune of 7 runs and 16 hits in a 7-4 win over Columbus. Danny Ayala led the charge, going 4-5 with a pair of RBI while Vlad Guerrero Jr. & Omar Rodriguez each had 3 hits and a ribbie. Leo Ortega started and pitched well between the homer leading off the game he allowed to Rob Winchester and the 2-run homer he allowed in the 6th to Cristhian Rodriguez (can't get through a Columbus series without giving at least one up to him). Ortega finished 6 4 3 3 1 7 and improved to an MLB-best 14-2 to go with a 3.51 ERA. Danny Medina struck out the side in the 7th, Billy Hoyte got two outs in the 8th, Tim Siqueiros got the final out of the 8th and two in the 9th while allowing a run and then putting a man on, so Kikuo Kawase came in and got the final out with C.Rodriguez lurking on deck. It was save #20 for Kawase, equaling his total from last year when he was a co-closer with Jordan Diaz, and the 4th consecutive game he picked up the save as having a 4-day break in between the first and last two helped in that department.

A trade to report:

https://i.imgur.com/K8C8mxg.png

Carlton seems more well-regarded by other teams than both me and my head scout Rob Metzler, so I decided to see what I could parlay him into and came up with Espinoza, who already made a brief appearance with Seattle and held his own (the stats in the story above are with the big club). He's got 60 stuff as a starter, 75 (potential 80) as a reliever and his control has potential to improve. He's going to have issues with homers, but with that kind of stuff it can be lived with. For now, he'll go to Montgomery as a starter, and he has to go on the 40-man so I'll give it a few days and make sure nobody needs to go on the 60-day before waiving someone (probably Stan Melton).

Game 3: The Rays completed the sweep of Columbus and won their 10th straight (we don't really pay attention to win streaks around here unless they reach double digits) with an 8-3 triumph. The Lightning brought out Josh Doyle and his 2.06 ERA, and although 5 of the 6 runs they scored off him in his 2 2/3 innings were unearned thanks to an Auggie Ziegler error, they got to him for 5 hits and 2 walks with none bigger than Victor de Jesus' 31st HR of the year, a 3-run shot. Dayle Jenkins also had a 2-run single in the 5-run 2nd, and Jeff Baez knocked in a pair of runs with an 8th-inning double as well. Jon Soranno (10-4) started and like Leo Ortega yesterday gave up a homer in the 1st inning (a 2-run shot to who else, Cristhian Rodriguez) and homer in his last inning (Victor Mesa Jr in the 6th) to finish 6 5 3 3 2 4. All-Star Game winning pitcher Tyler Jefferson came on and retired the final 9 Lightning with 3 strikeouts for his 2nd save with the Rays.

Team record: 76-23. Next up: The Yankees come to town for 3 games.

MLB News: Washington's Juan Soto joined the 600-HR club today.

July 24-26, 2034: vs NY Yankees (3)
 

Game 1: The Rays had 10 hits and 3 walks while the Yankees had 10 hits and 4 walks and neither team hit the ball out of the park. Sounds like an even game, right? Nope, as the Yankees were better at sequencing, scoring 5 times in the 5th to beat the Rays 5-1. Nate Schultz was coasting along through 4 2/3 and then suddenly he couldn't get anyone out as the Yankees hit 3 straight singles, got a walk, then a bases-clearing double, an RBI single, and another single that would have scored a run if Omar Rodriguez had not thrown out Mario Aguilar at home. Schultz ended 6 8 5 5 2 5 and fell to 11-4. Meanwhile the Rays were getting their hits but they were all spaced out as Danny Pena got the win with a weird 6 8 0 0 2 1 line. They hit into 3 double plays which was a problem as well. Victor de Jesus doubled in a run in the 8th to cap a 3-3 day for him and avoid the shutout. Baseball can be weird sometimes.

July 25: Activated SS Ricky Widmar from the 10-day IL, optioned SS Jeff Baez to AAA Durham.

Game 2: There was no problem with hit sequencing for the Rays today as they blasted one of their mainstays of the 20s, Shane McClanahan, in an 11-3 win. After scoring a run against the Yankees opener, they had their way with Mac in the 2nd and 3rd, scoring 6 runs on 7 hits to blow the game open. Danny Ayala hit HR #26, Victor de Jesus had a pair of RBI doubles and their final 5 runs came courtesy of Omar Rodriguez's pair of homers, giving him 6 in only 59 at-bats this year to go with a .339 average as he's come back strong from injury. Nate Thompson started and was mowing down New York until he ran out of gas and gave up 3 runs in the 6th, finishing 5.2 7 3 3 1 7 and giving him a gaudy 11-1 record and 3.47 ERA. Kevin Kerstetter pitched for the first time since his surprise start in the All-Star Game and struck out the first 6 Yankees he faced on his way to a 3 1/3-inning save with 7 whiffs, his 4th of the season.

Game 3: The Rays weren't firing on all cylinders today but did enough to take a 6-3 win over the Yankees. Victor de Jesus crushed a bases-clearing double in the 5th to break a 2-2 tie while Danny Ayala drew a bases-loaded walk in the 4th and added HR #27 in the 8th to pace the offense. Andy Aparicio started and had kind of a weird game. Allowing a 2-run homer in the 2nd wasn't weird but the lack of strikeouts was as he went 6.1 6 3 2 1 2, good enough to get him 12-6, 4.74. Mike Wherry was impressive, whiffing 4 in 1 2/3 innings, and Kikuo Kawase got save #21 pitching around an error and a walk.

Team record: 78-24. Next up: 4 games in Baltimore.

July 27-30, 2034: at Baltimore (4)
 

July 27: Designated 3B Stan Melton for assignment and placed him on waivers, optioned P Jose Espinoza to AA Montgomery.

As mentioned before, I had to make room on the 40-man for Espinoza. Hoping/guessing Melton clears.

Another minor trade:

https://i.imgur.com/XayRcZ5.png

Hicks had a really nice 2032 for us, a not-so-nice 2033, and has been Durham's closer for the last year-plus. He still rates as a quality reliever with 75 stuff and will help Minnesota down the stretch as they fight for a wild card. But Abeles has ability, rated as the #30 prospect by BNN and projects as a decent lefty starter. Surprised he was made available so I jumped on it. Stuff and movement both are or projected to be around 60, the issue right now is 35 control, with a projection of 50 and if he hits that (or even gets to 45) he'll be very useful.

Game 1: The Rays got four homers and seven shutout innings from Leo Ortega as they took the Orioles 7-1. Jaiden Hardaway went deep twice to give him 23 and drove in 4, while Victor de Jesus (#32) and Ricky Widmar (#7) also found the seats. Ortega meanwhile went 7 5 0 0 0 5 in a classic-style outing of his and adds to his MLB-best win total to 15 while lowering the ERA to 3.31. Speaking of lowering ERAs Tim Siqueiros finally got his below 4 after a brutal start to the season with a perfect 8th while Billy Hoyte served up a Tommy McDougal homer in the 9th to spoil the team shutout.

Game 2: Baltimore finally beat the Rays for the first time in 11 tries this year thanks to a 2-1 win at Oriole Park. Zach Farese was in excellent form, going 7.1 6 1 1 1 3 against the heavy-hitting Rays lineup and the Orioles survived a couple of late scares. First in the 8th Tampa Bay loaded the bases against brief former Ray Steve Givens but Vlad Guerrero Jr grounded out to end that threat, and then in the 9th with a man on and two out Jon Jimenez hit one that looked like it might clear the CF fence but 3-time Gold Glover Druw Jones leapt at the wall and took a potential game-winner homer away from Jimenez. The Rays' only run scored on an Omar Rodriguez groundout. Jon Soranno pitched well but had a bad stretch in the 5th when he gave up 3 hits and a walk to allow the Orioles to score the two runs they'd need; he finished 5.1 6 2 2 2 5 and dropped to 10-5. Danny Medina looked good with 2 1/3 scoreless in relief.

Still another trade...

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

We continue to stockpile arms as the trade deadline approaches. Riley made the jump from high-A to the majors and did so impressively, as you can see from those numbers above. He's an interesting pitcher with a 70 knuckle curve and a 70 cutter, throws 95-97. I'm going to try him as a starter in Durham and see how it goes, but at worst he's a very interesting relief arm. The price was modest, too, with catcher now a position of depth in the organization and Neal not exactly high on that depth chart, even if he did hit a fluky .348 for Low-A Hudson Valley last season in 29 games. He looks like a future MLB/AAA backup.

Game 3: Nate Schultz was outstanding and the Rays bounced back from an infrequent loss in a 6-2 win over Baltimore. Schultz went 8 4 2 2 1 9 with the only blemish a 2-run homer from former Ray Mike Harms in the 4th inning. He's now 12-4, 3.33 and his 3.5 WAR is third among AL pitchers. The Rays manufactured a run in the 1st when Jaiden Hardaway led off with a walk, stole second, went to third on a grounder and scored on another one. Dayle Jenkins drove in a pair, one with a triple, and Alex Buitrago had a 2-run HR (#9) in the 4th just inside the LF foul pole and just over the fence. Mike Wherry pitched a scoreless 9th to close it out.

Game 4: The Rays brought out the boomsticks in an 8-2 win over Baltimore to close out the series. Danny Ayala (#28 and 29, part of a 4-hit day) and Jaiden Hardaway (#24 and 25) each went deep twice while Vlad Guerrero Jr blasted #18, a 3-run shot in the 3rd which broke an early 1-1 tie. Nate Thompson was great, going 7.1 4 2 1 1 9 to improve to 12-1, 3.33 with Bob Sirna mopping up the final 1 2/3.

Team record: 81-25. Next up: An off-day then the Angels come to town for 3 to kick off a homestand.

August 1-3, 2034: vs LA Angels (3)
 

Game 1: The Rays jumped out to a 5-0 lead and had to hang on after the Angels scored runs in each of the final four innings to eke out a 5-4 win. Andy Aparicio started and wasn't convincing, but he did get out of numerous jams to go 6.2 8 2 2 4 6 to move to 13-6, 4.62. Mike Wherry got him out of his last jam in the 7th, then had a man reach on an error in the 8th who scored against Tim Siqueiros, who got through the 8th. Kikuo Kawase came on and continued to show his platoon split, failing to retire any of the 3 lefties he faced by allowing a homer, a walk and a single but fortunately facing 3 righties whom he all struck out for save #23. Offensively the big hit early was HR #33 from Victor de Jesus in the 1st with a man on, and Vlad Guerrero Jr had an RBI triple in the 5th, scoring on Danny Ayala's sac fly which was RBI #100 for the rookie.

Game 2: Deja vu all over again as the Rays built a modest early lead, had a starter give up a lot of baserunners but not suffer much damage, and held on at the end for a 4-2 win. And once again Victor de Jesus gave them an early 2-0 lead, this time on a 2-run single in the 3rd. Alex Buitrago's sac fly and Luis Corpus' RBI double made it 4-0, and Leo Ortega was shutting out the Angels. But it wasn't easy as he allowed 7 hits, a walk and a hit batter over his 6 innings of work and benefited from two runners thrown out on the bases, including at home. But his 8 strikeouts helped him out of some jams and he improved his already impressive record to 16-2, 3.16. Tyler Jefferson cruised through the 7th and got two out in the 8th before giving up a 2-run homer to the ancient Francisco Lindor to cut the lead in half. With Kikuo Kawase tired from yesterday's game, Tim Siqueiros came on for the save and pitched around a walk and a hit to get it, his first of the season and amazingly his first since 2031. Despite being a high-leverage setup guy the last few years, somehow he never managed a save behind Jordan Diaz and Kawase, not even by accident. Nor is he a 3-inning guy, so he's missed out on the numerous saves Rays pitchers have picked up in that department.

Game 3: No nailbiter today as Jon Hayes returned to a familiar mound but suffered an unfamiliar fate as the Rays pounded him and the Angels 12-1. The former Rays ace has been great as ever the last year and a half with the Angels and is a Cy Young front-runner this season but Rays hitters treated him just as rudely as the next guy today. They got to him for 5 runs and 11 hits in 4 2/3 with the big blow a 3-run homer from Omar Rodriguez (#7). Omar added a 2-run double later to give him a career-high 5-RBI game, while Danny Ayala was 3-5 with an RBI and Dayle Jenkins, Vlad Guerrero Jr. and Will Quintana were 2-5 with an RBI each as they banged out 18 hits in total. Nate Schultz took care of matters on the mound with another excellent performance of 7 3 1 1 1 6 and is now 13-4, 3.22. Since joining the team before last season, Schultz is 35-6 and 39-6 if you count the playoffs. Pretty, pretty good. Bob Sirna went the final 2 scoreless to mop up.

Team record: 84-25. Next up: The White Sox visit for a 3-game weekend set.

August 4-6, 2034: vs Chicago White Sox (3)
 

Game 1: It speaks well in general of the bullpen that I can't remember the last time it happened, but today we had a good ole-fashioned bullpen meltdown which cost the Rays a win. With Tampa Bay seemingly in cruise control going into the 8th inning up 6-2, Danny Medina and Billy Hoyte decided to take up arson for the evening and 6 runs later the White Sox had an 8-6 victory. Jon Soranno had pitched great through 7, allowing only a Ryan Mountcastle 2-run homer, and with a pitch count of 84 started the 8th but immediately put a man on. With Tim Siqueiros unavailable and a 4-run lead, I turned to Medina who got nobody out, allowing a run and loading the bases. With lefty slugger Omar Rivas due I then turned to Hoyte, who gave up a 2-run double to make it 6-5, former Ray Bobby Witt Jr had a sac fly to tie it, and Mountcastle delivered a single to put Chicago in front. Tyler Jefferson then came in and gave up another RBI single. Before that Alex Buitrago had a huge game with a bases-clearing triple and an RBI single and Soranno finished 7 5 3 3 1 6 in what was still a fine start.

Game 2: No blown big lead tonight as the Rays took it to Chicago 8-2, and one of yesterday's culprits got some redemption. Nate Thompson started for the Rays and improved his already impressive record to 13-1, 3.33 with a 5.1 6 2 2 1 7 performance but put two men on in the 6th with the score only 4-2 at that point. Enter Danny Medina, who was awful yesterday and failed to retire a batter in the 6-run meltdown. The righty immediately got Bobby Witt Jr to bounce into a double play to end that threat, and he stayed on to pitch the rest of the game to notch his 4th save of the season. The Rays got out of the blocks quickly with a 4-run first highlighted by a 2-run Will Quintana single, and finally padded the lead in the 6th on a 2-run homer from the red-hot Alex Buitrago (#10) and tacked on two more with a Danny Ayala blast, #30. Ayala had 3 hits on the day as he reached the 30 HR/100 RBI plateau with almost two months left in the season, comfortably filling the shoes of the departed Nate Clark.

Game 3: The Rays' two hottest hitters and a pitcher who's getting warm took care of the White Sox today 7-1. Danny Ayala's 3rd inning grand slam (#31) got them going and Alex Buitrago drove in the other 3 runs with a pair of singles, giving him 9 for the 3 games of the series. Meanwhile Andy Aparicio won his sixth straight start with a 7 7 1 1 2 5 outing which has his ERA down to 4.47 and his record up to 14-6. AA has only allowed 5 earned runs in his last 4 starts over 26 innings and an in-form Aparicio would really come in hand during the playoffs. Tim Siqueiros (coming on with two on and nobody out in the 8th) and Bob Sirna each had a scoreless inning.

Team record: 86-26. Next up: An off-day then Baltimore comes to town. Here's a look at the standings and leaders since it's been a while:

https://i.imgur.com/kV5pejl.png

August 8-10, 2034: vs Baltimore (3)
 

Game 1: It was your run-of-the-mill Rays rout at Publix Park as they dismantled Baltimore 11-3. Luis Corpus was 4-4 with 2 doubles and 2 RBI, Omar Rodriguez had an RBI double and a 2-run HR (#8), and Dayle Jenkins and Jaiden Hardaway each had 2 hits and a ribbie. Leo Ortega cruised through 5, although his pitch count got up there a bit so he came out after going 5 4 1 1 1 7. That's win #17 for Leo and his ERA dips to 3.11 as he should be a lock for 20 wins. Kevin Kerstetter went 3 innings with 6 whiffs (albeit with 2 runs allowed, 1 earned) and Tyler Jefferson had a scoreless 9th.

MLB News: The Pittsburgh Pirates, who haven't even sniffed the playoffs in the 15 seasons of this save, moved into the 2nd wild card spot in the NL after their 9th straight win tonight 6-3 in Colorado. Still a long way to go but I'm rooting for them.

Game 2: Runs were scare at Publix Park today but the Rays got both of them in a 2-0 win over Baltimore. Nate Schultz continued to pitch like a Cy Young contender, going 7 3 0 0 0 6 on 101 pitches to get his record to 14-4, 3.07 as we now have a couple of starters threatening to get their ERAs below 3. The bullpen blueprint worked with Tim Siquerios taking the 8th with a pair of whiffs and Kikuo Kawase striking out the side in the 9th (including a lefty!) for save #23. The Rays got both of their runs in the 4th on RBI singles from Omar Rodriguez and Jon Jimenez as they were limited to 8 hits on the day with only one going for extra bases (a Jaiden Hardaway triple).

Game 3: The Rays took the series sweep but had to work overtime to do so as they edged the Orioles 4-3 in 11 innings. They had to go longer because Kikuo Kawase blew a 3-2 lead in the 9th, giving up an infield hit, walk and then a Kyren Paris RBI single as it took him 35 pitches to get through the inning. Omar Rodriguez was the hero today as he singled in Dayle Jenkins, who had doubled, with the walk-off winner in the bottom of the 11th. Earlier they had solo homers from Danny Ayala (#32) and Luis Corpus (#9), the latter looking like the game-winner when he broke a 2-2 tie in the 7th. Jon Soranno pitched decently (5.2 6 2 2 2 3), Mike Wherry rescued him in the 6th and pitched through the 7th, Tim Siqueiros had a scoreless 8th, Billy Hoyte a 1-2-3 10th, and Tyler Jefferson notched his first Rays win by getting through the 11th as most of the bullpen saw work today.

Team record: 89-26. Next up: We head north of the border to play 3 in Toronto for the weekend.

August 11-13, 2034: at Toronto (3)
 

Game 1: Jon Jimenez had the game of his young career as he led the Rays to a 12-4 rout of Toronto at Rogers Centre. The rookie 1B drilled a 3-run homer as part of a 5-run 1st and then had a true rarity: an inside-the-park grand slam in the 9th after Toronto had crept back within 8-4. The 2 homers gave him 15 for the year and a 7-RBI night. Ricky Widmar also went deep (#8) while Jaiden Hardaway had a triple and drove in a pair. Nate Thompson was not very good but didn't have to be with the big lead, going 5 8 4 4 3 4 yet improving to 14-1. Tyler Jefferson originally was supposed to come in for a couple of innings but was so pitch-efficient (21 through 3) that he went the final 4 innings and got his third long save for the Rays.

Game 2: The Rays looked dead in this one when Toronto scored twice in the bottom of the 8th to go ahead 6-4, but never underestimate the Rays' offense and its ability to come back as they scored 3 times in the top of the 9th to take a 7-6 win. After Dayle Jenkins and Victor de Jesus hit doubles to cut the Toronto lead to 6-5, former Jays superstar Vlad Guerrero Jr. stepped up and hit his 2nd HR of the game, a 2-run shot (#20) to give the Rays the win. Tim Siqueiros, who hadn't had a save for 3 years, picked up his 2nd in two weeks with a 1-2-3 9th. Jaiden Hardaway had a huge game to keep them in it, going 4-5 with a steal and HR #26, and Jenkins had an RBI double that had tied the game at 4. Andy Aparicio started and wasn't that good, going 6 7 4 4 3 7, and after a clean 7th Danny Medina was hit for two runs in the 8th, the second scoring after Mike Wherry allowed an RBI double to lefty hitter Riley Greene. Wherry was in the right place at the right time though to notch win #4 thanks to the 9th-inning comeback.

August 13: Sent 3B Bo Angeac to AAA Durham for a rehab assignment.

It'll be good to have Bo back after a few games in Durham to get him warmed up.

Game 3: The Rays had to go 12 innings today but got a 2-1 win to extend their win streak to 8 and sweep the series from the Blue Jays. Melvin Gutierrez singled in Michael Valdez, who had stolen second after his third hit of the game, in the top of the 12th to win it as a couple of bench guys were today's heroes. Also heroic today was the pitching staff which held the Jays to 1 run on 7 hits through 12. Leo Ortega went 7 5 1 1 1 3 in the start, Mike Wherry had a scoreless 8th, Kikuo Kawase hurled a pair of shutout innings and Kevin Kersetter ended up with win #4 after pitching a perfect 11th & 12th with 3 whiffs. The Rays faced a tough customer in Jeff Brown, who went 9 innings allowing them only 1 run on 5 hits, a Herculean effort against this lineup and one normally deserving of a win. Jon Jimenez doubling in Luis Corpus to tie the game at 1 in the 7th was the only time they got to Brown.

Team record: 92-26. Next up: An off-day then the road trip continues at Yankee Stadium for 3.

August 15-17, 2034: at NY Yankees (3)
 

Game 1: Drama in the Bronx as the Yankees got a 2-run walk-off homer from pinch-hitter Sam Hunt in the bottom of the 9th to beat the Rays 5-4 and end Tampa Bay's 8-game win streak. With lefties due and Kikuo Kawase and Mike Wherry unavailable, Kevin Kerstetter came into a rare high-leverage situation and walked a man but got 2 outs before Hunt stepped up and took him deep to LF. The Rays had built a 4-3 lead on solo homers from Vlad Guerrero Jr. (#21, as he continues to tour his former ballparks), Danny Ayala (#33) and Victor de Jesus (#34) along with a triple from Alex Buitrago that was plated by a Luis Corpus groundout. Nate Schultz started and was a middling 6 7 3 3 3 8, missing out on the win. Getting it instead was Shane McClanahan, his first as a Yankee after 92 with the Rays.

Game 2: Another night of late-inning excitement at Yankee Stadium but this time it was the Rays who came back late after blowing the lead, scoring 7 times in the final 2 innings to take a 9-3 win. Jon Soranno was dominant, pitching perhaps his best game of the season in a 6.1 3 0 0 1 9 performance on 97 pitches. Tim Siqueiros took over for him in the 7th and things started going wrong as Siquerios loaded the bases and allowed a run to score. Mike Wherry came on, gave up an infield hit to tie it up and threw a wild pitch to bring home the go-ahead run and Soranno ended up without the win he deserved. Wherry picked it up though (#5) as the Rays put 4 on the board in the 8th with Jon Jimenez's single tying it up and Ricky Widmar winning it with a 3-run homer (#9). They tacked on 3 more in the 9th on an RBI single from Victor de Jesus, an RBI double from Vlad Guerrero Jr and another run-scoring single from Jimenez. Tyler Jefferson had a 1-2-3 9th to end it.

Game 3: There must be something about the city of New York that doesn't agree with the Rays lately as they fell 3-2 to the Yankees in 10 innings today, dropping their first series since being swept a few miles to the south at CitiField about six weeks ago. Danny Medina, after an 8-pitch 1-2-3 9th, gave up a two-out single to Tyree Reed, who stole second and then scored on Dan Schaab's seeing-eye single between Jaiden Hardaway and Ricky Widmar to give the Yankees their second walk-off win in three days. Before that it was a pretty good pitchers' duel between Nate Thompson and Yankee ace Eric Peterson, with Thompson touched for a homer in the 7th to put New York up 2-1. But Vlad Guerrero ripped an RBI double in the top of the 8th to tie it up, and Billy Hoyte retired all 5 men he faced in relief of Thompson, who finished 6.1 6 2 2 1 5. The Rays had struck in the first when Dayle Jenkins tripled and Victor de Jesus singled him home for his 100th RBI this season.

Team record: 93-28. Next up: We hop on I-95 up to Boston to take on the Sox for 3 over the weekend.

August 18-20, 2034: at Boston (3)
 

August 18: Activated 3B Bo Angeac from the 10-day IL, optioned OF Michael Valdez to AA Montgomery.

Bo hit a couple of homers this week for Durham, so I'm deeming him ready to return. Valdez impressed in his stint(s) but he's probably 2 years away from possibly being a regular.

Game 1: This was a stupid game as the Rays blew a 9-2 lead in the 8th but still won on an RBI double from the returning Bo Angeac in the 9th 10-9. With a 7-run lead I felt it safe to bring in Bob Sirna, but he had trouble getting people out and a Jon Jimenez error didn't help. Still he left with the score 9-3 and the ball was given to Tyler Jefferson, who gave up a pair of RBI singles and then a grand slam homer to the first three men he faced to blow the lead. He did get the final out of the inning and then got the least deserved win in the history of the franchise thanks to the rally in the 9th. Kikuo Kawase came in and did his usual thing where he can't get the lefties out and loaded the bases but got a whiff to end it for save #24. Amazing stat I looked up: Kawase's BABIP is .525. Earlier Andy Aparicio was excellent going 7 5 2 2 0 8 (and didn't allow a homer for once) while Jaiden Hardaway had a huge game, going 4-6 with 4 RBI including HR #27 leading off the game.

August 19: Placed 3B/DH Vladimir Guerrero Jr. on the 10-day IL with a strained PCL, recalled 2B Robbie Salazar from AA Montgomery.

I didn't even realize Vlad was hurt in last night's game since it happened in the 9th when he was thrown out at home, and he was the DH so I received no alert. Anyway, with 5 OF already on the roster I wasn't bringing back Valdez again so say hello to Salazar, our #1 pick in 2028 who has 60 gap power, 60-rated HR power and a 65 eye, and was already on the 40-man roster. He's hit 18 HR and drawn 109 walks (!) at Montgomery. His hit tool is only a 45 so he had a .231 BA but with a .418 OBP, good for 4.4 WAR at the AA level. He reminds me a lot of Connor Kirkley who played the same position and had the same skill set and was also a 50 defender (actually I think Kirkley was a 45). He'll get a few starts here and there at 2B and DH.

Game 2: The Rays dropped a tight one 5-4 to Boston tonight, as Leo Ortega had trouble with one Boston hitter and it cost him his first loss in two months. Ortega pitched well, except to Boston OF Steve Burns, who had a 2-run double in the 4th to put Boston up 3-2 and then a 2-run homer wrapped around the Pesky Pole in the 6th to make it 5-3 Sox. Ortega finished 6 7 5 4 0 3 and dropped to 17-3. Billy Hoyte pitched a couple of scoreless innings to keep it close, and they nearly came back in the 9th. Dayle Jenkins got one run in on an infield single to make it 5-4 and put 2 on with one out, but Victor de Jesus flew out and Bo Angeac grounded back to the pitcher to end the game. Ricky Widmar hit a pair of massive solo homers over The Monster to give him 11 while Angeac added an RBI single.

Game 3: Tampa Bay took the rubber match of the series 5-2 over Boston behind a strong outing from Nate Schultz. The righty had double-digit whiffs for the 4th time this season in a 6.1 6 2 2 1 10 outing with Eric Knatz's RBI triple and subsequent score from 3rd in the 5th the only damage. He improves to 15-4, 3.12 and his 4.5 WAR is 3rd best in the AL. Mike Wherry, Tim Siqueiros and Kikuo Kawase had a drama-free final 2 2/3 on the mound with Kawase getting save #25. On offense Dayle Jenkins and Victor de Jesus each had a pair of run-scoring hits and Ricky Widmar drove in the other run. Robbie Salazar made his MLB debut giving Jaiden Hardaway a rest today and did what he does best, getting on base twice with a HBP and a single, scoring a run.

Team record: 95-29. Next up: Back home to play 4 against Kansas City, which is 1 1/2 out in the Central and 2 1/2 in the wild card.

August 21-24, 2034: vs Kansas City (4)
 

Game 1: Jon Soranno was brilliant today in a 3-0 win over Kansas City. The lefty went 8 6 0 0 0 5 and hardly broke a sweat throwing 105 pitches. He upped his record to 11-5, 3.74 and Tim Siqueiros nabbed his 3rd save with a perfect 9th, striking out two. The 100-RBI guys supplied the offense today with Victor de Jesus hitting a 2-run homer in the 1st (#35) while Danny Ayala singled in a run in the 6th.

Game 2: Nate Thompson didn't have it today and neither did the bats until it was pretty much too late in a 7-4 loss to the Royals at Publix Park. Thompson was battered for 5 runs in the second and although he hung in there, he was hit for a couple more and finished 4.2 7 7 7 3 5 and saw his ERA rise from 3.45 to 3.78. Tyler Jefferson went 3 1/3 scoreless in long relief and Bob Sirna struck out the side in the 9th to keep things in hailing distance, and Victor de Jesus got them within 3 with a 3-run shot in the 8th (#36). de Jesus also drove in their first run with a triple in the 6th but KC starter Tony Sanchez held them to that lone run in 6 2/3 innings.

Game 3 was rained out and will be made up as part of a doubleheader the next day.

Game 3: Once again a Rays starter was hit hard early and often in today's 8-2 loss, and in the first game of the doubleheader it was Andy Aparicio whose only consistent attribute this year has been his inconsistency. Well that, and an excellent BB/K ratio. AA gave up a 3-run homer in the first, another in the 2nd, and 7 runs in total (6 earned) over 7 innings despite walking none and whiffing nine. He's now 14-7, 4.58 and I've resigned myself that this is what he is right now. Bob Sirna mopped up the final two and allowed a run. The offense was stifled once again by a Royals starter with Fernan Orey hurling 5 scoreless and former Rays mainstay Jose Alvarado pitching 2 more. The offense avoided the ignominy of a shutout when Alex Buitrago hit a 2-run shot (#11) with 2 out in the 9th. The win means KC wins the season series as they're up 4-2 with one game left between the teams as they join the Mets (who swept them) as the only teams to make that claim.

Game 4: I accidentally auto-played this one so all but the same lineup that played Game 1 played in this one (including C Luis Corpus) and the Rays took a 2-1 win to salvage a split of the doubleheader (I will play the irregulars in the next game). The win also clinched the AL East for the Rays, a foregone conclusion since about mid-April as they take their 13th straight division crown. Leo Ortega was outstanding and very pitch-efficient as well, going 7.1 4 1 1 0 6 on 76 pitches to improve to 18-3, 3.05 and the AI manager went to Tim Siqueiros to finish it up and he did, getting save #4 with 4 whiffs over the final 1 2/3. The two runs came courtesy of a Jaiden Hardaway single in the 2nd as the Rays' offense managed only 11 runs in the 4-game series.

Team record: 97-31. Next up: Boston comes to town for the 3 over the weekend.

August 25-27, 2034: vs Boston (3)
 

Game 1: A pretty business-like 6-3 win for the Rays over Boston tonight behind a pair of Jaiden Hardaway homers and strong pitching as usual from Nate Schultz. Alex Buitrago started the scoring in the 2nd by leading off the inning with HR #12, and Hardaway made it a 4-run inning with a 3-run blast. And after Boston got within 4-2, Hardaway went deep again in the 4th with a man on to give him 29 on the season and a 5-RBI night. He's re-established himself on top of the WAR charts with 7.7 and is on pace to finish just shy of 10 after last season's historic 11.7. Schultz meanwhile went 7 4 2 2 3 7 in a day at the office for him, improving to 16-4, 3.09 and maintaining a shot at another 20-win season. Billy Hoyte made a bit of a mess in the 8th giving up a Jud Fabian RBI triple, but Danny Medina got him out of it with a couple of strikeouts, and Kikuo Kawase was Klassic Kikuo, striking out the side in the 9th for save #26.

Game 2: The Rays pounded Boston 11-1 at Publix Park for win #99 of the season. They raced out to a 6-0 lead through 3 with 4 of the runs scoring on infield groundouts and a fifth on a balk. Later they scored more conventionally with Danny Ayala blasting a 3-run homer (#34) in the 6th and Victor de Jesus hitting his team-high 37th with the bases empty in the 8th. Ayala finished with 4 RBI on the day while de Jesus and Alex Buitrago driving in a pair, the latter on a couple of doubles. Jon Soranno cruised rather efficiently with the big lead, coming out for the 9th but walking a man and leaving with an 8 8 1 1 2 4 line on 92 pitches before Tyler Jefferson finished things off with a pair of whiffs. Soranno is now 12-5, 3.61 on the year.

Game 3: The Rays built a big early lead and had to survive a late scare to hang on and win 6-4 and sweep the series, picking up win #100 in the process. Jon Jimenez had a big day, hitting HR #16 and adding 2 RBI singles to give him a 3-ribbie day, and Robbie Salazar, giving Jaiden Hardaway another day off, hit his first MLB homer to lead off the game for the Rays. Salazar's been as advertised, sporting a .429 OBP in 14 plate appearances as a big leaguer. Nate Thompson was cruising with a shutout through 7 before giving up a couple of hits around a Salazar error, with a run scoring. Tim Siqueiros came on and surrendered a 3-run homer to Gleyber Torres and suddenly it was 6-4. He got out of the inning and Thompson finished 7.1 5 3 1 0 7, bouncing back from a disastrous start last time out and improving to 15-2, 3.66. Kikuo Kawase came on for the 9th and stayed hot, striking out the side including two lefty hitters for save #27. Kawase's now up to 3.3 WAR and his 19.5 K/9 is actually a whiff higher than last year's rate.

Team record: 100-31. Next up: An off-day then we head to Atlanta for 2 games.

MLB News: Milwaukee's TJ Powell, Steve Chambers and Matt Barkley combined on a no-hitter of Pittsburgh although Powell walked 4 and allowed a run in a 3-1 Brewers win. A few weeks ago I was touting the Pirates being in the thick of the NL Wild Card race but they've slumped badly since and are now 6 games back. In fact their better bet is now the division as leader St. Louis has been in the throes of their own extended downturn and they lead the Pirates and Cincinnati by only 4 games each.

August 29-30, 2034: at Atlanta (2)
 

Game 1: The Rays blew a 3-2 lead late and ended up losing 4-3 in 11 innings at Truist Park against Atlanta. Danny Ayala (#35) and Atlanta's R.W. Tucker exchanged 2-run 1st-inning homers and we stayed that way until Jaiden Hardaway's bloop double in the 7th scored Ricky Widmar. The lead held until the bottom of the 9th when Kikuo Kawase, in a twist worthy of M. Night Shyamalan, got the lefties out but couldn't retire the righties and allowed the tying run. He gave up a walk and a double with one out in the 10th and Ronald Acuna Jr was intentionally walked to load the bases before Kevin Kerstetter was summoned in hope of a strikeout. Kersetter got two of them to escape the inning but gave up a 1-out homer to Treyjn Fletcher in the 11th and Atlanta had the walk-off win. Leo Ortega started and pitched well outside of that 1st-inning homer, going 5 4 2 2 0 8. Danny Medina, Mike Wherry (against his old team) and Tim Siqueiros pitched scoreless innings before Kawase blew it.

Game 2: Tampa Bay dropped its 5th straight game in NL ballparks as they fell for the second straight night 5-3 to Atlanta, this after being swept at Citi Field by the Mets. In fact if you want to add the 3 games in Columbus right before the Mets series, they've lost 7 of their last 8 interleague road games. Tonight it was a 2-2 tie once again going into the bottom of the 8th, and Danny Medina served up a homer to the ageless Ronald Acuna Jr., put another man on, and then gave up an RBI triple to Karson Bowen, who had earlier homered for Atlanta's first two runs. Billy Hoyte came in and gave up a double to score the 3rd run of the inning. The bullpen follies wasted a fine start from Andy Aparicio, who went 7 5 2 2 1 11. For the second straight night the offense was limited as they were blanked until Jon Jimenez blasted a 2-run HR (#17) in the 7th to tie it up. Bo Angeac hit a solo homer in the 9th (#20) but it was too little, too late.

Team record: 100-33. Next up: An off-day then we head north to Cleveland for 3 over the weekend.

September 1-3, 2034: at Cleveland (3)
 

Monthly Awards: Jaiden Hardaway was named AL Player of the Month, going 378/461/612 with 4 HR and 18 RBI; Jon Jimenez was named AL Rookie of the Month; and Ricky Loya, our 3rd round pick in 2031, was named Southern League Player of the Month for Montgomery, hitting .385 with 4 HR and 18 RBI.

September 1: Recalled OF Michael Valdez from AA Montgomery and P Edgar Rios from AAA Durham.

Valdez (or Robbie Salazar) is keeping a roster spot warm for Vlad Jr when he comes back in a couple of weeks, and Rios, who never deserved to be sent down in the first place, is back up as we expand the roster for September.

Game 1: The Rays took a 4-0 win Cleveland on a combined shutout from Nate Schultz and Mike Wherry. Schultz was batting runners all game, going 6 7 0 0 4 5 but gave up only singles. He put two on to start the 7th and with a slew of lefties due, Wherry came in and was so efficient he went the final 3 innings for save #3, retiring all 9 men he faced on 38 pitches. With the win Schultz is now 17-4 and he becomes the first Rays starter to get his ERA below 3 at 2.99. That's pretty impressive considering on May 2 he gave up 8 runs in a start and his ERA sat at 7.22. Since then he's made 18 of 21 starts in which he's allowed 2 runs or fewer. On offense Omar Rodriguez was the man as he tripled in the 2nd and score on Ricky Widmar's groundout, and in the 4th he singled, stole second, went to third on the bad throw and scored on another Widmar grounder. They tacked on 2 more in the 8th when Michael Valdez and Dayle Jenkins hit doubles and Victor de Jesus had his own RBI groundout.

Game 2: The offense continued to slumber on this road trip as the Rays fell 5-1 to Cleveland. Jon Jimenez's 18th HR of the year in the first was it for the scoring, and Jon Soranno had a bad 2nd inning after retiring the first two batters. He gave up two singles, a walk, a double and two singles to allow Cleveland to score 4 times and that was the game. He finished 5.1 7 4 4 3 7 and is now 12-6, 3.71. Bob Sirna whiffed 5 in 2 innings but allowed a run and Tyler Jefferson got a couple of outs to finish out the 8th.

Game 3: For the second time in three nights the Rays got a combined shutout from the pitching staff and rode an unlikely source of power to take a 6-0 win over Cleveland. Another Nate came through on the mound as today it was Thompson who pitched one of his best games of the season, going 7.1 5 0 0 2 8, and Billy Hoyte got the final 5 outs to wrap it up. Thompson is now 16-2, 3.48 as he's blossomed into the quality starter we hoped he'd become. Still it was a scoreless game going into the 5th but that was before the mighty Melvin Gutierrez stepped to the plate. The light-hitting infielder, giving Ricky Widmar a rest today, took a Mike Daniel offering just inside the LF foul pole at Progressive Field with two men on to make it 3-0, only his 2nd homer of the year. They added 3 more in the 6th on a dropped popup, a Jon Jimenez RBI single, and a bases-loaded walk to Jaiden Hardaway.

Team record: 102-34. Next up: We celebrate Labor Day in a foreign country as 3 games in Toronto are on the schedule.

MLB News: Dodger star Fernando Tatis Jr. has missed all of the season to date with a broken kneecap but finally made his 2034 debut today. It was like he never left as he went 3-5 with a 3-run walk-off HR and 6 RBI in a 10-9 win over Arizona. LA is comfortably ahead in the NL West despite being without Tatis but he'll make them that much more dangerous in the postseason, where they'll look to return to the World Series after being swept by the Rays last year. And now that we're going into the season's final four weeks, here's a look at where things stand:

https://i.imgur.com/frgPCpI.png
https://i.imgur.com/kaotjGA.png

September 4-6, 2034: at Toronto (3)
 

Game 1: Omar Rodriguez hit a grand slam (#9) as part of a 5-run first and the Rays cruised behind Leo Ortega to take a 6-2 win over the Jays at Rogers Centre. Victor de Jesus singled in a run in the 1st as well and Jaiden Hardaway added an RBI triple while Ortega was his usual efficient self, going 7 4 1 1 0 4 and is now 19-3, 2.99 as another Rays starter gets his ERA below 3. Edgar Rios pitched for the big club for the first time in a couple of months and was greeted with a homer but got through the 8th while Mike Wherry had a 1-2-3 9th with a pair of whiffs.

MLB News: Zachary Hammer of the Mets pitched a no-hitter against the Dodgers, except he didn't. Hammer went 9 0 0 0 1 11 but unfortunately the Mets failed to score during regulation as well, so it went to extras and he had to leave. The Mets did get the win 3-1 in 13 to stay in control of a wild card spot.

Game 2: After a couple of great starts Andy Aparicio reverted to his homer-happy ways and the Rays were beaten by Toronto 7-4. Aparicio gave up a pair of 2-run homers early and 6 runs in all in a brutal 3.1 7 6 6 0 2 performance. Tyler Jefferson went 3 2/3 allowing a run mopping up for him. On offense they jumped to a quick 2-0 lead in the 1st on a Danny Ayala homer (#36) before the Blue Jay onslaught, while Victor de Jesus and Will Quintana each drove in a run.

MLB News: The Angels' Francisco Lindor joined the 3000 hit club tonight.

Game 3: The Rays struck back after last night's loss with a 9-1 whupping of Toronto. Alex Buitrago had a 2-run triple in the 4th before the Rays put 6 on the board in the 5th, capped by a Jon Jimenez grand slam (#19). Victor de Jesus added HR #38 as well. Nate Schultz continued on his roll, retiring the first 14 Blue Jay hitters before giving up a single and finishing 7 3 0 0 0 8 to improve to 18-4, 2.87 as he's become a dark horse Cy Young candidate. Billy Hoyte lost the team shutout by giving up a Skyler Messinger homer leading off the 8th, and Bob Sirna had a 1-2-3 9th.

Team record: 104-35. Next up: An off-day then back home for a 3-game weekend series with Baltimore.

Minor League Playoff Update: For the first time in ages, AA Montgomery is in the playoffs and they opened round 1 at Jacksonville tonight, taking an 8-6 win the process. Eric Riley, acquired in trade earlier this summer, was hit hard for 5 runs by the 3rd but a 7-run 4th for the Biscuits put them ahead to stay. Zack Mathias was 3-4 with an RBI, Marco Abrego drove in 3 with a homer and a groundout, and Jarrod Cox pitched 4 1-hit innings in long relief to get the win, which put them up 1-0 in the best-of-5.

Update 2, 9/7: Kevin Ferrero was bombed for 7 runs in the 1st inning and Jacksonville evened the series at 1 with an 8-4 win over Montgomery. Marco Abrego homered again, as did Emilio Mireles and Jeff Leininger for the Biscuits in a losing cause.

September 8-10, 2034: vs Baltimore (3)
 

Friday night's game was rained out, so we're playing a doubleheader on Saturday.

Game 1: The Rays blasted four homers while Jon Soranno and Tyler Jefferson combined on a shutout in a 7-0 win over Baltimore at Publix Park in the first game of a twinbill. The game featured a nearly one-hour rain delay in the 5th, so Soranno had to leave after going 4.1 4 0 0 1 2. The delay saw him leave with the bases loaded, but Jefferson got him out of it with a double play and then turned in his most dominant performance in a Rays uniform, going 4.2 1 0 0 0 8 and more than earning win #3. Meanwhile they got homers from Luis Corpus (#10), Victor de Jesus (#39), Dayle Jenkins (#8) and Ricky Widmar (#12) to pace the offense with Jenkins having a big game going 3-4 with 2 RBI.

Game 2: The Rays completed the doubleheader sweep of Baltimore with an 8-2 win and have now taken 17 of 18 this season from the Orioles. Dayle Jenkins continued his big day with a 5-RBI performance, including a bases-loaded triple in the 2nd which put the Rays ahead after Baltimore scored twice in the top of the 1st. Jaiden Hardaway was a beast as well, reaching base all 5 times, going 3 for 3 with a walk, HBP and 4 runs scored while Victor de Jesus drove in a pair. Nate Thompson got past his rough first inning to go 5 6 2 2 2 8 and improve to 17-2, 3.49 with Edgar Rios and Danny Medina each adding a pair of scoreless innings.

Montgomery Playoff Update: Marco Abrego's 2-run homer in the 8th, his 3rd in as many games in this playoff, broke a 3-3 tie and gave Montgomery a 5-3 win over Jacksonville. The Biscuits are now up 2-1 in the best-of-5 series. Julio Varela went 6 strong innings and Jeff Reece picked up the save. Interestingly the losing pitcher was former Ray Mike Mooney.

Game 3: The Rays completed the sweep of Baltimore with another rout, 10-2, and took 18 of 19 in the season series. Leo Ortega became MLB's first 20-game winner this year after going 6 7 1 1 0 6, and lowered his ERA to 2.94. Tim Siqueiros had a scoreless 7th and Billy Hoyte a scoreless 8th. Hoyte came back for the 9th but loaded the bases with one out so despite the lopsided score, Kikuo Kawase came in for his first work in 12 days. The rust showed with a balk to score a run and a walk to re-load the bases, but he got 2 whiffs to end it. On offense it was another big day for the top of the order as Jaiden Hardaway and Dayle Jenkins combined to go 5-7 with 3 RBI while Bo Angeac and Ricky Widmar each drove in a pair as the Rays piled up 19 hits although none of them left the yard. Danny Ayala and Alex Buitrago joined Jenkins with 3-hit days.

Team record: 107-35. Next up: Cleveland comes to town for 3 games.

Montgomery Playoff Update: The Biscuits are on to the Southern League championship round after eliminating Jacksonville in 4 games with a 9-5 win. Jeff Leininger's 3-run homer broke open a close game. Marco Abrego was 2-4 with 2 runs scored and was named MVP of the series after homering in the first three games. They'll either play Rocket City or Jackson.

September 11-13, 2034: vs Cleveland (3)
 

Game 1: The Rays took a comfortable 8-1 win over Cleveland today at Publix Park as the good Andy Aparicio showed up and the bats did their thing in a 7-run 3rd inning. AA was 7 3 1 1 0 7 (the lone run on a homer, natch) and improved to 15-8 with the ERA a still-high 4.59. Bob Sirna went the final two scoreless. The 7-run third came courtesy of 3 big hits: Victor de Jesus's 2-run double (he added an RBI double in the 4th), Omar Rodriguez's 2-run double, and Jon Jimenez's 2-run homer (#20). The Rays victimized young Cleveland phenom starter Danny Romero, who came into the game with a 12-7, 2.58 record. 4 of the 6 runs against him were unearned thanks to a key error in that 3rd, but he only lasted 2 2/3.

Game 2: Cleveland learned tonight that you don't bring a knife to a gunfight, or 8 runs to a slugfest with the Rays or something like that as Tampa Bay won a 10-8 shootout. Bo Angeac's 2-run blast in the bottom of the 8th, his 21st, broke an 8-8 tie and made a winner of Mike Wherry, who lost the lead in the top of the inning yet came away with victory #6. Kikuo Kawase came on and faced three lefty hitters, actually retiring them all with two on strikes in the 9th for save #28. Earlier the Rays had their characteristic offensive explosion but an uncharacteristically bad start from Nate Schultz, whom I talked up as being over those after his last outing. Schultz was hit the hardest he's been since May 2, going 4.1 8 6 6 3 3. The big man with the bat today before Angeac's blast was Victor de Jesus, 4-5 with HR #40, a 2-run shot in the 4th. Also going yard was Danny Ayala (#37) and Luis Corpus (#11). Alex Buitrago chipped in with 4 hits including a triple and a double. Meanwhile you knew it was a matter of time before Ricky Widmar got hurt, and he left in the 4th today with knee tendinitis, minimal for a week, so we'll put him in bubble wrap the rest of the way before the playoffs.

September 13: Optioned 2B Robbie Salazar to AA Montgomery and P Edgar Rios to AAA Durham, recalled SS Jeff Baez from AAA Durham and P Eric Riley from AA Montgomery.

With Widmar gimpy, I didn't want to have to run Melvin Gutierrez out there every game so Baez will get to play some. Durham is about to start its playoffs so we'll be hurting them a bit but right now they have Vlad Guerrero Jr. on a rehab assignment so it's not all bad. And Montgomery gets a boost for the finals with Salazar returned to them. Meanwhile we need a starter today after the rainout last Friday and Riley's the only one rested on the 40-man. He's struggled in his last few starts for Montgomery so it could be ugly, especially against Cleveland's lefty-heavy lineup (he's a righty).

Game 3: Take a bow, Eric Riley. You too, Jeff Baez. The two emergency call-ups were the stars of the show today in a 6-1 Rays win to sweep the series from Cleveland. Riley, who wasn't impressing at Montgomery, impressed today at Publix Park going 5.1 5 1 0 1 5 to win his Rays debut, with the only run against scoring him in the 6th on a Will Quintana passed ball. Outside of putting two on in the 6th before departing, he was never in any real trouble. Baez meanwhile broke open a 3-1 game with a 2-run homer (#4) in the 6th and later added a double. Of course he was up before for an extended run when Widmar was hurt earlier in the year and has the job for 2035 with Widmar becoming a free agent. The Rays also got longballs from Jaiden Hardaway (#30) and Omar Rodriguez (#10). Meanwhile on the mound, Billy Hoyte went 1 2/3 scoreless while Mike Wherry and Tyler Jefferson went an inning apiece. The dynasty looks to be in good hands.

Team record: 110-35. Next up: An off-day then Oakland comes to town for 3 over the weekend. The A's, who made the playoffs for the first time in 11 years back in 2030 before we dispatched them, hold the top wild card spot at the moment in the AL 1 1/2 up on 2nd wild card Seattle and 2 1/2 up on Kansas City so these are big games for them.

September 14, 2034: Minor League Playoff Update
 

Durham: They opened their first round series at home against Louisville and it was classic playoff baseball as the game went scoreless into the 10th inning. That's when the Bulls got a walk-off homer from their "ringer", Vlad Guerrero Jr. on his rehab assignment. Mike Fields, acquired eons ago for prospect Stan Collier, has become the ace of the Bulls this year and went 6 1/3 scoreless with 9 whiffs. Prospect Jose Espinoza, whom we acquired from Seattle before the deadline, went 1 2/3 and Greg Baldwin, acquired last year when we dumped Alec Sachais (who's pitched great when healthy for the Padres this season), went the final 2 innings for the win.

Montgomery: Having beaten Jacksonville in Round 1, they will now look to beat Jackson in the finals. And they got off to a great start with a thrilling 4-3 win over the Generals which saw Marco Abrego throw out a runner out at the plate to end the game. Ricky Loya, as a pure a hitter as we have in the system, drove in a pair including a 7th-inning RBI single to break a 3-3 tie. Jose Varela, the lefty starter who was our #1 pick last year, went a solid 6 6 3 2 0 6.

September 15-17, 2034: vs Oakland (3)
 

Game 1: The A's came into the game as playoff contenders, but the Rays were not impressed as they walloped them 12-1 at Publix Park. Dayle Jenkins blasted a pair of homers, a 2-run shot in the 1st and 3-run jack in the 6th, to give him a 5-RBI day and 10 on the year. The Rays also got homers from Bo Angeac (#22), Jaiden Hardaway (#31) and Alex Buitrago (#13) and scored in every inning except ironically the 4th, their normal big inning. Jon Soranno took a shutout in the 8th on 83 pitches but ran out of gas, giving up a run and loading the bases with one out. He finished a still-excellent 7.1 5 1 1 3 10 to improve to 13-6, 3.51. Billy Hoyte got him out of that jam without further damage and had a 1-2-3 9th.

Minor League Playoff Update: Durham went up 2-0 in their best-of-5 with Louisville thanks to a 4-1 win. Vlad Guerrero Jr. was key again, with an RBI double in the 6th to tie it at 1 and an RBI single in a 2-run 7th. Phil Hable was 2-4 with an RBI as well. Raymher Costa (the interesting guy I mentioned before with 60 stuff, 80 control and 25 movement) went 6 6 1 1 1 10 for the win and Edgar Rios got the save. Bulls pitching was helped by two Louisville runners thrown out at the plate.

Meanwhile, the Montgomery Biscuits are one win away from the Southern League championship after a 13-7 win over Jackson to go up 2-0 in the series. The Biscuits built a 10-0 lead before Jackson got back within 10-6. That's when Ricky Loya capped off his monster game with his 2nd homer and 5th hit of the day, a 3-run jack to put it out of reach again. Loya had 6 RBI on the night, and Marco Abrego had a bases-clearing double. Kevin Ferrero started and won, going 5 3 1 1 1 4 before the pen had some issues.

Game 2: Another day, another rout at Publix Park as the Rays blasted Oakland 11-3. Omar Rodriguez was 3-5 with a HR (#11) and 3 RBI, Danny Ayala was 3-3 with 2 walks, a homer (#38) and 2 more RBI to give him 128, and Bo Angeac was 2-4 with 4 RBI. Jeff Baez also homered again (#5), a 2-run shot. Leo Ortega was unusually wild (3 walks after coming in with 15 the entire season) but was still effective, going 6 4 2 2 3 8 to improve to 21-3, 2.94 as he has a shot at breaking the team single-season wins record of 22. Bob Sirna went the final 3, allowing a run but whiffing 5 for his 4th save.

Game 3: 12-1, 11-3 and 11-1 turned out to be the scores of this series with Oakland as the Rays romped again. Andy Aparicio turned in his second straight great start and for the first time in 5 starts didn't allow a homer as he went 7 4 1 0 2 9 to go to 16-8, 4.42. Still don't know what I'm going to get out of him on a given day but we'll take it. Kevin Kerstetter went the final two scoreless. Today's hitting heroes were Alex Buitrago, 3-4 with a double, triple and 2 RBI, Bo Angeac 2-4 with HR #23, and Michael Valdez, 3-4 with two doubles and two runs scored. Also homering today were Victor de Jesus (#41) and Jon Jimenez (#21).

Team record: 113-35. Next up: We head to Texas for 3 games. The Rangers rule the AL West for 344th straight season, so there's a good chance we meet them yet again in the playoffs.

Minor League Playoff Update: Durham will have to put their trip to the finals on hold as Louisville beat them 6-4 in Game 3 to stay alive in the series. Mike McKee's pair of homers kept the Bulls in the game, and Phil Hable went deep as well, but Jimmy Steveson was not sharp at all and they were playing from behind the whole way. As for Montgomery:

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

Congrats to the Biscuits, who managed to "rap" up the series (c'mon OOTP) with today's win. Emilio Mireles was 2-4 with a HR and 2 RBI to lead the way and the Biscuit bullpen went 4 2/3 scoreless to nail the win down.

September 18-20, 2034: at Texas (3)
 

September 18: Activated 3B Vladimir Guerrero Jr. from his rehab assignment at AAA Durham, optioned SS Jeff Baez to AAA Durham.

Game 1: The Rays got plenty of offense (6 runs on 14 hits) but unfortunately their pitching was hit harder than it has been in recent memory and the Rangers roughed them up for a 12-6 win. Of course Texas is the next-closest thing to facing the Rays lineup in the AL so it wasn't going to be easy for Nate Schultz, but a 3 10 6 4 2 2 line was more brutal than anyone expected. That's Schultz's 2nd straight bad start after an unbelievable 4-month run and he drops to 18-5, 3.24 meaning he'll have to win his last 2 starts to win 20 again. Eric Riley, so good in his emergency start last week, fared much more poorly this time around, giving up 5 hits and 4 runs in his first inning of work as Texas piled up 15 (!) hits through the first 4 innings. Tyler Jefferson went the final 3 and gave up a 2-run homer to Bobby Owens. The bats got off to a good start with 2 in the first and chased Rangers ace Wil Diaz before he could stick around for the win with Danny Ayala having a big 3-4, 3-RBI day and Jaiden Hardaway and Dayle Jenkins each getting 3 hits at the top of the lineup.

Durham Playoff Update: The Bulls are on to the Championship Round after edging Louisville 3-2 to take their first round series 3-1, where they'll play for their 4th straight Governor's Cup and 8th in 13 seasons. Durham mainstay Mike Champagne was excellent, going 7 4 2 2 3 7 with Edgar Rios picking up the save. Stan Melton's 4th inning homer broke a 2-2 tie and stood up as the game-winner, and Nate Boesel also went deep for Durham. Phil Hable was named series MVP despite only playing in the 2 of the 4 games (he was benched against lefties) for going 5-8 with a HR and 2 RBI. They'll play either Buffalo or Columbus in the finals.

Game 2: It was a totally different game from yesterday's slugfest but the result was the same for the Rays as the Rangers shut them out 2-0. Tampa Bay didn't manage a hit until a Vlad Jr. single in the 5th and only had 4 on the day, two from Vlad and the other two from Jaiden Hardaway. Nate Thompson pitched great against a tough team in a tough park but got no support, going 6 4 1 1 2 6 and seeing his record unfairly lowered to 17-3, 3.46. Tim Siqueiros gave up a run in his inning while Danny Medina didn't.

Game 3: The Rays didn't get too much offense again tonight, but they got enough to take a 3-2 win over Texas thanks to a great Jon Soranno start and even better work from the bullpen. Soranno was overpowering at times before running out of gas in the 6th. He ended up 5 4 2 2 2 9 and was untouched until the 6th when he gave up an Adrian Ramos homer and a single before departing for Danny Medina. Medina gave up a double to score the second run but pitched 2 scoreless innings with 4 whiffs, Tim Siqueiros had a 1-2-3 8th with 2 Ks and Kikuo Kawase got Texas 1-2-3 in the 9th for save #29 while Soranno improved to 14-6, 3.52. All of the offense came with one swing of the bat in the 3rd when Danny Ayala crushed a Victor Presas pitch over the RCF wall for HR #39 with two men on, giving him 39 dingers and 136 RBI. Dayle Jenkins had another 3-hit game, scoring a run.

Team record: 114-37. Next up: 4 games in Toronto.

Durham Playoff Update: The Bulls opened up the International League championship series at home against Columbus and dropped a tough one, 4-2 in a 16-inning marathon. Bulls pitching had held the Clippers to 4 hits through the first 15 innings before they broke through against Mitch Spence in the 16th for 2 runs on 3 hits. Columbus led 2-0 in the 7th when Stan Melton drilled a 2-run homer to tie it and send everyone well past midnight. Rayhmer Costa did his usual thing, going 8 4 2 2 0 10 with both of the runs coming on solo homers of course. The bullpen followed with 7 hitless innings until the 16th. They'll try to even up the series tomorrow with Mike Fields on the mound.