April 26-May 2, 2027
 

April 26: vs Detroit 3-12 L. LP-Pepiot (2-3, 3.1 6 8 6 5 2). HR-Kjerstad (3). Rays returned home with a hangover from the road as they were trounced by the Tigers with Pepiot particularly ugly today.

April 27: vs Detroit 9-10 L. LP-Contreras (0-1). Starter-H.Smith (3.2 8 7 7 0 7, 2 HR). HR-Morel 2 (9), Isaac (7). Smith was due for a correction after putting up an 0.72 ERA through his first 4 starts but this was a bit much. He actually was up 5-0 after 3 before imploding in the 4th and although the Rays came back to tie it a 9 on a 3-run Isaac homer in the 6th they gave up the losing run in the 7th. Morel homered in the 2nd and 3rd, driving in 3.

April 28: at Detroit 2-3 L. LP-Robertson (2-1). Starter-McClanahan (5.1 3 1 1 3 8). The good news is that they pitched well (except for Robertson) for a change but the bad news is that they were swept by Detroit and have now lost 4 in a row after a 17-5 start. Robertson gave up Jace Jung's 2nd homer of the game, a 2-run shot in the 8th, to lose it while the bats only managed four hits.

April 29: Off-Day.

The lack of a quality setup man in front of Felix Bautista has been an ongoing problem as seen the night before, so we made a deal to hopefully remedy that:

https://i.imgur.com/7Z2s8Fq.png

We got a pretty good one in "The Airbender" as Williams still boasts 80 stuff and was closing for Houston with 5 saves so far. Houston was desperate to deal him, paying 60% of his salary and only getting a mid-level (2.5 star) prospect in Moreno. Jacob Lopez was optioned to Durham to make room.

April 30: at Chicago White Sox 4-5 L. LP-Bradley (3-1, 7 5 5 5 1 6). Once again a lead was lost, they came back to tie, and then gave up the go-ahead run to lose as Bradley gave up his 2nd homer of the game in the 7th to Ivan Herrera which was the difference as the losing streak hits 5 games.

May 1: at Chicago White Sox 1-3 L. LP-Gasser (2-2, 5 4 3 3 5 6). That's 6 straight defeats now and today's was extremely frustrating as they continually put men on base only to strand them, 11 LOB in total.

May 2: at Chicago White Sox 5-2 W. WP-Pepiot (3-3, 5 3 2 2 3 6). S-Bautista (3). HR-Isaac (8). Isaac's 3-run homer in the 6th off former Ray Zac Eflin turned around a 2-1 deficit and mercifully ended the Rays' losing streak.

Team record: 18-11. Now tied for first with the Yankees. Next week: Interleague play with 3 in Milwaukee followed by 3 at home against the Mets following an off-day.

Players of the Month (April):

AL Batter: Wyatt Langford (TEX), .350-7-27
NL Batter: Michael Harris II (ATL), .427-13-32 (yowza)
AL Pitcher: Ben Joyce (DET), 3-0, 1.26, 8 saves
NL Pitcher: Sem Robberse (WAS), 4-1, 1.36
AL Rookie: Luis Orta (BAL), 4-2, 2.97, 41K in 39IP
NL Rookie: Mason Adams (COL), 2-1, 0.61 ERA, 1 SV

Players of the Week:

AL: Willy Adames (SEA), 10-23, 3 HR, 10 RBI
NL: Elly De La Cruz (CIN), 14-26, 5 HR, 11 RBI

MLB News: Arizona's Eugenio Suarez hit career homer #300.

Rays News: Nick Bitsko, our #1 pick all the way back in 2020 who's battled arm problems, pitched a 12-K no-hitter for AA Montgomery. He's rated 50/50/40 potential, so his MLB prospects aren't that rosy. Also his teammate C Dominic Keegan, who was taken in the Rule 5 Draft and returned to us, was the SL Player of the Week, going 7-12 with 3 HR and 6 RBI before hitting the IL with a bruised thigh.

May 3-9, 2027
 

May 3: at Milwaukee 10-4 W. WP-H.Smith (3-1, 5 4 4 4 3 8). HR-Isaac (9), J.Lowe (3), Kjerstad (4). J.Lowe and Kjerstad each homered and drove in 3 to lead a Rays rout. Smith had a 7-1 lead in the 5th and barely made it through for the win.

May 4: at Milwaukee 5-4 W. WP-McClanahan (3-0, 6 9 3 3 0 3). S-Bautista (4). HR-Yanier Diaz (4), Westburg (3), Morel (10), Isaac (10). The Rays got 3 solo shots and a 2-run job from Isaac to get their 5 runs as they held on to win again in Milwaukee.

May 5: at Milwaukee 6-5 W. WP-Bradley (4-1, 5 7 3 3 2 9). S-Bautista (5). HR-Morel (11), Caminero (6). Morel homered and walked 4 times to lead the offense, which gave the Rays a 6-2 lead after 2 innings and then they hung on the rest of the way to complete the series sweep.

May 6: Off-Day.

May 7: vs NY Mets 8-5 W. WP-Gasser (3-2, 6 2 2 2 3 9). HR-Morel (12), J.Lowe (4), Rutschman (5), Yanier Diaz (5). J.Lowe's 3-run homer in the 3rd was the big blow as the Rays erased an early 2-0 deficit and rolled past the Mets for the fifth straight win. Morel meanwhile went deep for the third straight game and pulled into a tie for the AL HR lead.

May 8: vs NY Mets 5-8 L. LP-Pepiot (3-4, 5 6 6 6 1 7). HR-B.Jones 2 (8), Caminero (7). Pepiot was hit hard and Jones' 2-homer, 4-RBI day went for naught as the Rays' win streak was snapped.

May 9: vs NY Mets 10-1 W. WP-H.Smith (4-1, 7 2 1 1 2 7). HR-Rutschman (6). Smith was brilliant and his battery mate Rutschman was 4-5 with a double, homer and 4 RBI to lead the offense. J.Lowe capped a big week by going 3-4 with a double and 2 RBI.

Team record: 23-12. The 5-1 week enabled the Rays to regain first place by 1 1/2 on the Yankees. Next week: The homestand continues with 3 against the White Sox and an off-day before the Yankees roll into town for a big 3-game set.

Players of the Week:

AL: Marcell Ozuna (SEA), 11-20, 6 HR, 13 RBI
NL: Jacob Berry (MIA), 14-29, 4 HR, 11 RBI

May 10-16, 2027
 

May 10: vs Chicago White Sox 5-3 W. WP-Bautista (5-1). Starter-McClanahan (5 3 1 1 4 7). HR-B.Jones (9), Kjerstad (5). Kjerstad's 2-run homer walked the game off for the Rays in bottom of the 9th after he had come on as a replacement in the 8th after Jones was pinch-hit for.

May 11: vs Chicago White Sox 4-3 W (10). WP-Bautista (6-1). Starter-Bradley (6 7 3 3 0 5). Bradley couldn't hold a 3-1 lead in the 7th but the Rays won again anyway with Isaac's RBI double in the bottom of the 10th giving them a second straight walk-off win while Bautista took over the league lead in wins, all in relief of course.

May 12: vs Chicago White Sox 7-2 W. WP-Gasser (4-2, 6 4 2 2 2 7). HR-Westburg (4), Isaac (11), Morel (13). No need for late-game heroics this time as Morel's grand slam in the 7th broke open a 3-2 game as the Rays completed the sweep of Chicago.

May 13: Off-Day.

May 14: vs NY Yankees 6-2 W. WP-Lovelady (1-0). Starter-Pepiot (5.2 7 2 2 1 10). HR-Westburg (5). Westburg was 2-3 with a 2-run homer and Mead had a key 2-run double as the Rays won the opener of their big series with New York, pushing 3 1/2 games ahead of them.

May 15: vs NY Yankees 4-1 W. WP-H.Smith (5-1, 6 5 1 1 2 5). S-Bautista (6). Smith dazzled again and Bautista finally got a save instead of a win. All the Tampa Bay scoring came in the 2nd with Mead delivering another big 2-run double, and they've now won 10 of their last 11.

May 16: vs NY Yankees 4-5 L (11). LP-Lovelady (1-1). Starter-McClanahan (6 4 3 3 3 5). HR-J.Lowe (5), Caminero (8). Hentges gave up a game-tying homer in the 8th and after both teams scored the ghost runner in the 10th the Yankees broke serve in the 11th to pull back within 3 1/2 games of the Rays.

Team record: 28-13. Next week: An AL East road trip with 4 in Boston followed by 3 in Toronto.

Players of the Week:

AL: Corey Seager (TEX), 12-29, 3 HR, 8 RBI
NL: Seiya Suzuki (CHI), 12-19, 0 HR, 4 RBI

MLB News: The oft-injured Yordan Alvarez is on the shelf again as the Astro slugger strained his MCL and will be out 6-7 weeks. Houston is off to a dismal 17-23 start and this certainly won't help.

May 17-23, 2027
 

May 17: at Boston 4-7 L. LP-Bradley (4-2, 5 6 6 6 3 5). HR-Morel (14). Taj was tagged for six runs by the 2nd and the Rays couldn't recover from that although Morel's 3-run homer in the 6th got them sort of into it.

May 18: at Boston 6-1 W. WP-Gasser (6 3 1 1 3 8). HR-P.Meadows (1). Gasser was throwing gas, and a balanced attack led by Isaac and Meadows, who each knocked in two, backed him.

May 19: at Boston 6-9 L. LP-Lovelady (1-2). Starter-Pepiot (5 5 3 3 2 7). HR-J.Lowe (6). This was a 3-3 game in the 6th before Lovelady gave up the go-ahead run and then Robertson was hit for a 5-spot in the 7th to let it get away. Lowe was 3-3 with a homer, steal and 3 RBI.

May 20: at Boston 8-5 W. WP-H.Smith (6-1, 6 6 2 2 2 13). S-Bautista (7). HR-Isaac (12), Kjerstad (6), Yanier Diaz (6). Smith continues to impress each time out and today fanned a career-high 13 as Tampa Bay salvaged a split. Rays were up 8-1 in this before Boston got 3 off the bullpen to make it semi-close. All three homers were of the 2-run variety.

May 21: at Toronto 12-1 W. WP-McClanahan (4-0, 5 5 1 1 3 5). HR-C.Williams (2), P.Meadows (2), Mead (2). Mead was 3-5 with a homer and 3 RBI and Meadows drove in 3 as well including a solo homer to lead the Rays to the rout as Mac stayed unbeaten (albeit with a lot of no-decisions).

May 22: at Toronto 6-4 W. WP-Lovelady (2-2). S-Robertson (1). Starter-Bradley (6 3 2 2 3 4). HR-Isaac (13). Trailing 2-1 entering the 8th the Rays erupted for 5 runs in the inning, keyed by Isaac's 3-run homer to give him the MLB lead at 48 RBI. The Rays had six steals in the game as well led by a pair from Meadows and Robertson got the save after Bautista had to leave with a blister.

May 23: at Toronto 3-2 W. WP-Maldonado (1-0). Starter-Gasser (6.1 4 2 2 1 8). HR-Yainer Diaz (7). For the second straight day the Rays came back late to win, this time about as late as possible as they trailed 2-0 in the 9th and at 2-1 they were down to their last strike when Yainer hit an 0-2 pitch out to right to provide the winning margin. With the bullpen shorthanded Maldonado saved his own win, striking out the side in the bottom of the 9th as the Rays completed the sweep.

Team record: 33-15. The lead on the Yankees is up to 5 games after completing a 5-2 week and a 7-3 road trip through the AL East. Next week: Home for 3 against and Boston and 3 against Kansas City with an off-day in between.

Players of the Week:

AL: Dylan Beavers (BAL), 9-21, 1 HR, 10 RBI
NL: Ozzie Albies (ATL), 13-25, 3 HR, 7 RBI

MLB News: Two NL superstars were injured this week with LA's 2-way wonder Shoehi Ohtani suffering a herniated disc in his neck which will sideline him 2-3 months, and Atlanta's Michael Harris II will be out 4-5 weeks with a strained groin.

May 24-30, 2027
 

May 24: vs Boston 1-3 L. LP-Pepiot (3-5, 5 5 3 3 4 1). Not much going for the Rays bats tonight after scoring in the first and then seeing Boston put up 3 in the second.

May 25: vs Boston 4-7 L. LP-M.Rodriguez (0-1). Starter-H.Smith (5.1 7 2 1 2 4). HR-Morel (15). After falling behind 4-0 the Rays tied it up with another slam from Morel, but the bullpen gave it right back and the Rays lost to Boston again.

May 26: vs Boston 5-4 W. WP-McClanahan (5-0, 6.1 6 3 3 0 9). S-Bautista (8). HR-Rutschman (7). A 3-run 5th highlighted by B.Jones' 2-run single won it for them and this team the bullpen held on.

May 27: Off-Day.

May 28: vs Kansas City 2-3 L. LP-D.Williams (0-1). Starter-Bradley (6.1 3 1 1 0 7). Williams gave up a 2-run homer to Austin Wells in the 9th to lose this one for the Rays and waste a great Taj start.

May 29: vs Kansas City 5-9 L. LP-Gasser (5-3, 3.2 8 7 7 1 6, 2 HR). HR-Caminero (9). Gasser was rocked in this one and put the Rays in a 7-1 hole from which there was no escape as the lousy homestand continued.

May 30: vs Kansas City 8-9 L. LP-Bautista (6-2). Starter-Pepiot (4.2 7 5 5 1 6). HR-Kjerstad (7), Morel (16). The wildest game of the year didn't fall the Rays' way as they suffered a sweep at home to KC and a 1-5 week (it seems they either go 5-1 or 1-5 every week except that they do the former more often). Another poor start from Pepiot (ERA up to 5.79 now) put them down 5-2 but a 5-run 5th highlighted by Morel's 3-run homer gave them a 7-5 lead which they lost when Hentges gave up a 3-run homer to lefty Austin Wells (him again) to fall behind 8-7. They tied it up in the bottom of the frame only for Bautista to cough up a run in the 9th to lose it after they stranded a man in scoring position in the bottom of the inning.

Team record: 34-20. Luckily the Yankees had about as bad a week and the lead remains a healthy 5 1/2 but look out, Baltimore is coming on and is only 1/2 game behind New York. Next week: Oakland visits for 3 to close out the homestand and then after a day off we travel to Baltimore to face the O's thrice for the first time this season.

Players of the Week:

AL: Bryan Ramos (CHI), 13-25, 4 HR, 12 RBI
NL: Jeferson Quero (MIL), 12-21, 1 HR, 2 RBI

Players of the Month (May):

AL Batter: Marcell Ozuna (SEA), .407-16-34 (wow)
NL Batter: Matt Olson (ATL), .365-11-26
AL Pitcher: Clay Holmes (MIN), 6-0, 3.75, 20K in 24IP
NL Pitcher: Walker Buehler (NY), 4-1, 1.44, 5/42 BB/K ratio in 44 IP
AL Rookie:

https://i.imgur.com/5PWCso5.png

NL Rookie: Yosy Galan (ARI), .280-7-20

May 31-June 6, 2027
 

May 31: Off-Day.

June 1: vs Oakland 2-1 W. WP-McClanahan (6-0, 7 2 0 0 1 9). S-Bautista (9). Mac was brilliant and the Rays left it late when Isaac singled in a run in the 7th to break a 0-0 deadlock. Bautista gave up a solo homer in the 9th but still got the save.

June 2: vs Oakland 2-1 W. WP-H.Smith (7-1, 7 2 0 0 2 4). S-Bautista (10). HR-Morel (17). This one played out similar to yesterday, right down to an insurance run in the 8th being crucial as once again Bautista gave up a solo homer in the 9th and held on. Smith lowered his ERA to 2.49 in another outing that has him in the running for Cy Young as well as RotY.

June 3: vs Oakland 4-1 W. WP-Bradley (5-2, 7 6 1 1 1 6). S-Robertson (2). HR-J.Lowe (7). A veritable scoring orgy compared to the last two nights while the Rays got outstanding pitching once again. Lowe's 3-run jack in the 3rd was the key blow as the Rays completed the sweep.

June 4: at Baltimore 0-5 L. LP-Gasser (5-4, 4 7 3 3 1 6, 2 HR). The O's jumped on Gasser and Kyle Bradish and a reliever held the Rays to 4 hits in the shutout.

June 5: at Baltimore 0-7 L. LP-Pepiot (3-6, 5 7 4 4 2 8). Another ugly loss in Baltimore for Tampa Bay as this time a pair of former Rays (Shane Baz and Seth Johnson) combined to pitch a 2-hit shutout against them.

June 6: at Baltimore 7-3 W. WP-McClanahan (7-0, 6 6 0 0 0 7). HR-Rutschman (8), Isaac (14), Morel (18). The sputtering offense came to life to salvage the finale of the series and keep Baltimore 6 games back. Isaac hit a 2-run shot and Morel went back-to-back with him in the 4th inning, breaking the game open.

Team record: 38-22. Baltimore gained a half-game on our off-day Monday to move within 5 1/2. Next week: Only 5 games as we're off Monday and Thursday. In between we have two games in Miami before coming home for another big weekend series with Baltimore.

Players of the Week:

AL: Julio Rodriguez (SEA), 10-18, 4 HR, 10 RBI
NL: Yosy Galan (ARI), 13-25, 5 HR, 13 RBI

June 7-13, 2027
 

June 7: Off-Day.

June 8: at Miami 0-2 L. LP-H.Smith (7-2, 5.2 8 2 1 0 10). Smith pitched well yet again but he had to be perfect as his teammates with the bats were held to a mere 3 hits by Eury Perez and two relievers.

June 9: at Miami 2-3 L. LP-Bradley (5-3, 6 5 3 3 1 8). HR-C.Williams 2 (4). The offensive slumber continues as another well-pitched game went for naught. Carson's pair of solo homers was it at the plate tonight.

June 10: Off-Day.

June 11: vs Baltimore 12-0 W. WP-McClanahan (8-0, 9 1 0 0 0 7). HR-C.Williams (5), Caminero 2 (11). A remarkable game on several fronts. First, the offense finally came to life. Second, it was a big win over Baltimore which had taken over 2nd and crept to within four games. Third, McClanahan had a perfect game through 8 innings before Colton Cowser led off with a double to start the 9th. Still Mac got the shutout, only the second of his career. Fourth, perhaps the reason he lost his perfect game is that he had to sit for a long time as the Rays scored 9(!) runs in the bottom of the 8th, an inning that saw Caminero homer twice and drive in six, including a grand slam. Aside from that, nothing to write home about.

June 12: vs Baltimore 3-1 W. WP-Gasser (6-4, 7 3 1 1 1 10). S-Bautista (11). HR-Rutschman (9). After a couple of tough starts Gasser bounced back with a gem and Rutschman's homer again his old team in the 6th got the Rays going after they trailed 1-0.

June 13: vs Baltimore 6-2 W. WP-Pepiot (4-6, 6 3 2 2 2 6). HR-C.Williams (6). Another win over the Orioles to expand the lead to 7 games although it isn't a sweep (not yet at least) as the teams will play one more time on Monday in a rare wrap-around series. Pepiot came back big from a real bad run of starts lately (he came in with a 5.90 ERA) and the Rays strangely got all their runs and all their hits (3) in the first inning with Campusano's bases-clearing double and Carson's 2-run homer (capping a huge week for him) the big ones.

Team record: 41-24. Next week: That one additional game against Baltimore followed by interleague action with 3 against the Cubs at home and then a trip to Atlanta for 3 more.

Players of the Week:

AL: Andres Gimenez (CLE), 13-25, 1 HR, 10 RBI (thought it might be Carson, he was 6-17 with 4 HR and 9 RBI, guess OOTP thinks BA should count for more)
NL: Matt McLain (CIN), 10-24, 5 HR, 10 RBI

MLB News: Seattle's Marcell Ozuna hit career homer #400.

June 14-20, 2027
 

June 14: vs Baltimore 5-3 W. WP-H.Smith (8-2, 6 2 3 3 2 10). S-Bautista (12). HR-Caminero (12), Mead (3). The Rays completed a massive 4-game sweep of the Orioles, just after Baltimore looked like it would make a run at them. Hagen Smith was dominating with 10 Ks although he did give up a couple of homers, while Mead had the big bat, doubling, homering and driving in 3.

June 15: vs Chicago Cubs 5-10 L. LP-Bradley (5-4, 4 7 7 7 2 2). HR-Rutschman (10), Caminero (13), Morel (19). The Rays were due for a stinker and were down 9-1 by the 5th as Taj was tattooed.

June 16: vs Chicago Cubs 6-1 W. WP-McClanahan (9-0, 7 3 0 0 1 10). Mac is on an incredible roll right now, throwing 29 consecutive scoreless innings over his last four starts, lowering his ERA to 2.60, and remaining undefeated. Westburg had a 2-run double and Brock Jones was 2-3 with an RBI to lead the offense.

June 17: vs Chicago Cubs 6-5 W. WP-Gasser (7-4, 6 5 5 5 1 7, 3 HR). S-Bautista (13). Rays built a 6-1 lead through 6 and then Gasser couldn't get anyone out in the 7th, giving up a 3-run homer to Seiya Suzuki followed by a solo shot by Owen Caissie to cut the lead to 1. Fortunately the pen held from there and the Rays took the series. Before that a 2-run single from Isaac and a 2-run triple from P.Meadows were the big blows.

June 18: at Atlanta 2-3 L. LP-Robertson (2-2). Starter-Pepiot (5.2 2 2 2 1 9). HR-Isaac (15), Morel (20). Morel's solo shot in the 7th got the Rays level at 2 but Robertson served up a Patrick Wisdom homer in the bottom of the inning to lose it.

June 19: at Atlanta 6-0 W. WP-H.Smith (9-2, 6.2 3 0 0 2 9). S-Maldonado (2). HR-Isaac (16), Westburg (6). Smith's brilliant run continues as he's allowed no more than 3 runs (and that only once in his previous outing) in each of his last 8 starts, lowering his ERA by over a run to 2.38 as he and Maldonado combined on the shutout.

June 20: at Atlanta 5-2 W. WP-Lovelady (3-2). S-Bautista (14). Starter-Bradley (5.1 5 2 2 1 8). HR-Rutschman (11), Caminero (14). Rutschman's 2-run homer in the 7th broke a 2-2 tie and Caminero went back-to-back with him for the final margin as the Rays won another series and capped a solid 5-2 week. Rutschman's blast capped a 3-hit, 4-RBI day for him.

Team record: 46-26. And thanks to Baltimore, Boston and New York all failing to get their respective acts together Tampa Bay now holds a whopping 9-game lead on the 2nd-place Orioles with the other two within a game of Baltimore. Next week: An off-day before the road trip continues with 3 in Minnesota followed by 3 more at Pittsburgh.

Players of the Week:

AL: Bobby Witt Jr (KC), 11-25, 6 HR, 15 RBI
NL: Manny Machado (SD), 12-21, 3 HR, 7 RBI

MLB News: Atlanta lost ace starter Spencer Strider for the remainder of the season thanks to a stretched elbow ligament.

June 21-27, 2027
 

June 21: Off-Day.

June 22: at Minnesota 3-1 W. WP-McClanahan (10-0, 6 5 0 0 2 9). S-Bautista (15). HR-Morel 2 (22), Westburg (7). Mac stayed perfect on the year and extended his scoreless streak to 35 innings while Morel went yard twice to lead the Rays to another win.

June 23: at Minnesota 2-3 L. LP-Gasser (7-5, 4.2 6 3 2 3 5). Gasser gave up a run in the 5th to let the Twins break a 2-2 tie and that was that for the night.

June 24: at Minnesota 4-7 L. LP-Pepiot (4-7, 4 6 6 6 2 7, 3 HR). HR-Isaac (17). Rays dropped the series after another terrible start from Pepiot, whose ERA is now up to 5.87 and will be the odd man out when Jeffrey Springs returns from his rehab assignment in July.

June 25: at Pittsburgh 4-1 W. WP-Bradley (6-4, 7 3 1 0 1 2). S-Bautista (16). HR-P.Meadows (3). Bradley was brilliant and Meadows' 2-run homer in the 5th broke a 1-1 tie to propel Tampa Bay to victory.

June 26: at Pittsburgh 15-1 W. WP-H.Smith (10-2, 7 3 1 1 2 7). HR-P.Meadows (4), Yainer Diaz (8). A good-old fashioned rout with the bottom (6-9) of the order combining to go 9-17 with 2 HR and 9 RBI with Mead and Diaz each knocking in 3. Meanwhile Smith dominated once again.

June 27: at Pittsburgh 2-4 L. LP-McClanahan (10-1, 5.2 6 4 2 1 6). Mac lost his perfect record and his scoreless streak, first with a couple of unearned runs in the 4th ending the latter at 38 and then a couple of earned runs allowed in the 6th that were the difference in a 2-2 game.

Team record: 49-29. Despite the 3-3 week the Rays held on to their 9-game lead as the Red Sox, Orioles and Yankees all spun their wheels this week with Boston now in second place. Next week: Home for a 3-game series with Seattle followed by 3 games with Washington at the Trop after an off-day.

Players of the Week:

AL: Maximo Acosta (OAK), 13-24, 0 HR, 5 RBI
NL: Zac Veen (COL), 12-26, 0 HR, 4 RBI

First time I've think we've had both PotW fail to hit a homer.

June 28-July 4, 2027
 

June 28: vs Seattle 11-1 W. WP-Gasser (8-5, 7 4 1 1 1 8). HR-Isaac (18), Caminero 2 (16). Rays romped behind a career game from Caminero, who was 3-5 with 2 HR and 6 RBI. He had a 2-run homer in a 4-run first and the Rays were up 8-1 after 2 before he added a 3-run shot in the 4th.

June 29: vs Seattle 4-2 W. WP-Hentges (1-0). S-Bautista (17). Starter-Pepiot (5 4 2 1 2 3). HR-Caminero (17). Rays trailed 2-0 early before coming back late to win it with two in the 7th as Campusano's RBI double was the tiebreaker.

June 30: vs Seattle 7-1 W. WP-Bradley (7-4, 7.2 2 1 1 2 6). HR-Morel (23). Rays completed the sweep of a good Seattle team that was 48-32 coming into the series. Westburg was 3-5 with 2 RBI and Caminero went 2-3 with 2 ribbies himself as they backed a brilliant outing from Taj.

July 1: Off-Day.

July 2: vs Washington 3-2 W (10). WP-Bautista (7-2). Starter-H.Smith (6.2 6 1 1 1 10). Bautista blew the save in the 9th but didn't let the ghost man score in the 10th while the Rays plated theirs on J.Lowe's second RBI single of the game. Running out of superlatives for Smith, who was dominant again.

July 3: vs Washington 6-2 W. WP-Robertson (3-2). Starter-McClanahan (6.2 6 2 2 2 6). HR-J.Lowe (8). Another close one won late as Caminero's RBI single in the 7th broke a 2-2 tie and then Lowe helped break it open with a 2-run homer in the 8th as the Rays won their 5th straight.

July 4: vs Washington 7-6 W (10). WP-D.Williams (1-1). Starter-Gasser (5 8 5 5 1 5). HR-Morel (24), Westburg (8). Rays looked to be cruising in this one when Westburg's 4th-inning slam gave them a 6-2 lead, but Gasser gave up a 3-run homer to former Ray Jonathan Aranda in the next inning and Maldonado gave up the tying run in the 8th. But Devin Williams was dominant in the 9th and 10th, perfect while fanning four, and the Rays once again got the ghost runner home on Brock Jones' RBI single to cap a perfect week.

Team record: 55-29. Their AL East lead has now reached double digits with Boston 10 behind. Next week: An off-day then we hit the road for 3 in Kansas City followed by 3 at Texas.

Players of the Week:

AL: Anthony Santander (BAL), 17-31, 2 HR, 6 RBI
NL: Jordan Walker (STL), 13-24, 0 HR, 5 RBI

Players of the Month (June):

AL Batter: Tyler O'Neill (BOS), .337-11-29
NL Batter: Yosy Galan (ARI), .344-12-30
AL Pitcher: Shane McClanahan (TB), 5-1, 0.44, 48 K in 40 IP
NL Pitcher: Hayden Wesneski (CHI), 5-0, 3.79, 34 K in 38 IP
AL Rookie: Hagen Smith (TB), 4-1, 1.39, 40K in 32 IP
NL Rookie: see NL Batter

2027 Midseason Review
 

We're just a few games beyond the midway point of the season so it's time to take stock of the year to date. And what a year it's been so far as the Rays have been the best team in baseball with an outstanding 55-29 record and a 10-game division lead so this recap should be just about all praise.

https://i.imgur.com/J4Xmz7M.png

Nice to see a lot of Rays representation over on the left and not shown due to screen size limitations are that Mac is 2nd in the AL in wins at 10, 3rd in Ks with 122 and second in pitcher WAR at 3.7. (By the way, despite word he's being converted to a starter this year in IRL, Clay Holmes is not in the Minnesota rotation - his league-leading win total is all in relief.)

https://i.imgur.com/pdrO2Zj.png

This might be the best-looking team stats page I've ever posted in my saves with nothing to look down at except perhaps the BB/K stats of the hitters but they're irrelevant given how productive the offense is. And #1 in baserunning and #1 in defensive efficiency as well - I've had a lot of great teams in my various Rays saves, especially the 2020 version, but never one that was this defensively as part of the all-around view. Even the team itself has been a model of consistency with nearly identical monthly W/L totals.

https://i.imgur.com/mGR5I4P.png

Rutschman has been typically great, but Caminero has taken it to the next level and Morel has vastly exceeded expectations after being acquired in the offseason. Lowe is his usual solid self and Meadows has been a revelation himself, getting more and more PT in CF at the expense of Jones. The one real disappointment has been Williams, who looked to be on a superstar trajectory after a big 2026 but has regressed this year, both at the plate and in the field (a 1.9 ZR after full-season numbers of 7.3 and 5.0 the last two years).

https://i.imgur.com/liLJ2sf.png

The pitching of course has been brilliant for the most part this year with the triumvirate of Mac, Hagen and Taj quite probably the league's best (I didn't survey the rest of the league but I'm not sure I have to). Pepiot and Gasser have had their ups and downs with walks a problem for the former and homers for the latter. Pepiot is likely the odd man out once Jeffrey Springs returns from rehab in the next week or two. The bullpen has been very good led by Bautista and Williams was a key pickup giving us a more reliable setup man than Robertson or Maldonado, who in fairness have been pretty decent this year.

https://i.imgur.com/Q9v84Wf.png

After graduating the likes of Caminero, Isaac, C.Williams and H.Smith over the last few years the farm system isn't that impressive right now with Moreno the only potential star-level player and he's several years away. Cermak is this year's Hunter Owen, going nuts with homers at Durham, but we really don't need him on the big club currently. Ditto for Lara, whom the AI keeps moving around between the top 3 levels but has a current 60 contact and 60 eye rating and who could be a nice table-setter. The draft is coming up in about a week so we'll see what we can add to this group.

The 2027 Amateur Draft
 

https://i.imgur.com/RWU660r.png

McGee: College lefty out of the baseball hotbed of North Dakota State, has 60/55/50 potential, rated 45/45/40 currently so he's hopefully not more than a couple years away.

Aguilar: A Puerto Rican high-schooler with 60 contact and 65 power potential. Could ultimately be a 1B as he only has 45 potential at the hot corner.

Springer: High schooler from Washington state with 70 contact and 60 power potential, also looks to have an iffy glove at 2B.

Sullivan: High school SP from Brooklyn who could unleash 80 stuff along with 55 control but is a long way from ever achieving those goals.

Federico Bailey: Not sure if Federico is a middle or last name but I'll go with the latter. Anyway he's a college SS from Houston with 50 potential contact and 60 power and is already a 55 fielder with 65 potential at the position (70 at 3B if the power ends up playing). A real sleeper.

July 5-11, 2027
 

July 5: Off-Day.

July 6: at Kansas City 2-8 L. LP-Bradley (7-5, 5 7 4 4 1 7). HR-Westburg (9). After singing their praises in the midseason review of course the Rays immediately came out and played a stinker as the bullpen let a 4-2 game get away.

Transaction: Welcome back, Jeffrey Springs. The lefty had been out since early October after tearing his labrum and made it through a rehab assignment at Durham. Luis Contreras was DFA'd to make room and Ryan Pepiot will move to the bullpen.

July 7: at Kansas City 0-1 L. LP-Robertson (3-3). Starter-Springs (6 2 0 0 0 7). Springs was outstanding in his return, but not only was he not supported and team lost 1-0 (on an unearned run in the 7th) but he tweaked his elbow and will be out for at least a week. The bats could only muster five hits tonight.

July 8: at Kansas City 2-3 L (10). LP-Bautista (7-3). Starter-H.Smith (5.1 3 1 1 2 8). Rays were swept in a 3-game series for the first since since late May, when they lost three straight at home to....the Royals, who are their bogey team this season and swept the season series. Another excellent start was wasted.

July 9: at Texas 7-14 L. LP-McClanahan (10-2, 2.2 9 8 8 1 1). HR-Westburg (10), Isaac (19), B.Jones (10), Kjerstad (8). This road trip is starting to becoming a nightmare as the Rays lost their fourth straight, this time by a football score (well it was a Friday night in Texas). Mac was hit about as hard as he's ever been in his career in one of those nights.

July 10: at Texas 9-3 W. WP-Gasser (9-5, 6 4 2 2 3 2). S-M.Rodriguez (1). HR-Westburg (11), Morel (25), Rutschman 2 (13). Hallelujah a win! Rutschman was 3-5 with a pair of solo shots and everyone in the lineup except Meadows knocked in a run to back a decent outing from Gasser.

July 11: at Texas 5-4 W. WP-Bradley (8-5, 6 7 3 3 1 4). S-Bautista (18). HR-Morel (26), Campusano (2). Morel's 2-run homer in the 6th broke a 1-1 tie and put the Rays ahead to stay as they took the series from Texas and salvaged the last two games of the road trip.

Team record: 57-33. Despite the poor week the Rays only lost one game off their division lead and are currently up 9 on Boston. Next week: A day off then back home for 3 against the Yankees and 3 vs Cleveland before hitting the All-Star break.

Players of the Week:

AL: Colson Montgomery (CHI), 11-20, 2 HR, 5 RBI
NL: Ronald Acuna Jr (ATL), 12-25, 2 HR, 6 RBI

MLB News: Sad reports out of Houston that the career of All-Star 2B Jose Altuve is over. He suffered a broken hand that hasn't healed properly and has decided to hang up the cleats. Altuve ends his career with 2512 hits, a .300 BA and 61.1 career WAR and he stands a good chance of making Cooperstown provided the voters don't hold the 2017 Astros scandal against him.

July 12-18, 2027
 

July 12: Off-Day.

July 13: vs NY Yankees 8-2 W. WP-H.Smith (11-2, 5 6 2 2 2 7). HR-Isaac (20), P.Meadows (5), Mead (4), Rutschman (20). A total romp as the Rays scored 6 times in the first and added 2 more in the 2nd with Isaac's 2-run homer the big early blow. Rutschman was 3-4 with a double, homer and 3 RBI.

July 14: vs NY Yankees 7-0 W. WP-McClanahan (11-2, 7 2 0 0 1 12). HR-Westburg (12), C.Williams 2 (8). Mac bounced back from one of the worst outings of his career in Texas to pitched one of his best, dominating the Yankees in another rout. Williams knocked in 3 with his 2 homers to lead the way on offense.

July 15: vs NY Yankees 2-1 W. WP-Hentges (2-0). S-Bautista (19). Starter-Gasser (6.2 4 1 1 4 8). Rays to fight harder to win this one, scoring twice in the 7th on a Mead RBI double and a Yankee passed ball to eke out the win and complete the sweep.

July 16: vs Cleveland 7-6 W. WP-Hentges (3-0). Starter-Bradley (5 5 4 4 1 7). HR-Isaac (21), Rutschman (15), J.Lowe (9). Talk about a team that refuses to lose. The Rays were behind 6-0 in this one before finally getting a run in the 7th before scoring 3 in the 8th and 3 more in the 9th to pull out a dramatic walk-off win. Homers from Rutschman and Lowe got them back into in the 8th and then they jumped all over Cleveland closer James Karinchak in the 9th culminating in Westburg's game-winning RBI single to make it 6 straight wins.

July 17: vs Cleveland 4-0 W. WP-Pepiot (5-7, 9 5 0 0 1 6). HR-P.Meadows (6), J.Lowe (10). With Springs nursing his sore elbow Pepiot got another crack at starting and truly made the most of it, pitching his first career complete-game shutout on 108 pitches. Lowe's 2-run homer in the 7th gave Pepiot breathing room.

July 18: vs Cleveland 5-4 W (11). WP-Bautista (8-3). Starter-H.Smith (6 9 4 4 0 4). HR-Caminero (18), Isaac (22). OK this is getting kind of ridiculous. The Rays were down 4-1 with two out in the bottom of the 9th when Isaac, who didn't start with Cleveland throwing a lefty, came off the bench and hit a 3-run pinch-hit homer to tie it. Bautista then kept the ghost runner off the board in the 10th and 11th before Westburg delivered a walk-off single for the second time in three nights to cap an improbable rally as the Rays concluded a perfect week with their 8th straight win heading into the break.

Team record: 63-33. We're now 10 1/2 up on second-place Baltimore. Next week: After the break we resume play with 3 at Yankee Stadium which will be part of a 4-game wraparound series.

Players of the Week:

AL: John Rhodes (BAL), 7-12, 2 HR, 6 RBI
NL: Nolan Gorman (STL), 12-19, 4 HR, 10 RBI

All-Star Break 2027
 

The Rosters:

The American League All-Stars feature these players:

SP Taj Bradley (TB) - 8-5, 3.83 ERA, 120.0 IP, 1.01 WHIP, 8.1 K/9, 2.6 WAR
SP Robert Colina (OAK) - 4-3, 2.64 ERA, 64.2 IP, 1.28 WHIP, 9.2 K/9, 1.7 WAR
SP Kyle Hurt (HOU) - 5-5, 4.07 ERA, 95.0 IP, 1.28 WHIP, 9.5 K/9, 2.5 WAR
SP Shane McClanahan (TB)* - 11-2, 2.89 ERA, 121.1 IP, 1.08 WHIP, 10.0 K/9, 3.8 WAR
SP Troy Melton (DET) - 7-1, 3.31 ERA, 108.2 IP, 1.17 WHIP, 8.7 K/9, 2.6 WAR
SP Luis Orta (BAL) - 11-6, 3.10 ERA, 133.2 IP, 1.15 WHIP, 10.0 K/9, 4.7 WAR
SP Hagen Smith (TB) - 11-2, 2.26 ERA, 107.1 IP, 1.02 WHIP, 11.1 K/9, 2.9 WAR
RP J.P. Feyereisen (HOU) - 2-2, 2.61 ERA, 51.2 IP, 1.16 WHIP, 9.2 K/9, -0.3 WAR
CL Felix Bautista (TB)* - 7-3, 19 SV, 1.11 ERA, 40.2 IP, 0.79 WHIP, 13.3 K/9, 2.1 WAR
CL Connor Cooke (TOR) - 2-7, 21 SV, 2.70 ERA, 40.0 IP, 1.15 WHIP, 11.2 K/9, 0.8 WAR
CL Jhoan Duran (MIN) - 2-2, 29 SV, 2.61 ERA, 41.1 IP, 1.16 WHIP, 11.3 K/9, 1.8 WAR
CL Ben Joyce (DET) - 8-5, 22 SV, 2.15 ERA, 46.0 IP, 1.13 WHIP, 9.0 K/9, 1.6 WAR
CL Louie Varland (KC) - 5-6, 24 SV, 2.34 ERA, 42.1 IP, 0.99 WHIP, 9.1 K/9, 2.1 WAR
C Alejandro Kirk (DET) - .308/.365/.425, 266 AB, 7 HR, 118 wRC+, 2.8 WAR
C Logan O'Hoppe (LAA) - .270/.339/.534, 281 AB, 20 HR, 5 SB, 132 wRC+, 3.0 WAR
C Adley Rutschman (TB)* - .299/.382/.535, 288 AB, 15 HR, 150 wRC+, 4.1 WAR
1B Luis Baez (HOU) - .316/.402/.575, 247 AB, 17 HR, 5 SB, 162 wRC+, 2.4 WAR
2B Andres Gimenez (CLE) - .295/.354/.454, 359 AB, 9 HR, 7 SB, 121 wRC+, 2.6 WAR
2B Jackson Holliday (BAL)* - .328/.431/.561, 344 AB, 18 HR, 23 SB, 164 wRC+, 5.8 WAR
2B Anthony Volpe (NYY) - .304/.396/.565, 237 AB, 14 HR, 13 SB, 161 wRC+, 3.1 WAR
3B Triston Casas (BOS) - .262/.352/.500, 332 AB, 21 HR, 125 wRC+, 2.1 WAR
3B Rafael Devers (BOS)* - .260/.334/.486, 354 AB, 20 HR, 4 SB, 113 wRC+, 1.9 WAR
3B Gunnar Henderson (BAL)* - .298/.402/.551, 336 AB, 21 HR, 13 SB, 152 wRC+, 4.1 WAR
3B Colson Montgomery (CWS) - .310/.412/.526, 323 AB, 15 HR, 4 SB, 153 wRC+, 3.9 WAR
SS Willy Adames (SEA)* - .281/.350/.500, 334 AB, 16 HR, 6 SB, 130 wRC+, 3.7 WAR
SS Bobby Witt Jr. (KC) - .351/.420/.619, 168 AB, 9 HR, 8 SB, 170 wRC+, 3.2 WAR
LF Charlie Condon (CLE) - .274/.362/.497, 350 AB, 19 HR, 2 SB, 133 wRC+, 2.6 WAR
LF Wyatt Langford (TEX)* - .295/.350/.598, 363 AB, 25 HR, 6 SB, 148 wRC+, 2.7 WAR
LF Christopher Morel (TB) - .248/.325/.543, 326 AB, 26 HR, 25 SB, 131 wRC+, 2.6 WAR
LF Marcell Ozuna (SEA) - .284/.352/.580, 331 AB, 28 HR, 150 wRC+, 2.7 WAR
LF Emmanuel Rodriguez (MIN) - .244/.381/.567, 270 AB, 24 HR, 8 SB, 151 wRC+, 3.1 WAR
CF Jonny DeLuca (CLE)* - .297/.343/.562, 333 AB, 21 HR, 4 SB, 140 wRC+, 1.7 WAR
RF Evan Carter (TEX)* - .268/.356/.473, 328 AB, 15 HR, 10 SB, 122 wRC+, 3.1 WAR
RF Aaron Judge (NYY)* - .263/.389/.467, 300 AB, 15 HR, 8 SB, 136 wRC+, 1.7 WAR

On the National League All-Star roster will be:

SP Sandy Alcantara (SD) - 10-4, 3.07 ERA, 134.2 IP, 1.19 WHIP, 7.0 K/9, 3.0 WAR
SP Walker Buehler (NYM) - 12-2, 2.77 ERA, 133.0 IP, 1.14 WHIP, 8.0 K/9, 3.5 WAR
SP Tink Hence (STL) - 6-4, 3.17 ERA, 110.2 IP, 1.05 WHIP, 9.0 K/9, 3.3 WAR
SP Dylan Lesko (SD) - 5-5, 3.57 ERA, 116.0 IP, 1.35 WHIP, 9.9 K/9, 3.4 WAR
SP Andrew Painter (PHI) - 6-3, 2.44 ERA, 129.1 IP, 0.94 WHIP, 9.7 K/9, 3.4 WAR
SP Eury Perez (MIA) - 10-5, 2.36 ERA, 126.0 IP, 0.96 WHIP, 10.4 K/9, 4.2 WAR
SP Sem Robberse (WSH) - 11-4, 2.34 ERA, 119.1 IP, 1.12 WHIP, 7.0 K/9, 3.2 WAR
SP Justin Steele (CHC)* - 6-8, 4.35 ERA, 122.0 IP, 1.11 WHIP, 8.9 K/9, 2.2 WAR (Injured)
RP Mason Adams (COL) - 4-3, 3.10 ERA, 81.1 IP, 1.14 WHIP, 8.5 K/9, 1.9 WAR
RP David Bednar (STL) - 1-2, 2.38 ERA, 53.0 IP, 1.04 WHIP, 9.5 K/9, 1.2 WAR
RP Edwin Díaz (ATL) - 3-2, 2.77 ERA, 52.0 IP, 1.21 WHIP, 10.2 K/9, 1.1 WAR
RP Paul Sewald (NYM) - 3-1, 2.55 ERA, 35.1 IP, 1.10 WHIP, 8.9 K/9, 0.5 WAR
RP Logan Webb (SF) - 7-3, 3.39 ERA, 101.0 IP, 1.02 WHIP, 6.3 K/9, 2.5 WAR
CL Liam Hendriks (WSH) - 4-6, 14 SV, 3.26 ERA, 30.1 IP, 1.05 WHIP, 10.7 K/9, 0.8 WAR
CL Yoshinori Yamamoto (ATL)* - 1-1, 17 SV, 0.42 ERA, 21.2 IP, 0.97 WHIP, 6.6 K/9, 0.8 WAR (Injured)
C Diego Cartaya (MIA) - .237/.332/.498, 291 AB, 22 HR, 122 wRC+, 2.1 WAR
C Sean Murphy (ATL) - .243/.337/.446, 267 AB, 15 HR, 110 wRC+, 2.3 WAR
C Jeferson Quero (MIL)* - .319/.360/.558, 251 AB, 13 HR, 4 SB, 148 wRC+, 3.3 WAR (Injured)
C Ethan Salas (SD) - .241/.294/.450, 291 AB, 15 HR, 7 SB, 100 wRC+, 2.6 WAR
1B Matt McLain (CIN) - .261/.361/.518, 326 AB, 23 HR, 7 SB, 132 wRC+, 2.4 WAR
1B Matt Olson (ATL)* - .293/.365/.612, 348 AB, 30 HR, 153 wRC+, 3.2 WAR
1B Matt Shaw (CHC) - .301/.347/.574, 366 AB, 25 HR, 17 SB, 144 wRC+, 2.8 WAR
1B Juan Soto (NYM) - .289/.418/.559, 322 AB, 24 HR, 7 SB, 163 wRC+, 3.4 WAR
2B Ozzie Albies (ATL) - .289/.346/.591, 350 AB, 25 HR, 10 SB, 147 wRC+, 2.5 WAR
2B Noelvi Marte (CIN)* - .285/.378/.470, 249 AB, 10 HR, 7 SB, 127 wRC+, 2.3 WAR
2B Ezequiel Tovar (COL) - .325/.394/.512, 332 AB, 11 HR, 8 SB, 138 wRC+, 3.2 WAR
2B Trea Turner (PHI) - .316/.360/.474, 348 AB, 9 HR, 22 SB, 122 wRC+, 3.2 WAR
2B Jett Williams (NYM) - .294/.385/.482, 313 AB, 10 HR, 27 SB, 135 wRC+, 3.4 WAR
3B Elly De La Cruz (CIN)* - .338/.409/.698, 334 AB, 30 HR, 14 SB, 189 wRC+, 6.0 WAR
3B Ronny Mauricio (NYM) - .337/.361/.635, 356 AB, 29 HR, 9 SB, 166 wRC+, 3.5 WAR
SS Edwin Arroyo (CIN)* - .275/.335/.426, 364 AB, 11 HR, 12 SB, 102 wRC+, 3.5 WAR
LF Yosy Galan (AZ) - .288/.334/.651, 295 AB, 30 HR, 3 SB, 154 wRC+, 2.2 WAR
CF Jackson Chourio (MIL)* - .345/.394/.681, 357 AB, 26 HR, 13 SB, 180 wRC+, 6.3 WAR
CF Pete Crow-Armstrong (CHC) - .280/.348/.446, 354 AB, 13 HR, 21 SB, 115 wRC+, 3.2 WAR
CF Michael Harris II (ATL)* - .353/.379/.684, 215 AB, 20 HR, 5 SB, 182 wRC+, 2.7 WAR (Injured)
CF Luis Robert Jr. (MIA) - .289/.329/.509, 291 AB, 15 HR, 2 SB, 124 wRC+, 3.0 WAR
CF Jack Suwinski (PIT) - .253/.353/.538, 312 AB, 21 HR, 2 SB, 136 wRC+, 2.4 WAR
RF Jordan Walker (STL)* - .312/.361/.585, 340 AB, 24 HR, 5 SB, 150 wRC+, 2.9 WAR
DH Shohei Ohtani (LAD)* - .310/.401/.724, 145 AB, 17 HR, 1 SB, 186 wRC+, 2.0 WAR (Injured)

Former Rays in italics.

As befitting a team with the best record in baseball the Rays are sending six of their squad to the ASG, with four representing the league's best pitching staff including scheduled starter McClanahan, who also started the 2022 game and makes his fifth appearance. It's the second appearance for Bradley and Bautista (his first was with Baltimore in 2023) and obviously the first for the rookie Smith, who won't pitch since he started on Sunday. On the offensive side Rutschman makes his fifth trip as he's been an All-Star in every full season he's played, while Morel is honored for the first time.

The Futures Game: Our only representative was our top prospect (MLB's #31 overall), 19-year-old SS Vincent Moreno who's tearing up the DSL, putting up video game numbers of 463/590/894 in 123 AB over 32 games. Seriously considering promoting him to Low-A Charleston. In the game he came on as a pinch hitter and laid down a sacrifice bunt, which seemed a waste.

The Derby (no Rays involved):

https://i.imgur.com/5345bkV.png

The Game:

https://i.imgur.com/q5RCZoN.png

It was romp for the AL and it'll be forever remember for Edwin Diaz's meltdown in the 5th inning when he walked 5 batters, 2 with the bases loaded including our Christopher Morel. Rays pitchers bookended the game with perfect innings as Mac fanned 2 to start the game and Taj closed it out. Smith of course didn't pitch but neither did Bautista, while walks were all Rays hitters could muster as Rutschman drew a pair of free passes and Morel of course his bases-loaded walk.

July 23-25, 2027
 

July 23: at NY Yankees 3-2 W (10). WP-Bautista (9-3). Starter-Gasser (6 5 2 2 2 5). HR-Caminero (19), Westburg (13). Williams' RBI single in the 10th won it for the Rays while Westburg extended his hitting streak to 20 games with his solo shot and speaking of streaks the Rays have now won 9 straight.

July 24: at NY Yankees 7-4 W. WP-Pepiot (6-7). S-Bautista (20). Starter-Springs (4.2 2 2 2 4 5). HR-Isaac 2 (24), C.Williams (9). Isaac's 2nd homer of the game was a 3-run shot in the 8th which broke a 4-4 tie and gave Tampa Bay its 10th straight win. Pepiot got the relief win despite giving up a couple of homers to put the Rays behind.

July 25: at NY Yankees 3-0 W. WP-McClanahan (12-2, 6.1 3 0 0 2 9). S-Robertson (3). HR-Morel (27). Mac continues to make his case for the AL Cy Young by following up his All-Star start with another scoreless outing. Morel homered and stole a base, giving him 27 of each and the win streak has now reached 11 games.

Team record: 66-33. The lead in the AL East is up to 11 1/2 games on Baltimore. Next week: We wrap up the 4-game set with the Yankees on Monday then go to Toronto for 3 before returning home for 3 against Cincinnati.

Players of the (abbreviated) Week:

AL: Jonny DeLuca (CLE), 5-10, 4 HR, 7 RBI
NL: Kevin Alcantara (CHI), 6-11, 3 HR, 7 RBI

Had no idea DeLuca would have this great a season when we dealt him to Cleveland for the reliever Hentges - he's hit 304/353/594 with 25 HR and 72 RBI and made the All-Star Game.

July 26-August 1, 2027
 

July 26: at NY Yankees 5-1 W. WP-Bradley (9-5, 8 3 1 1 1 7). HR-B.Jones (11), Kjerstad (9). Rays swept the 4-game series and made it 12 wins in a row total thanks to a gem from Taj and homers from Brock and Kjerstad.

July 27: at Toronto 7-12 L. LP-H.Smith (11-3, 4.2 8 8 7 0 4). HR-Isaac 3 (27), Westburg (14). The Rays' 12-game win streak came to a crashing halt as the Jays tattooed Smith, wasting a 3-HR, 5-RBI career day from Isaac. Pepiot gave up 4 more runs in relief after Smith departed.

July 28: at Toronto 1-3 L. LP-Gasser (9-6, 5 5 3 3 2 6). From a 12-game win streak to a 2-game losing streak now as the bats were muted.

July 29: at Toronto 9-6 W. WP-Springs (1-0, 5 4 2 1 5 1). S-Bautista (21). HR-Westburg (15), C.Williams (10). Toronto was up 2-1 after 5 but 4-spots in the 6th and 8th enabled the Rays to salvage the final. Williams swung the big bat, going 4-5 with a 2-run double and a 2-run homer and Springs got his first win in nearly a year despite control problems.

July 30: vs Cincinnati 2-1 W (11). WP-Lovelady (4-2). Starter-McClanahan (6.2 6 0 0 1 7). HR-C.Williams (11). A classic pitchers' duel between Mac and Max Fried, scoreless until the 8th when the Reds got a run and the Rays answered with Williams' solo shot. Lovelady kept the ghost runner from scoring in the 10th and 11th, setting up Westburg from the game-winning RBI.

July 31: vs Cincinnati 8-10 L. LP-Bradley (9-6, 4.1 8 8 4 1 6). HR-J.Lowe (11), Isaac (28), P.Meadows (7), Kjerstad (10). Taj gave up 5 in the second thanks to a homer and an error before the Rays tied it by the 3rd, only for the Reds to keep scoring while the Rays tried to keep pace to no avail. Lowe was 2-4 with the homer and 3 RBI while Y.Diaz was 3-4 with 2 RBI in the losing cause.

August 1: vs Cincinnati 5-1 W. WP-H.Smith (12-3, 7.1 5 1 1 1 8). Smith bounced back from a couple of bad starts while J.Lowe had a 2-run double in a 4-run 5th that was key to victory.

Team record: 70-36. Next week: A light schedule as we have Monday and Thursday off-days around 2 games at home vs Miami before heading to Houston for 3.

Players of the Month (July):

AL Batter: Jackson Holliday (BAL), .367-9-22
NL Batter: Elly De La Cruz (CIN), .388-6-15
AL Pitcher: Chase Silseth (LA), 4-1, 1.77, 36K in 40.2 IP
NL Pitcher: Walker Buehler (NY), 4-0, 2.91
AL Rookie: Jarlin Susana (CHI), 9 SV, 1.74 ERA
NL Rookie: Yosy Galan (ARI), .227-10-26

Players of the Week:

AL: Jackson Holliday (BAL), 12-25, 3 HR, 5 RBI
NL: Ethan Salas (SD), 12-24, 4 HR, 6 RBI

MLB News: We had the trade deadline, and despite looking for another bullpen arm I couldn't find a deal that worked so we stood pat. Notable movers were Freddy Peralta (HOU to PHI), Mike Yastrzemski (LAD to COL), JT Realmuto (CLE to MIN) and Matt Chapman (HOU to LAA). Also Boston's Rafael Devers hit career homer #300.

August 2-8, 2027
 

August 2: Off-Day.

August 3: vs Miami 4-3 W. WP-D.Williams (2-1). S-Bautista (22). Starter-Gasser (6.2 4 3 3 2 6). Rays pulled this one out with Mead's RBI double in the 7th to tie it and Morel's sac fly winning it in the 8th. The double was Mead's second two-bagger and third hit on the night.

August 4: vs Miami 7-8 L. LP-Springs (1-1, 4.1 7 7 7 1 2). HR-Isaac (29). A wild one that saw Miami score 6 times in the 5th to go up 8-3, knocking Springs around, before the Rays nearly came all the way back. Isaac had a 3-run homer to put them up early and J.Lowe was 3-5 with 2 RBI.

August 5: Off-Day.

August 6: at Houston 1-2 L. LP-McClanahan (12-3, 6 4 2 2 3 4). Rays were dominated by Kyle Hurt in this one, who went 7.1 3 0 0 0 14 in a truly dominant performance. They scratched across a run in the 9th but it wasn't enough.

August 7: at Houston 4-10 L. LP-Bradley (9-7, 4.1 5 6 6 3 10, 2 HR). HR-Isaac (30). An ugly game which saw Taj put up a strange line, fanning 10 in only 4 1/3 but getting hit hard otherwise. Isaac hit another 3-run homer and increased his AL-best RBI total to 94.

August 8: at Houston 9-11 L. LP-H.Smith (12-4, 4.1 7 7 7 3 4). HR-J.Lowe (12). Smith seems to be hitting a rookie wall as he was bombed for the third time in four starts. The final score is misleading as the Rays trailed 10-1 after 6 innings before getting into the Houston bullpen and making it semi-interesting as they were swept, finishing out a 1-4 week.

Team record: 71-40. Despite the poor week they still hold a 10-game lead on Baltimore in the AL East. Next week: An off-day followed by 3 games in St. Louis before returning home for 3 vs Baltimore.

Players of the Week:

AL: Yordan Alvarez (HOU), 12-25, 3 HR, 9 RBI (much of that damage against us)
NL: Brady House (WAS), 9-19, 4 HR, 10 RBI

MLB News: Some individual feats as light-hitting San Francisco OF Christian Pache hit for the cycle, the Cubs' Owen Caissie had a 3-homer, 5 hit day, and Houston's Kyle Tucker also went deep thrice in a game.

August 9-15, 2027
 

August 9: Off-Day.

August 10: at St. Louis 1-2 L (6). LP-Gasser (9-7, 5 4 2 2 0 5). The Rays were done dirty by the weather, forcing an early end to their game in St. Louis despite trailing only by a run.

August 11: at St. Louis 10-6 W. WP-McClanahan (13-3, 6 6 4 4 2 6). HR-C.Williams (12), Morel (28). A wild one that was 7-4 in the 4th as the Rays amassed 18 hits led by Williams who was 2-4 with a homer and 3 RBI.

August 12: at St. Louis 3-4 L. LP-Springs (1-2, 6 8 3 3 0 3). HR-Caminero (20). Rays rallied to score two in the 8th but couldn't finish the deal as they dropped another series.

August 13: vs Baltimore 3-8 L. LP-Bradley (9-8, 5 6 6 6 2 7). HR-C.Williams (13). Taj was hit hard for the third straight start, allowing16 runs in 13.1 IP over that stretch as the Rays dropped the opener of what they'd hope would be a put-away series against the Orioles.

August 14: vs Baltimore 1-6 L. LP-H.Smith (12-5, 4.2 3 3 3 4 5). HR-Caminero (21). The August swoon continues for the Rays as they drop to 3-8 on the month and have seen Baltimore creep within 8 games of the division lead.

August 15: vs Baltimore 4-0 W. WP-Gasser (10-7, 6 1 0 0 4 6). Gasser and three relievers combined on a 2-hit shutout as the Rays stopped the rot and salvaged the finale to re-establish a 9-game lead in the division. J.Lowe led off the game with a triple and scored as they got to old friend Shane Baz for 4 runs on 8 hits in 5 innings.

Team record: 73-44. Next week: The homestand continues with 3 against Houston and 3 against Arizona separated by an off-day.

Players of the Week:

AL: Anthony Santander (BAL), 11-20, 5 HR, 9 RBI
NL: Matt Olson (ATL), 8-20, 4 HR, 7 RBI

MLB News: A couple of long-time vets reached the 2000-hit mark - Philly's Bryce Harper and San Diego's Xander Bogaerts.

August 16-22, 2027
 

August 16: vs Houston 3-9 L. LP-McClanahan (13-4, 5.2 8 7 3 1 3). HR-Morel (29), J.Lowe (13). A 4-run 6th with a key Isaac error allowed Houston to break a 3-3 tie and go on to hand the Rays yet another August loss.

August 17: vs Houston 2-3 L. LP-Springs (1-3, 8.1 7 3 3 0 5). HR-Caminero 2 (23). The 6th inning was decisive again as Springs gave up a 2-run homer which snapped a 1-1 tie and Caminero's two solo blasts went to waste.

August 18: at Houston 4-8 L. LP-Bradley (9-9, 4.1 7 6 6 1 5). HR-J.Lowe (14), Campusano (3). Taj suffered his fourth straight brutal start and not coincidentally the Rays have gone into a swoon since, getting swept at home and now losing 11 of 15 in August.

August 19: Off-Day. At least they didn't lose.

August 20: vs Arizona 7-4 W (10). WP-Bautista (10-3). Starter-H.Smith (5 5 3 3 1 8). HR-C.Williams 3 (16). Carson Williams' career day to the rescue as he tied the club record held by several with 3 homers, including a 3-run walk-off job in the bottom of the 10th to snap (for now) the Rays' August funk. Williams drove in 6 of the team's 7 runs on the night.

August 21: vs Arizona 5-0 W. WP-Gasser (11-7, 5.2 3 0 0 4 7). Gasser and two relievers combined on a 6-hit shutout and Meadows was 3-4 with a double and 2 RBI to lead the offense as the Rays strung consecutive wins together for the first time in a while.

August 22: vs Arizona 4-1 W. WP-D.Williams (3-1). Starter-McClanahan (8 6 1 1 0 5). HR-Caminero (24), Morel (30). Morel became the first player in Rays history to have a 30-30 season (he has 33 steals) and he did so in grand fashion, hitting a 3-run walk-off homer with two out in the 9th to give the Rays a series sweep of Arizona and hopefully a turnaround out of their recent slump. Mac was brilliant and efficient (94 pitches) in going 8 and keeping them in it.

Team record: 76-47. The lead remains 10 on Baltimore, so the rough August hasn't hurt their division chances much. Next week: A trip to the west coast with 4 games in Oakland followed by 3 in LA against the Dodgers.

Players of the Week:

AL: Yordan Alvarez (HOU), 10-24, 5 HR, 7 RBI (he was 5-13, 4 HR, 6 RBI against the Rays in their 3-game series as he had a pair of 2-homer games)
NL: Joey Wiemer (MIL), 12-20, 3 HR, 10 RBI