August 23-29, 2027
 

August 23: at Oakland 3-5 L. LP-Springs (1-4, 5 5 4 4 3 2). HR-J.Lowe (15). Springs gave up a pair of homers in the 5th and a 3-1 Rays lead turned into a 5-3 loss.

August 24: at Oakland 4-5 L (12). LP-Bautista (10-4). Starter-Bradley (3.2 5 3 1 2 2). Another tough loss as the Rays scored in the top of the 10th but they couldn't in the 11th and 12th while Oakland got the ghost man home in the 10th and 12th to win it. Westburg had a 3-hit day including 2 doubles and 2 RBI in the losing effort.

August 25: at Oakland 7-3 W. WP-H.Smith (13-4, 5.1 6 2 1 2 4). HR-Rutschman (16), B.Jones (12), Mead (5), C.Williams (17). Rays got back in the win column thanks to the longball as they belted four homers include Rutschman's 2-run shot in the 2nd which sent them on their way.

August 26: at Oakland 6-2 W. WP-Gasser (12-7, 6 4 2 2 1 5). HR-Isaac (31). Rays got all the runs they'd need with 3 in the first including Isaac's 2-run shot which enabled him to reach the 100-RBI mark for the first time in his career, a total which also currently leads the AL, as they salvaged a split in Oakland.

Transaction: Manuel Rodriguez pulled his hamstring and will be out about a month so we purchased the contract of Luis Contreras from Durham. Contreras of course was up for most of the first half of the season.

August 27: at LA Dodgers 8-4 W. WP-Hentges (4-0). Starter-McClanahan (6 4 2 1 3 6). HR-Morel (31), Caminero (25). Don't be fooled by the final score, this was a 2-2 game into the 8th when Morel drilled a 2-run homer to win it and they tacked 4 more on in the 9th including Caminero's 3-run blast.

August 28: at LA Dodgers 8-3 W. WP-Springs (2-4, 6 4 2 2 2 5). HR-Caminero 2 (27), B.Jones (13). A monster day from Caminero who hit a pair of 2-run homers and singled in another for a 5-RBI day while Springs pitched his best game in a while.

August 29: at LA Dodgers 7-6 W. WP-Bradley (10-9, 6 4 4 2 2 6). S-Bautista (23). HR-Caminero (28). Rays took a 7-2 lead and barely held on to complete the sweep in Tinseltown and make it 5 straight wins. Another big day from Caminero who doubled, homered and drove in a pair while Taj won for the first time in over a month.

Team record: 81-49. We remain 9 up on Baltimore with the magic number to clinch the AL East down to 23. Next week: The west coast trip concludes with 3 in Seattle before taking a day off to head home where San Diego awaits for 3 more.

Players of the Week:

AL: This guy:

https://i.imgur.com/7cJpWi1.png

NL: Jackson Merrill (SD), 13-27, 3 HR, 6 RBI

August 30-September 5, 2027
 

August 30: at Seattle 8-2 W. WP-H.Smith (14-5, 5 5 2 2 1 7). HR-Isaac (32), Caminero (29), Rutschman (17), Mead (6). Rutschman's 2-run homer in the 6th broke a 2-2 tie and the Rays piled on from there to comfortably prevail.

August 31: at Seattle 9-4 W. WP-Gasser (13-7, 5 2 1 1 2 5). HR-P.Meadows (8), Mead (7). A 5-run second keyed by Meadows' 3-run blast got Tampa Bay going and Mead's 3-run homer in the 9th iced it.

Transaction: September roster expansion time and we called up IF Brayden Taylor, up for a while earlier this year, as well as rookie lefty Keyshawn Askew, who fanned 57 in 44 innings in relief at Durham this year and could be a bullpen piece going forward.

September 1: at Seattle 4-3 W. WP-McClanahan (14-4, 7.1 3 1 0 0 6). S-Bautista (24). HR-Isaac (33). Mac was typically brilliant and Isaac had an RBI single and solo homer to pace the offense. Bautista made it a nervous 9th by allowing a pair of runs but managed to muddle through.

September 2: Off-Day.

September 3: vs San Diego 8-3 W. WP-Springs (3-4, 6 3 0 0 3 6). HR-Isaac (34), Caminero (30). Isaac made it 3 HR and 8 RBI in his last 3 games with a grand slam tonight and an RBI single to boot, and Springs pitched his best game since his first one off the IL as the Rays made it 9 straight wins.

September 4: vs San Diego 6-7 L. LP-D.Williams (3-2). Starter-Bradley (5.1 7 3 3 0 7). Rays saw their win streak snapped in a game that should have extended it as they blew leads of 4-0 and 6-4 with the Padres getting a 2-run homer off Williams in the 8th to win it.

September 5: vs San Diego 3-1 W. WP-H.Smith (15-5, 6 5 0 0 2 6). S-Bautista (25). HR-Westburg (16), Morel (32). Smith seems to have come through the rookie wall with some fine outings of late and today's was a gem.

Team record: 86-50. The magic number for clinching the AL East is down to 15. Next week: A full slate as we're home for 4 against Minnesota before traveling to Baltimore for 3.

Players of the Week:

AL: Bobby Witt Jr (KC), 13-24, 3 HR, 7 RBI
NL: Jackson Merrill (SD), 10-28, 4 HR, 10 RBI

As we've entered the final month, here's a look at where things stand around MLB:

https://i.imgur.com/dko8TbX.png

September 6-12, 2027
 

September 6: vs Minnesota 1-2 L. LP-Gasser (13-8, 6 5 2 2 0 8). HR-Rutschman (18). Rays came out on the wrong end of a pitchers' duel as all three runs in the game came on solo homers.

September 7: vs Minnesota 6-5 W (10). WP-Bautista (11-4). Starter-McClanahan (6.2 5 1 1 3 8). HR-C.Williams (18), B.Jones (14). A crazy game as the Rays scored 3 in the 7th to go up 4-1 only for Minnesota to get 4 off D.Williams in the 8th to go ahead 5-4. But Jones tied it in the 9th with a solo homer and Mead won it in the 10th by singling in the ghost runner.

September 8: vs Minnesota 1-2 L. LP-Springs (3-5, 8 6 2 2 0 10). HR-Caminero (31). Another tough low-scoring loss to Minnesota. Springs looked he throw a lot of pitches with 8 innings and 10 whiffs but only needed 82 to get through his outing.

September 9: vs Minnesota 4-3 W. WP-Pepiot (7-7). S-Bautista (26). Starter-Bradley (6 4 3 3 0 5). HR-Isaac (35). Rays trailed 3-1 going into the bottom of the 8th before Isaac tied with a 2-run shot and Williams' RBI single won it.

September 10: at Baltimore 3-0 W. WP-H.Smith (16-5, 5.1 3 0 0 3 10). S-Bautista (27). HR-Campusano (4). Smith's dream rookie season continued with another dominant outing and Campusano's 2-run homer capped a 3-run 4th which saw all the game's scoring.

September 11: at Baltimore (Rained Out).

September 12: at Baltimore (Game 1) 9-7 W. WP-Askew (1-0). S-Bautista (28). Starter-Gasser (4 6 5 5 3 3). HR-Isaac 2 (37), J.Lowe 2 (17). A wild one in the matinee as the Rays rallied from 7-3 down after 6 with a 5-spot in the 7th with Lowe's 2-run shot and Isaac's 3-run blast as each had an additional solo shot. Askew got his first MLB win in relief despite allowing a couple of runs.

September 13: at Baltimore (Game 2) 7-3 W. WP-McClanahan (15-4, 5 6 3 3 2 6). HR-Campusano (5), P.Meadows (9). Rays swept the doubleheader and the series, and pretty much put the division to bed even though it was comatose to begin with. Campusano's 3-run homer in the 2nd was the big hit and he later added an RBI double while Meadows had a 3-hit game including his solo homer.

Team record: 91-52. The magic number to clinch the division is down to 7 after the sweep of the O's. Next week: The eastern road trip continues as we go to Philly for 3 followed by 4 in Cleveland.

Players of the Week:

AL: Jasson Dominguez (NY), 6-13, 4 HR, 7 RBI
NL: Jackson Chourio (MIL), 14-20, 4 HR, 10 RBI

MLB News: The Rangers' Antonio Gutierrez had one of most remarkable debuts in the long and storied history of MLB, going 6 for 6 with 2 HR and 4 RBI as Texas routed the Angels 17-1. Despite the splash Gutierrez isn't considered an elite prospect, a 50/55-hitter with superior defensive skills in the outfield. It appears the 6 hits are a record for an MLB debut - some Googling revealed that in 1933 Washington's Cecil Travis debuted with five hits for the record, and that was in a 12-inning game, otherwise nobody had more than four.

Also Cleveland's Jose Ramirez hit career homer #300.

September 13-19, 2027
 

September 13: at Philadelphia 3-2 W. WP-Springs (4-5, 7 4 0 0 0 7). S-Bautista (29). HR-Rutschman (19), Isaac (38). Springs was brilliant and got the two homers to back him as the Rays took the opener. Bautista gave up 2 runs in the 9th but held on for the save.

September 14: at Philadelphia 6-1 W. WP-Bradley (11-9, 6 2 0 0 0 8). S-Lovelady (1). HR-Morel (33), C.Williams (19). Another dominant start and a big game from Morel (3-4, HR, 3 RBI) were a recipe for a win.

September 15: at Philadelphia 4-10 L. LP-H.Smith (16-6, 4 4 2 2 4 7). HR-B.Jones (15). Smith wasn't that bad but the bullpen certainly was and the Rays were blown out in Philly.

September 16: at Cleveland 18-2 W. This one deserves a full box presentation since Caminero had one of the great offensive nights of all-time:

https://i.imgur.com/bJ3kudp.png

5-6 with a double 3 HR and 11 RBI ain't too shabby and the RBI are a team record and tied the AL mark. Campusano's big game and Pepiot's outstanding spot start would normally be the stories of the night but Junior made them both an afterthought.

September 17: at Cleveland 7-11 L. LP-Hentges (4-1). Starter-Gasser (5 6 3 3 1 6). HR-Isaac 2 (41), Rutschman (20). The Rays looked like they were cruising to another blowout win up 7-1 in the 6th before it all went horribly wrong as Gasser gave up a couple of solo shots to start the inning and Hentges surrendered 5 runs to turn it into a loss.

September 18: at Cleveland 0-6 L. LP-McClanahan (15-5, 4.2 6 5 5 2 4). Rays were held to two hits for the game with Gavin Williams shutting them out for 8 innings as Mac didn't have it today.

September 19: at Cleveland 6-4 W (10). WP-Bautista (12-4). Starter-Springs (6 4 1 1 1 8). HR-Campusano (7). The Rays needed a win today to clinch the AL East but their party was delayed when D.Williams lost a 4-1 lead in the 8th. Fortunately Mead's RBI single scored the ghost runner and the Rays hung on to claim the division crown.

Team record: 95-55. Next week: The Rays start playing out the string with the final homestand of the season after a day off as Boston and Toronto each visit for 3 games.

Players of the Week:

AL: Ka'ai Rosario (MIN), 6-12, 5 HR, 10 RBI. Rosario had a 4-homer game so that was apparently enough to eclipse Caminero after his huge game.
NL: Mookie Betts (LA), 13-23, 0 HR, 6 RBI.

September 20-26, 2027
 

September 20: Off-Day.

September 21: vs Boston 3-5 L. LP-Bradley (11-10, 5 6 3 3 2 5). HR-Isaac 2 (43), Morel (34). Boston scored twice in the 9th to open up a 1-run game and went on to the win despite a pair of Isaac homers.

September 22: vs Boston 0-1 L. LP-Robertson (3-4). Starter-H.Smith (6 6 0 0 0 7). With the division clinched the Rays emptied their bench tonight and it showed on offense with Boston scoring the game's only run in the 7th and H.Smith pitching a great game in vain.

September 23: vs Boston 4-3 W (10). WP-Bautista (13-4). Starter-Gasser (7 3 1 1 1 6). HR-C.Williams (20). Looked like the Rays would be swept after Boston scored twice in the top of the 10th but Williams' 3-run homer in the bottom of the inning won it.

September 24: vs Toronto 9-0 W. WP-McClanahan (16-5, 7 2 0 0 3 6). Mac lowered his ERA to 2.70 and bolstered his Cy Young case with a brilliant outing today. He was well supported with 2-run doubles from Kjerstad and Westburg the big hits.

September 25: vs Toronto 5-1 W. WP-Springs (5-5, 7 5 1 0 1 9). HR-Morel (35). Meadows' 2-run double in the 6th put them ahead to stay and Springs continued his red-hot run, rounding into form just in time for the playoffs. In 5 September starts he's allowed just 3 runs in 34 IP with a 5/40 BB/K ratio.

September 26: vs Toronto 7-2 W. WP-Bradley (12-10, 6 6 2 2 0 7). HR-P.Meadows (10), Westburg (17), Isaac (44). Rays completed the sweep thanks to a decent game from Taj and Meadows 3-run homer in the 3rd all the runs they'd end up needing.

Team record: 99-57. Although the division has been clinched for a week they're still in a fight for the #1 seed as Detroit went on a 9-1 tear to pull even with the Rays at one point during the week before falling back 2 games. Next week: We close out the regular season on the road with 3 games in Detroit and three more in Boston, so that first series could have a lot to say about seeding.

Players of the Week:

AL: Bobby Witt Jr (KC), 11-21, 0 HR, 7 RBI
NL: Seiya Suzuki (SD), 11-21, 3 HR, 7 RBI

MLB News: As we head into the final week of the season here's where things stand playoff-wise. In the AL Tampa Bay and Detroit have clinched their divisions and Seattle has all but done so in the West. Baltimore and Boston appear to be wild card locks leaving the third spot up for grabs with Minnesota leading Cleveland by 1/2 game and the White Sox by 1 full game.

In the NL Atlanta and San Diego are division winners while Cincinnati leads Milwaukee by only 1/2 game in the Central. The loser of that division and Colorado have wild cards wrapped up and WC3 right now has Miami 1/2 game over the Mets, 1 1/2 on Philly and 2 on St. Louis.

September 27-October 3, 2027
 

September 27: Off-Day.

September 28: at Detroit 7-0 W. WP-H.Smith (17-6, 6 3 0 0 1 6). HR-Caminero (35). While we've clinched the division there's still the matter of the #1 overall seed to be settled and we came into this series only two games ahead of Detroit for that distinction. Well it's now 3 games after Smith capped a brilliant rookie season by lowering his ERA to 2.90 with 6 scoreless while the offense came from Lowe's bases-clearing double and Caminero's 2-run homer.

September 29: at Detroit 1-5 L. LP-Askew (1-1). Starter-Gasser (0.2 0 0 0 0 1). HR-Rutschman (21). Gasser sprained his ankle covering first base in the first inning and will be out three weeks so he's out of the playoff rotation (he might have been out anyway since it was down to him or Taj for the 4th spot). Askew was lit up for the five runs as soon as he came in although Pepiot pitched 6 1/3 scoreless.

Transaction: Gasser goes on the IL and we called up Jacob Misiorowski from Durham. The hard-thrower with control issues saved 30 games for Durham with 70 Ks (and 32 walks) in 47 IP.

September 30: at Detroit 4-0 W. WP-McClanahan (17-5, 6.2 2 0 0 3 6). HR-Morel (36). Mac closed out what hopefully is a Cy Young season with another dominant performance as the Rays virtually wrapped up the 1-seed with another shutout win over the Tigers. Morel had a solo homer and Campusano's 2-run double in the 9th put the game away.

October 1: at Boston 3-4 L (10). LP-Hentges (4-2). Starter-Springs (5 4 0 0 3 7). HR-Caminero (36), Y.Diaz (9). The loss was meaningless but a couple of positive notes as Detroit fell to officially wrap up the #1 seed and the Springsaissance continued with 5 more shutout innings as he nailed down the #3 playoff rotation spot behind Mac and Smith.

October 2: at Boston 11-12 L. LP-Robertson (3-5). Starter-Bradley (2 7 6 6 2 1, 3 HR). HR-B.Jones (17), Isaac (45), Caminero (37). A wild one for sure with Caminero homering and driving in 3 to lead the way on offense while Taj turned in an absolutely dreadful start which will hopefully not carry over to the playoffs. Misiorowski had a dreadful MLB debut, giving up 3 runs in an inning and then straining his hamstring.

Transaction: Blast from the past time as we purchased the contract of P Zack Littell from Durham to start the season finale and optioned Misiorowski back down. Littell had been signed to an MiLB deal and went 14-6, 4.63 for the Bulls this year.

October 3: at Boston 11-12 L. LP-Littell (0-1, 3.1 12 9 9 0 0, 3 HR). HR-Isaac (46), Campusano (8), Caminero 2 (39). Not a misprint - the teams played a second straight 12-11 game with the Rays on the losing end. Littell's return to the Rays was an outright disaster as not only was he hit hard he didn't give us many innings. Meanwhile Caminero certainly closed the season with a bang - he was 4 for 5 with 2 HR and 4 RBI and after coming into the final two games of the season on 93 RBI he drove in 7 in that span to reach the 100-RBI mark (and fell one homer short of 40) as he's put up a near-MVP season. Isaac meanwhile won the AL homer and RBI crowns with 46 and 130.

Final Regular Season Record: 101-61. Next up: The ALDS where we await the winner of Boston-Baltimore.

Players of the Week:

Weirdly OOTP did not award them for the season's final week but I'm going to give the AL nod to Caminero, who went 10-24 with 5 HR and 11 RBI.

Players of the Month (September):

AL Batter: Bobby Witt Jr (KC), .396-7-20
NL Batter: Andy Pages (NY), .319-13-24
AL Pitcher: David Festa (MIN), 6-0, 1.12, 36 K in 36 IP
NL Pitcher: Yilber Diaz (ARI), 4-0, 1.12, 5 SV
AL Rookie: Hagen Smith (TB), 3-1, 0.66, 36 K in 27 IP (probably should have been Pitcher of the Month over Festa)
NL Rookie: Brock Selvidge (STL), 2-0, 0.46, 22 K in 19 IP

Season-end stats post to follow.

Final 2027 Regular Season Standings and Rays Stats
 

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

What a year for Jackson Chourio in Milwaukee.

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

And what a year for the Rays as they did well in almost every category.

https://i.imgur.com/Y5wcB1I.png

Caminero finally became the superstar he was expected to be while Isaac finally became the middle-of-the-order force he was hoped to be. Incredible production from catcher as Campusano put up 1.7 WAR while Rutschman didn't play, giving us a combined 6.8 WAR from the position (Diaz was a DH-only).

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

This franchise has always been known for its pitching but they took it to another level this year as the rotation was the envy of the league. The bullpen wasn't too shabby either with Bautista putting up an incredible 3.4 WAR season, tough to achieve as a reliever.

https://i.imgur.com/7ys5jps.png

The farm system definitely ain't what it used to be, although Moreno looks like a budding star and McGee should be the next great pitcher in the rotation. After that we have 2025 and 2026 first-round picks Schoolcraft and Johnson who are both two-way players and have experienced some decent success so far in the minors.

The 2027 Wild Card Round
 

AL:

https://i.imgur.com/YOL8Cvq.png

And the Rays now know their ALDS opponent as the Orioles took a pair at Fenway to advance.

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

Seattle shocked the Twins by scoring 3 times in the bottom of the 9th of Game 3 to overturn a 3-1 deficit and advance to face Detroit in the other ALDS.

NL:

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

Colorado moves on to play San Diego in the NLDS.

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

And the Reds overcame dropping the opener to the Mets to come back and earn a date with Atlanta in the other NLDS.

October 9-10, 2027: ALDS Game 1 & NLDS Games 1-2
 

Oof...

https://i.imgur.com/G4UoZSl.png

The Rays took it on the chin to open their ALDS against the Orioles, although it was a tense pitchers' duel between Shane McClanahan and Kyle Bradish before the Tampa Bay bullpen got involved. Cedric Mullins' solo homer off Mac was the only scoring through 7 innings but then things started going wrong with Sam Hentges and before you knew it the Orioles had scored 6 times without making an out. So it'll be up to the rookie Hagen Smith tomorrow to try and keep the Rays from heading north in a deep 0-2 hole.

In yesterday's NLDS:

https://i.imgur.com/CE2UjM0.png

And in today's DS action:

https://i.imgur.com/Yz1E46G.png

October 11, 2027: ALDS Game 2
 

Still can't score, but even...

https://i.imgur.com/gxMP5kx.png

The Rays are going to have to figure out how to score runs in this series as they have only one to show for two games, but thanks to a brilliant outing from rookie Hagen Smith they're even in the ALDS going back to Baltimore. The young lefty no-hit the Orioles until two out in the 7th when he gave up a single to Coby Mayo and departed with a gem. This time the bullpen did its job and Heston Kjerstad's RBI single in the 2nd off former Ray Shane Baz stood up. It'll be Jeffrey Springs toeing the rubber at Camden Yards in a couple of days.

In the other ALDS the Tigers are in great shape:

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

October 12-13: ALDS Game 3 & NLDS Games 3-4
 

Another slugfest win...

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

3 runs scored in 3 games, yet two wins as the Rays once again eked out enough offense to beat the Orioles thanks to even more brilliant pitching. Jeffrey Springs was dominant before having to leave in the 6th with a sore ankle, and the bullpen took it from there, allowing just a solo homer the rest of the way. Parker Meadows was the offense as he singled, stole second, went to third on a bad throw and scored on Jordan Westburg's double in the 2nd, and then belted a solo homer in the 3rd. Taj Bradley, who had quite the up-and-down season, will take the ball with a chance to get us into the ALCS so here's hoping he's up tomorrow.

In yesterday's NLDS action:

https://i.imgur.com/L14Uy1h.png

The 0-2 teams get off the mat to prolong their seasons.

In today's DS action:

https://i.imgur.com/7LsT9aL.png

The Tigers reserved a slot in the ALCS as they await the winner of our series, and we're going the distance in both NLDSes.

October 14, 2027: ALDS Game 4
 

Going the distance...

https://i.imgur.com/dNZX1Nh.png

We're heading back to St. Pete for a do-or-die Game 5 as the Orioles got by the Rays with their backs to the wall. The big moment came in the 5th when Taj Bradley got himself in trouble, loading the bases as part of a 5-walk day, and he gave way to Ryan Pepiot who surrendered a bases-clearing double to Anthony Santander on an 0-2 pitch, and a 3-2 lead became a 5-3 deficit. So it's a rematch of Game 1 with Shane McClanahan hoping to duplicate his brilliant outing and Kyle Bradish trying to shut down Tampa Bay again.

October 15-16, 2027: ALDS Game 5 & NLDS Game 5
 

The offense awakens...

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

For once in this series the Rays offense showed out, and with Shane McClanahan on the mound in dominant form that's a recipe for an easy win and an easy win is what Tampa Bay got in their decisive ALCS Game 5. Mac was utterly dominant, fanning 12 in 6 shutout innings, allowing only 2 hits. The 12 Ks were a club record for the postseason and he was able to pitch without pressure thanks to the resurgent offense, which put up 5 runs by the 2nd inning with Junior Caminero's 2-run 1st-inning homer setting things in motion. So it's on to the ALCS to play the Tigers, who will visit the Trop for Game 1 with Hagen Smith on the mound for the Rays.

Meanwhile the NLCS is sorted out at the last minute as well:

https://i.imgur.com/6DFxbXH.png

Quite a comeback by the Reds to pull it out late. In that series the road team won all the games while in the other one the home team prevailed in all five.

October 17-18, 2027: ALCS Game 1 & NLCS Games 1-2
 

A rough start, figuratively and literally...

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

Game 1 of the ALCS was supposed to be a star pitchers' duel between Smith and Detroit's Troy Melton, with the pair finishing 2-3 in ERA (behind Shane McClanahan) and combining for over 10 WAR. Instead it was a slugfest with Smith being hit the hardest for six runs in the first inning thanks largely to 4 walks as he looked more like the rookie he is than the assured ace who dominated AL hitters this season including the ALDS. Caminero's grand slam in the third brought the Rays back into the game at 7-5, but the Tampa Bay bullpen was touched for 3 more runs and the offense could only must a Morel solo shot the rest of the way. So Jeffrey Springs will try to keep us from heading back to Motown down 0-2 tomorrow.

In the NLCS yesterday:

https://i.imgur.com/DMXUzl8.png

and today:

https://i.imgur.com/3uyV7IR.png

October 19, 2027: ALCS Game 2
 

Order restored...

https://i.imgur.com/NZ6wkM9.png

The Rays got even in the ALCS with Detroit thanks to another fine start from Jeffrey Springs and a big 3-run homer from former Tiger Parker Meadows. Springs dominated for the second straight postseason start and continued his brilliant late-season run while Meadows rescued an inning that was slipping away as thanks to a Detroit error Tampa Bay had men on 2nd and 3rd with nobody out in the 4th with a chance to break it open. But Williams and Kjerstad struck out, leaving it up to Meadows who drilled a 3-run homer into the RF bleachers and that was the ballgame. Josh Lowe was also in the middle of everything, going 2-4 with 3 steals and 3 runs scored, stealing second and later coming home in both the first and the third. Shane McClanahan will try to continue his own dominating season in Game 3 in Detroit 48 hours from now, looking to put the Rays in the series lead.

October 20-21, 2027: ALCS Game 3 & NLCS Games 3-4
 

Forging ahead...

https://i.imgur.com/r89dVEN.png

It had been a quiet postseason so far for Christopher Morel, but that changed in a big way tonight as he led the Rays to a 5-3 win and a 2-1 series lead over the Tigers at Comerica Park. The righty-swinging OF, who had a 30-30 regular season, tripled and scored in the first, ripped a 2-run double to tie the game in the 5th and then brought home the go-ahead run in the 7th on a popup misplayed by the Detroit infield for a single. Meanwhile it looked like it'd be a short night for Taj Bradley as he was hit for 3 runs in the first 2 innings, continuing his bad run of form over the last couple of months, but he settled in and finished with 4 scoreless innings afterwards to pick up the win, and the bullpen held from there. So it'll be Shane McClanahan tomorrow (I misspoke in the previous post) to try to give us a commanding 3-1 series lead.

Catching up with the NLCS:

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

https://i.imgur.com/41KCveG.png

This one's shaping up to go the distance.

October 22, 2027: ALCS Game 4 & NLCS Game 5
 

One game away...

https://i.imgur.com/6f9zL7Y.png

This my friends was a good old-fashioned beatdown. The Rays are now up 3-1 in the series and I don't need to recap since it's all pretty clear above. Hagen Smith will be looking to wipe his Game 1 disaster start from his and our minds and send the Rays to the World Series tomorrow.

Meanwhile in the NLCS JJ Wetherholt's 2-run walk-off single in the 9th has the Reds also on the verge:

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

October 23, 2027: ALCS Game 5
 

Series-bound, baby!...

https://i.imgur.com/0ncX5rH.png

On a cold 41-degree night in Detroit the Rays stayed hot and after dropping Game 1 of the ALCS, ended up winning four straight including tonight's Game 5 over the Tigers to advance to the World Series for the third time in club history (2008 & 2020). And on this frigid night it was the rookie Hagen Smith who pulled a 180 from his Game 1 start and put Detroit bats in the deep-freeze, taking a perfect game into the 6th and a no-hitter into the 8th before giving up a leadoff triple to Jace Jung, which would be the Tigers' only hit of the night. Jordan Westburg got the offensive going with a homer in the first and an RBI single in the 3rd and Carson Williams' 2-run homer in the 4th put it away. They'll now be looking for their first-ever World Series title against either Cincinnati or San Diego.

October 24, 2027: NLCS Game 6
 

Bring on the Reds...

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

The World Series will not start until October 28, so the Rays will be able to set their rotation normally with Shane McClanahan taking in the ball in Game 1 at the Trop.

October 28, 2027: World Series Game 1
 

A tough one...

https://i.imgur.com/bG2Bull.png

A pair of stylish lefty aces took center stage at Tropicana Field to open the World Series and they fought to a draw before Tampa Bay's bullpen blinked and Cincinnati came away with a 2-1 win to take an early edge. Max Fried and Shane McClanahan each allowed a first-inning run and then nothing thereafter until they departed in the 8th, and although Felix Bautista got Mac out of that inning the Reds got to him in the 9th for a run to go ahead 2-1. The Rays tried to mount a rally in the bottom of the inning as Jordan Westburg led off with a single and with one out Junior Caminero drew a walk to put the tying run in scoring position, but Xavier Isaac became the third Rays batter to ground into a double play tonight and the game was over. Hagen Smith will try to even things up tomorrow night for Tampa Bay.