[Art Deco]

Game 1: Opening Day started off poorly for the Rays as Blake Snell wasn't sharp at all and gave up a 3-run HR to Xander Bogaerts in the 1st inning. And it didn't get better from there as Snell loaded the bases with nobody out in the fifth and Tony Gonsolin let them all score along with 2 of his own and the Rays were down 9-0. And this was before they even had their first hit off Chris Sale. But the hits started coming, and a 4-run bottom of the 5th was capped off by a 3-run homer from Wander. Keibert Ruiz then added a massive shot to dead center to make it 9-5, and the Rays got to reliever Josh Taylor for 3 more in the 8th and incredibly it was 9-8. But Austin Adams couldn't hold it there in the 9th, yielding a 2-run HR to Adam Eaton, and while someone named Durbin Feltman came in to close and the Rays loaded the bases against him in the 9th, they couldn't push a run across and Boston took the opener 11-8. In their Rays debuts, Ruiz was 3-5 with that HR, Abraham Toro was 3-4, Max Kepler was 0-4 but had 2 RBI on a sac fly and a ground out, and Nelson Cruz was 0-3 with a pair of walks.

April 1: Signed IF Ehire Adrianza to a minor league contract.

This year's Freddy Galvis, Adrianza will provide a credible middle infield backup if Brujan doesn't produce/doesn't play enough.

Game 2: Vidal Brujan, ladies and gentlemen. Making his MLB debut, Brujan came through a key RBI triple and doubled and scored as the Rays got their first win of the year, 5-3 over the Red Sox. Brendan McKay started and was pretty good even if he wasn't exactly dominant (6 8 2 2 0 6). His only mistake was a second inning 2-run shot by Eric Thames on an 0-2 pitch. That put the Rays in another early hole but this time they didn't let it get out of hand. Alec Bohm, getting a start at 1B, went deep to make it 2-1 in the 4th, and then Brjuan took over, tripling in Kepler, scoring on a Kiermaier ground out and giving the Rays their first lead of 2022. Insurance was acquired in the 7th when Brujan's double was the key hit loading the bases for Kiermaier to hit a 2-run single through the drawn-in infield. Alvarado and Nick Anderson had shutdown 1-2-3 2K innings in the 7th and 8th and then things got interesting in the 9th with Brad Hand. He got 2 outs around a Buster Posey double and looked to have the game won when Ender Inciarte popped to Bohm in foul territory. However Bohm dropped it, Inciarte then doubled to make it 5-3, Jose Peraza singled to put runners and 1st and 3rd, but Hand got pinch-hitter Yairo Munoz to ground out to secure win #1.

Rick Hahn, GM of the White Sox, just offered me Eloy Jimenez for Blake Snell, the first time I think I got a legitimate blockbuster offer unsolicited. Usually it's your star for someone just halfway decent. Needless to say I turned him down given the state of the rotation (and I'm also glad now I didn't trade Snell for Josh Bell earlier, bad opening day outing aside).

Game 3: It's not too often a team can allow 6 HRs and win, but that's what the Rays did today in a 12-7 win over Boston. Max Fried started and was great - except for when he pitched to Marcell Ozuna. The Red Sox LF took him deep twice on solo shots and the Rays were down again 2-0 mid 4th but Alec Bohm, DHing in place of Nelson Cruz today, hit his second in as many games, a 2-run shot to tie it up. And then in the sixth the Rays took the lead for good on an Abraham Toro (he strong like bull) grand slam. Fried made it through seven, but allowed a solo shot to Alex Verdugo to end with a fine 7 4 3 3 2 7 line. The Rays really busted it open in the bottom of the 7th, scoring 6 times in all kinds of ways including a Boston error, a Wander HBP with the bases loaded and then a 2-run single from Merrifield and a 2-run double from Austin Meadows, his first hit of the season. But entrusted with a 12-3 run lead in the ninth, Tony Gonsolin crapped the bed again allowing Ozuna's 3rd of the game and a 2-run shot by Verdugo. Jacob Nix finished up but allowed an Eric Thames longball as the fans in the Trop OF came away with quite a few souvenirs. Lost in the all the longballs was Ronaldo Hernandez's first start of the season which saw him go 2 for 3 (his first MLB hits) with a walk, also gunning down Rafael Devers trying to steal.

April 3: Optioned P Tony Gonsolin to AAA Durham, recalled P Shane McClanahan.

Right now I don't trust Gonsolin in a 10-run game so up comes our top pitching prospect, to work either long relief or if I need some key lefties out in the middle innings.

Game 4: The Rays couldn't stop Rafael Devers, who was 4 for 5 with 2 HR and 6 RBI today. But it didn't matter as those were only 6 runs Boston scored in a 7-6 Rays win. Joe Ryan got the start and after giving up an RBI double to Devers in the first, settled down and ended up striking out 7 through the first 4 innings. Meanwhile, the Rays took advantage of a dropped fly ball in the first by Alex Verdugo to have Ji-Man follow with an RBI single which immediately tied the game. Then Ji-Man went to work in the third, with his 3-run shot off Marcus Walden the highlight of a 5-run inning that put the Rays up 6-1 (Choi was 4-4 with 4 RBI today). But Ryan struggled in the 5th, allowing a 3-run HR to Devers and necessitating his exit. Enter the just-recalled Shane McClanahan, who was brilliant in his MLB debut. McClanahan went 2 2/3, allowing two hits, no walks, no runs and striking out 4 to pick up the win. Kiermaier added a 6th inning HR to make it 7-4 and that turned out to be big as although Nick Anderson got the Rays through the 8th, Brad Hand was shaky again in the 9th, giving up a one-out 2-run HR to Devers and then allowing Yairo Munoz to double with 2 out before finally getting Bogaerts on a fly ball as a collective "whew" was heard throughout Tropicana Field. The 3-1 start is the mirror image of last year's opening 4-game series against Boston where they lost 3 of 4. The new-look offense is firing on all cylinders with 32 runs in these first 4 games but the pitching (albeit mostly in spots: Snell's bad start, Gonsolin's arson, a shaky Brad Hand) hasn't been that great, allowing 27 runs of their own. Not sure winning by an average score of 8-7 is something sustainable.

Random notes: Nelson Cruz had his first 2 hits in a Rays uniform, including a double which was followed by an Abraham Toro double to get the final run in that 5-run 3rd. Keibert Ruiz also had an RBI single. Brujan got another start, picking up a single in the 8th but was cut down attempting to get his first MLB steal.