[Art Deco]

Game 1: It was time for Daniel Lynch's third start for the Rays and a rematch with the team he one-hit in his debut, and he wasn't nearly as effective this time out. But it was good enough for him to go 3-0 as the Rays downed the A's 10-4 to extend their winning streak to 11. He got through the first 3 scoreless although he was battling baserunners all along while the Rays built a 4-0 lead on Keibert sac fly in the 1st, a 2-run HR from Wander (again) and a solo HR from Bohm (again). Lynch got touched for a run in the 4th and then gave up a 2-run HR to Matt Chapman in the 6th which cut the lead to 4-3 and ended his evening at 5 7 3 3 2 2. Shane McClanahan got the next three outs and then the Rays exploded for 6 runs in the 7th, including yet another 2-run HR from Wander and 2-run single from Max Kepler. McClanahan had another scoreless inning and Dany Jimenez pitched the final 2, allowing a run. Baltimore won so the lead remains 11 1/2, and the Padres were off so no update on their streak.

Game 2: The Rays just keep on a-rollin' as Tyler Glasnow was dominant tonight (well except for the two solo HRs he allowed) over 8 innings in a 7-2 win which makes it 12 straight. Glasnow was matched up with Oakland ace Jesus Luzardo, who set the Rays down in order over the first 3 innings. But they broke through in the 4th when Brujan led off with an infield single, and - you guessed it - Wander went deep for #15 and #7 in his last 9 games. Shortly thereafter the also-hot Alec Bohm tripled and scored on a Yusniel Diaz single. Matt Chapman and Ramon Laureano hit solo HRs in the 4th and 6th to cut the lead to 3-2, but a Yusniel triple followed by a Rylan Bannon (also red-hot) double made it 4-2, and then the Rays teed off on Miguel Romero for 3 more in the 9th on a Yusniel double, an Almora sac fly, a Bannon triple (they had a trio of 3-baggers tonight), a Marsh double and a Brujan double. Glasnow ended 8 5 2 2 0 12 to go to 8-2 and lower his AL-leading ERA to 2.66. Even Scott Barlow pitched a perfect inning in the 9th, although in fairness I have to note that the first batter hit a liner that Almora made a diving catch on, and then the next one lined one right back at Barlow before he struck out Kyle Schwarber to end the game. The Rays ended with 5 doubles, 3 triples and a HR among their 12 hits tonight. Baltimore lost so they're further back in the rearview mirror at 12 1/2 behind and the Padres' 19-game winning streak was snapped in Pittsburgh tonight 3-1.

Game 3: One constant throughout the winning streak has been excellent starting pitching, and it's no coincidence it started with Daniel Lynch's 1-hitter in his Rays debut. They were missing that today with Chris Paddack, and while the offense gamely tried to overcome the 7 runs he allowed in 4+ innings, the streak ended today with a 7-6 loss. It looked good for a little while early, Brujan drove in Ronaldo Hernandez in the top of the 3rd to make it 1-0, and after Paddack gave Oakland the lead on a walk and two doubles they struck for 3 more in the top of the 4th to go up 4-2 on RBI singles from Ronaldo, Marsh and Wander. But Paddack gave those 3 runs right back in the bottom of the frame on Matt Chapman's 3rd HR in 3 days and a 2-run shot by Sean Murphy. The Rays responded yet again to tie it at 5 in the top of the 5th on a Kepler RBI groundout, only for Paddack to be chased by a double and a triple. Shane McClanahan gave up a sac fly to make it 7-5, but shut things down after that. Albert Almora Jr, who came in for Yusniel Diaz when Diaz strained his hip (out 5 days) homered off Kyle Gibson in the 7th to make it 7-6 but the Rays could get no closer, putting two men on with two out in the 9th against Miguel Romero, but Almora grounded out to end the game and the streak with it. Austin Franklin and Aaron Ashby combined for 2 2/3 perfect innings of relief, which was nice. Baltimore crushed Seattle 11-0 to inch back within 11 1/2.

Game 4: This was a hard-fought, low-scoring, extra-inning game that the Rays managed to win in 10 by the score of 2-1. Max Fried wasn't brilliant, but he was effective, going 6 3 0 0 4 4 on 97 pitches while Jesus Camargo held the Rays to an 8 5 1 1 1 3 line with a Keibert Ruiz 7th-inning HR the only damage. With that 1-0 lead, Nick Anderson came on for the bottom of the 7th and was uncharacteristically ineffective, giving up a hit, walk and a hit to David Fletcher to score the tying run but he cleaned up his own mess for a change and the game trudged on to the 10th. With one out the Rays got consecutive singles off Zack Grotz from Triston Casas (playing for a tired Devers), Albert Almora Jr and Max Kepler to give them the edge, and Will Smith closed it out in the bottom of the 10th, pitching around a walk to the dangerous Ramon Laureano to nail down save #17. The win went to Scott Barlow who got a 1-2-3 9th on only 5 pitches, his first as a Ray. Jose Alvarado had a 1-2-3 8th before that. Baltimore keeps on winning (46-34, we may see them in the first round as they're looking good for a wild card spot) so the lead stays 11 1/2.