[Art Deco]

Game 1: The story early was Tyler Glasnow's perfect game, until Renato Nunez doubled with one out in the 5th. Then the next batter Rio Ruiz took care of the shutout as well with a homer and put Baltimore up 2-0. Trevor Larnach slammed his first MLB HR to cut the lead in half in the bottom of the 6th, but things went bad in the top of the 7th when Glasnow got into trouble and gave up a couple of runs and had to depart with a 6.1 6 4 4 0 8 performance. TJ McFarland got the last two outs but then made a mess in the 8th and between him and Ty Buttrey the Orioles added 3 more runs on their way to a 7-2 win. Yusniel Diaz hit #9 against his old club for the other Rays run. Wander, Bohm and Keibert Ruiz all sat today and that helped Kohl Stewart hold the Rays to 4 hits in 7 1/3 innings. Diaz and Larnach each also had a single and Rafael Devers had the other hit.

Game 2: The Rays returned to winning ways with a 7-4 decision over Baltimore. They got out to a quick 3-0 lead after 2 on a Wander RBI double, Brujan RBI single and a Wander fielder's choice, but the Orioles jumped on Dustin May for 3 runs in the 3rd highlighted by a 2-RBI triple from Anthony Santander. The Rays retook the lead to stay in the bottom of the inning when Orioles starter Rony Garcia gave up a single and then walked three straight with Nick Schnell getting the RBI on the bases-loaded walk and then a run scored when Trevor Larnach grounded into a double play. Renato Nunez's HR off May in the 6th cut the lead to 5-4 but another Brujan RBI single and a Wander sac fly added to the lead in the following innings. May got his 2nd win in 3 starts but was helped by the run support, going 6 4 4 4 3 5 with a couple of hit batters. The troika did its job, though: Alvarado bounced back from some shaky outings with a 1-2-3 7th, Anderson struck out the side around a hit in the 8th and Will Smith had a 3 up, 3 down 9th for save #32. Brujan and Devers had 3 hits each, and Larnach was 2-3 with a walk and 3 runs scored.

September 6: Activated DH Seth Beer and P Noah Syndergaard from the IL.

Syndergaard will start tonight, Beer will go back into the lineup at DH although with that darn lefty Caleb Smith going tonight he'll be on the bench.

Game 3: As we welcomed two players off the IL, another is headed to it. On the first batter of the game, Brandon Marsh strained his back making a diving catch in center and will miss 2 weeks. Thankfully it won't keep him out of the playoffs but it's a reminder that with 21 games to go anything can happen. As for the game itself, Noah Syndergaard was masterful in his return as the Rays got the better (I won't say best) of Caleb Smith in a 3-1 win. Thor was 7 4 1 1 2 4, not dominant but efficient as he goes to 17-4, 3.38 still with a shot to win 20 for the second consecutive season. The only Oriole run came in the 5th inning on a Byron Buxton homer. I could have gone with Anderson or Alvarado again but Jasseel De La Cruz made it 16 shutout innings as a Ray with a clean 8th, and Will Smith had a pair of strikeouts in a 1-2-3 9th for save #33. Smith pretty much shackled the Rays as usual, but for a 3-batter sequence in the 4th they got to him. Rafael Devers hit HR #22, Alec Bohm singled, and then Yusniel Diaz (an everyday player now in CF) hit #10 into the LF stands to put 2 more on the board. Smith ended 8 7 3 3 1 3 but was second-best to Syndergaard today. Austin Meadows is due back in a couple of days so he'll slide into the roster spot when Marsh goes on the IL. This means Trevor Larnach's stay is extended with the big club so Durham will have to do without him for the IL playoffs as they just clinched a wild card there last night.

Team record: 102-39.