[Art Deco]

Game 1: After two seasons mostly toiling in middle relief for the Rays, Shane McClanahan finally made his first MLB start and it was a successful one as the Rays topped the Jays 5-1. McClanahan got the win going 5 4 1 1 2 4 and throwing 89 pitches, allowing the leadoff man in the 6th to reach before coming out. The "B" bullpen took it from there, with Asa Lacy going 1 1/3, Mitch Keller 1 2/3 and Kirby Yates pitching the 9th. All three allowed at least a pair of baserunners but the Rays turned 4 double plays for the game to stymie Toronto. The offense came in the first 3 innings off Simeon Woods Richardson: Austin Meadows had a 2-run HR in the 1st, #4, Alec Bohm scored on a wild pitch and Vidal Brujan had a sac fly in the 2nd, and Hunter Bishop drew a bases-loaded walk in the 3rd for his team-high 18th RBI. Meadows ended 3-5 with the homer and Nick Schnell had two more hits to raise his average to .351, while on the flip side Rafael Devers went 0-5 to drop his to .242.

Around MLB, Ryan Helsey of the Cardinals pitched a no-hitter against Cincinnati, walking 3 and striking out 10 over 124 pitches in a 4-0 win.

Game 2: The Rays struck quickly and didn't stop striking as they blasted the Blue Jays 12-1. Like last year Austin Meadows got off to a slow start but like last year he's heated up again and after Vidal Brujan and Wander Franco reached to start the game, he blasted a first inning homer for the second straight game, a 3-run shot off Matt Wisler. Meadows grabbed his 4th RBI of the game on a fielder's choice in the fourth and then - stop me if you've heard this before - Hunter Bishop hit a grand slam in the 5th, his second of the week. Bishop's 22 RBI now only trail Mike Trout's 27 for the MLB lead and that's only in 13 games and 45 AB. Ronaldo Hernandez had a 2-RBI double in the 6th and Brujan doubled home Nick Schnell (3 more hits today) and Wander doubled him home. Dustin May got the start and the run support, and wasn't at his sharpest but like last night Rays pitching put a lot of Toronto runners on base but didn't let them score. A 5 7 1 1 1 2 line doesn't look like it would take 100 pitches, but it did while May goes to 3-1, 2.76 with a healthy 3/28 BB/K ratio in 29 innings. Sandy Gaston pitched the sixth and seventh, allowed a hit and walked a pair but whiffed 3. Kirby Yates and Mitch Keller finished it out without incident.

May 4: Sent P Matt Manning to AAA Durham on a rehab assignment.

Manning looked good for Durham tonight, going 5 3 2 2 0 5 on 76 pitches. Debating whether to bring him up for his next start or let him make another one at Durham. McClanahan pitched well in his debut so I might lean to the latter.

Game 3: The Rays won this one 17-1, so there's not really a lot to say except to tally up the offensive numbers. It was a normal 7-1 rout until the 9th, closer Keith Ginkel came on to get some work in and didn't retire any of the 6 Rays he faced, leading Charlie Montoyo to bring in position players to pitch which did not go well at all as Kevin Cron gave up 3 homers. Reese McGuire did get Keston Hiura to roll into a double play to bring the inning to a merciful end, though. When the dust settled, the Rays had 20 hits, 6 walks and 17 runs with Rafael Devers responding to his day off by going 4-6 with 2 RBI, Keibert Ruiz was 3-5 with 2 RBI, and in the HR parade Spencer Torkelson hit a pair later in the game, a majestic solo shot off Drew Pomeranz in the 8th and then a 3-run blast off Ginkel in the 9th so he didn't get any position player cheapies. No those belonged to Austin Meadows, Devers, and Hunter Bishop who all took Cron deep. Hiura had 4 RBI on a pair of doubles and it was his bases-clearing job in the 3rd off Sean Reid-Foley that broke the game open. Tyler Glasnow went to 5-0 and was brilliant going 8 2 1 1 1 9 in only 97 pitches; the two hits came back-to-back when Ryan Noda singled and Bo Bichette doubled him home in the 4th.

Team record: 20-6.