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Art Deco · 09-15-2020, 10:05 AM

Game 1: Matt Manning proved he was human, allowing 5 runs in 7 2/3 innings, but the Rays provided him with some run support for a change in a 7-5 win over Minnesota. Cruising with a 2-0 lead behind a Keibert Ruiz RBI double and a Nick Schnell homer (#3), Manning suddenly couldn't get anyone out in the 5th as a series of hits with a walk mixed in were capped off by a 3-run Travis Swaggerty HR to make it 4-2 Twins. But the Rays responded in the bottom of the inning off Joe Musgrove with a 3-run blast from Wander (#9) and an Alec Bohm sac fly after an Austin Meadows triple. Triston Casas, after getting another chance and whiffing his first two times up, had an RBI double in the 7th to get an insurance run, needed after Manning yielded a bodacious 500-ft blast to Mitch Garver in the 7th to cut it to 7-5. Aaron Ashby got the third out of the 8th but gave up a single to a lefty leading off the 9th. With Jasseel De La Cruz having pitched 3 of the last 4 nights, Nick Anderson came on and got save #1 with a pair of whiffs around a hit. Is Vidal Brujan snapping out of it? He had 2 hits, 2 runs scored and a steal today, perhaps so.

Game 2: This game was the baseball equivalent of the Final Destination movies; no matter how many times the Rays kept cheating death, Minnesota kept coming for them and won 8-7 in 10 innings. Three times the Rays came back to tie, including most dramatically with a 9th-inning grand slam from Triston Casas when they trailed 7-3, but Aaron Ashby gave up a leadoff homer in the 10th to pinch-hitter Yu Chang, and the Rays couldn't mount a fourth comeback. Dustin May got the start against the team that clobbered him in Minneapolis a week and a half ago, and it looked like more of the same when Matt Olson took him deep for a 2-run shot in the 1st. But he settled down, and the Rays got homers from Austin Meadows (#3) and Keibert Ruiz (#2) to tie the game up. Minnesota got to May in the 6th with a run, and he left with a bare-minimum quality start of 6 6 3 3 2 5. But the Rays came right back in the bottom of the frame as Keston Hiura and Greg Jones both singled (Brujan and Wander both required a rest today) to start the inning and Keibert's sac fly made it 3-3. After Asa Lacy had a 1-2-3 7th, he came back out for the 8th with Minnesota's lefty-stacked lineup and the wheels came off as he allowed 4 runs, including a 3-run blast by Colton Welker. A Hiura error (his second of the game) didn't help and one of the runs was unearned. This set the stage for Casas' dramatic blast in the 9th, his 3rd of the year, but it turned out to be for naught. Hate to sound like a broken record but this was another instance where Jose Alvarado was missed as he would have pitched the 8th (or pitched the 10th) and couldn't have done much worse than Lacy or Ashby. Suddenly that $15M I'm paying him looks like a bargain considering the alternatives.

Game 3: The mediocre start to the season continues as the bullpen blows another one with the Rays falling again in extra innings, 4-3. Shane McClanahan was brilliant, going a career-high 8 innings with an 8 4 2 2 2 4 line on 98 pitches and left ahead 3-2. But Jasseel De La Cruz was greeted by a Matt Olson HR to lead off the 9th and then the Twins got a run off Mitchell Verburg in the 11th to get the win. Aside from the bullpen, the culprit was a largely quiet offense. Nick Schnell, Keibert Ruiz and Brandon Marsh all had to rest today, meaning Chris Betts started against a lefty and Greg Jones got the call in center. The makeshift lineup accounted for only 4 hits through the 11 innings but it was almost enough. Wander drew three walks and scored on two of them, in the 1st on an Austin Meadows RBI double and on the fifth on a 2-out single from Spencer Torkelson that put them up 3-2. The other run scored when Nick Gordon threw away a Betts grounder allowing Triston Casas, who had doubled, to score. But Vidal Brujan was up to his old tricks again, going 0-5, leaving 4 on base and dipping back below the Mendoza Line. Boston got 4 in the 9th to beat the Yankees 5-4 so they are now 3 1/2 up on the Rays.

Team record: 16-14. Next up: A rare off-day, followed by 3 games at Texas, where the surprising Rangers are 19-10.

09-15-2020, 10:05 AM	#237
Art Deco Hall Of Famer Join Date: May 2020 Posts: 7,832	May 2-4, 2025: vs Minnesota (3) Game 1: Matt Manning proved he was human, allowing 5 runs in 7 2/3 innings, but the Rays provided him with some run support for a change in a 7-5 win over Minnesota. Cruising with a 2-0 lead behind a Keibert Ruiz RBI double and a Nick Schnell homer (#3), Manning suddenly couldn't get anyone out in the 5th as a series of hits with a walk mixed in were capped off by a 3-run Travis Swaggerty HR to make it 4-2 Twins. But the Rays responded in the bottom of the inning off Joe Musgrove with a 3-run blast from Wander (#9) and an Alec Bohm sac fly after an Austin Meadows triple. Triston Casas, after getting another chance and whiffing his first two times up, had an RBI double in the 7th to get an insurance run, needed after Manning yielded a bodacious 500-ft blast to Mitch Garver in the 7th to cut it to 7-5. Aaron Ashby got the third out of the 8th but gave up a single to a lefty leading off the 9th. With Jasseel De La Cruz having pitched 3 of the last 4 nights, Nick Anderson came on and got save #1 with a pair of whiffs around a hit. Is Vidal Brujan snapping out of it? He had 2 hits, 2 runs scored and a steal today, perhaps so. Game 2: This game was the baseball equivalent of the Final Destination movies; no matter how many times the Rays kept cheating death, Minnesota kept coming for them and won 8-7 in 10 innings. Three times the Rays came back to tie, including most dramatically with a 9th-inning grand slam from Triston Casas when they trailed 7-3, but Aaron Ashby gave up a leadoff homer in the 10th to pinch-hitter Yu Chang, and the Rays couldn't mount a fourth comeback. Dustin May got the start against the team that clobbered him in Minneapolis a week and a half ago, and it looked like more of the same when Matt Olson took him deep for a 2-run shot in the 1st. But he settled down, and the Rays got homers from Austin Meadows (#3) and Keibert Ruiz (#2) to tie the game up. Minnesota got to May in the 6th with a run, and he left with a bare-minimum quality start of 6 6 3 3 2 5. But the Rays came right back in the bottom of the frame as Keston Hiura and Greg Jones both singled (Brujan and Wander both required a rest today) to start the inning and Keibert's sac fly made it 3-3. After Asa Lacy had a 1-2-3 7th, he came back out for the 8th with Minnesota's lefty-stacked lineup and the wheels came off as he allowed 4 runs, including a 3-run blast by Colton Welker. A Hiura error (his second of the game) didn't help and one of the runs was unearned. This set the stage for Casas' dramatic blast in the 9th, his 3rd of the year, but it turned out to be for naught. Hate to sound like a broken record but this was another instance where Jose Alvarado was missed as he would have pitched the 8th (or pitched the 10th) and couldn't have done much worse than Lacy or Ashby. Suddenly that $15M I'm paying him looks like a bargain considering the alternatives. Game 3: The mediocre start to the season continues as the bullpen blows another one with the Rays falling again in extra innings, 4-3. Shane McClanahan was brilliant, going a career-high 8 innings with an 8 4 2 2 2 4 line on 98 pitches and left ahead 3-2. But Jasseel De La Cruz was greeted by a Matt Olson HR to lead off the 9th and then the Twins got a run off Mitchell Verburg in the 11th to get the win. Aside from the bullpen, the culprit was a largely quiet offense. Nick Schnell, Keibert Ruiz and Brandon Marsh all had to rest today, meaning Chris Betts started against a lefty and Greg Jones got the call in center. The makeshift lineup accounted for only 4 hits through the 11 innings but it was almost enough. Wander drew three walks and scored on two of them, in the 1st on an Austin Meadows RBI double and on the fifth on a 2-out single from Spencer Torkelson that put them up 3-2. The other run scored when Nick Gordon threw away a Betts grounder allowing Triston Casas, who had doubled, to score. But Vidal Brujan was up to his old tricks again, going 0-5, leaving 4 on base and dipping back below the Mendoza Line. Boston got 4 in the 9th to beat the Yankees 5-4 so they are now 3 1/2 up on the Rays. Team record: 16-14. Next up: A rare off-day, followed by 3 games at Texas, where the surprising Rangers are 19-10. Last edited by Art Deco; 09-15-2020 at 02:49 PM.