June 16: Optioned P Luke Little to AAA Durham, recalled P Jimmy Lewis from AAA Durham.
With Mitchell White not ready to go just yet, I still needed another starter so it's time to turn to Jimmy Lewis, who deserves the opportunity. He had a fine 2023 at Durham and started 2024 there before tearing a back muscle very early in the season and missing the rest of it. This year he's been lights out, going 6-2, 2.64 with 97 whiffs in 78 1/3 innings. He'll get the start tonight and we'll give Matt Manning an extra day's rest.
Game 1: Jimmy Lewis was very good in his MLB debut and should have picked up his first MLB win but Nick Anderson gave up an Aaron Judge HR in the 8th to tie the game. No matter, the Rays still won 6-3 and Lewis did not shy from the big stage. He struck out the first batter he faced, Hyo-jun Park, and ending up going 5.2 6 2 2 2 6. He gave up a 2-out double to Brandon Lowe in the 6th, and Aaron Ashby came in and was excellent himself, getting Aaron Hicks to fly out, pitching a perfect 7th and whiffing the leadoff man in the 8th. With 3 righties due up including Judge, it was Nick Anderson time, but instead it was Aaron Judge time as he deposited Anderson's 1-0 pitch into the LF stands and cost Lewis the win. He recovered, and ended up vulturing the win when Triston Casas led off the bottom of the inning with HR #6 off Trevor Bauer. That chased the Yankee starter and they added 2 more off reliever Tyler Zuber on RBI singles from Keibert Ruiz and Keston Hiura. Jasseel De La Cruz struck out the side for save #16. Earlier they had grabbed 3 runs off Bauer in the first when Bauer walked Vidal Brujan and Wander Franco, balked them to 2nd and 3rd, and then Ruiz and Austin Meadows brought them home on grounders before Hiura launched HR #8. And Toronto shocked Boston with 5 runs in the 9th to beat them 6-5, meaning we're only 1/2 game behind now.
Game 2: Matt Manning had a rare rough start* and the Rays fell to the Yankees 5-3. The Yankees are a terrible 20-48 but they're a more respectable 4-5 vs the Rays. Manning was hit for 2 runs in 1st, and one in the 2nd, 3rd and 5th with 4 of the Yankee runs scoring on sac flies. He ended 6 9 5 4 0 8 so he wasn't completely terrible, but the offense couldn't bail him out. Brujan tripled in the 3rd and scored on a Wander Franco single, and Hunter Bishop and Spencer Torkelson had 2-out RBI singles in the 5th, but like the Toronto game 2 days ago, they stopped hitting against the opponent's bullpen, with only one base hit over the last 3 2/3 innings. Mitch Keller whiffed 5 over the final 2 innings to keep it close. Thankfully Boston has gone into a deep funk, losing their 5th straight so the Rays remain 1/2 game behind.
*Chris Betts was catching today as Keibert Ruiz needed rest, and I remain convinced that he brings out the worst in Rays' pitchers. CERA is a crude stat, but Keibert's is 3.04 while Betts's is 4.97. When you see Matt Manning suddenly struggle, you have to wonder. And it would be one thing if he were hitting to offset this but tonight he was 0-4 and he's 200/290/291 for the season with 1 HR. Betts is out of minor league options so if I opt for someone else he's gone (he probably clears waivers). Noah Cardenas is the only other catcher on the 40-man but he's barely better defensively than Betts (50 to 45). If I stay in-house, I probably promote Patrick Bailey, who's a 60 catcher and is hitting 285/331/482 at Durham with good gap power (14 doubles in 132 AB).
June 18: Traded 28-year-old catcher Chris Betts and 26-year-old minor league second baseman Gregory Guerrero to the Oakland Athletics, getting 25-year-old minor league reliever Cole Patten in return. Purchased the contract of C Patrick Bailey from AAA Durham.
Alright, I talked myself into it. Betts seems like the stereotypical Oakland player, a low contact, high power, good eye type, and the return is Patten, who is ranked by BNN as the #81 prospect in baseball, and here are his details:
Intriguing, future trade bait at least. Guerrero was a minor league signing about 10 days ago, he was "make this work" ballast for the deal. And now Bailey gets his shot, as mentioned above he's a 60 defender, and is a better overall hitter than Betts but with more doubles than HR power. That's fine for a backup catcher, and if he doesn't pan out I'll end up dealing for a Mebrys Viloria-type.
Game 3: It was a grind, and the bullpen made it way too interesting in the final 2 innings, but the Rays held on for a 3-2 win over the Yankees. It was going to be tough as Vidal Brujan and Austin Meadows both needed a rest, so Greg Jones and Bramdon Perez got starts today facing Gerrit Cole. Mitchell White was on the bump for the Rays after missing a start due to elbow soreness, and he turned in a fine, if not clean, performance. Although it seemed he had at least one baserunner each of his 6 innings he didn't allow any of them to score, going 6 6 0 0 2 5 and improving to 7-3, 2.99. He left ahead 2-0 thanks to the big hit of the day, Perez's first MLB homer, a 2-run shot in the 4th off Cole. Jose Alvarado struck out the side in order in the 7th, but Nick Anderson is developing a bad habit of allowing HRs to the first man he faces and he did it again today to Gleyber Torres, who followed up his 4 hits from yesterday with 3 more today. Anderson then put men on first and third with one out, but got a groundball at a drawn-in infield and got out of it while not looking terribly good. In the bottom of the 8th Keston Hiura walked and the Yankees brought in a lefty so I pinch-hit for Perez with Spencer Torkelson, and Tork came through with a double down the line on an 0-2 pitch, scoring Hiura with what proved to be a critical insurance run. That was because Jasseel De La Cruz was less than convincing himself although Wander booted a ground ball that would have been the second out of the inning. Still he allowed 2 hits including one to Torres which made it 3-2, and again the Yanks had men on 1st and 3rd with 1 out. But De La Cruz whiffed Joe Allen and Aaron Judge to end the game and get save #17 as a collective "whew" was heard around the Trop. And hallelujah we're in first place again for the moment, as Boston's losing streak reached 6 games today (all at Fenway) falling again to Toronto.
Team record: 43-27. Next up: An off-day tomorrow followed by a 3-game weekend set against the Phillies. They boast a pretty fearsome power lineup these days with Francisco Lindor, Bryce Harper, Miguel Sano, old friend Nate Lowe and Gary Sanchez. They're 37-31 and in the thick of the NL East race with their Achilles heel being pitching especially now that $39.5M man Jacob deGrom is out for the year with a torn labrum.