[Art Deco]

Game 1: Down 3-1 in the 8th and with 2 out, the Rays rallied for 3 runs to take the lead but then had to score again in the 9th to win 5-4 at Roughnecks Park. For most of the game the Rays were befuddled by Kodi Whitley, who came into the game having struck out only 35 in 55 innings but somehow managed to whiff 8 Rays in 6 innings, allowing only one run when Brandon Marsh walked and scored on a Vidal Brujan single in the 5th. Shane McClanahan got the start for the Rays and was pretty good, except when pitching to Miami's rookie slugger Cristhian Rodriguez who took him deep twice on solo shots, and on a triple he allowed to Nick Fortes who scored. Mac ended up 7 7 3 3 1 7 and went from looking like the loser to picking up a win to ending up with a no-decision. That's because with 2 out in the 8th against Mychal Givens, Wander walked, Keibert Ruiz was hit by a pitch and Austin Meadows walked, then Keston Hiura (who's been clutch all year) delivered a 2-run single to tie and it and Hunter Bishop doubled to give them the lead. But a funny thing happened in the bottom of the 8th when Jose Alvarado was touched for his first HR allowed of the season when Jarren Duran led off the inning with a blast. Then with one out in the top of the 9th, pinch-hitter Spencer Torkelson doubled and after moving to third on a Brujan groundout, the Roughnecks intentionally walked Wander to pitch to Keibert, and he made them pay with an RBI single. Jasseel De La Cruz made sure the Rays wouldn't blow a second lead by getting the 'Necks 1-2-3 in the 9th for save #21 while Alvarado vultured his 2nd win of the season. And after losing to Baltimore on our off-day yesterday, Washington did us a favor tonight and beat the Orioles so the lead is back up to 3 games.

Game 2: Another tight affair in Miami and another 1-run Rays win as they take both games at Roughnecks Park with a 3-2 victory today. Daniel Lynch and Spencer Torkelson were the stars today. Lynch, pitching against his old team in his old ballpark, was excellent going 7 6 1 1 1 7 to improve to 5-1, 2.87 and make me wonder why I ever had him out of the rotation. Tork meanwhile went 4-for-4 and figured in all 3 Rays runs. He doubled in Hunter Bishop in the 2nd, singled home Keston Hiura in the 4th and singled and scored a huge insurance run in the 9th when he was doubled in by pinch-hitter Renato Nunez with perhaps Nunez's biggest hit as a Ray. Nunez wasn't even the original pinch-hitter as Triston Casas was set to face a righty but the Roughnecks brought in a lefty so Nunez pinch-hit for Casas. The Rays had to file a claim against that insurance when Greyson Jenista greeted Jasseel De La Cruz with a leadoff homer in the 9th to cut it to 3-2 but De La Cruz got the next 3 batters for save #22. Jose Alvarado picked up a hold with a scoreless 8th, getting Jarren Duran this time on a shallow fly ball after yesterday's hiccup. It was good that the bottom of the order came through as the top (Brujan, Franco, Ruiz, Meadows) was a brutal 1-for-18. The Nats did us another favor knocking off Baltimore, so the lead grows to 4 games. We do have a series at home against the Orioles next week.

Team record: 55-33. Next up: 4 games in the Windy City against the White Sox.