[Art Deco]

August 15: Placed SS Wander Franco on the 60-day IL with a torn labrum, recalled 2B Nick Gonzales from AAA Durham. Signed LHP Madison Bumgarner to a minor-league contract.

So I went with Gonzales, which I think is the best option. I'm excited to see what he can do and he's way overdue to play in the majors. Speaking of torn labrums, Bumgarner tore his in spring training after signing with the Twins, but came back and looked decent in 3 rehab starts with their AAA team. Still the Twins released him so with neither Lynch nor Lacy distinguishing themselves right now, he's worth a flyer and we'll see how he does at Durham. With a 40-man spot now open with Wander on the 60-day, he'll be no sweat to add to the roster.

Game 1: Tonight was the first game of the post-Wander remainder of the 2025 season and it was fortunate that a) we had Tyler Glasnow on the mound and b) the opponent was the Yankees at the friendly confines of the Trop. Glasnow was on his game, going 7 6 4 2 1 13 in a 9-4 win. His only bad spell came when he allowed back-to-back solo HRs in the 4th to Aaron Judge and Brandon Lowe. A dropped fly ball by Hunter Bishop led to the other 2 runs scoring off him in the 7th. With Wander out, the offense had a new look as Brandon Marsh moved up into his #2 spot and responded with a 3-run HR (#15) to put the Rays up in the 3rd, and then in the 4th Austin Meadows (#16) hit a solo shot and Bishop had a 3-run job (#11) to blow the game open at 7-2. Alec Bohm added a 2-run double in the 5th to make it 9-2. Nick Gonzales got the start at 2B and was an immediate (literal) hit, singling in his first two at-bats, stealing a base and going 3-4 for the night. In fact it was his first hit with two out in the 3rd that kept the inning alive for Marsh's homer. Unfortunately on the defensive side Vidal Brujan made 2 errors at short. On the mound after Glasnow left Evan Godwin had a scoreless inning and then Nick Anderson was given the ball to finish the game but loaded the bases with two out and dangerous lefty Joe Allen due up so Jose Alvarado had to come in and whiff him on 3 pitches to get his first save of the season. Baltimore routed Seattle again so the lead is still 3 1/2.

Game 2: A tough loss at the Trop that was a direct result of poor infield defense as the Yankees scored twice in the 12th inning on a Keston Hiura error and a ball that Brujan and/or Hiura should have fielded which went through for a single to beat the Rays 6-4. Hiura was only in at 3B tonight because he pinch-hit for Triston Casas when the Yankees brought in a lefty in the late innings. The Rays grabbed a 2-run lead in the 2nd on solo HRs by Spencer Torkelson (#17) and Casas (#10) and the Yankees answered back with one from Gleyber Torres in the 5th and then scored 2 more off Shane McClanahan in the 6th when he had a bit of a meltdown, walking a pair including one with the bases loaded. Brandon Marsh homered for the second straight night out of the 2-hole and 3rd consecutive game overall (#16) to tie it right back up in the bottom of the 6th but the Yankees re-took the lead in the 7th when McClanahan walked the leadoff man and exited (ending 6 4 4 4 4 8), and Jose Alvarado allowed the runner to eventually score. But the Rays fought back in the 8th when Austin Meadows had an RBI single to tie it, and onto extras we went until things unraveled between Evan Godwin and Mitchell Verburg in the 12th. The inning should have been over when Skyler Messinger hit a 2-run single off Verburg to provide the winning runs. The Rays managed to put two men on in the bottom of the 12th but couldn't get them home, and Baltimore routed Seattle for the third straight night to pull within 2 1/2 games.

Game 3: More of the same mediocrity today as the Rays lose two out of three at home to the worst team in baseball. The Yankees took a 5-3 decision that had all the hallmarks of their recent poor play: starting pitching putting them in an early hole and the bats not doing anything until it was too late. Asa Lacy got the start and after allowing a run in the 1st settled down until he melted down, giving up 3 runs in the 5th which doomed them, ending 6 6 4 4 2 6. Mitch Keller pitched the final 3 innings, allowing a run. Meanwhile the offense couldn't get much going against Gerrit Cole, who went 7 6 1 1 1 7. They had better luck against the Yankee bullpen, rapping out 7 hits over the last 2 innings but could only manage 2 runs out of it, with Austin Meadows leaving the tying runs on base to end the game. And this series loss can't be blamed on Wander's loss as his lineup replacement Nick Gonzales was 2-4 with an RBI double today and 6-12 for the weekend. Vidal Brujan, Keibert Ruiz and Meadows were a combined 2-15 today, not exactly picking up the slack. Baltimore rallied for 5 in the bottom of the 9th to beat Seattle so the lead is 1 1/2 and 1 in the loss column as this team will need to start concerning itself with the wildcard race.

Team record: 70-50. Next up: An off-day followed by a 2-game visit from the Mets.