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Art Deco · 10-04-2020, 12:01 PM

September 19: Activated P DL Hall from his rehab assignment at AAA Durham, optioned P Sandy Gaston to AAA Durham.

Game 1: Shane McClanahan was effective if not efficient and a 6-run 3rd inning propelled the Rays to an easy 7-1 win over Cleveland. Mac won his second consecutive start going 5.2 5 0 0 3 6 on 112 pitches to improve to 8-6 and lower his ERA to 3.11, 2nd best in the AL. The Rays got on the board in the 1st when Spencer Torkelson's ground ball was misplayed by Cleveland SS Cesar Idrogo allowing Keston Hiura to score, and those two were instrumental again in the 6-run 3rd as each blasted 2-run HRs, #18 for Hiura and #25 for Torkelson (a massive shot to dead CF). Rookies Nick Gonzales and Patrick Bailey each had RBI hits to round out the scoring. Mitchell Verburg took over for McClanahan and allowed a run in the 7th, and DL Hall made his first Rays appearance in over a year and looked good, going 1 1/3 innings with a whiff. Dustin May had a 1-2-3 9th to finish the game. Baltimore won so with tonight's win the magic # drops to 9.

Game 2: Christian Little got the start, and he was mostly excellent going 6 3 2 2 4 9 with only a bout of wildness in the 3rd and a well-timed 2-out hit for Cleveland getting the 2 runs off him. Still he looked he'd lose as Luis Castillo was stymieing the Rays. But in the bottom of the 6th Vidal Brujan led off with a single, stole second (#74) and went to third on a Brandon Marsh single. Keibert Ruiz's sac fly (RBI #99) scored Brujan to cut the deficit to 2-1, and after Austin Meadows reached on a Jake Bauers error Spencer Torkelson stepped up and continued his HR tear with a blast into the LCF stands (#26) to make it 4-2 Rays. And thanks to the bullpen that was the final score as Evan Godwin, Jose Alvarado and Jasseel De La Cruz (save #31) threw scoreless innings to preserve Little's first MLB win, the first of many it seems with his 80 stuff. The offense cited above was about it as the two teams combined for 8 hits tonight. Baltimore won again so the magic # falls to 8.

Game 3: This game started out rough as Matt Manning continues to struggle in September, this time putting the Rays in a 6-0 hole by the 5th inning, going 4.2 9 6 6 2 6 and having now allowed 14 runs in his last 15 innings over 3 starts. He has 16 strikeouts over those 15 innings so hopefully it's just one of those stretches. But his teammates picked him up, scoring 4 times in the 5th and 4 more times in 6th to take an 8-6 win as the bullpen was lights-out again for 4 1/3 innings. The comeback started with a Spencer Torkelson RBI single, a Keston Hiura sac fly and Triston Casas's 2-run double. And then in the 6th they loaded the bases off Jimmy Nelson and up stepped Tork, and based on his week so far you can guess what happened next. The grand slam gave him 27 HR and 90 RBI on the season, and with 13 games left 30/100 is quite reachable. Meanwhile, Aaron Ashby pitched a scoreless 6th to grab another win (#4), Nick Anderson struck out the side in a perfect 7th as his little rough patch seems behind him, and Jose Alvarado was so efficient in the 8th (3 up, 3 down on 9 pitches) that with lefties due up he came back out for the 9th and nabbed a 2-inning save, his 4th of the season and only needed 22 pitches to do so. Baltimore swept Toronto so the magic # only keeps dropping one at a time, now down to 7. The other race is for the top seed in the league, and the Rays (89-60) are 1/2 game ahead of the Angels (89-61) for that distinction. Whereas in years past the wild card was usually better than the Central winner, this year there is an advantage to playing the wild card as it will be either Cleveland (81-69) or Baltimore (82-67) while Minnesota is 86-63. By the way, there are no real races left in MLB in either league for playoff spots, as nobody has a real shot at Cleveland in the AL, and in the NL the Braves, Cardinals (already clinched) should be division winners with the Phillies one of the wild cards and the only division race in the balance (Arizona 1 up over San Diego) will account for the other two teams.

Team record: 89-60. Next up: 3 at home vs Toronto.

10-04-2020, 12:01 PM	#280
Art Deco Hall Of Famer Join Date: May 2020 Posts: 7,587	September 19-21, 2025: vs Cleveland (3) September 19: Activated P DL Hall from his rehab assignment at AAA Durham, optioned P Sandy Gaston to AAA Durham. Game 1: Shane McClanahan was effective if not efficient and a 6-run 3rd inning propelled the Rays to an easy 7-1 win over Cleveland. Mac won his second consecutive start going 5.2 5 0 0 3 6 on 112 pitches to improve to 8-6 and lower his ERA to 3.11, 2nd best in the AL. The Rays got on the board in the 1st when Spencer Torkelson's ground ball was misplayed by Cleveland SS Cesar Idrogo allowing Keston Hiura to score, and those two were instrumental again in the 6-run 3rd as each blasted 2-run HRs, #18 for Hiura and #25 for Torkelson (a massive shot to dead CF). Rookies Nick Gonzales and Patrick Bailey each had RBI hits to round out the scoring. Mitchell Verburg took over for McClanahan and allowed a run in the 7th, and DL Hall made his first Rays appearance in over a year and looked good, going 1 1/3 innings with a whiff. Dustin May had a 1-2-3 9th to finish the game. Baltimore won so with tonight's win the magic # drops to 9. Game 2: Christian Little got the start, and he was mostly excellent going 6 3 2 2 4 9 with only a bout of wildness in the 3rd and a well-timed 2-out hit for Cleveland getting the 2 runs off him. Still he looked he'd lose as Luis Castillo was stymieing the Rays. But in the bottom of the 6th Vidal Brujan led off with a single, stole second (#74) and went to third on a Brandon Marsh single. Keibert Ruiz's sac fly (RBI #99) scored Brujan to cut the deficit to 2-1, and after Austin Meadows reached on a Jake Bauers error Spencer Torkelson stepped up and continued his HR tear with a blast into the LCF stands (#26) to make it 4-2 Rays. And thanks to the bullpen that was the final score as Evan Godwin, Jose Alvarado and Jasseel De La Cruz (save #31) threw scoreless innings to preserve Little's first MLB win, the first of many it seems with his 80 stuff. The offense cited above was about it as the two teams combined for 8 hits tonight. Baltimore won again so the magic # falls to 8. Game 3: This game started out rough as Matt Manning continues to struggle in September, this time putting the Rays in a 6-0 hole by the 5th inning, going 4.2 9 6 6 2 6 and having now allowed 14 runs in his last 15 innings over 3 starts. He has 16 strikeouts over those 15 innings so hopefully it's just one of those stretches. But his teammates picked him up, scoring 4 times in the 5th and 4 more times in 6th to take an 8-6 win as the bullpen was lights-out again for 4 1/3 innings. The comeback started with a Spencer Torkelson RBI single, a Keston Hiura sac fly and Triston Casas's 2-run double. And then in the 6th they loaded the bases off Jimmy Nelson and up stepped Tork, and based on his week so far you can guess what happened next. The grand slam gave him 27 HR and 90 RBI on the season, and with 13 games left 30/100 is quite reachable. Meanwhile, Aaron Ashby pitched a scoreless 6th to grab another win (#4), Nick Anderson struck out the side in a perfect 7th as his little rough patch seems behind him, and Jose Alvarado was so efficient in the 8th (3 up, 3 down on 9 pitches) that with lefties due up he came back out for the 9th and nabbed a 2-inning save, his 4th of the season and only needed 22 pitches to do so. Baltimore swept Toronto so the magic # only keeps dropping one at a time, now down to 7. The other race is for the top seed in the league, and the Rays (89-60) are 1/2 game ahead of the Angels (89-61) for that distinction. Whereas in years past the wild card was usually better than the Central winner, this year there is an advantage to playing the wild card as it will be either Cleveland (81-69) or Baltimore (82-67) while Minnesota is 86-63. By the way, there are no real races left in MLB in either league for playoff spots, as nobody has a real shot at Cleveland in the AL, and in the NL the Braves, Cardinals (already clinched) should be division winners with the Phillies one of the wild cards and the only division race in the balance (Arizona 1 up over San Diego) will account for the other two teams. Team record: 89-60. Next up: 3 at home vs Toronto. Last edited by Art Deco; 10-04-2020 at 07:01 PM.