October 28: Activated P Christian Little from the 15-day IL, removed P Dustin May from the playoff roster.
Game 1:
It was a tough way to lose the World Series opener as Matt Manning and Mike Soroka hooked up in an excellent pitchers' duel but neither was around to see it decided as Willy Adames got revenge on his old team with a sac fly to win it in the bottom of the 12th. Wildness had been a problem for Manning and although he only walked one batter tonight, it was Christian Pache to lead off the game and he came around to score on a Mookie Betts double. The Rays would get exactly one hit in each inning off Soroka in the first 4 innings and finally strung two together in the 6th when Brandon Marsh singled, stole second, went to third on a grounder and scored on Austin Meadows' infield single. And there we went, inning after inning. The Rays had a threat in the 7th when Keston Hiura led off with a double but couldn't be brought home, and again in the 9th when Spencer Torkelson and Hiura singled with one out to no avail. The Rays got nobody on base in extras and things finally cracked in the 12th when Aaron Ashby gave up a single to lefty pinch-hitter Justin Williams, and after he struck out Cal Raleigh, he gave up a single to Ramon Urias to send Williams to 3rd. With the righty Adames due up, Liam Hendriks was summoned from the pen to hopefully get a strikeout or pop up, but instead Adames hit a fly ball to deep right that gave Meadows no chance to throw the runner out at home and Atlanta now has a 1-0 lead in the series. Tyler Glasnow will go tomorrow to try and get the Rays even.
October 29, Game 2:
If the Bee Gees' "Stayin' Alive" is the song that always comes to mind when a team avoids elimination, perhaps when a team ties up a series the official theme song can be Heart's "Even it Up". Because even it up is what the Rays did today in a come-from-behind 9-3 win over Atlanta to wrest home-field advantage from the Braves as the series shifts to the Trop for the next 3 games. Tyler Glasnow got the call and pitched pretty well except for two instances: wild-pitching Jose Ramirez home in the 1st with 2 out, and surrendering a 2-run HR to Christian Pache in the 3rd inning. That put the Rays in a 3-0 hole but they clawed their way back into it, mainly on the back of Alec Bohm. His RBI single in the 4th scored Spencer Torkelson to put the Rays on the board against Ian Anderson, and his 2-run double tied it in the 6th. Then came the 7th. Pinch-hitter Heston Kjerstad struck out against Hector Yan, Vidal Brujan singled, but Brandon Marsh whiffed and it looked like nothing much would come of the inning. But then Yan lost the plate, walking Keibert Ruiz and Austin Meadows to load the bases, and then walked Torkelson and Keston Hiura to force in the go-ahead runs. He was finally pulled for Tyler Owens, making his major league debut in the World Series, and Bohm said "Welcome to The Show" with a grand-slam homer, giving him 7 RBI on the day and setting a World Series record for most RBI in a single game, breaking the record of 6 held by 4 players and becoming only the 6th player to ever drive in 7 in a postseason game. After the dust settled, Glasnow had come out for Kjerstad and finished 6 3 3 3 1 4 to pick up the win, and four relievers closed it out, including Aaron Ashby who struck out the side in the 7th. The four were one more than planned as Mitch Keller had to leave in the 9th after getting a strikeout, and it turns out he ruptured his ulnar collateral ligament and will be out 15 months. Sadly that probably brings an end to his Rays career as he will likely be non-tendered come arbitration time as a result. In any event, we head back to St. Pete with the series even and Shane McClanahan on the mound for Game 3.