Another player of the week:
Game 1: The Rays lost a tough one in Cleveland 3-2 after taking a 2-0 lead in the 7th, snapping their 8-game winning streak. Tyler Glasnow and Kantaro Yokoyama hooked up in quite a duel through 6, but the Rays broke through in the 7th when Spencer Torkelson led off with a triple, Keston Hiura was intentionally walked, and then they both scored on RBI singles from Hunter Bishop and Brandon Marsh. But Glasnow ran out of gas in the seventh, giving up 4 hits and a run, and Jose Alvarado had to get him out of the inning. Alvarado stayed on for the 8th, and made the cardinal sin of walking two lefties he should have gotten out, and both of them came around to score on a 2-out, 2-run double by Jonah Heim (I probably should have brought in a righty to face Heim, but Alavardo had retired the righties before him and I've lost confidence in Nick Anderson's diminished stuff). Glasnow went 6.2 8 1 1 1 7 in another impressive performance to lower his AL-leading ERA to 2.67, but the bats and bullpen couldn't do enough for him. Baltimore was idle today so they creep within 5 games.
Game 2: The Rays jumped out to an 11-0 lead by the top of the 3rd, and then held on to win 13-7 in a Progressive Field slugfest. Mack Anglin, who had pitched well in several starts only to be denied the win due to the bullpen or poor run support, got picked up by his team for a change as he had perhaps his worst outing at 5.1 6 7 7 4 5 but still got the win to go 3-1. Spencer Torkelson put them on the board in the 1st with a 2-run opposite-field HR and singled in a run in a 7-run 2nd which was capped by a 3-run Hunter Bishop blast (#7). Wander Franco had a 2-run double in the inning as well. Bishop ended up with a 4-RBI day, Tork was 2-4 with 4 runs scored to go with his 3 RBI, Keston Hiura was on base all 5 times with 3 hits and 2 walks and Vidal Brujan was 2-5 with an RBI and a walk. Only Judson Fabian (0-6) and Lewin Diaz (0-4 with a sac fly) went hitless. Ben Bowden, Liam Hendriks and Mitchell White finished up on the mound, none of them allowing any runs. Austin Meadows hit 2 HRs for Baltimore because of course he did, as they won 8-3 over San Diego to stay 5 back.
Game 3: Like the first game in this series, the Rays couldn't hold a 2-0 lead and lost 4-2. Lewin Diaz's 2-run HR in the 2nd off Luis Castillo, his 7th of the year and 13th overall, was the only offense they could muster but Matt Manning was making it hold up until he was victimized by back-to-back HRs by Eric Herman and Nolan Jones in the 6th. Manning got through the inning and was a still-impressive 6 8 2 2 0 10, but the bullpen couldn't get it done. Nick Anderson gave up a single and a double and left with 1 out in the 7th, and Evan Godwin came in and wild-pitched the runner from third home but whiffed the next two. He started the 8th and then gave up a HR to the lone righty he faced, Tyreque Reed, and that was it. The offense only managed 6 hits on the night after scoring at will yesterday, giving credence to the Earl Weaver quote that momentum is tomorrow's starting pitcher. Fortunately San Diego beat Baltimore 6-5 to keep the Orioles 5 back.
Team record: 50-21. Next up: an off-day followed by a huge early series at Camden Yards where we get to renew acquaintances with Austin Meadows.