[Art Deco]

Game 1: Welcome back to the land of the hitting, Judson Fabian. The Rays OF, who had 4 HRs through nearly half of the season after hitting 36 last year, clubbed a pair tonight to lead the Rays to a 7-5 win over the Orioles. The Rays were up against the tough Bryar Johnson for the second time in less than a week, and this time around they had their way with him. RBI singles from Yordan Alvarez and Hunter Bishop made it 2-0 in the first, and after the Orioles tied it at 2, Fabian stepped up and hit the first of his two homers in the 3rd to put the Rays back in front. That score held until the 6th when Nate Clark slammed an RBI double off Johnson to make it 4-2, and in the 7th after they chased Johnson with a couple of baserunners, Fabian went deep again off Baltimore reliever Ruben Galindo with a 3-run blast to make it 7-2. Hayden Johns did about as well as could be expected in Camden Yards on another fill-in start, going 6 7 2 2 1 4 and getting the win. But as always, it's never easy to hold Baltimore down in this park and the pen ran into some trouble. Steven Casey gave up a HR in the 7th to make it 7-3, and after Evan Godwin whiffed the final batter of the inning and the first two of the 8th he put two men on whom Jack Filby allowed to score on a triple to cut it to 7-5. Jasseel De La Cruz got the first 2 outs of the 9th, but gave up a hit and then a long and loud fly ball to deep left which fortunately nestled in the glove of Fabian to end the game. Fabian also doubled to give him 10 total bases, while in his third game Clark was held to just the one hit, although it was a big one. The Yankees won so they re-took sole possession of second, 8 1/2 back.

Game 2: Keston Hiura hit for the cycle and Hunter Bishop had 5 hits, so that will give you some kind of idea of the day the Rays had today, routing Baltimore 12-2. Bishop's day was nice but he had 4 singles and a double and didn't drive in anyone. Hiura, on the other hand, not only got all the types of hits, he drove in 4 runs including an RBI triple to get them started in the 2nd, and Jhon Diaz singled him home to make it 2-0. The Orioles made it 2-1 in the bottom of the inning but that was as close as they'd get. Nate Clark's RBI groundout (he was held hitless today, 0-5, but didn't whiff) made it 3-1 in the 3rd and a 5-run 5th broke it open including a 2-run single from Keibert Ruiz, an RBI double from Hiura and a 2-run single from Diaz. Hiura added a 2-run homer in the 7th (#3), completed his cycle with a single in the 8th, and Yordan Alvarez clubbed a 2-run HR (#12) in the 9th. While all this was going on Blake Money had his best game as a Ray, going 7 5 1 1 3 8 and getting his 2nd Rays win (against 6 losses but several have been tough-luck as his ERA with the team is 3.88). Mike Bayley had one of his 2-walk, 3K innings in the 8th and then got into a bit of trouble in the 9th allowing a run which scored on a passed ball strikeout, so Cole Patten got the final 3 outs. The Yankees have gotten hot again, winning in Minnesota for the 2nd straight day, so no ground gained but one more day off the calendar.

Game 3: Another day, another rout of the Orioles at Camden Yards with a 15-4 win today. This has been a tough place for the Rays over the years but not this weekend as the offense continues its roll on this road trip and since the Nate Clark recall. Now it could be coincidence that they've scored 56 runs in the 5 games since Clark joined the team - historically, they've hit well in Rogers Centre and Oriole Park - but to see the guy whose job is most threatened by Clark's arrival go nuts over that span including 2 HR and 6 RBI today, and well you can connect the dots. Yes I'm speaking of Jhon Diaz, who belted a 2-run HR to cap a 4-run 2nd which put the Rays up briefly before Baltimore tied it at 4, and who followed that up with a grand slam in a 7-run 5th which turned a 4-4 game into an 11-4 one. In the 5 games since Clark's arrival, Diaz is 10-23 with 4 HR and 13 RBI and if it's not motivation it's a hell of a coincidence. As for the man himself, Clark jump-started that 4-run 2nd inning by singling with two out, stealing second, and scoring on Keston Hiura's double (yesterday's cycler was 2-3 with 2 walks and 2 runs scored to go with that RBI). He also beat out an infield single with his speed and then showed off his power for the second time, hitting a 440-ft shot to dead center in the 8th win a man on to make the rubble bounce as part of a 3-5 day. Wander Franco (#11) and Yordan Alvarez (#13 as part of his own 3-hit day) also homered as the team swatted five. Oh and I almost forgot Keibert Ruiz had 4 hits and an RBI today. Christian Little started and didn't have his best stuff, allowing 4 runs in the first 3 innings and only striking out 1. But once the lead grew he rediscovered his stuff and settled down to go 7 6 4 4 1 6 to up his record to 8-4. Cole Patten pitched the final two innings without incident. The Yankees completed an impressive sweep of the Twins in Minnesota to stay 8 1/2 back.

Team record: 52-27. Next up: An off-day, then we get to see if the irresistible force that the offense has been this week can overcome the immovable object known as Tropicana Field when Oakland comes to town for 3.