[Art Deco]

Game 1: The big, bad Rays who struck fear into the hearts of their opponents the last 5+ seasons may be back, as they annihilated the Twins tonight 14-2 to make it 6 straight wins, and with Toronto losing they're only 1 game back of their accustomed perch atop the AL East. Julio Cedillo had the night of his (short) MLB career, going 4-5 with 2 doubles, a HR and 4 RBI. Cedillo did most of his damage in blowing the game open, but it was Jhon Diaz (perhaps the team's most consistent hitter this year) and Ricky Widmar who set the tone as the Rays took a 4-0 2nd inning lead. Diaz blasted HR #5 off Zach Gallen with a man on and then Widmar followed later in the inning with a 2-run double. Yordan Alvarez's RBI single added a run in the 5th and then Cedillo went to work, starting with a 2-run HR in 6th that made a 5-2 game into a 7-2 one and hitting a 2-run double in a 4-run 7th. Gavin Lux put the cherry on top with a 3-run HR in the 9th, his 5th. Blake Money got the start and had some early issues, giving up a couple of runs and putting a fair number of runners on, but settled down once the lead started growing and finished with a flourish, ending up 7 5 2 2 4 9 and improving to 3-0 with 46 whiffs in 31 innings. Tyler Gough made his MLB debut, pitching the final 2 innings and although he allowed 2 hits and a walk, he didn't let anyone score and struck out 3.

Game 2: As Van Morrison once sang, the Rays are "back on top". The bats continue to wake from their April doldrums as the Rays pounded the Twins once again to the tune of 10-5 tonight and coupled with another Toronto loss they're back on top in the AL East, tied with the Jays. They banged out 17 hits in all, with everyone in the lineup picking up at least one. The big news of the night was a milestone: Yordan Alvarez hit his 6th HR of the year and the 400th of his career. It capped a 5-run 4th which made it 9-1, so it wasn't terribly dramatic, but hopefully it will be a harbinger of HRs to come as he's continued to underachieve as a Ray. Before that, though, Nate Clark and Bobby Witt Jr had RBI singles in the first, and a Twins error opened the door for two more runs to score on the error and a wild pitch, making it 4-0 in the 1st. In that 5-run 4th, Gavin Lux had an RBI single (one of his 4 hits for the game), Judson Fabian had an RBI grounder that was misplayed, and they scored another run on a double play before Yordan's blast. Clark added another RBI single in the 8th for the final run. On the mound, Shane McClanahan wasn't his sharpest, which seems to be the story most times out this season, but was effective enough to go to 3-2 with a 6 8 2 2 1 7 performance. Aaron Ashby had a scoreless 7th but Hayden Johns was pretty awful in the 8th, giving up 3 runs and necessitating the use of Jack Filby to pitch a scoreless 9th. In addition to Lux's 4-hit night, Ricky Widmar was a sparkplug again, going 3-4 with 2 doubles, a walk and a steal, and Clark was 3-5 with the 2 RBI.

Game 3: The Rays blew a 3-0 lead but rallied late and made it 8 straight with a 6-3 win in Minnesota, taking sole possession of 1st in the AL East after yet another Blue Jays loss. Although Keibert Ruiz's RBI single in the 8th was the game-winner, breaking a 3-3 tie, the star of the show was Jhon Diaz. The second-year RF continues to rake and his RBI double put the team on the board in the 2nd and his 2-run HR in the 9th made a 4-3 nailbiter into a more comfortable 6-3 win. His 3-hit, 3-RBI day has him up to 333/405/720 with 6 HR and 13 RBI in only 75 AB. Alec Sachais got the start and although he continued his roll by shutting out the Twins through 4 innings he couldn't sashay past them in the 5th (be honest, you knew it was only a matter of time before I used the "Sachais/sashay" pun), allowing 3 runs on 5 hits. He left after that inning going 5 8 3 3 1 6 and the relievers who followed were lights-out for the most part, not allowing Minnesota a hit over the final 4 innings. Evan Godwin had a perfect 6th, and then Daniel Espino did the real yeoman's work. After getting the Twins 1-2-3 on only 11 pitches in the 7th, he came back for the 8th and had another 1-2-3 inning with a pair of whiffs, and deservedly picked up the win. With two lefties due in the 9th, Jose Alvarado came in, but walked one of them and then walked the righty, so Jasseel De La Cruz had to get the final 2 outs for save #6. The other two runs not mentioned here were both courtesy of Nate Clark RBI singles, as he had another 3-hit day and stole 2 bases to go with them. The bats continue to awaken as they had 14 more hits today, with everyone in the lineup again getting a hit except for Isaac DeLeon, who started for a fatigued Ricky Widmar. DeLeon was 0-4 with 3 whiffs and is now 1-19 this season. He's never going to hit for a high average (his calling card is his tremendous power) and playing very infrequently is not helping. But he's still a 65 defender at SS and 3B, making him a valuable backup.

Team record: 19-13. Next up: An off-day then a 3-game weekend set in Baltimore.