[Art Deco]

Game 1: Joe Barker's 5th HR of the year leading off the 9th against Angels reliever (and top prospect) Danny de Jesus gave the Rays a walk-off 4-3 win in a hard-fought, back-and-forth affair. Christian Little got the start and was his usual brilliant strikeout self, going 6 5 1 1 2 10 but picked up another no-decision leaving the game tied at 1. After Daniel Espino struck out the side in the 7th around a couple of singles (he now has 34 whiffs in 19.2 innings), Ricky Widmar hit a bases-loaded, 2-run single to put the Rays on top (Widmar had driven in their previous run with a 5th-inning double). But Jose Alvarado blew the lead (and a save) in the 8th, giving up a 2-run HR to Jeremiah Jackson. Jasseel De La Cruz started the 9th, but walked Kyren Paris who stole 2nd and advanced to 3rd with two out and lefty slugger Anthony Rizzo due, so Evan Godwin came in. Godwin got Rizzo on a fly ball, setting the stage for Barker's heroics and picking up his first win of the season. The Yankees won so the lead remains 6.

Game 2: Different day, same result as the Rays once against bested the Angels 4-3. This time it didn't take bottom-of-the-9th heroics, just some decent bullpen work to ensure victory. Nate Clark had the game's big hit, a 3-run HR (#13) off Logan Allen in the 3rd inning which made it 3-1. Jack Leiter started and was knocked around a bit in the first for a run but sailed from there until the 5th, when he gave up a solo HR to Anthony Rizzo, 3rd in the AL in WAR and having a renaissance season with the Angels at age 38 in his second go-round with them. Leiter continued to stand strong, though, and made it through 7 with a 7 6 2 2 1 6 line and is now 5-2, 3.39. Jasson Dominguez got his first RBI as a Ray in the 7th thanks to a bases-loaded walk, and that run later proved to be big. I noted earlier how Dominguez doesn't walk much (he had only 2 in 82 AB with the Yankees) but he's drawn 3 now in 3 starts and tonight's was important as Jose Alvarado struggled again in the 8th, giving up 2 hits and leaving with the tying runs at 2nd and 3rd and 2 out. Daniel Espino came in and threw a wild pitch to make it 4-3, but got Nick Solak to fly out to end the threat and Jasseel De La Cruz pitched around a single for a 2K 9th and save #8. The Yankees fell in extras at Baltimore so the lead has grown to a season-high 7 games.

News from Durham: It appears that Andy Aparicio is broken in some fasion. He pitched very well in his first couple of starts since being sent to Durham but has just been horrendous over his last several. Tonight he went 3.1 7 9 7 1 6 and has allowed 23 ER in his last 18 1/3 innings over 4 starts. He still has a 9/24 BB/K ratio in those 18 1/3 innings so it's not his arm or his stuff and he hasn't given up an inordinate # of HRs (3). Perhaps he's going through the worst BABIP luck ever (Durham's defense is pretty bad) but it's kind of alarming.

Game 3: My decision as to whom to replace in the rotation when Mack Anglin comes back (either this weekend or shortly thereafter) just got a lot tougher after Blake Money threw 6 1-hit shutout innings to lead the Rays to a 5-1 win over the Angels and a series sweep. The win is also the 23rd in the Rays' last 26 games. I constantly have to resist the temptation to say he was "money", but Money was brilliant, going 6 1 0 0 2 5 on 94 pitches and is 7-0, 2.29. With some tough lefties starting the 7th (and with the bullpen a bit thin after the last two nights), I gave Christian Chamberlain his first high-leverage opportunity and he came through, retiring the side in order with a couple of whiffs. Another lefty, Alex Verdugo, led off the 8th so I left Chamberlain in and he gave up a double, with Verdugo coming around later to score off Jack Filby, who was a bit shaky and had the tying runs in scoring position before getting Luis Renfigo to ground to first. The offensive star today was Jasson Dominguez, who had two huge hits. His first was his first Rays HR, a solo shot the opposite way to left which made it 3-0, and then with the score 3-1 in the bottom of the 8th the Rays had loaded the bases with nobody out, but Jhon Diaz hit into a force at the plate and Isaac DeLeon hit a shallow fly ball. Just when it looked like they'd squander the opportunity, Dominguez delivered a 2-run single to make it a comfortable 5-1 lead. The game was 0-0 until the bottom of the 6th when Yordan Alvarez singled in a run and Jud Fabian had a sac fly to make it 2-0 Rays early. So what to do about Anglin? My instincts right now are to go to a 6-man rotation, keep Chamberlain up as an extra lefty and send Hayden Johns to Durham, even though he doesn't deserve it. On merit based on 2028 to date the pitcher to drop from the rotation would be Shane McClanahan, but you can't demote the reigning Cy Young award winner to long relief, can you? Decisions, decisions. And at least those decisions aren't as fraught with danger now that the Rays are 8 games up in the AL East after another Yankees loss.

Team record: 34-16. Next up: a weekend 3-game visit to the Phillies. They're off to an impressive 33-17 start and have a very power-laden lineup with the likes of Bryce Harper, Miguel Sano, Francisco Lindor, one-time Ray Nate Lowe and more. Their 81 HR in 50 games is 1st in MLB so I fear for McClanahan, Sachais and Little this weekend. Of course we have some guys who can take advantage of that park also as our 73 HR total ain't too shabby considering we play half our games in the Trop.