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Art Deco · 01-03-2021, 06:45 PM

Game 1: The bad times continue to roll as the Rays fell 8-4 to Oakland to make it 5 dropped out of the last 6, and with the Yankees winning in Toronto they drop out of 1st place in the AL East as well. Jack Leiter made his last start for now with Shane McClanahan coming back and wasn't that great, going 5 7 3 3 1 6. But the bullpen, which looked like one of the best-ever on paper starting the year, was terrible again and Malachi Benford had an MLB debut he'd like to forget. Taking over with the Rays down 3-1 in top of the 6th, Benford failed to retire all 4 batters he faced, all reaching on hits with two of them of the infield variety. Mike Mooney let a couple of them score as Benford was charged with 3 runs in all and that pretty much was the ballgame. Jordan Diaz threw 2 perfect innings to keep them in the game as they got back to 6-4, but Evan Godwin was terrible again, giving up 2 runs and leaving the bases loaded. The offense did little until it was too late, with a Nate Clark sac fly in the 1st all their offense until Judson Fabian hit #3 leading off the 6th and Spencer Torkelson tripled in a run but was stranded at 3rd. Julio Cedillo doubled in a run in the 8th. Cedillo was in the game because Jasson Dominguez, in his first game back from the IL, had to leave with a blister which will nag him for 4 more days.

Game 2: There was a definite "here we go again" vibe when Oakland struck for 3 runs in the top of the 1st against Blake Money on Billy Thompson's bases-clearing double. But that would prove to be Oakland's zenith for the game as the Rays went on to take an 8-3 decision aided largely by a very wild Athletics pitching staff which put 9 Rays on base for free. While Money settled down Oakland's pitchers did not. Joe Barker's RBI double in the 3rd got the Rays on the board before it all broke loose in the 5th. Pedro Torrealba, who had walked 5 Rays in the first four innings and ran his pitch count up to 83, was pulled for Felipe Mezquita and he walked Keibert Ruiz to lead off the inning. Connor Kirlkey reached on an error, Judson Fabian singled to load the bases, then Nate Clark walked to make it 3-2, Barker grounded out to tie the game, and after Isaac DeLeon walked to re-load the bases, 2028's WPA leader Jhon Diaz doubled down the line to score two more and put the Rays up to stay. Bobby Witt Jr walked to load the bases again, and Oakland could not turn Julio Cedillo's grounder into a double play so another run scored before the 6th run of the inning scored on a passed ball. Kirkley's sac fly in the 8th scored the final run. Money ended up 6 6 3 3 0 7 to even his record at 2-2, Daniel Espino and Jose Alvarado each had scoreless innings, and with the lead expanded to 8-3 Malachi Benford got another crack at the whole MLB thing and fared better this time, whiffing a pair even though he allowed a walk and yet another infield single. The Yankees lost in Toronto so the Rays climb back into first by 1/2 game.

April 22: Optioned P Malachi Benford to AAA Durham, activated P Shane McClanahan from his injury rehab at AAA Durham.

Mac makes his belated season debut today against Oakland, Jack Leiter goes back to long relief.

Game 3: It wasn't pretty but the Rays did just enough to squeak by Oakland 3-2 in the return of Shane McClanahan. After going 7 6 1 1 0 4 in his season debut it's safe to say Mac is back, although unfortunately for him JDLC blew the lead in the 8th and vultured his win as the Rays rallied in the bottom of the inning to score the winning run. They did it without the benefit of a hit as Oakland pitching was wild again. This time Alex Young walked Judson Fabian to lead off the inning, and Fabian Petrovich then walked Nate Clark. Joe Barker's deep fly ball allowed Fabian to move up to 3rd, and Isaac DeLeon's second sac fly of the day scored Fabian with the winner. Jose Alvarado then pitched a 1-2-3 9th (JDLC and Alvarado were flip-flopped due to righties due in the 8th and Daniel Espino unavailable) for save #3. Julio Cedillo had a 2nd inning RBI single to put the Rays on the board before a name from our past, Seth Beer, homered off McClanahan in the 6th to tie the game. But the Rays immediately regained the lead when Joe Barker doubled (extending his hitting streak to 14), went to third on a wild pitch and scored on DeLeon's fly ball. The Yankees lost again in Toronto after blowing a 5-run lead by giving up 3 runs in the 8th and 3 in the 9th, so the Rays are now up 1 1/2 games. That's significant because...

Team record: 12-6. Next up: Those very Yankees come to town for a 3-game set.

01-03-2021, 06:45 PM	#542
Art Deco Hall Of Famer Join Date: May 2020 Posts: 7,561	April 20-22, 2029: vs Oakland (3) Game 1: The bad times continue to roll as the Rays fell 8-4 to Oakland to make it 5 dropped out of the last 6, and with the Yankees winning in Toronto they drop out of 1st place in the AL East as well. Jack Leiter made his last start for now with Shane McClanahan coming back and wasn't that great, going 5 7 3 3 1 6. But the bullpen, which looked like one of the best-ever on paper starting the year, was terrible again and Malachi Benford had an MLB debut he'd like to forget. Taking over with the Rays down 3-1 in top of the 6th, Benford failed to retire all 4 batters he faced, all reaching on hits with two of them of the infield variety. Mike Mooney let a couple of them score as Benford was charged with 3 runs in all and that pretty much was the ballgame. Jordan Diaz threw 2 perfect innings to keep them in the game as they got back to 6-4, but Evan Godwin was terrible again, giving up 2 runs and leaving the bases loaded. The offense did little until it was too late, with a Nate Clark sac fly in the 1st all their offense until Judson Fabian hit #3 leading off the 6th and Spencer Torkelson tripled in a run but was stranded at 3rd. Julio Cedillo doubled in a run in the 8th. Cedillo was in the game because Jasson Dominguez, in his first game back from the IL, had to leave with a blister which will nag him for 4 more days. Game 2: There was a definite "here we go again" vibe when Oakland struck for 3 runs in the top of the 1st against Blake Money on Billy Thompson's bases-clearing double. But that would prove to be Oakland's zenith for the game as the Rays went on to take an 8-3 decision aided largely by a very wild Athletics pitching staff which put 9 Rays on base for free. While Money settled down Oakland's pitchers did not. Joe Barker's RBI double in the 3rd got the Rays on the board before it all broke loose in the 5th. Pedro Torrealba, who had walked 5 Rays in the first four innings and ran his pitch count up to 83, was pulled for Felipe Mezquita and he walked Keibert Ruiz to lead off the inning. Connor Kirlkey reached on an error, Judson Fabian singled to load the bases, then Nate Clark walked to make it 3-2, Barker grounded out to tie the game, and after Isaac DeLeon walked to re-load the bases, 2028's WPA leader Jhon Diaz doubled down the line to score two more and put the Rays up to stay. Bobby Witt Jr walked to load the bases again, and Oakland could not turn Julio Cedillo's grounder into a double play so another run scored before the 6th run of the inning scored on a passed ball. Kirkley's sac fly in the 8th scored the final run. Money ended up 6 6 3 3 0 7 to even his record at 2-2, Daniel Espino and Jose Alvarado each had scoreless innings, and with the lead expanded to 8-3 Malachi Benford got another crack at the whole MLB thing and fared better this time, whiffing a pair even though he allowed a walk and yet another infield single. The Yankees lost in Toronto so the Rays climb back into first by 1/2 game. April 22: Optioned P Malachi Benford to AAA Durham, activated P Shane McClanahan from his injury rehab at AAA Durham. Mac makes his belated season debut today against Oakland, Jack Leiter goes back to long relief. Game 3: It wasn't pretty but the Rays did just enough to squeak by Oakland 3-2 in the return of Shane McClanahan. After going 7 6 1 1 0 4 in his season debut it's safe to say Mac is back, although unfortunately for him JDLC blew the lead in the 8th and vultured his win as the Rays rallied in the bottom of the inning to score the winning run. They did it without the benefit of a hit as Oakland pitching was wild again. This time Alex Young walked Judson Fabian to lead off the inning, and Fabian Petrovich then walked Nate Clark. Joe Barker's deep fly ball allowed Fabian to move up to 3rd, and Isaac DeLeon's second sac fly of the day scored Fabian with the winner. Jose Alvarado then pitched a 1-2-3 9th (JDLC and Alvarado were flip-flopped due to righties due in the 8th and Daniel Espino unavailable) for save #3. Julio Cedillo had a 2nd inning RBI single to put the Rays on the board before a name from our past, Seth Beer, homered off McClanahan in the 6th to tie the game. But the Rays immediately regained the lead when Joe Barker doubled (extending his hitting streak to 14), went to third on a wild pitch and scored on DeLeon's fly ball. The Yankees lost again in Toronto after blowing a 5-run lead by giving up 3 runs in the 8th and 3 in the 9th, so the Rays are now up 1 1/2 games. That's significant because... Team record: 12-6. Next up: Those very Yankees come to town for a 3-game set. Last edited by Art Deco; 01-03-2021 at 10:56 PM.