Game 1: It was another power display from the Bay Bombers as Judson Fabian, Nate Clark and Joe Barker set the tone in the first inning with back-to-back-to-back homers as the Rays romped past the A's 14-5. Barker added a 2nd HR in the 3rd to give him 29, and Jasson Dominguez hit #36 to give the team 5 more for an MLB-leading 252. Fabian now has 24 and Clark 32. Barker drove in 3 for the game and everyone in the lineup except Jhon Diaz (who doubled twice) drove in a run and everyone except Clark and Connor Kirkley had at least two hits (they each had one). The beneficiary of this run support was Mack Anglin and he needed it as he did not pitch well at all, going 5 10 5 3 1 4 yet still grabbing his MLB-best 16th win. He's having a Jack Morris-type season with his 4.88 ERA. Jordan Diaz pitched a scoreless 6th which including a whiff of Oakland's Jordan Diaz in a real Spider-Man meme moment, while Romulo Canelon pitched the final 3 innings without allowing a run for his 2nd save.
September 1: Sent OF Spencer Torkelson and P Christian Little to AAA Durham for rehab assignments; recalled P Malachi Benford from AAA Durham.
Benford comes up as our extra pitcher with September roster expansion, although Little will take his place after a couple of rehab starts and Tork will be our extra hitter as we'll go without one for about a week.
Some monthly honors:
Poor Chris Sharp. Despite the text in the box above calling him a newcomer, he's been stuck at Durham for four seasons now and is having his best year of them all. The problem is he's stuck behind the guy right above him, and we also have top prospect Rodolfo Rivas at the position (they've been splitting 1B/DH time at Durham). The other problem is that Sharp doesn't seem to yield a lot in trade value, so right now he's more valuable as injury insurance.
Game 2: When August's AL Player of the Month Joe Barker got a start on his September by drilling a 2-run HR in the 1st to give the Rays a 2-0 lead (joining the 30-30 club in the process) it looked like more of the same from yesterday's rout. But it turned out that would be all the Rays would get with only two hits thereafter as the A's edged them 3-2. Lefty Lucas Gordon held them in the check through the 7th and the Rays could only manage a walk against two Oakland relievers in the final 2 innings. Shane McClanahan started and let Oakland get a series of hits with two out in the 2nd to bring home 3 runs and that was enough to saddle him with his 8th loss against 11 wins. Mac held it from there to no avail and went 6 8 3 3 1 7. Malachi Benford, just back with the team, and Mike Mooney each had a scoreless relief inning to hold it close. Despite failing to win the Yankees lost as well so the magic # for clinching the AL East is down to 2 which means they could do it as soon as tomorrow.
Game 3: The Rays took a 5-3 win over Oakland in a weird, TOOTBLAN-filled 10th inning. Aft first it was shaping up like yesterday's game in some respects as Joe Barker once again hit a 2-run 1st-inning homer and the Rays couldn't score much after that, but the difference was that Alec Sachais pitched better than Shane McClanahan yesterday, going 7 5 1 1 1 6. And when Judson Fabian's RBI single in the 8th made it 3-1, things looked good. Until the bullpen blew it, that is. Daniel Espino got the first 2 out in the bottom of the 8th before putting a man on, and Jose Alvarado came in to face the lefty (and former Rays property) Billy Benedetto. Alvarado walked him and their Jordan Diaz then ripped a 2-run triple to tie the game before he was stranded at 3rd. In the 10th Ricky Widmar led off with what looked like a triple but was tagged out standing off of 3rd when the A's pulled the old hidden ball trick. No matter though as Judson Fabian singled, went to 2nd on a passed ball, and scored on Bobby Witt Jr's single. And then in their second baserunning blunder of the inning, Witt was picked off 1st base but Barker hit his 2nd HR of the day (and 5th in 3 games) as his 32nd made it 5-3. The homer capped off a perfect day for Barker, who was 3-3 with two walks including the 2 homers. Jasseel De La Cruz made it interesting in the bottom of the 10th by putting two men on but got out of it for save #25 while Alvarado vultured his 6th win. The Yankees won so the magic # is now 1.
Team record: 96-39. Next up: Four games in Anaheim.