Game 1: The Rays looked tired and listless through 5 innings, trailing Boston and their ace Jacob Smith 3-1. But they broke through for 5 runs in the 6th to chase Smith and beat the Red Sox 6-4 in a game that was much bigger for Boston. Mack Anglin started and was getting too much of the plate as Red Sox hitters teed 10 hits off him, but he did manage to limit the damage and make it through 6 innings. As a result he got win #18 despite a mediocre 6 10 3 3 1 7 line. With a 4.79 ERA, it's possible Anglin becomes the first 20-game winner to be dropped from his team's playoff rotation as a (presumably healthy) Christian Little, Alec Sachais and Shane McClanahan have locks on the first 3 spots, meaning it's between Anglin, Blake Money and Jack Leiter for the 4th and Anglin's pitched the poorest of the those 3 lately. Anyway as for the 5-run rally, after Nate Clark singled in the 1st run in the 3rd they went to town in the 6th. Clark led off with a walk, was doubled home by Joe Barker, who was singled home by Bobby Witt Jr to tie it, and after Connor Kirkley walked Keibert Ruiz delivered a 2-run double to give the Rays the lead before Ricky Widmar singled him home. Daniel Espino, Jose Alvarado and Jasseel De La Cruz pitched the 7th, 8th and 9th, with Alvarado being nicked for a run before JDLC got save #27.
Skydiving???
We were about to demote Benford to make room for Christian Little anyway, so let's make it official:
September 12: Placed P Malachi Benford on the 60-day IL with a torn labrum, activated P Christian Little from his rehab assignment at AAA Durham. Recalled 1B Chris Sharp from AAA Durham.
I was planning on using the extra hitter slot for Spencer Torkelson, who was on rehab at Durham but he re-pulled his rib cage muscle and is day-to-day for a week. So "poor Chris Sharp" as I call him, finally gets the call to the Show and I'll give him a start tonight at 1B. He did have a monster season at Durham, going 319/369/587 with 38 HR and 102 RBI so he's earned it. I'll still bring Tork back next week and send Sharp down but for now Sharp gets his reward.
Game 2: Groundhog Day at the Trop as once again the Rays found themselves trailing in the bottom of the 6th, only to take the lead and go on to win, today by the score of 4-2. Former Ray Yonny Chirinos was doing his thing again keeping the bats off-balance, but they caught up to him (although not as dramatically as they did yesterday to Jacob Smith). It all started with MLB debutant Chris Sharp leading off the inning with his MLB hit, a double to the RF corner. He went to 3rd on a wild pitch before Nate Clark singled him home to tie the game at 2, and Clark got to 3rd where Bobby Witt Jr brought him home with a sac fly to give the Rays the lead. They tacked on an insurance run in the 8th when Clark tripled and scored on a wild pitch. Earlier Jhon Diaz and Connor Kirkley hit back-to-back doubles for the Rays' first run in the 5th. Shane McClanahan (now 13-8) got the start, and pitched quite well going 6 4 2 2 3 4 with both Boston runs coming in the 5th and both scoring on wild pitches, kind of the theme of the night. Evan Godwin, Daniel Espino and Jose Alvarado got the 7th, 8th and 9th and Alvarado grabbed save #9 with lefties due in the 9th. Sharp went 1-4 with that double in his debut, and also made a great defensive play.
Game 3: The Rays completed the sweep of Boston with yet another come-from-behind win, this time from a 5-1 deficit in the 7th to win 8-5 in 10 innings. Bobby Witt Jr., having an MVP-type season, completed the comeback with a 3-run walk-off HR in the 10th inning (#26) off veteran Ken Giles to severely damage the Red Sox' playoff hopes as they fall behind two teams by 2 games in the race for the second wild card (the Yankees have been hot lately and look to have the first WC wrapped up). Alec Sachais started and struggled in two innings, giving up a 3-run HR to Bob Kelly in the 3rd and 2 more runs in the 6th to leave at 5.2 8 5 5 1 8. Coming in to replace him in the 6th and seeing his first MLB action since June 10 was Christian Little, who was his usual dazzling self, retiring all 10 Red Sox he faced over 3 1/3 innings and whiffing 6 of them. This bought the Rays time to start their comeback and after Shawn Semple shut them down going 6 4 1 1 1 6, the bats feasted on reliever Sam Tuivailala with a 4-spot in the 7th. Carlos Perez's 2-run double cut the lead to 5-3, Chris Sharp got his first MLB RBI with a groundout to make it 5-4, and the tying run scored on a wild pitch. Jordan Diaz took over for Little and got a 1-2-3 10th, setting the stage for the bottom of the inning as Joe Barker led off with a double, Jasson Dominguez was intentionally walked, and Witt took Giles deep to win the game.
Team record: 103-42. Next up: a weekend in Minnesota to face the Twins, who have overtaken Detroit for first but are clinging to a 1/2-game lead.
Here's a quick look at the AL Central & West standings, and the wild card race. A lot of parity in the league outside of the Rays:
