This is becoming a regular thing:
Game 1: Andy Aparicio might have been pitcher of the month, but Jon Hayes (who won the award for June) had to be a close second and he got a leg up on August by continuing on his roll, shutting out the Sox for 8 1/3 in a 3-0 win. Hayes was 8.1 7 0 0 0 9 to improve to 16-2, 3.12, a Cy Young-worthy season if not for his teammate. He has now won 12 straight starts and 14 straight decisions, and nearly had the shutout but gave up a couple of hits in the 9th so Jose Alvarado slammed the door as usual, getting save #18. The bats struggled against Boston starter Erick Barraud but after he had to leave in the 5th with a back injury they took advantage of the Boston pen. Dayle Jenkins hit #8 over the Monster to put them on the board in the 6th, and Luis Corpus' RBI double and Joe Barker's infield RBI single in the 7th got them the runs they needed. Eloy Jimenez made his Rays debut and it was forgettable - he struck out the first two times up and went 0-4 as our "acquire big name power hitters and watch them struggle" jinx is off to another strong start.
Game 2: They weren't very good today in a 6-3 loss to Boston. Christian Little continues to give out home runs like candy, as Bob Kelly's 2-run 1st-inning shot off him sent the Red Sox on their way, and then he allowed a barrage of hits which translated to 3 runs in the 5th as he finished 6 7 5 5 2 8. It was his third straight loss in his third straight start and once the ace of the staff, these days he's probably our fourth best starter behind Aparicio, Hayes and Sachais. Jon Whiteleather gave up another in the 7th before Evan Godwin went 1 2/3 scoreless. Offensively there wasn't a lot to write home about, although Eloy Jimenez got his first hit as a Ray in the 3rd, singling in a run (he ended 1-4 for the day with a walk). Dayle Jenkins doubled home a run in the 4th to briefly tie the game, and Connor Kirkley bent HR #20 around the Pesky Pole in the 8th for their 3rd run. The post-break malaise (or more likely, regression) continues as they're now 7-7 in that timeframe.
MLB Note: Apparently the Rockies weren't very interested in Mike Lammers since they've waived him and he was claimed by the Giants.
Game 3: The Rays snapped back from yesterday's subpar performance, jumping on old friend Shane Baz for 8 runs in the first 2 innings on the way to a 9-2 win. Jasson Dominguez was in the middle of 4-run rallies in the 1st and 2nd, hitting a 2-run double in the 1st and homering (#18) with a man on in the 2nd. His first-inning double was followed by a 2-run Rodolfo Rivas HR (#13) as the big first sacker tries to earn more playing time in the wake of the Eloy Jimenez acquisition. Speaking of Eloy, he had a nice day with a single in the 1st, a sac fly in the 2nd, and his first Rays homer in the 7th (#44 overall) as part of a 3-hit game. Nate Clark also picked up RBI #100 with a 2nd inning sac fly. The four runs they scored in the first are almost always more than enough for Andy Aparicio, and today was no exception. He didn't have his best stuff at first, not striking out anyone until the 5th but took a shutout into the 9th inning before giving up a pair of doubles leading off to lose it. Brad Ballmann came on and gave up a double of his own to allow Aparicio's runner to score, so AA ended up 8 7 2 2 2 5 and his ERA actually rose to 1.46 as he went to 15-1 on the season.
Team record: 84-22. Next up: We swing over to Chicago for three games with the White Sox.