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Art Deco · 03-25-2021, 03:29 PM

Game 1: The Rays kept taking the lead, but the dam finally burst in the 7th when the Yankees scored 6 times to take a 9-5 win over the Rays in the home opener at Tropicana Field. The Rays took a 4-3 lead into the 7th and Luis Patino, who had looked quite good in his first two appearances, didn't have it today, walking 3, giving up 3 hits (including a 3-run HR to Kyle Higashioka) and 6 runs in total. He had two outs with only one run allowed but then gave up a 2-run single ahead of the Higashioka homer, and the bullpen was kind of tired so he had to hang in there. Ryan Yarbrough started and went 4 6 2 2 2 5 on 81 pitches, giving way to Michael Wacha in the 5th. Wacha allowed a run in his two innings of work but had to leave with forearm stiffness. Cody Reed was forced to pitch the final 2 1/3 and although he didn't give up any runs he threw 55 pitches in the process. Offensively, Joey Wendle stayed hot with his 2nd HR and 8th RBI in the last 3 games as he gave the Rays a brief 4-3 lead. Mike Zunino and Brandon Lowe had RBI singles, and Randy Arozarena hit his first homer of the year in the 8th.

Game 2: Another crushing defeat in a game which saw them burn through the bullpen thanks to Chris Archer having to leave in the first inning with a dead arm. Despite falling behind 5-0, the Rays rallied to take an 8-7 lead into the 9th inning only to see closer Nick Anderson give up a 1-out solo homer to Giancarlo Stanton to tie it and then a 3-run homer to DJ LeMahieu (his second of the game) to win it for the Yankees 11-8. LeMahieu's first three-run homer came off Trevor Richards as he suddenly had to replace Archer in the 1st after only three batters. The Rays got 3 back in the 2nd to cut it to 5-3 with the big hit a 2-run single from Joey Wendle, giving him 10 RBI in the last 4 games. After Gio Urshela homered off Richards in the 4th to make it 6-3, the teams traded runs before we went to the bottom of the 7th with the Rays down 7-4. Yandy Diaz then clubbed his first homer of the year with two men on to tie it, and Mike Brosseau followed with a blast of his own to give the Rays the lead. Chaz Roe and Pete Fairbanks bridged the middle innings through the 7th, and Diego Castillo had a scoreless 8th despite putting a couple of men on. But then Anderson imploded in the 9th and an improbable comeback was wasted.

April 11: Placed P Chris Archer on the 15-day IL with a dead arm, recalled P Andrew Kittredge from AAA Durham.

I'll probably bring up Josh Fleming to start in Archer's place in 5 days, but for now we desperately need a fresh arm for the bullpen.

Game 3: With only three pitchers showing as not tired (today's starter Rich Hill, the just-recalled Andrew Kittredge, and Luis Patino) facing the big bad Yankees seemed like a daunting task especially after the staff allowed 20 runs in the first two games of this series. But Hill was brilliant, going 5 5 1 1 1 6 on 88 pitches, Kittredge was even better (3.1 2 0 0 1 3) and Patino got the final two outs for his first Rays save as Tampa Bay salvaged the third game of this series 3-1 over the Yankees. It was a low-scoring tense affair throughout and the Rays got on the board in the 3rd when Willy Adames hit the first of his two triples on the day and scored on Francisco Mejia's groundout. The Rays doubled their advantage in the 4th when Austin Meadows walked, went to 2nd on a Corey Kluber wild pitch and scored on Randy Arozarena's single. They added some much-needed insurance in the 8th when Manuel Margot doubled and Brandon Lowe singled him home. The Yankees did get two on with one out in the 9th to chase Kittredge, but Patino got Gio Urshela to pop to 2nd and Rob Brantly to ground out to end the game and send the Trop crowd home happy.

Team record: 4-5. Next up: The Texas Rangers come to town for four straight.

03-25-2021, 03:29 PM	#5
Art Deco Hall Of Famer Join Date: May 2020 Posts: 7,398	April 9-11: vs NY Yankees (3) Game 1: The Rays kept taking the lead, but the dam finally burst in the 7th when the Yankees scored 6 times to take a 9-5 win over the Rays in the home opener at Tropicana Field. The Rays took a 4-3 lead into the 7th and Luis Patino, who had looked quite good in his first two appearances, didn't have it today, walking 3, giving up 3 hits (including a 3-run HR to Kyle Higashioka) and 6 runs in total. He had two outs with only one run allowed but then gave up a 2-run single ahead of the Higashioka homer, and the bullpen was kind of tired so he had to hang in there. Ryan Yarbrough started and went 4 6 2 2 2 5 on 81 pitches, giving way to Michael Wacha in the 5th. Wacha allowed a run in his two innings of work but had to leave with forearm stiffness. Cody Reed was forced to pitch the final 2 1/3 and although he didn't give up any runs he threw 55 pitches in the process. Offensively, Joey Wendle stayed hot with his 2nd HR and 8th RBI in the last 3 games as he gave the Rays a brief 4-3 lead. Mike Zunino and Brandon Lowe had RBI singles, and Randy Arozarena hit his first homer of the year in the 8th. Game 2: Another crushing defeat in a game which saw them burn through the bullpen thanks to Chris Archer having to leave in the first inning with a dead arm. Despite falling behind 5-0, the Rays rallied to take an 8-7 lead into the 9th inning only to see closer Nick Anderson give up a 1-out solo homer to Giancarlo Stanton to tie it and then a 3-run homer to DJ LeMahieu (his second of the game) to win it for the Yankees 11-8. LeMahieu's first three-run homer came off Trevor Richards as he suddenly had to replace Archer in the 1st after only three batters. The Rays got 3 back in the 2nd to cut it to 5-3 with the big hit a 2-run single from Joey Wendle, giving him 10 RBI in the last 4 games. After Gio Urshela homered off Richards in the 4th to make it 6-3, the teams traded runs before we went to the bottom of the 7th with the Rays down 7-4. Yandy Diaz then clubbed his first homer of the year with two men on to tie it, and Mike Brosseau followed with a blast of his own to give the Rays the lead. Chaz Roe and Pete Fairbanks bridged the middle innings through the 7th, and Diego Castillo had a scoreless 8th despite putting a couple of men on. But then Anderson imploded in the 9th and an improbable comeback was wasted. April 11: Placed P Chris Archer on the 15-day IL with a dead arm, recalled P Andrew Kittredge from AAA Durham. I'll probably bring up Josh Fleming to start in Archer's place in 5 days, but for now we desperately need a fresh arm for the bullpen. Game 3: With only three pitchers showing as not tired (today's starter Rich Hill, the just-recalled Andrew Kittredge, and Luis Patino) facing the big bad Yankees seemed like a daunting task especially after the staff allowed 20 runs in the first two games of this series. But Hill was brilliant, going 5 5 1 1 1 6 on 88 pitches, Kittredge was even better (3.1 2 0 0 1 3) and Patino got the final two outs for his first Rays save as Tampa Bay salvaged the third game of this series 3-1 over the Yankees. It was a low-scoring tense affair throughout and the Rays got on the board in the 3rd when Willy Adames hit the first of his two triples on the day and scored on Francisco Mejia's groundout. The Rays doubled their advantage in the 4th when Austin Meadows walked, went to 2nd on a Corey Kluber wild pitch and scored on Randy Arozarena's single. They added some much-needed insurance in the 8th when Manuel Margot doubled and Brandon Lowe singled him home. The Yankees did get two on with one out in the 9th to chase Kittredge, but Patino got Gio Urshela to pop to 2nd and Rob Brantly to ground out to end the game and send the Trop crowd home happy. Team record: 4-5. Next up: The Texas Rangers come to town for four straight. Last edited by Art Deco; 03-25-2021 at 07:41 PM.