Game 1: Not a lot of positives in tonight's 6-2 loss to the Angels. Chris Archer was hit hard early for 4 runs in the first and although he piled up some strikeouts, his 4 8 6 5 1 7 outing was not the return to the rotation he had hoped for. The man he supplanted, Collin McHugh, went the final four innings scoreless. The offense had some chances, getting 12 hits, but couldn't come through when it counted with only Yandy Diaz's RBI single in the 4th and Kevin Kiermaier's solo homer, his first of the year in the 7th, getting the Rays on the board.
Game 2: Tyler Glasnow pitched decently but the bullpen was even better, going 5 2/3 scoreless to allow the Rays to grab a 3-2 win in 11 innings in Anaheim. The Rays loaded the bases with nobody out in the 11th and Willy Adames' sac fly brought home Randy Arozarena with the winning run. In regulation, the Rays' two runs came on a pair of Austin Meadows homers, one leading off the game and the second in the 6th to tie it up and give him 9 for the season. Meanwhile the Angels answered with two home runs from Anthony Rendon off Glasnow, one in the bottom of the 1st and the other in the 3rd. Glasnow went 5.1 7 2 2 0 6 and left a jam for Chaz Roe in the 6th, but he got a pair of strikeouts with a man on 3rd and 1 out to escape it and pitch through the 7th, Peter Fairbanks had a perfect 8th, Diego Castillo pitched heroically through the 9th and 10th and earned the win, and Nick Anderson pitched around a hit batter to nail down save #6. The Yankees lost to Houston so the Rays are now 3 back in the division.
Game 3: Austin Meadows was the offense and the pitching was solid again as the Rays scored twice in the 9th inning to beat the Angels a second straight night, 4-2. After the Angels scored first against Michael Wacha, Meadows led off the 3rd with a triple off Shohei Ohtani, scored on a Yandy Diaz single and Diaz came home on Randy Arozarena's double. Wacha wasn't great, but he was gutty, getting 3 double plays and leaving with a 5.1 4 1 1 3 2 line. Andrew Kittredge got him out of the 6th and pitched the 7th, and with two lefties due in the 8th Cody Reed got the call. The problem was that the guy in the middle of the two lefties was righty-hitting Anthony Rendon, and the Angel 3B took Reed deep for his third homer in two games to tie it up. But the Rays responded immediately in the 9th as Francisco Mejia singled, pinch-hitter Mike Brosseau was hit by a pitch, and Kevin Kiermaier bunted them over to 2nd and 3rd. This brought up Meadows, who lined a single to right to score them both. Peter Fairbanks had gotten the final out of the 8th in relief of Reed, and had a 1-2-3 inning in the 9th all set but Willy Adames dropped his second popup of the game which apparently rattled Fairbanks. He walked the next two batters to load the bases and Nick Anderson had to come in, getting Taylor Ward on a grounder to third for his 7th save while Fairbanks got his first win of the season. The Yankees keep winning so no ground gained there but the Rays remain tied with Kansas City for the 2nd wild card (technically back on percentage points).
Game 4: Not sure I've played a game where the win probability swung so much. The Rays fell behind 5-0, went ahead 10-5, and thanks to Trevor Richards' complete inability to get anyone out, lost 11-10 after the Angels scored 6 times in the bottom of the 9th. Ryan Yarbrough started and gave up a 2-run homer in the 2nd to Taylor Ward and then 3 more in the 3rd. Cody Reed and Richards were the only relievers not showing as fatigued, so Yarbrough was given a long leash and ended pitching a great game considering he allowed 5 runs, finishing 8 6 5 5 2 7. And after the Rays took a 10-5 lead on Ji-Man Choi's first 2 homers of the year driving in 4 and a Yoshi Tsutsugo grand slam (#2 for him), Richards should have been able to finish out a 5-run lead in the 9th. But he only managed to get one out, giving up 5 hits culminating in a 3-run homer from - you guessed it - Anthony Rendon to tie it. Reed then came in and got Shohei Ohtani out but gave up a Max Stassi single and a David Fletcher double to score Stassi and the Angels had an improbable walk-off win in a heartbreaker for the Rays. The Yankees and Royals both lost, so they missed a golden chance to gain ground on both.
Here's the win probability chart. I'd liken it to a rollercoaster, but it looks more like someone climbed a mountain and then jumped off it:
Team record: 19-14. Next up: The road trip continues with 3 in Oakland.