[Art Deco]

Game 1: The bullpen blew it again as Jose Alvarado and Jordan Diaz combined to allow 2 runs and 4 hits in the 9th for Houston to tie it up at 3, but Jaiden Hardaway completed his big day with an RBI single in the 11th to give the Rays a 4-3 win over Houston. Alec Sachais started and looked about as good as he ever has over his five seasons with the Rays, striking out 13 Astros in 6 2/3 innings while only allowing a run on four hits. Alexander Beltre got him out of the 7th and got the first two in the 8th, with Tim Siqueiros getting the final out of the 8th and the first of the 9th, leaving with two lefties due. Enter Alvarado who was flat-out terrible, giving up 3 hits and a run while only getting one out, and then with a righty due Jordan Diaz came on and gave up the game-tying single. Diaz pitched through the 10th and Nate Thompson struck out the side in the 11th, eventually getting his first win of the season. That was because Hardaway singled in Victor de Jesus, who had singled and stole second. Hardaway earlier hit a solo homer in the 3rd (#5) and singled in what appeared to be an insurance run in the 8th to put them up 3-1. Nate Clark drove in the other run with a sac fly, but it would be nice if he starting doing more than hitting homers here and there as his average is down to .229 after an 0-fer. The Yankees lost tonight so the Rays are back up a full game in the AL East, 2 ahead in the loss column. One bit of bad news, though: Ricky Widmar had to leave the game with knee tendinitis. It's "minimal" but for 1-2 weeks so I'm considering the IL for him again.

Game 2: The bullpen made it interesting in the 8th before Victor de Jesus's grand slam broke it open in a 10-4 win over Houston, the team's third straight victory (and Houston's 8th straight defeat). Andy Aparicio started and struggled early, allowing 2 runs in the first 3 innings (including 3 hits to start the game one of which was erased by Jasson Dominguez's OF assist) but got into a groove after that and finished 7 4 2 2 3 6 to win his 7th of the season, tied for tops in the AL. When he left it was 6-2 Rays, but things got a little too interesting in the 8th. Bob Sirna came in with a couple of lefties due but gave up a pair of singles, and Tim Siqueiros got a grounder that advanced the runners, then gave up a double to score them both and it was nervous time again at 6-4. But with 2 out in the 8th, de Jesus came through with HR #15 to clear the bases and allow the Rays and their fans to exhale. David Sanchez got the 9th and only allowed a single. The offense was led by Dominguez, who scored three runs, hit his 12th HR, had a sac fly and most incredibly, walked twice (and was hit by a pitch). He had come into the game with only 3 bases on balls all season. Also impressive was Francisco Alvarez in his first game at Publix Park, who went 3-4 with a 2-run homer in the 4th, his first as a Ray and 10th of the season. Jaiden Hardaway and Nate Clark also drove in runs. And the Yankees fell again so the division lead is up to 2.

Game 3: The Rays had their way again and swept a 3-game series for the first time since mid-April with a 10-3 win over Houston. Dane Ayers keeps hitting regardless of who he's filling in for, and today it was Ricky Widmar on the bench with his knee tendinitis. Ayers drilled a 2-run double in the 2nd to put the Rays ahead to stay, the first hit of a 3-4 day that saw his average rise to .347. Dayle Jenkins added a sac fly to make it 3-1 and then they broke it open in the 5th. First, Victor de Jesus led off with HR #16 as part of his 3-hit day, and later in the inning Bo Angeac extended his hitting streak to 13 games in emphatic fashion with a grand slam (#7) and they never looked back. Rodolfo Rivas had a 2-run HR in the 6th (#13) for the final two runs. Jon Hayes started and was outstanding before running out of gas near the end; his 6.2 8 3 3 0 8 line includes hits yielded to the final three batters he faced with 2 out in the 7th, leading to the third run. He evened his record at 6-6, 4.46, numbers that look pedestrian until you realize he's projected for a 6.0 WAR season. Bob Sirna took over and was electric, showing off his 75 stuff by retiring the final 7 Astros with 5 of them on strikes. The Yankees stopped their bleeding with a win to stay 2 back.

Team record: 36-25. Next up: An off-day, then Seattle comes to Publix Park for 3 games.