Game 1: The Rays' losing streak reached 6 tonight with an 11-inning, 3-2 loss to Detroit at Tropicana Field. Diego Castillo took his second loss of the week after giving up an RBI single to Renato Nunez in the 11th as the bats only managed 6 hits and got their 2 runs thanks to a pair of Detroit errors in the 7th. They wasted an excellent start from Rich Hill, who bounced back from his 8-run debacle in Detroit to hold the Tigers to 7 4 2 2 0 5 with the damage coming from a 2-run homer from former Ray Wilson "Buffalo" Ramos in the 5th. They did get a 2-run single from Randy Arozarena to tie it up after Detroit loaded the bases with a walk and two errors, and had a great chance to win in the 9th when Mike Zunino led off with a single, pinch-runner Kevin Kiermaier stole second and Austin Meadows walked with nobody out, but Yandy Diaz had one of the Rays hitters' 15 strikeouts and Brandon Lowe grounded into a double play. Pete Fairbanks had a scoreless innings and Nick Anderson turned in a pair, but Castillo couldn't get the job done in the 11th. Toronto was idle so we couldn't rely on them losing to lower the magic number, which has sat at 5 for four days now.
AL Playoff Race Update: The divisions are set with the Rays, Twins and Astros well in command, but the AL wild card race is truly wild with just over two weeks to go:
Over in the NL, the Mets and Brewers have long effectively wrapped up their divisions, but the West remains interesting with the Padres having moved a game ahead of the Dodgers. The Diamondbacks look set to be the 2nd wild card so all 5 playoff teams are pretty much determined.
September 17: Optioned P Chris Mazza to AAA Durham, activated P Brendan McKay from the 15-day IL.
McKay was only out a month so I'm not going to send him on rehab, instead he'll be used in relief but could make a start before the season ends and maybe even one in the playoffs.
Game 2: It seems weird to say that a 91-win team with an 11 1/2-game lead in mid-September needed a win, but boy did the Rays need a win after how they've gone lately, and they snapped their 6-game losing streak with an emphatic 8-2 triumph over Detroit. Luis Patino was on the bump today and he turned his best performance as a major leaguer with 6 dominant innings, 6 5 1 0 1 8 to be specific. He improved to 4-2, 4.46 with the outing, Pete Fairbanks pitched the 7th and after the Rays really broke it open, Brendan McKay got some work in after being activated and whiffed 5 in 2 innings although he did allow a run on 3 hits. The main men led the offense early with Brandon Lowe hitting HR #42 with a man on in the 1st against Tiger phenom Matt Manning, and Austin Meadows hit #30 in the 3rd to make it 3-1 Rays. It stayed there until the bottom of the 6th when Ji-Man Choi delivered an RBI double and Willy Adames singled him home. They added 3 more in the 7th with the big hit Choi's 15th homer of the year, a 2-run blast. And the news was good all around as Toronto lost, meaning the magic number which had been stuck on 5 is now down to 3.
Game 3: Chris Archer was masterful again as the Rays downed Detroit 6-1. The veteran righty had a perfect game through 5 before giving up a Miguel Cabrera double to lead off the 6th and he came around to score for the only run against in a 7 3 1 1 0 9 outing on 84 pitches. Archer is now 11-5, 3.59 and remains our most consistent starter; he'll be starting one of the first two playoff games for sure. Diego Castillo had a 1-2-3 2K 8th and Colin Poche saw his first MLB action in two years with a scoreless 9th that saw him strike out 2. It's great to have him back as Cody Reed isn't my definition of a quality lefty reliever. On offense Joey Wendle had a big double in the 2nd which led to a Kevin Padlo RBI groundout and in the 5th Mike Zunino clubbed a 2-run homer, #17. They broke it open with 3 in the 8th on a Willy Adames sac fly and Kevin Kiermaier's 2-run single. One bit of bad news: Wendle strained his oblique during the game and will be out 3 weeks. Toronto won today so the magic number was reduced to 2, meaning we could clinch as early as tomorrow.
September 19: Placed IF Joey Wendle on the 10-day IL with a strained oblique, recalled IF Taylor Walls from AAA Durham; sent 3B Wander Franco to AAA Durham for a rehab assignment.
The sexy thing to do here would have been to call up Vidal Brujan, especially as this is planned as a 1-year save, but I'm trying to be as realistic as possible so Walls is the likelier choice with service time and all that. Walls is going to be a backup anyway and is a 65 2B and a 55 SS so he's a legit option. He'll probably get a start today as Willy Adames was forced into action with the Wendle injury on a day he showed as fatigued. The big news of course is Franco's rehab. He'll join Durham for their final game of the season, which they need to win to ensure more games for him to rehab (i.e., make the AAA East playoffs).
Game 4: The Rays got an excellent start from Ryan Yarbrough but wasted it by not scoring enough runs, losing 3-2 in 12 innings to Detroit. Yarbrough went 7 6 2 2 0 6 with the only damage a 2-run Willi Castro homer in the 6th. Mike Brosseau answered back in the bottom of the inning with a 2-run single to tie it up, but they couldn't score after that, blowing a golden chance in the 10th when Yandy Diaz led off the inning with a double but couldn't be brought home. Finally in the 12th, former Ray Wilson Ramos did them in again with an RBI double off Andrew Kittredge. They did get 4 scoreless innings from the pen after Yarbrough left with Diego Castillo (1), Nick Anderson (2) and Rafael Dolis (1) turning them in. Taylor Walls made his MLB debut and while he was flawless in the field at SS his times at-bat were forgettable as he went 0-5 and struck out 3 times.
Team record: 93-57. Magic number: 2. Next up: Toronto comes to the Trop for 3 games. Win any one of them and we clinch the division.