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Art Deco · 05-23-2021, 11:52 AM

Game 1: The Rays took an impressive 2-1 win at Houston as they look to right the ship in time for the playoffs. Luis Patino started but had to leave after an inning with back spasms, thrusting Brendan McKay into a long man/follower type situation and he responded wonderfully, going 4 3 0 0 0 6 against a tough Astros lineup and picking up a well-deserved 2nd win of the season. Andrew Kittredge went 2 innings, giving up a Carlos Correa homer, and Pete Fairbanks and Diego Castillo closed out the game with the latter getting his 9th save. There wasn't much offense but the Rays took advantage of Francis Martes' wildness, he walked 5 and in the 3rd he wild-pitched in a run before Brandon Lowe singled in another.

Playoff Race update: The Blue Jays and Angels both won, and the Royals lost, so the wild card race in the AL is pretty much over. Things got more interesting in the NL West, though, as the Padres beat the Dodgers to pull within 1 game of the division lead, and the Diamondbacks did likewise with a win so the top 3 are separated by a game.

Game 2: The Rays wasted some golden opportunities and things snowballed on Rich Hill as they fell 7-2 to Houston. The Rays loaded the bases in both the 1st inning and the 7th inning with nobody out and failed to score both times, with Eduardo Rodriguez striking out 3 consecutive Rays in the 1st and a strikeout and a double play ending the second threat. Brandon Lowe continued his MVP-caliber season with HR #45 to put them up 1-0 in the 3rd but Rich Hill lost the plot in the middle innings, giving up 2 in the 4th and then a 3-run homer to Kyle Tucker followed by a Yordan Alvarez shot to go down 6-2 in the 5th. Hill finished an ugly 4 5 6 6 3 3 as his ERA ends the year at 5.05. Hunter Strickland went 2 scoreless, Cody Reed allowed an unearned run in his inning and Chaz Roe had a scoreless 8th in mop-up duty. Willy Adames' 2nd double of the game and 44th of the year scored the 2nd Rays run but it was too little, too late.

Playoff race update: The Angels and Blue Jays each need one more win to clinch the two AL wild card spots while the Dodgers struck back against the Padres and dropped them to 3rd place 2 back as Arizona won to stay a game behind LA as they try to figure out who wins the NL West and who the two wild card teams are among them.

Game 3: The Rays had their way with Zack Greinke, blasting three homers off him, and Chris Archer went 5 2/3 scoreless to lead the Rays to an 8-1 rout of Houston in perhaps the best game they've played in a month. Willy Adames, quietly having a 5.5 WAR season*, drilled a 3-run homer (#12) off the veteran Astro righty to give the Rays an early lead in the 2nd, Randy Arozarena singled in a run in the 3rd, and Mike Zunino hit a 461-foot blast onto the railroad tracks in LF (#19) to make it 5-0. Arozarena later hit #28 to lead off the 7th against Greinke, and Austin Meadows had a 2-run shot (#31) off former Ray Austin Pruitt in the 9th. Archer meanwhile continued his recent brilliant run of pitching with a 5.2 4 0 0 3 4 performance against the tough Houston lineup to finish the year 12-6, 3.62, with Rafael Dolis getting a big out in the 6th to end that inning after the Astros threatened. Dolis pitched through the 7th, allowing an unearned run off an Adames error, Colin Poche had a sharp 8th and Nick Anderson pitched the 9th to give the Rays 2 out of 3 against the top team in the league just before the playoffs start.

*Sadly the Rays just traded him IRL so hopefully they don't miss out on a 5.5 WAR season from him.

Team record: 96-63. Next up: We head to Yankee Stadium for the weekend to close out the regular season.

Playoff race update: The Angels and Blue Jays both lost while the White Sox won, so Chicago remains mathematically in it. The Dodgers all are but there now to win the NL West after knocking off San Diego again, while Arizona lost, so LA has a 2-game lead on the Diamondbacks and 3 on the Padres with 3 games left.

05-23-2021, 11:52 AM	#59
Art Deco Hall Of Famer Join Date: May 2020 Posts: 7,388	September 28-30: at Houston (3) Game 1: The Rays took an impressive 2-1 win at Houston as they look to right the ship in time for the playoffs. Luis Patino started but had to leave after an inning with back spasms, thrusting Brendan McKay into a long man/follower type situation and he responded wonderfully, going 4 3 0 0 0 6 against a tough Astros lineup and picking up a well-deserved 2nd win of the season. Andrew Kittredge went 2 innings, giving up a Carlos Correa homer, and Pete Fairbanks and Diego Castillo closed out the game with the latter getting his 9th save. There wasn't much offense but the Rays took advantage of Francis Martes' wildness, he walked 5 and in the 3rd he wild-pitched in a run before Brandon Lowe singled in another. Playoff Race update: The Blue Jays and Angels both won, and the Royals lost, so the wild card race in the AL is pretty much over. Things got more interesting in the NL West, though, as the Padres beat the Dodgers to pull within 1 game of the division lead, and the Diamondbacks did likewise with a win so the top 3 are separated by a game. Game 2: The Rays wasted some golden opportunities and things snowballed on Rich Hill as they fell 7-2 to Houston. The Rays loaded the bases in both the 1st inning and the 7th inning with nobody out and failed to score both times, with Eduardo Rodriguez striking out 3 consecutive Rays in the 1st and a strikeout and a double play ending the second threat. Brandon Lowe continued his MVP-caliber season with HR #45 to put them up 1-0 in the 3rd but Rich Hill lost the plot in the middle innings, giving up 2 in the 4th and then a 3-run homer to Kyle Tucker followed by a Yordan Alvarez shot to go down 6-2 in the 5th. Hill finished an ugly 4 5 6 6 3 3 as his ERA ends the year at 5.05. Hunter Strickland went 2 scoreless, Cody Reed allowed an unearned run in his inning and Chaz Roe had a scoreless 8th in mop-up duty. Willy Adames' 2nd double of the game and 44th of the year scored the 2nd Rays run but it was too little, too late. Playoff race update: The Angels and Blue Jays each need one more win to clinch the two AL wild card spots while the Dodgers struck back against the Padres and dropped them to 3rd place 2 back as Arizona won to stay a game behind LA as they try to figure out who wins the NL West and who the two wild card teams are among them. Game 3: The Rays had their way with Zack Greinke, blasting three homers off him, and Chris Archer went 5 2/3 scoreless to lead the Rays to an 8-1 rout of Houston in perhaps the best game they've played in a month. Willy Adames, quietly having a 5.5 WAR season, drilled a 3-run homer (#12) off the veteran Astro righty to give the Rays an early lead in the 2nd, Randy Arozarena singled in a run in the 3rd, and Mike Zunino hit a 461-foot blast onto the railroad tracks in LF (#19) to make it 5-0. Arozarena later hit #28 to lead off the 7th against Greinke, and Austin Meadows had a 2-run shot (#31) off former Ray Austin Pruitt in the 9th. Archer meanwhile continued his recent brilliant run of pitching with a 5.2 4 0 0 3 4 performance against the tough Houston lineup to finish the year 12-6, 3.62, with Rafael Dolis getting a big out in the 6th to end that inning after the Astros threatened. Dolis pitched through the 7th, allowing an unearned run off an Adames error, Colin Poche had a sharp 8th and Nick Anderson pitched the 9th to give the Rays 2 out of 3 against the top team in the league just before the playoffs start. Sadly the Rays just traded him IRL so hopefully they don't miss out on a 5.5 WAR season from him. Team record: 96-63. Next up: We head to Yankee Stadium for the weekend to close out the regular season. Playoff race update: The Angels and Blue Jays both lost while the White Sox won, so Chicago remains mathematically in it. The Dodgers all are but there now to win the NL West after knocking off San Diego again, while Arizona lost, so LA has a 2-game lead on the Diamondbacks and 3 on the Padres with 3 games left. Last edited by Art Deco; 05-23-2021 at 03:21 PM.