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Art Deco · 06-21-2021, 09:08 AM

April 6: Claimed P Dusty Cross on waivers from the Toronto Blue Jays, optioned him to AAA Durham.

Now that we have a couple of 40-man roster spots open from Vasquez and Soranno going down for the year we decided to take a chance on Cross, whom our head scout Rob Metzler says has "frontline starter potential" despite being 1.5 rated as a starter with 2.5 potential. I wouldn't go that far but he looks like he might be a useful arm and he had options so we'll try him out at Durham.

Game 1: It took the Rays until their 18th hit of the day, but they finally secured a 5-4 win over the Giants in 11 innings at Oracle Park. They left 16 men on as a team, hit into 3 double plays and were generally unable to come up with the big hit until Dayle Jenkins singled home Eric Titcombe with 2 out in the top of the 11th. We were in extras because Kikuo Kawase blew a 2-run lead in the 9th, giving up a walk, a hit and then a 2-run double to a righty(!). Josh Hanna started and was a bit wild, going 6 4 2 2 4 4 (both his starts this year have featured 4 walks) but should have had the win. Willie Bertone and Tim Siqueiros looked great in the 7th and 8th before Kawase imploded. Mike Wherry went 1 2/3 in relief of Kawase for the win and Billy Hoyte had a 1-2-3 11th for his first save. Earlier Bo Angeac had their only two hits with RISP, an RBI single in the 1st and a 2-run single in the 3rd, and Will Quintana hit his 2nd HR of the year with the bases empty in the 4th.

Game 2: The Rays took another one-run victory at Oracle Park, edging the Giants 4-3 behind the strong pitching of Nate Thompson. Danny Ayala's 4th homer of the year, off former Rays farmhand Daniel Olarte (part of the Jaiden Hardaway deal) broke a 3-3 deadlock in the 8th and made a winner of Thompson, who went to 2-0 with an 8 5 3 3 1 6 outing. Had he had a larger lead he might have gone for the complete game as he was only on 88 pitches through 8 but Tim Siqueiros came on for the 9th and pitched around an infield single for his 1st save of the year. The first three Rays runs came courtesy of Victor de Jesus; he hit HR #2 with a man on in the 1st and then singled in a run in the 3rd.

Game 3: The Rays completed the sweep of San Francisco with a 7-2 win behind an up-and-down first start of the year for Ron Adams and the hot bat of Omar Rodriguez. Adams was overpowering at times but it also seemed like every time the Giants put the ball in play it went for a hit as he finished 6 10 2 2 1 9. His ability to get whiffs limited the damage as well as a defense that helped him at times (2 men thrown out at the plate) and hurt him (a misplayed popup for a hit). He picked up the win and was also helped by some fine bullpen work as Mike Wherry struck out the side in the 7th and Willie Bertone whiffed two in the 8th. After the Rays expanded the lead from 4-2 to 7-2 in the 9th, Bertone stayed on to try and finish for the save but loaded the bases with two out, necessitating Kikuo Kawase to come in and fan the first man he faced to end the game and pick up save #3. Rodriguez was the offense early, driving in 3 runs on a pair of RBI singles and his first homer of the year in the 6th. Danny Ayala had an RBI double in the 4th and Jon Jimenez's 2-run single in the 9th helped break it open.

Team record: 9-1. Next up: The road trip continues as we had back east with a stop in Chicago for 3 with the White Sox.

06-21-2021, 09:08 AM	#1036
Art Deco Hall Of Famer Join Date: May 2020 Posts: 6,937	April 6-8, 2035: at San Francisco (3) April 6: Claimed P Dusty Cross on waivers from the Toronto Blue Jays, optioned him to AAA Durham. Now that we have a couple of 40-man roster spots open from Vasquez and Soranno going down for the year we decided to take a chance on Cross, whom our head scout Rob Metzler says has "frontline starter potential" despite being 1.5 rated as a starter with 2.5 potential. I wouldn't go that far but he looks like he might be a useful arm and he had options so we'll try him out at Durham. Game 1: It took the Rays until their 18th hit of the day, but they finally secured a 5-4 win over the Giants in 11 innings at Oracle Park. They left 16 men on as a team, hit into 3 double plays and were generally unable to come up with the big hit until Dayle Jenkins singled home Eric Titcombe with 2 out in the top of the 11th. We were in extras because Kikuo Kawase blew a 2-run lead in the 9th, giving up a walk, a hit and then a 2-run double to a righty(!). Josh Hanna started and was a bit wild, going 6 4 2 2 4 4 (both his starts this year have featured 4 walks) but should have had the win. Willie Bertone and Tim Siqueiros looked great in the 7th and 8th before Kawase imploded. Mike Wherry went 1 2/3 in relief of Kawase for the win and Billy Hoyte had a 1-2-3 11th for his first save. Earlier Bo Angeac had their only two hits with RISP, an RBI single in the 1st and a 2-run single in the 3rd, and Will Quintana hit his 2nd HR of the year with the bases empty in the 4th. Game 2: The Rays took another one-run victory at Oracle Park, edging the Giants 4-3 behind the strong pitching of Nate Thompson. Danny Ayala's 4th homer of the year, off former Rays farmhand Daniel Olarte (part of the Jaiden Hardaway deal) broke a 3-3 deadlock in the 8th and made a winner of Thompson, who went to 2-0 with an 8 5 3 3 1 6 outing. Had he had a larger lead he might have gone for the complete game as he was only on 88 pitches through 8 but Tim Siqueiros came on for the 9th and pitched around an infield single for his 1st save of the year. The first three Rays runs came courtesy of Victor de Jesus; he hit HR #2 with a man on in the 1st and then singled in a run in the 3rd. Game 3: The Rays completed the sweep of San Francisco with a 7-2 win behind an up-and-down first start of the year for Ron Adams and the hot bat of Omar Rodriguez. Adams was overpowering at times but it also seemed like every time the Giants put the ball in play it went for a hit as he finished 6 10 2 2 1 9. His ability to get whiffs limited the damage as well as a defense that helped him at times (2 men thrown out at the plate) and hurt him (a misplayed popup for a hit). He picked up the win and was also helped by some fine bullpen work as Mike Wherry struck out the side in the 7th and Willie Bertone whiffed two in the 8th. After the Rays expanded the lead from 4-2 to 7-2 in the 9th, Bertone stayed on to try and finish for the save but loaded the bases with two out, necessitating Kikuo Kawase to come in and fan the first man he faced to end the game and pick up save #3. Rodriguez was the offense early, driving in 3 runs on a pair of RBI singles and his first homer of the year in the 6th. Danny Ayala had an RBI double in the 4th and Jon Jimenez's 2-run single in the 9th helped break it open. Team record: 9-1. Next up: The road trip continues as we had back east with a stop in Chicago for 3 with the White Sox. Last edited by Art Deco; 06-21-2021 at 12:55 PM.