This should say 4 games vs Boston above - I didn't realize until after Game 3 that the series wraps around to Monday.
Game 1: The Rays fell behind Boston 3-0 early but that's a rounding error to this offense, especially in Publix Park, and Tampa Bay took a 10-3 win to make it 14 on the trot. Dayle Jenkins was the hitting star, going 4-5 with 4 RBI, giving him 96 for the season and making him a prime candidate to join teammates Danny Ayala, Jon Jimenez and Omar Rodriguez in the 100-RBI club. Bo Angeac now has 91 and has an outside shot, remarkable considering he missed six weeks with an injury. No homers today, but Jimenez and Mike McKee drove in a pair as well. Josh Hanna got the start and gave up at least 3 runs for the first time since a July 24 start against these same Red Sox. He finished 7.1 8 3 3 1 8 and is now 17-4, 2.76. Mike Wherry went the final 1 2/3, fanning 3.
Playoff race update: The Cardinals snapped their losing streak when old friend Jasson Dominguez hit a 2-run homer in the 10th to beat the Cubs and the Padres eked out a 1-0 win over 106-loss Arizona while Atlanta lost at home to San Francisco, so things went very badly for the Braves tonight who drop 2 1/2 behind San Diego for the second wild card having now lost 7 straight at the wrong time of the year. Washington lost as well, so their long shot (2.3% coming in) is pretty much gone. St. Louis also pulled within 4 of the first-place Cubs with that win, the closest of any division race. If they sweep the Cubs, things will get interesting in that department.
Durham Playoff Update: The Bulls evened the IL Championship Series at a game apiece with a 9-2 rout of Rochester in Durham. Ricky Loya and Zach Mathias each had 3 hits including a homer, Jeff Hayes homered and drove in a pair to pace the offense, while Jimmy Steveson went 6 strong innings for the win and Jose Espinoza went the final 3 with 7 whiffs for the save. Game 3 is in Rochester in two days' time and Mike Fields will be on the bump for Durham.
Game 2: It was a rare in-season matchup of 20-game winners as Nate Thompson faced off for the Rays against Boston's Sean Nelson, and like his last start where he was opposite one of the league's best, Thompson came out the winner as the Rays held on to edge Boston 4-3 and win their 15th straight. Thompson had a 4-1 lead and was left in one batter too long in the 7th when he gave up a 2-run homer to make it 4-3. He did notch win #21 with a 6.2 7 3 3 0 9 performance, and Tim Siqueiros got him out of the 7th. Jim Golunski had an odd 8th, giving up 2 hits but getting through the inning throwing only 7 pitches. Kikuo Kawase then got the ball in the 9th and a walk and a Melvin Gutierrez error put the first two Sox on, a wild-pitch sent them to 2nd and 3rd with nobody out, and after a strikeout a walk loaded the bases. But Kawase got a shallow fly ball and an infield pop to secure the win and grab save #39. The big inning for the Rays was the 4th, when they scored 3 times to break a 1-1 tie. Chris Peters, whose sac fly got them on the board, singled in a run and then Will Quintana singled in two more. Omar Rodriguez was 4-4 with a run scored. Nelson meanwhile fell to 20-10 for Boston, a stat I note because that gives him an amazing 30 decisions in 33 starts.
Playoff race update: This game recap headline is the best I've seen and it describes the Braves' wild card chase perfectly:
With St. Louis and San Diego winning, I think Atlanta can pack it in at this point. Meanwhile, the Cards have pulled within 3 of the Cubs with 7 games left and the teams have four games against each other left, one tomorrow and three on the final weekend. This may be the only race left.