[Art Deco]

Game 1: Another ridiculous game which saw the Rays annihilate the White Sox 18-0. Amazingly all the run-scoring came in two innings: the 1st, when the Rays put 5 on the board, and the 8th, when they scored an incredible 13 runs on 4 homers. Two of those homers came from Bo Angeac, who had a 2-run shot to start the scoring in the 8th and a 3-run shot later in the inning to give him 30 for the year and cap a 6-RBI day. Jaiden Hardaway had a 3-run blast (#25) and Danny Ayala homered for the 4th straight game with his MLB-best #49. Omar Rodriguez's 2-run triple in the first was the big hit in that inning, and Dorian Gonzalez was 3-5 with 3 RBI. Jon Soranno went 7 2 0 0 1 7 to go to 14-1, 3.39 and Ron Adams whiffed 4 over 2 scoreless to finish the game.

Durham Playoff Update: The Bulls fell 4-1 to Rochester in Game 2, leaving their series even at 1 as they head to Rochester in two days' time for Game 3. Vinny Willard was not effective, giving up 4 runs in 4 2/3. Jimmy Steveson will take the ball next.

Game 2: He did it! Where others have tried and failed before, Nate Thompson set the Rays' single-season wins record with his 23rd of the year in a 7-2 win over the White Sox. Thompson surrendered a 2-run homer in the top of the 1st to put the Rays behind, but that deficit was immediately erased in the bottom of the inning when Bo Angeac, who had homered twice in the 8th last night, homered again in his next at-bat with two men on to make it 3-2, his 31st. That would be all Thompson needed as he settled in and finished 6 3 2 2 2 9 to go to 23-2, 2.91 in what is almost assuredly a Cy Young season. Tim Siqueiros pitched the 7th and Mike Wherry went the final two innings to preserve the win. Jaiden Hardaway went 3-5 to extend his hitting streak to 22 games and is now over 10 WAR for the third time in four seasons and the one year he didn't (last year) he finished with 9.7.

Game 3: It was the Rays' turn to be on the wrong end of a blowout as the White Sox thumped them 9-1 in the final home game of the regular season. Josh Hanna didn't have it today, and left with the bases loaded in the 5th and 4 runs against before Willie Bertone served up a grand slam to Chicago's Bobby Alvarez so Hanna ended with a 4.1 7 7 7 3 5 line to drop to 17-6, 3.93. Mike McKee's 9th-inning homer (#11) avoided the shutout. With another pitching getting hit hard with McKee catching, I decided to look up his and Will Quintana's catcher ERAs, and the difference is stark: 2.78 for Quintana vs 3.92 for McKee. Expect Quintana to get all or most of the playoff starts.

Team record: 126-30. Next up: A day off then we head to Fenway for 3.

Durham Playoff Update: The Bulls are one win away from their 6th consecutive Governors' Cup thanks to an 8-2 win over Rochester. A 6-run first inning capped by a 2-run Pat McKinney homer sent them on their way. Daniel Malone and Ricky Loya each homered as well to back Jimmy Steveson, who went 6 2/3 for the win. Jim Harrell will take the ball tomorrow in Game 4 to try and close it out.