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Art Deco · 12-20-2021, 07:43 PM

The Rays continued to play good baseball, taking 2 of 3 from the reigning AL champion Angels but is their renaissance too little, too late? There are still about 2 1/2 months left in the season and they did come back from a worse start in 2023 to eventually win the title, but their margin for error is very slim.

And losing games like the opener might mean the difference from ultimately contending or not. Tyler Glasnow struggled once again and the Rays found themselves down 9-2 but came back all the way to tie it at 9, only to lose 10-9 on a Jorge Soler homer in the 8th. Glasnow was lit up in a 7-run 4th, finished 3 6 7 6 5 4 and now inexplicably has an ERA of 6.00. The big comeback was buoyed by homers from Angelo DiSpigna, a 3-run shot (#13) in the 6th, and Heston Kjerstad, a 2-run blast (#11) in the 7th which tied it up. But Tyler Rogers, who now takes on a higher-leverage role with Fairbanks and Devin Williams traded, served up the Soler homer and the Rays fell short.

The tough loss of the night before did not carry over into the second game as the Rays rode a dominating pitching performance from Drew Rasmussen and beat the Angels 5-3. Rasmussen didn't allow a hit through the first 4 innings and finished 5 1 0 0 4 8 to go to 2-0, 1.69 in his third Rays start. Levi Kelly and Christian Chamberlain combined to allow 3 runs in the 8th to make the game a nailbiter, but last night's goat Tyler Rogers got the final 2 outs to record his 2nd save. Angelo DiSpigna was the hitting star as he continues to wield a hot bat, clubbing two more homers and driving in 3, giving him 15 on the season.

Vidal Brujan had a big game and the Rays took the series with an 8-6 with in the finale, another game in which the retooled bullpen was an adventure. Brujan hit a solo homer in the 2nd (#4) to put the Rays ahead to stay, added a 2-run triple in the 4th and then had a big insurance RBI single in the 8th after LA pulled within 7-6. Brandon Lowe added a 2-run single. Dustin May started and wasn't quite as sharp as he's been of late, but did well enough at 6 9 4 4 0 7 to improve to 9-7. JT Ginn and Aaron Fletcher yielded homers to allow the Angels to get close, but Christian Chamberlain took care of the 9th for his 2nd save.

Team record: 49-47. Next up: 3 games at home vs the Yankees, whom the Rays have to pulled within 5 games of, although the Jays have been hot as well and they're now tied with New York for the division lead, which means the Rays are 5 out of the second wild card as well.

12-20-2021, 07:43 PM	#389
Art Deco Hall Of Famer Join Date: May 2020 Posts: 7,548	July 15-17, 2025: vs LA Angels (3) The Rays continued to play good baseball, taking 2 of 3 from the reigning AL champion Angels but is their renaissance too little, too late? There are still about 2 1/2 months left in the season and they did come back from a worse start in 2023 to eventually win the title, but their margin for error is very slim. And losing games like the opener might mean the difference from ultimately contending or not. Tyler Glasnow struggled once again and the Rays found themselves down 9-2 but came back all the way to tie it at 9, only to lose 10-9 on a Jorge Soler homer in the 8th. Glasnow was lit up in a 7-run 4th, finished 3 6 7 6 5 4 and now inexplicably has an ERA of 6.00. The big comeback was buoyed by homers from Angelo DiSpigna, a 3-run shot (#13) in the 6th, and Heston Kjerstad, a 2-run blast (#11) in the 7th which tied it up. But Tyler Rogers, who now takes on a higher-leverage role with Fairbanks and Devin Williams traded, served up the Soler homer and the Rays fell short. The tough loss of the night before did not carry over into the second game as the Rays rode a dominating pitching performance from Drew Rasmussen and beat the Angels 5-3. Rasmussen didn't allow a hit through the first 4 innings and finished 5 1 0 0 4 8 to go to 2-0, 1.69 in his third Rays start. Levi Kelly and Christian Chamberlain combined to allow 3 runs in the 8th to make the game a nailbiter, but last night's goat Tyler Rogers got the final 2 outs to record his 2nd save. Angelo DiSpigna was the hitting star as he continues to wield a hot bat, clubbing two more homers and driving in 3, giving him 15 on the season. Vidal Brujan had a big game and the Rays took the series with an 8-6 with in the finale, another game in which the retooled bullpen was an adventure. Brujan hit a solo homer in the 2nd (#4) to put the Rays ahead to stay, added a 2-run triple in the 4th and then had a big insurance RBI single in the 8th after LA pulled within 7-6. Brandon Lowe added a 2-run single. Dustin May started and wasn't quite as sharp as he's been of late, but did well enough at 6 9 4 4 0 7 to improve to 9-7. JT Ginn and Aaron Fletcher yielded homers to allow the Angels to get close, but Christian Chamberlain took care of the 9th for his 2nd save. Team record: 49-47. Next up: 3 games at home vs the Yankees, whom the Rays have to pulled within 5 games of, although the Jays have been hot as well and they're now tied with New York for the division lead, which means the Rays are 5 out of the second wild card as well.