OOTP Developments Forums - View Single Post

Art Deco · 01-10-2022, 05:28 PM

Considering that we had lost 8 of 9 games to Minnesota this season, taking 2 out of 3 stands as one of the season's great accomplishments in my book. And not only did the Rays win the series, they also took over sole possession of first place in the AL East by a game as Toronto dropped a pair to Boston. The wild card picture has gotten a bit clearer with Detroit now moving 2 games ahead of the pack for the second wild card, and the Rays' magic number there is 2 with 6 games left.

The Rays took the opener from Minnesota thanks to the bats in a 10-6 victory. Angelo DiSpigna had a 2-run HR (#27) in a 3-run first and Matt "All He Does is Rake" Higgins was 3-4 with a solo shot (his first in the bigs) in the 2nd inning. Taylor Walls added a 2-run double and Jarren Duran a 2-run single as well. Joe Ryan was not very good today, perhaps due to his still-lingering minimal back stiffness as he was hit for 4.1 11 4 4 0 5 so Levi Kelly came on and picked up win #3 with 2 2/3 scoreless in relief. Luis Garcia made a mess in the 9th with a 10-4 lead after 2 had scored, Aaron Fletcher had to get the final out for save #7.

Once again it was the bats to the rescue as the Rays took an 8-5 win at Target Field over the Twins. Wander Franco capped a 4-4 day with a solo homer in the 7th (#21) to break a 5-5 tie to go with 2 doubles and a walk, and Matt Higgins was 2-4 with a 2-run double later in the inning to pad the lead. Nick Schnell had a 3-run homer (#8) to give them an early lead but Dustin May couldn't hold it in his second straight poor start (5 6 5 5 3 3). JT Ginn ended up with the win after fanning 5 in 2 scoreless innings, his 8th, and Christian Chamberlain retired all 4 men he faced to notch his 4th save.

Another disastrous Dennis Santana start doomed the Rays in the final as they fell 9-4. Santana was clobbered for 5 runs on 6 hits in 1 2/3 innings, making it 3 bad starts out of 4 since joining the rotation and a 10.34 ERA in that span, despite a very impressive 4/21 BB/K ratio in his 15.2 IP of work. The 6 homers he's allowed is the culprit of course. He's due one more start so we'll probably roll the dice with him one last time but the playoff rotation seems set (Glasnow, May, Ryan, Rasmussen). Tarik Skubal, whose spot Santana took and who could potentially re-take it, went 3 1/3 1-run innings but left the game with forearm tendinitis and will go on the IL since it will knock him out for the final week. They did pull back within 6-4 on a 2-run Jarren Duran triple, and Adley Rutschman had a solo shot (#22) but this time they couldn't outscore Minnesota.

Team record: 89-67. Next up: Home for 3 against Kansas City, which is still in the wild card race 2 back of second-spot Detroit.

Transaction: Tyler Rogers came off his suspension so Luis Garcia was optioned to AAA Durham. Speaking of Durham, they prevailed in Game 5 of their AAA East opening-round playoff series over Charlotte and will play the Iowa Cubs for the title. They won't have the benefit of Heston Kjerstad, though, as he'll be activated and join us in St. Pete for the KC series.

01-10-2022, 05:28 PM	#409
Art Deco Hall Of Famer Join Date: May 2020 Posts: 7,444	September 18-20, 2025: at Minnesota (3) Considering that we had lost 8 of 9 games to Minnesota this season, taking 2 out of 3 stands as one of the season's great accomplishments in my book. And not only did the Rays win the series, they also took over sole possession of first place in the AL East by a game as Toronto dropped a pair to Boston. The wild card picture has gotten a bit clearer with Detroit now moving 2 games ahead of the pack for the second wild card, and the Rays' magic number there is 2 with 6 games left. The Rays took the opener from Minnesota thanks to the bats in a 10-6 victory. Angelo DiSpigna had a 2-run HR (#27) in a 3-run first and Matt "All He Does is Rake" Higgins was 3-4 with a solo shot (his first in the bigs) in the 2nd inning. Taylor Walls added a 2-run double and Jarren Duran a 2-run single as well. Joe Ryan was not very good today, perhaps due to his still-lingering minimal back stiffness as he was hit for 4.1 11 4 4 0 5 so Levi Kelly came on and picked up win #3 with 2 2/3 scoreless in relief. Luis Garcia made a mess in the 9th with a 10-4 lead after 2 had scored, Aaron Fletcher had to get the final out for save #7. Once again it was the bats to the rescue as the Rays took an 8-5 win at Target Field over the Twins. Wander Franco capped a 4-4 day with a solo homer in the 7th (#21) to break a 5-5 tie to go with 2 doubles and a walk, and Matt Higgins was 2-4 with a 2-run double later in the inning to pad the lead. Nick Schnell had a 3-run homer (#8) to give them an early lead but Dustin May couldn't hold it in his second straight poor start (5 6 5 5 3 3). JT Ginn ended up with the win after fanning 5 in 2 scoreless innings, his 8th, and Christian Chamberlain retired all 4 men he faced to notch his 4th save. Another disastrous Dennis Santana start doomed the Rays in the final as they fell 9-4. Santana was clobbered for 5 runs on 6 hits in 1 2/3 innings, making it 3 bad starts out of 4 since joining the rotation and a 10.34 ERA in that span, despite a very impressive 4/21 BB/K ratio in his 15.2 IP of work. The 6 homers he's allowed is the culprit of course. He's due one more start so we'll probably roll the dice with him one last time but the playoff rotation seems set (Glasnow, May, Ryan, Rasmussen). Tarik Skubal, whose spot Santana took and who could potentially re-take it, went 3 1/3 1-run innings but left the game with forearm tendinitis and will go on the IL since it will knock him out for the final week. They did pull back within 6-4 on a 2-run Jarren Duran triple, and Adley Rutschman had a solo shot (#22) but this time they couldn't outscore Minnesota. Team record: 89-67. Next up: Home for 3 against Kansas City, which is still in the wild card race 2 back of second-spot Detroit. Transaction: Tyler Rogers came off his suspension so Luis Garcia was optioned to AAA Durham. Speaking of Durham, they prevailed in Game 5 of their AAA East opening-round playoff series over Charlotte and will play the Iowa Cubs for the title. They won't have the benefit of Heston Kjerstad, though, as he'll be activated and join us in St. Pete for the KC series.