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Art Deco · 01-15-2022, 09:17 AM

The Rays came into Houston with a 1-game lead in the division while the Blue Jays were in Baltimore to face the 58-101 Orioles, so it wasn't going to be easy. They lost a tough game in the opener to Houston, which was fighting for its wild card life, but fortunately the Jays dropped their game. So the Rays were now in a position to clinch the division in the second game, and they did their part by winning. Toronto trailed 4-3 late in their game in Baltimore, and then the Orioles put 4 on the board in the bottom of the 8th to go on to an 8-5 win and the Rays were division champs once again. The Rays took the finale and Toronto lost yet again on the final day to make it a 3-game division win.

While everything turned out alright in the end, they didn't know that in the opener as leads of 4-2 and 5-4 were squandered in a 7-6 Astros win. Jarren Duran did his part, going 3-5 with a pair of homers (#9 & 10) and 3 RBI and Adley Rutschman drove in a pair with a double. Dustin May continued his late-season swoon going 5.2 5 4 4 3 3 with a pair of homers allowed and saw his ERA go over 4 to finish the season at 15-9, 4.04. Osvanni Gutierrez took the loss, allowing a pair of solo homers in the 8th to break a 5-5 tie in his worst outing as a Ray.

Drew Rasmussen cemented his status as the best in-season acquisition by the Rays this year, going 6.2 5 1 1 0 4 to help the Rays to a 4-1 win, a win which ended up clinching the division when Toronto lost. The righty was 9-3, 3.18 and a huge catalyst for the team's turnaround after being acquired for Austin Meadows. Tyler Rogers pitched the 9th for his 16th save. Adley Rutschman's 2-run homer in the first (#23) proved to be all the offense they'd need while Matt Chapman was 2-4 with an RBI single.

With the division clinched it was empty-the-bench time for the Rays, and Dennis Santana got the start instead of Tyler Glasnow, who's being saved for the playoff opener. As he's been for the Rays since being claimed on waivers, Santana wasn't very good (4.2 8 4 4 1 4 and 0-2, 9.74 in 5 starts) but the bats overcame that and took an 8-4 win. Brandon Lowe drove in 3 with a bases-loaded walk and a 2-run double, Taylor Walls was 3-4 with an RBI and Jarren Duran finished a strong series by going 2-4 with 2 doubles and an RBI. Matt Foster threw 2 perfect innings to secure his 4th Rays win.

Final Regular Season Record: 92-70. Next up: The ALDS against the Guardians, starting in Cleveland.

MLB Playoff Update: Detroit secured the second wild card and will face the slumping Blue Jays, while in the NL the Diamondbacks took 2 of 3 head-to-head from the Mets, but both teams advanced to the wild card game after San Diego lost 2 of 3 in Colorado, including an extra-inning heartbreaker on the final day when they could have forced a 3-way tie. The Cardinals were swept in their final series, meaning they won the NL Central with a losing record at 80-82.

01-15-2022, 09:17 AM	#411
Art Deco Hall Of Famer Join Date: May 2020 Posts: 7,557	September 25-27, 2025: at Houston (3) The Rays came into Houston with a 1-game lead in the division while the Blue Jays were in Baltimore to face the 58-101 Orioles, so it wasn't going to be easy. They lost a tough game in the opener to Houston, which was fighting for its wild card life, but fortunately the Jays dropped their game. So the Rays were now in a position to clinch the division in the second game, and they did their part by winning. Toronto trailed 4-3 late in their game in Baltimore, and then the Orioles put 4 on the board in the bottom of the 8th to go on to an 8-5 win and the Rays were division champs once again. The Rays took the finale and Toronto lost yet again on the final day to make it a 3-game division win. While everything turned out alright in the end, they didn't know that in the opener as leads of 4-2 and 5-4 were squandered in a 7-6 Astros win. Jarren Duran did his part, going 3-5 with a pair of homers (#9 & 10) and 3 RBI and Adley Rutschman drove in a pair with a double. Dustin May continued his late-season swoon going 5.2 5 4 4 3 3 with a pair of homers allowed and saw his ERA go over 4 to finish the season at 15-9, 4.04. Osvanni Gutierrez took the loss, allowing a pair of solo homers in the 8th to break a 5-5 tie in his worst outing as a Ray. Drew Rasmussen cemented his status as the best in-season acquisition by the Rays this year, going 6.2 5 1 1 0 4 to help the Rays to a 4-1 win, a win which ended up clinching the division when Toronto lost. The righty was 9-3, 3.18 and a huge catalyst for the team's turnaround after being acquired for Austin Meadows. Tyler Rogers pitched the 9th for his 16th save. Adley Rutschman's 2-run homer in the first (#23) proved to be all the offense they'd need while Matt Chapman was 2-4 with an RBI single. With the division clinched it was empty-the-bench time for the Rays, and Dennis Santana got the start instead of Tyler Glasnow, who's being saved for the playoff opener. As he's been for the Rays since being claimed on waivers, Santana wasn't very good (4.2 8 4 4 1 4 and 0-2, 9.74 in 5 starts) but the bats overcame that and took an 8-4 win. Brandon Lowe drove in 3 with a bases-loaded walk and a 2-run double, Taylor Walls was 3-4 with an RBI and Jarren Duran finished a strong series by going 2-4 with 2 doubles and an RBI. Matt Foster threw 2 perfect innings to secure his 4th Rays win. Final Regular Season Record: 92-70. Next up: The ALDS against the Guardians, starting in Cleveland. MLB Playoff Update: Detroit secured the second wild card and will face the slumping Blue Jays, while in the NL the Diamondbacks took 2 of 3 head-to-head from the Mets, but both teams advanced to the wild card game after San Diego lost 2 of 3 in Colorado, including an extra-inning heartbreaker on the final day when they could have forced a 3-way tie. The Cardinals were swept in their final series, meaning they won the NL Central with a losing record at 80-82.