All hail the Wizard of Baz!
Shane Baz was been terribly inconsistent this year (5-11, 4.60, 21 HR allowed in 129 innings) but has great stuff (65/60/60 and fanned 148 in those 129 IP) so it's always possible he puts it together. And put it together he did tonight when it mattered the most as he went 5 2/3 brilliant shutout innings with 8 whiffs to get the Rays back to the Trop for a deciding Game 5 in the ALDS. It also helped that the Rays' biggest star Juan Soto came through, first with an RBI single in the opening frame to get them a quick lead and then with a 2-run single in the 7th to break the game open. Also coming through huge was a guy at the other end of the star spectrum as Zach DeLoach delivered a 2-run homer in the 4th that made it 3-0 and gave Baz and the Rays some breathing room. So in two days we'll have our ace Shane McClanahan on the hill and we'll try to score a few more runs than we did in Game 1.
In the other DS games, the Angels also forced a Game 5 with a homer barrage against the Royals while the Brewers and Padres got a leg up and pulled with one game of the NLCS:
