Game 1: 2-0 W. WP-Bradley (5-3, 5.2 4 0 0 1 7). S-Fairbanks (14). HR-Mears (14). Taj was dealing again, lowered his ERA to 2.67 and has allowed only 5 runs total over his last 5 starts. Mears' homer in the 2nd was all they needed tonight.
Game 2: 2-0 W. WP-Castillo (5-1, 7 3 0 0 2 5). S-Taylor (4). Deja vu all over again as Castillo lowered his Rays ERA to 2.68 and has been everything we hoped for after acquiring him. Mears stayed hot, going 3-3 with a walk and RBI double as the Rays made it 10 straight wins.
Game 3: 13-1 W. WP-Swanda (7-6, 6 5 1 1 3 3). HR-Arozarena (12), Pinto (3), Tucker (15), Mears (15). Rays scored 7 in the 3rd to break it open with a Mead 2-run single and Schmitt 2-run triple the big hits. Josh Mears capped his huge week(end) with a homer and 3 RBI as it's now 11 straight wins for Tampa Bay.
Team record: 50-28. The Yankees won 2 of 3 over the weekend (including a 6-hit Gerrit Cole shutout in which he fanned 18) then lost 1-0 to San Diego on our off-day Monday, so the lead is now a whopping 7 games. Next up: That off-day followed by a trip to Coors Field to play 3 against the Rockies, which should test our staff.
MLB News: The Rays are not the only MLB team on a double-digit win streak as St. Louis has now won 13 in a row. We also had a couple of trades. Former Rays farmhand Joe Ryan was dealt by Minnesota to San Diego, and it was he who shut down the Yankees in that game in his Padres debut. And another former Ray is on the move as Oakland dealt Willy Adames to Cincinnati. Injuries of note: Boston has lost Trevor Story for 3 months with a torn meniscus and the Angels have lost yet another pitcher as Jordan Hicks joins Dylan Cease, Jake Odorizzi and Ryan Yarbrough on the shelf with a torn elbow ligament, putting him out for over a year. Finally Houston's Anthony Rizzo is done for the year with a broken bone in his elbow.
June Monthly Awards:
Player: AL-Juan Soto (NYY). Last year's MVP and Rays star hit .410-7-22 after a slow start in New York. NL-Joey Gallo (ATL) .330(!)-17(!!)-35 with a .459 OBP. Incredible. In this save Gallo is rated for 45 contact so he's a true superstar with his HR/BB ability and fielding.
Pitcher: AL-Gerrit Cole (NYY), 5-1, 1.99 with 69 Ks in 49 IP. NL-Rookie Donye Evans (NYM), 4-1, 2.94, 51 whiffs in 33 IP.
Also down on our farm:
The former #13 overall pick in 2022 has consistently over-performed his ratings (50 contact, 40 power, 45 eye), hitting 304/378/472 last year in AA and 333/395/509 so far this year for the Bulls. He's blocked of course by Albies and Wander and we have other good middle infielders (Jeremiah Jackson, Alika Williams, Royce Lewis), so his future with the big club is uncertain but if nothing else he's building trade value after we traded Austin Shenton (at AAA for LAA) and Nick Schnell (out of baseball) for him a couple of winters ago.