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Art Deco · 05-03-2023, 10:07 PM

After being bad hosts to the Yankees the Rays were a little more generous with New York's wild card rival Toronto, splitting the four games at the Trop.

The Rays took the opener in a game where pitching reigned supreme, winning 1-0 on a first-inning run that stood up the whole way. Kelly Crumpton's sac fly scored CJ Abrams (and it was a rare sac fly when given the option to send the runner from third, 90% of the time those seem to result in outs at the plate) and Jake Baldino pitched his best game as a Ray, improving to 7-3 and 15-10 overall after going 7.1 5 0 0 0 3. Eric Lewis closed for his 13th Rays save and 42nd in total.

Despite losing a starting pitcher after giving up 3 in the first the Rays fought back to take a 7-4 win over the Jays in the second game. Pedro Avila was roughed up in that opening frame and it was at least in part due to a blister he developed, one which will sideline him for a couple of weeks and put his spot in the playoff rotation in serious jeopardy. Reid Detmers took over and was brilliant, going 6 5 0 0 0 5 in (very) long relief and Mike Moore handled the 9th today for save #8. After falling behind 3-0 the Rays bounced back on Masaharu Shimizu's 3-run blast (#10) in the 2nd and scored 4 times in the 6th with Jake Westfall's RBI single breaking the deadlock and Mike Calhoun's 2-run knock giving them breathing room.

Transaction: Avila went on the IL and Wes Mendes was activated after missing a month with a herniated disc in his neck. Mendes now suddenly will have a chance to pitch himself into the playoff rotation with Avila's injury.

The Rays' offense was muted in the third game, only amassing six hits through 11 innings and falling 3-2 to Toronto in extras. Chris Ferguson got the job done despite pitching with constant traffic, going 5 6 0 0 2 5 to close his brilliant regular season at 13-2, 2.30 and only missing out on the ERA crown thanks to missing a month with a herniated disc in his back. He left up 1-0 but Toronto got a pair off Slade Cecconi before Danny Arroyave tied it up in the bottom of the 8th with a solo homer (#20). It stayed there until the Jays nicked Ruben Abeyta (4-2) for a run in the 11th and the offense had no answer.

Wes Mendes was very good in his return from the IL but the offense once again struggled to score and the Rays dropped the series finale 5-2 to Toronto. Mendes was a sharp 5 4 1 1 2 4 on 82 pitches and departed the game up 2-1 after Kelly Crumpton (#35) and Nate Strickland (#44) hit back-to-back solo shots in the bottom of the 5th. But the bullpen couldn't hold the lead and Mike Moore (11-3) had his second bad outing in his last three, allowing 3 runs in the 8th to lose it.

Team record: 112-47. Next up: We close out the regular season with 3 at the Trop against cellar-dwelling Baltimore.

Playoff race update: The 3-way race for the final AL Wild Card is now a 2-way race as the Yankees took a pair off Minnesota and dropped them 3 games behind themselves and Toronto. The 3-way AL West race is also down to two as Houston is a game up on Oakland and Seattle has fallen 3 back. With Seattle and the division loser grabbing the other two wild cards and Detroit winning the Central the AL field is almost complete.

In the NL the only suspense resides in the NL West where Colorado and San Francisco are tied going into the final weekend. The Dodgers dropped out of the picture, and the Rockies-Giants loser will also miss the playoffs. The Nationals and Cubs are the other two division winners and the three wild cards are the Marlins, Memphis Spirit and the Cardinals. It will be the first time the Spirit make the playoffs in their 11-season history after joining MLB in 2023.

Also in MLB doings, Atlanta superstar Jasson Dominguez hit his 400th career homer at age 30.

05-03-2023, 10:07 PM	#1106
Art Deco Hall Of Famer Join Date: May 2020 Posts: 7,423	September 26-29, 2033: vs Toronto (4) After being bad hosts to the Yankees the Rays were a little more generous with New York's wild card rival Toronto, splitting the four games at the Trop. The Rays took the opener in a game where pitching reigned supreme, winning 1-0 on a first-inning run that stood up the whole way. Kelly Crumpton's sac fly scored CJ Abrams (and it was a rare sac fly when given the option to send the runner from third, 90% of the time those seem to result in outs at the plate) and Jake Baldino pitched his best game as a Ray, improving to 7-3 and 15-10 overall after going 7.1 5 0 0 0 3. Eric Lewis closed for his 13th Rays save and 42nd in total. Despite losing a starting pitcher after giving up 3 in the first the Rays fought back to take a 7-4 win over the Jays in the second game. Pedro Avila was roughed up in that opening frame and it was at least in part due to a blister he developed, one which will sideline him for a couple of weeks and put his spot in the playoff rotation in serious jeopardy. Reid Detmers took over and was brilliant, going 6 5 0 0 0 5 in (very) long relief and Mike Moore handled the 9th today for save #8. After falling behind 3-0 the Rays bounced back on Masaharu Shimizu's 3-run blast (#10) in the 2nd and scored 4 times in the 6th with Jake Westfall's RBI single breaking the deadlock and Mike Calhoun's 2-run knock giving them breathing room. Transaction: Avila went on the IL and Wes Mendes was activated after missing a month with a herniated disc in his neck. Mendes now suddenly will have a chance to pitch himself into the playoff rotation with Avila's injury. The Rays' offense was muted in the third game, only amassing six hits through 11 innings and falling 3-2 to Toronto in extras. Chris Ferguson got the job done despite pitching with constant traffic, going 5 6 0 0 2 5 to close his brilliant regular season at 13-2, 2.30 and only missing out on the ERA crown thanks to missing a month with a herniated disc in his back. He left up 1-0 but Toronto got a pair off Slade Cecconi before Danny Arroyave tied it up in the bottom of the 8th with a solo homer (#20). It stayed there until the Jays nicked Ruben Abeyta (4-2) for a run in the 11th and the offense had no answer. Wes Mendes was very good in his return from the IL but the offense once again struggled to score and the Rays dropped the series finale 5-2 to Toronto. Mendes was a sharp 5 4 1 1 2 4 on 82 pitches and departed the game up 2-1 after Kelly Crumpton (#35) and Nate Strickland (#44) hit back-to-back solo shots in the bottom of the 5th. But the bullpen couldn't hold the lead and Mike Moore (11-3) had his second bad outing in his last three, allowing 3 runs in the 8th to lose it. Team record: 112-47. Next up: We close out the regular season with 3 at the Trop against cellar-dwelling Baltimore. Playoff race update: The 3-way race for the final AL Wild Card is now a 2-way race as the Yankees took a pair off Minnesota and dropped them 3 games behind themselves and Toronto. The 3-way AL West race is also down to two as Houston is a game up on Oakland and Seattle has fallen 3 back. With Seattle and the division loser grabbing the other two wild cards and Detroit winning the Central the AL field is almost complete. In the NL the only suspense resides in the NL West where Colorado and San Francisco are tied going into the final weekend. The Dodgers dropped out of the picture, and the Rockies-Giants loser will also miss the playoffs. The Nationals and Cubs are the other two division winners and the three wild cards are the Marlins, Memphis Spirit and the Cardinals. It will be the first time the Spirit make the playoffs in their 11-season history after joining MLB in 2023. Also in MLB doings, Atlanta superstar Jasson Dominguez hit his 400th career homer at age 30.