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Old 07-07-2024, 05:59 PM   #1397
Art Deco
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Join Date: May 2020
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July 20-21, 2054: at Toronto (2)

As befitting a team hovering around .500, the Rays split their two games in Toronto as their offensive struggles continue.

They came up on the short end of the stick in the opener, falling 2-1 to the Jays despite a last-ditch rally in the 9th. Once again Danny Morales pitched very well with nothing to show for it and "hard luck" seems to be his middle name these days as he fell to 4-5 despite going 7 5 2 2 2 5 and keeping his ERA at 2.56. They almost came back in the 9th when Tony Fisher doubled with a man on and then Danny Charlton's infield single brought home their lone run. But Joe Stack struck out with men on 1st and 3rd, and pinch-hitter Luis Cisneros flied out to end the game.

While Stack failed to come through in the opener, he responded in a big way in the second game as his 3-run homer (#13) in the 6th erased a 1-0 Toronto lead and propelled the Rays to a 4-3 win and split of the 2-game series. Luis Berumen added a solo shot (#24) and that turned out to be important when the Jays scored in the bottom half of the frame to cut the lead to one. Joe Marlette (8-7) wasn't dominant at 5.1 5 2 2 1 3 but was effective, and Jadon Smith bounced back from his latest blown save to retire Toronto 1-2-3 in the 9th for save #19.

Team record: 49-46. 2 1/2 back of Baltimore and third in the division and one game out of the third wild card but in fifth place there. Next up: Another 2-gamer, this time at home against Baltimore with a chance to cut into the division deficit.
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