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Art Deco · 07-27-2024, 10:12 AM

A good series for the Rays that nearly was a great one as a huge comeback in the finale wasn't enough but they still took 2 of 3 in the City of Brotherly Love to remain a game up on Toronto in the AL East. A serious injury to a key player put a bit of a damper on things however.

Wander Franco was the hero in the opener as his 3-run homer in the 7th (#15) gave the Rays a 6-4 lead and they hold on to beat the Phillies 6-5. Danny Charlton gave them a quick 2-0 lead in the first with a 2-run homer (#17) which extended his hitting streak to 20 games but Joe Marlette had a pedestrian outing (5 6 4 4 2 4) in which he allowed 3 in the 5th to allow Philly to take the lead. The pen was excellent from there with Danny Mauricio (8-2) getting the win and Jadon Smith closing without incident for his 22nd save. That was the good news. The bad news is that we have lost star OF Tony Fisher to a severe hip strain after he doubled in the 5th. Fisher, who has hitting 260/363/543 with 28 HR and 76 RBI and had earned 4 WAR and on a pace for 6, is done for the year as it's a 4-month injury. Certainly a grievous blow to the squad.

Transactions: Fisher goes on the 60-day IL and Duk-yoon Ko is summoned from Durham to play RF against righties at least. Ko is a solid replacement and was raking to the tune of 306/433/583 with 15 HR in 180 AB for the Bulls. The "Korean Kyle Schwarber" will finally get a long look in the lineup. And in another huge shakeup I finally lost my patience with starting C Willie Gutierrez who hasn't hit all year (208/271/339) and has shown no signs of changing that. Because he had an option and backup Art Bing didn't, Gutierrez was sent to Durham and we brought up our top backstop prospect Billy Doughty, our first round pick 2 years ago, to be the starter. Doughty has developed quickly and unlike the 50-rated Gutierrez, he's a defensive whiz (70) behind the plate. And he can hit some too: 253/313/427 with 9 HR at Durham and he's rated 50 contact and power with 55 potential in both.

Tampa Bay got by the Phillies again 6-4 in the second game. Joe Stack had a 3-run homer (#16) in the first but Mario Urizar (7-9) couldn't hold the lead although a Wander Franco error made 3 of the runs unearned. Undeterred, Justin Blackwell homered (#12) in the 5th to break the 4-4 tie and Urizar powered on to finish 6.2 6 4 1 1 8 for the win with Jadon Smith saving again (#23). Billy Doughty had an impressive MLB debut, singling in his first two at-bats and walking in his third but Danny Charlton's 20-game hit streak came to an end.

The finale was a wild affair in the bandbox they call Citizens Bank Park as the Rays looked to be on the receiving end of a blowout, trailing 10-5 after 7, before scoring 6 times in the 8th and 9th to force the game to extras where alas they ended up losing 12-11 in 10 innings. Gabe Bryant didn't have it today (4 7 7 7 1 3) and just about everyone else who took the mound for Tampa Bay didn't cover himself in glory either, but Justin Blackwell did his best to keep them in striking distance by homering twice (#13 & 14) including a 2-run shot in the 8th. Then in the 9th they got two huge pinch-hits: a 2-run Duk-yoon Ko homer (#3) and with 2 out a 2-run double from Joe Stack to tie it. But they couldn't score in the 10th and the Phillies won it off Tony Alicea (0-1) in the bottom of the inning. Blackwell ended up with 5 RBI and Wander Franco also went deep with his 16th.

Team record: 60-52. Next up: Back home for 3 against the White Sox.

07-27-2024, 10:12 AM	#1403
Art Deco Hall Of Famer Join Date: May 2020 Posts: 7,589	August 7-9, 2037: at Philadelphia (3) A good series for the Rays that nearly was a great one as a huge comeback in the finale wasn't enough but they still took 2 of 3 in the City of Brotherly Love to remain a game up on Toronto in the AL East. A serious injury to a key player put a bit of a damper on things however. Wander Franco was the hero in the opener as his 3-run homer in the 7th (#15) gave the Rays a 6-4 lead and they hold on to beat the Phillies 6-5. Danny Charlton gave them a quick 2-0 lead in the first with a 2-run homer (#17) which extended his hitting streak to 20 games but Joe Marlette had a pedestrian outing (5 6 4 4 2 4) in which he allowed 3 in the 5th to allow Philly to take the lead. The pen was excellent from there with Danny Mauricio (8-2) getting the win and Jadon Smith closing without incident for his 22nd save. That was the good news. The bad news is that we have lost star OF Tony Fisher to a severe hip strain after he doubled in the 5th. Fisher, who has hitting 260/363/543 with 28 HR and 76 RBI and had earned 4 WAR and on a pace for 6, is done for the year as it's a 4-month injury. Certainly a grievous blow to the squad. Transactions: Fisher goes on the 60-day IL and Duk-yoon Ko is summoned from Durham to play RF against righties at least. Ko is a solid replacement and was raking to the tune of 306/433/583 with 15 HR in 180 AB for the Bulls. The "Korean Kyle Schwarber" will finally get a long look in the lineup. And in another huge shakeup I finally lost my patience with starting C Willie Gutierrez who hasn't hit all year (208/271/339) and has shown no signs of changing that. Because he had an option and backup Art Bing didn't, Gutierrez was sent to Durham and we brought up our top backstop prospect Billy Doughty, our first round pick 2 years ago, to be the starter. Doughty has developed quickly and unlike the 50-rated Gutierrez, he's a defensive whiz (70) behind the plate. And he can hit some too: 253/313/427 with 9 HR at Durham and he's rated 50 contact and power with 55 potential in both. Tampa Bay got by the Phillies again 6-4 in the second game. Joe Stack had a 3-run homer (#16) in the first but Mario Urizar (7-9) couldn't hold the lead although a Wander Franco error made 3 of the runs unearned. Undeterred, Justin Blackwell homered (#12) in the 5th to break the 4-4 tie and Urizar powered on to finish 6.2 6 4 1 1 8 for the win with Jadon Smith saving again (#23). Billy Doughty had an impressive MLB debut, singling in his first two at-bats and walking in his third but Danny Charlton's 20-game hit streak came to an end. The finale was a wild affair in the bandbox they call Citizens Bank Park as the Rays looked to be on the receiving end of a blowout, trailing 10-5 after 7, before scoring 6 times in the 8th and 9th to force the game to extras where alas they ended up losing 12-11 in 10 innings. Gabe Bryant didn't have it today (4 7 7 7 1 3) and just about everyone else who took the mound for Tampa Bay didn't cover himself in glory either, but Justin Blackwell did his best to keep them in striking distance by homering twice (#13 & 14) including a 2-run shot in the 8th. Then in the 9th they got two huge pinch-hits: a 2-run Duk-yoon Ko homer (#3) and with 2 out a 2-run double from Joe Stack to tie it. But they couldn't score in the 10th and the Phillies won it off Tony Alicea (0-1) in the bottom of the inning. Blackwell ended up with 5 RBI and Wander Franco also went deep with his 16th. Team record: 60-52. Next up: Back home for 3 against the White Sox.