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Art Deco · 10-31-2024, 07:47 PM

The Rays faced their first adversity of the season, losing 2 of 3 in Minnesota thanks to some bad pitching and also suffered a couple of injuries as their 2-week road trip mercifully came to an end.

It was business as usual in the opener though as the Rays rode four homers to a 5-3 win over the Twins to maintain their hot start to the season. Two of them came from Tony Fisher, who took over the MLB lead with 9, including a 2-run blast in the 7th to expand the lead to 3. Also going yard were Jeremy Begley (#4) and Luis Berumen (#7) back-to-back in the 6th to put them into the lead. As a result Gabe Bryant went to 2-0 after a 6.2 7 3 3 1 4 outing and Tony Alicea earned a very shaky fourth save after loading the bases with one out in the 9th and getting a line-drive double play to center to end the game.

Things started off decently in the second game when Danny Rodriguez hit his 3rd homer to give the Rays a 1-0 lead in the 3rd but not only did the bottom fall out for Leo Gutierrez in the Twins' half of the frame, he herniated a disc in his back and will miss five weeks. Gutierrez gave up 5 runs and finished 3.1 5 5 5 2 3. He didn't get the loss because the offense fought back to tie the game by the 8th with 3 of the runs knocked in by Billy Doughty, who hit a 442-ft homer to center (#2) that was a no-Doughter. Unfortunately Moises Baca (0-1) failed in the high-leverage situation in the bottom of the inning, giving up a 2-run homer and the Rays suffered a 7-5 loss to the Twins.

Transaction: Gutierrez went on the IL and two-way prospect Sergio Espinoza was recalled from Durham. Espinoza was our first-rounder back in 2032 and is more advanced as a pitcher (rated 50/60/60 as a starter) than hitter (40s mostly with 50s potential) and will get a shot at Gutierrez's rotation spot.

The offense fought gamely in the finale despite some horrid pitching and nearly came back all the way, losing 10-9 to Minnesota. Mario Urizar (1-1) was absolutely dreadful at 1 7 7 7 2 2 and Ken Battle later gave up 3 runs in relief which proved to be the difference. In the meantime the bats kept cooking with 2-run shots from Billy Doughty (#3), Danny Arroyave (#4), a solo shot from Danny Charlton (#4) and an inside-the-parker from Luis Berumen (#8) in the 9th which shaved the Twins' lead to a run. It was exciting but alas not enough. Also unfortunately Arroyave strained his oblique and will miss the next 4 games.

Team record: 15-5, 3 1/2 games up on Baltimore. Next up: A welcome return home to play 4 against Toronto; sadly after that we're back on the road.

10-31-2024, 07:47 PM	#1449
Art Deco Hall Of Famer Join Date: May 2020 Posts: 7,618	April 23-25, 2038: at Minnesota (3) The Rays faced their first adversity of the season, losing 2 of 3 in Minnesota thanks to some bad pitching and also suffered a couple of injuries as their 2-week road trip mercifully came to an end. It was business as usual in the opener though as the Rays rode four homers to a 5-3 win over the Twins to maintain their hot start to the season. Two of them came from Tony Fisher, who took over the MLB lead with 9, including a 2-run blast in the 7th to expand the lead to 3. Also going yard were Jeremy Begley (#4) and Luis Berumen (#7) back-to-back in the 6th to put them into the lead. As a result Gabe Bryant went to 2-0 after a 6.2 7 3 3 1 4 outing and Tony Alicea earned a very shaky fourth save after loading the bases with one out in the 9th and getting a line-drive double play to center to end the game. Things started off decently in the second game when Danny Rodriguez hit his 3rd homer to give the Rays a 1-0 lead in the 3rd but not only did the bottom fall out for Leo Gutierrez in the Twins' half of the frame, he herniated a disc in his back and will miss five weeks. Gutierrez gave up 5 runs and finished 3.1 5 5 5 2 3. He didn't get the loss because the offense fought back to tie the game by the 8th with 3 of the runs knocked in by Billy Doughty, who hit a 442-ft homer to center (#2) that was a no-Doughter. Unfortunately Moises Baca (0-1) failed in the high-leverage situation in the bottom of the inning, giving up a 2-run homer and the Rays suffered a 7-5 loss to the Twins. Transaction: Gutierrez went on the IL and two-way prospect Sergio Espinoza was recalled from Durham. Espinoza was our first-rounder back in 2032 and is more advanced as a pitcher (rated 50/60/60 as a starter) than hitter (40s mostly with 50s potential) and will get a shot at Gutierrez's rotation spot. The offense fought gamely in the finale despite some horrid pitching and nearly came back all the way, losing 10-9 to Minnesota. Mario Urizar (1-1) was absolutely dreadful at 1 7 7 7 2 2 and Ken Battle later gave up 3 runs in relief which proved to be the difference. In the meantime the bats kept cooking with 2-run shots from Billy Doughty (#3), Danny Arroyave (#4), a solo shot from Danny Charlton (#4) and an inside-the-parker from Luis Berumen (#8) in the 9th which shaved the Twins' lead to a run. It was exciting but alas not enough. Also unfortunately Arroyave strained his oblique and will miss the next 4 games. Team record: 15-5, 3 1/2 games up on Baltimore. Next up: A welcome return home to play 4 against Toronto; sadly after that we're back on the road.