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Art Deco · 02-12-2025, 04:36 PM

The Rays keep rolling on, sweeping their third straight series, extending their winning streak to 10, and opening up a 9-game lead in the AL East.

Leo Gutierrez was magnificent in the opener, finishing one out short of a complete game 1-hitter in a 2-1 Rays win over Toronto at Rogers Centre. The lefty took a no-hitter into the 6th and finishing 8.2 1 1 1 2 9 in improving to 8-0, 2.05. With it being a one-run game and issuing a 2-out walk in the 9th, Tony Alicea came on to get the final out for save #31. All the offense came off the bat of Rookie of the Year candidate Danny Rodriguez, who blasted solo homers in the 2nd and 4th innings to give him 24 on the year.

The Rays rode more outstanding pitching in the second game with Gabe Bryant and Danny Mauricio combining on a 2-hitter in a 6-0 beatdown of the Jays. Bryant (10-4) went 7 2 0 0 1 5 on 102 pitches and Mauricio was perfect over the final two frames. It was a slow start for the offense which didn't manage a hit until the 5th, but Jeremy Begley's 2-run single in the 6th broke the ice and Danny Rodriguez went yard again (#25) and that would be all they'd need with the way Bryant was pitching.

It took a late rally but Tampa Bay managed to complete the sweep of Toronto with an 8-5 win in the finale. They did jump out to a 3-0 lead in the 4th keyed by Danny Arroyave's 2-run homer (#24) and a solo shot from Danny Rivera (#15) but Joe Marlette couldn't hold it at 6 5 4 4 3 4 and Stan LeVea gave up a 7th-inning run to put the Jays up 5-4. However the Rays loaded the bases in the 8th and Jeremy Begley cleared them with a double while Danny Charlton added an insurance homer (#23) in the 9th to give us the final margin. Branden Gammage (5-4), who gave up the hit which scored the run off LeVea, ended up with the win and Tony Alicea struck out the side in the 9th for his 32nd save.

Team record: 80-44. Next up: The road trip concludes with 3 games in Baltimore.

Archundia Watch: Something special is happening in Chicago as second-year man Melvin Archundia is chasing MLB history. The Cub OF took the bigs by storm last year in his rookie season, hitting 316/357/610 with 52 homers and 128 RBI and with 38 games remaining in the season he's exceeded those numbers as he already sits at 62 and 136 and is on pace for 81 and 178 respectively. As a result he stands a good chance at obliterating Barry Bonds' record 73 homers in 2001 and while he would have to get even hotter to threaten Hack Wilson's record of 191 RBI, his projected 178 would be 4th-best all-time and the most since Jimmie Foxx had 175 in 1938. We'll keep you updated on his progress.

02-12-2025, 04:36 PM	#1487
Art Deco Hall Of Famer Join Date: May 2020 Posts: 7,677	August 20-22, 2038: at Toronto (3) The Rays keep rolling on, sweeping their third straight series, extending their winning streak to 10, and opening up a 9-game lead in the AL East. Leo Gutierrez was magnificent in the opener, finishing one out short of a complete game 1-hitter in a 2-1 Rays win over Toronto at Rogers Centre. The lefty took a no-hitter into the 6th and finishing 8.2 1 1 1 2 9 in improving to 8-0, 2.05. With it being a one-run game and issuing a 2-out walk in the 9th, Tony Alicea came on to get the final out for save #31. All the offense came off the bat of Rookie of the Year candidate Danny Rodriguez, who blasted solo homers in the 2nd and 4th innings to give him 24 on the year. The Rays rode more outstanding pitching in the second game with Gabe Bryant and Danny Mauricio combining on a 2-hitter in a 6-0 beatdown of the Jays. Bryant (10-4) went 7 2 0 0 1 5 on 102 pitches and Mauricio was perfect over the final two frames. It was a slow start for the offense which didn't manage a hit until the 5th, but Jeremy Begley's 2-run single in the 6th broke the ice and Danny Rodriguez went yard again (#25) and that would be all they'd need with the way Bryant was pitching. It took a late rally but Tampa Bay managed to complete the sweep of Toronto with an 8-5 win in the finale. They did jump out to a 3-0 lead in the 4th keyed by Danny Arroyave's 2-run homer (#24) and a solo shot from Danny Rivera (#15) but Joe Marlette couldn't hold it at 6 5 4 4 3 4 and Stan LeVea gave up a 7th-inning run to put the Jays up 5-4. However the Rays loaded the bases in the 8th and Jeremy Begley cleared them with a double while Danny Charlton added an insurance homer (#23) in the 9th to give us the final margin. Branden Gammage (5-4), who gave up the hit which scored the run off LeVea, ended up with the win and Tony Alicea struck out the side in the 9th for his 32nd save. Team record: 80-44. Next up: The road trip concludes with 3 games in Baltimore. Archundia Watch: Something special is happening in Chicago as second-year man Melvin Archundia is chasing MLB history. The Cub OF took the bigs by storm last year in his rookie season, hitting 316/357/610 with 52 homers and 128 RBI and with 38 games remaining in the season he's exceeded those numbers as he already sits at 62 and 136 and is on pace for 81 and 178 respectively. As a result he stands a good chance at obliterating Barry Bonds' record 73 homers in 2001 and while he would have to get even hotter to threaten Hack Wilson's record of 191 RBI, his projected 178 would be 4th-best all-time and the most since Jimmie Foxx had 175 in 1938. We'll keep you updated on his progress.