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Art Deco · 03-05-2025, 09:38 AM

It was a series of milestones for the Rays as they swept yet another series and extended their latest win streak to 8 games.

The big one came in the opener as Tampa Bay clinched another AL East title thanks to a 7-2 win over Toronto and a Yankee loss. And Tony Fisher made sure they did it in grand style as he belted a trio of homers not only to reach the round number of 50 but to set the team single-season HR record. Fisher added an RBI double to give him 5 RBI on a career night. Meanwhile Chris Ericson (6-0) gave up a 2-run homer in the first but not a baserunner thereafter as he was great once again in a 6 1 2 2 0 7 outing.

Another milestone was on the line as Danny Morales took the mound on the prowl of win #20 and although he had to wait a while to get some run support he reached the mark in a 3-1 win over the Jays. Morales (20-5) himself was brilliant at 6 5 0 0 0 8 but he was at 93 pitches in a 0-0 game before Jeremy Begley went yard (#36) with a man on in the bottom of the 6th to make it 2-0, and Billy Doughty added an RBI double for insurance. The bullpen held although Tony Alicea made things way too interesting, giving up a run and walking 3 in the 9th but getting through it for save #37.

The Rays rested some regulars in the finale and after Leo Gutierrez got knocked around for 4 runs in the first and the score was 5-1 Toronto in the 7th you could be forgiven for thinking they'd drop a meaningless one. But there were more milestones to be had and the Rays managed to get win #100 on the season with a thrilling 6-5 comeback win in 10 innings keyed by a couple of more round numbers being hit, the 30th homers of the year from Danny Charlton and Danny Rodriguez, the latter's a 3-run shot in the bottom of the 8th to tie it. And it was a night for the Dannys as Danny Arroyave's RBI double scored Charlton with the walk-off winner in the 10th and Danny Rivera started the comeback with a 7th-inning solo shot (#19) (we have to be the first MLB team with 4 Dannys in the lineup). Gutierrez gutted his way to a 4 8 5 3 2 7 outing and the secondary guys in the bullpen managed 6 scoreless innings with Moises Baca (2-4) going the final two for the win.

Team record: 100-52. Next up as we play out the string: 3 at home against the Yankees after a day off.

Archundia Watch: No additional homers for the Cubs OF as he's now only hit one in his last 15 games as perhaps the pressure of the chase has gotten to him. He remains on 70, 3 behind Bonds and whereas at one point he was projected to hit 82, that's down to 75.

MLB News: While his former teammates were reaching all kinds of milestones, old friend Joe Stack had a 3-homer game and reached the 40-homer mark for the first time in his career as that outburst gave him 42. He has 93 RBI and is hitting 279/331/548 in his first season with the Mets and has earned 3 WAR while mostly serving as their DH.

03-05-2025, 09:38 AM	#1496
Art Deco Hall Of Famer Join Date: May 2020 Posts: 7,670	September 20-22, 2038: vs Toronto (3) It was a series of milestones for the Rays as they swept yet another series and extended their latest win streak to 8 games. The big one came in the opener as Tampa Bay clinched another AL East title thanks to a 7-2 win over Toronto and a Yankee loss. And Tony Fisher made sure they did it in grand style as he belted a trio of homers not only to reach the round number of 50 but to set the team single-season HR record. Fisher added an RBI double to give him 5 RBI on a career night. Meanwhile Chris Ericson (6-0) gave up a 2-run homer in the first but not a baserunner thereafter as he was great once again in a 6 1 2 2 0 7 outing. Another milestone was on the line as Danny Morales took the mound on the prowl of win #20 and although he had to wait a while to get some run support he reached the mark in a 3-1 win over the Jays. Morales (20-5) himself was brilliant at 6 5 0 0 0 8 but he was at 93 pitches in a 0-0 game before Jeremy Begley went yard (#36) with a man on in the bottom of the 6th to make it 2-0, and Billy Doughty added an RBI double for insurance. The bullpen held although Tony Alicea made things way too interesting, giving up a run and walking 3 in the 9th but getting through it for save #37. The Rays rested some regulars in the finale and after Leo Gutierrez got knocked around for 4 runs in the first and the score was 5-1 Toronto in the 7th you could be forgiven for thinking they'd drop a meaningless one. But there were more milestones to be had and the Rays managed to get win #100 on the season with a thrilling 6-5 comeback win in 10 innings keyed by a couple of more round numbers being hit, the 30th homers of the year from Danny Charlton and Danny Rodriguez, the latter's a 3-run shot in the bottom of the 8th to tie it. And it was a night for the Dannys as Danny Arroyave's RBI double scored Charlton with the walk-off winner in the 10th and Danny Rivera started the comeback with a 7th-inning solo shot (#19) (we have to be the first MLB team with 4 Dannys in the lineup). Gutierrez gutted his way to a 4 8 5 3 2 7 outing and the secondary guys in the bullpen managed 6 scoreless innings with Moises Baca (2-4) going the final two for the win. Team record: 100-52. Next up as we play out the string: 3 at home against the Yankees after a day off. Archundia Watch: No additional homers for the Cubs OF as he's now only hit one in his last 15 games as perhaps the pressure of the chase has gotten to him. He remains on 70, 3 behind Bonds and whereas at one point he was projected to hit 82, that's down to 75. MLB News: While his former teammates were reaching all kinds of milestones, old friend Joe Stack had a 3-homer game and reached the 40-homer mark for the first time in his career as that outburst gave him 42. He has 93 RBI and is hitting 279/331/548 in his first season with the Mets and has earned 3 WAR while mostly serving as their DH.