We resumed post-ASB action by continuing to spin our wheels, splitting four games at Fenway but maintaining an 11-game division lead.
Moises Baca was lit up like a Christmas tree, putting the Rays down 7-2 in the 2nd and although the offense made a game of it they still fell short to Boston 8-6. Baca (5-6) got through the first and after
Danny Rivera's 2-run double put Tampa Bay ahead, it all fell apart in the second and when the dust settled he finished 1.2 6 7 7 2 2.
Chris Ericson was great in long relief (and might take Baca's rotation spot), going 5.1 4 1 1 1 7. Rivera ended up driving in 3 and the Rays got solo homers from
Danny Perez (#22) and
Frank Duron (#10).
The Rays romped to an 8-3 win in the second game behind another stellar effort from all-everything SS
Jeremy Begley, who went 3-3 with double, walk and 2 RBI and a solid outing from
Sergio Espinoza who improved to 5-0, 2.67 after going 6 7 2 2 2 5. Tony Fisher drove in 3 with a double and a homer (#19).
It's not a 2039 Rays series without the bullpen letting them down at some point and today was that day as they fell 7-6 to the Red Sox in 14 innings. First
Ruben Cerrillo couldn't hold a 4-1 lead, giving up 3 runs in the 6th including a game-tying 2-run homer to finish 6.1 7 4 4 1 4 but
Danny Rodriguez, who had a 2-run double earlier, hit a 2-run homer (#8) to put the Rays back ahead 6-4 in the 7th. That lead was short-lived as
Isaac Washington put two men on in the 8th and
Jamie Arnold gave up a 2-run triple to score them and let Boston tie it up. We trudged on until the 14th when
Ken Battle (5-1) couldn't get anyone out starting his third inning of work and allowed the losing run.
John Lopez also homered (#7) for Tampa Bay.
Mike Blake pitched by far his best game as a Ray as they salvaged a split in the finale with a 5-0 win over Boston. Blake (5-2) nearly hurled a complete-game shutout but finally ran out of gas with his pitch count at 119 and putting two men on in the 9th to finish 8.2 2 0 0 3 7 and lower his ERA to 3.24. Blake was supported by
Jeremy Begley, who belted a 2-run homer (#24) and
Danny Rivera, who homered (#19) and also drove in a pair.
Team record: 61-32. Next up: Two games in New York against the Yankees.
Seems like all I do in this thread of late is complain about the bullpen, so I finally did something about it:
In a move which will hopefully be more successful than bringing back
Eric Lewis (for a third time), welcome back
Devon Williams, who's been one of the game's better closers and pitched for us in 2034-35. Williams has 184 career saves (25 for us) and had 23 this season as the Angels' stopper. He's rated 75/60/65 so he's the real deal and will either be the 8th inning guy or take over the closer role from
Walt Kelly, who's been effective but not overpowering. The price was Castillo, a 3-star starting pitcher prospect who could be a mid-rotation starter if everything goes his way but had been struggling in the minors for us.
To make room for Williams we had to move another of our relievers:
Coggin had pitched well the previous two seasons for us but struggled this year with -0.2 WAR, a 4.79 ERA and 6 homers allowed in 35 IP. We did well in getting the 24-year-old Trevino back but he just adds to our glut of MLB-ready OFs who are stuck at Durham. Perhaps we'll package 2-3 of them for something we need this offseason.
Also to make room on the 40-man Willie Barahona was DFA'd. He was a 3rd round pick in 2033 who was nominally a catcher but a 25 there so really a DH. He still has 55/60 potential but if I had to bet I think he'll go unclaimed.