Game 1: Eljiah Whitaker was efficient if not dominant and the Rays got just enough offense to beat the Brewers 3-0 in the opener. Whitaker (12-5) had an unusual 7 3 0 0 0 1 line (something unheard in most of this save when our defense stunk) and Jake Cid completed the shutout for save #8. Back-to-back RBI doubles from Aaron White and Paul Mayes in the 4th were the key hits.
Well we weren't looking to make a deal at the deadline but one was offered to us that was worth taking:
With the Ryan Rivera acquisition Dave Gonzalez had been marginalized - although he was good offensively last year he's a poor catcher and with Alex Gonzalez a capable backup Dave had been relegated to an occasional pinch-hitter. And while I hung on to him thinking he'd figure into next year's catcher mix when Rivera becomes a free agent, the Angels offered me a better option in the 24-year-old Gaitan, who is a 45 contact/50 power hitter and a 60 defender with potential to be 5 ticks better in all three of those categories. He'll report to Durham but has a chance to be our catcher of the future. Bolon is a decent veteran reliever who might be better than Julio Baez, but there's no room on the roster right now for him so I'll wait out the 7-day DFA period to see if someone gets hurt and then make a decision. Lopez isn't anything special as a prospect but why not? I would have done the deal straight up Gonzalez-for-Gaitan but LA wanted Bolon and his $3.2M salary moved in the deal as well.
Game 2: Tampa Bay trailed 2-0 after 4 but the offense cranked up starting in the 5th and they never looked back in a 7-2 win over Milwaukee. Ryan Rivera's 2-run single tied it up and Joel Bland's 2-run homer (#14) in the 6th put them ahead to stay. Rivera added an RBI single and like yesterday the Rays' starter only recorded one whiff but it was enough as Steve Swords (7-7) went 5.2 6 2 2 1 1 for the win. Lefty reliever Mike Alexander made his Rays debut and was impressive, fanning a pair in 1 1/3 scoreless.
Game 3: The Rays completed the sweep with a 13-2 rout of the Brewers which was led by a massive game from backup C Alex Gonzalez. Gonzalez doubled, homered twice (#6 & 7) and drove in 5 runs to lead the attack which also featured 3-run homers from Dantel Chinchilla (#12) and Angel Gonzales (#23). Chinchilla's homer capped a 4-RBI day for him. Meanwhile after Rays starters struck out only one batter in each of the first two games, Tony Guzman (5-2) made up for that by turning in his best outing since coming over in trade, dominating Milwaukee hitters to the tune of 7 4 1 1 1 11.
Team record: 75-35. Next up: A day off then a return home to play 3 against Toronto.