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Art Deco · 09-07-2025, 12:26 AM

The Rays closed out the regular season by taking 2 of 3 in Toronto, falling just short of the 100-win mark. They were overtaken for MLB's best record by the Mets, who won their final 7 games to finish 100-62 so if the teams meet in the World Series New York will have home-field advantage.

Mike Blake had an up-and-down maiden season with the Rays but finished it on an up note, pitching Tampa Bay to a 3-1 win in the opener. Blake finished 11-7, 4.16 after going 6 3 1 1 1 3 and Walt Kelly closed it out for save #28 despite putting a couple of men on. A pair of runs in the 1st featuring a Danny Arroyave RBI double sent them on their way and Salvatore Garza added some insurance with a pinch solo homer (#13/36) in the 9th.

Ruben Cerrillo got the ball for his final regular season tuneup before the playoffs and the intent was to have him pitch 5 or 6 innings but instead he took a perfect game into the 8th as the Rays beat Toronto again 3-0. Cerrillo was masterful and only on 77 pitches through 7 before giving up a leadoff single in the 8th to lose the perfecto and immediately departed, finishing 7 1 0 0 0 7 on the day and 14-7, 2.90 on the season. In fact with the outing he overtook teammate Danny Morales (2.95) for the AL ERA title. Walt Kelly came on again for the save (#29) and put three more runners on despite preserving the shutout. Willis Ramirez was the man on offense, supplying an RBI double and a solo homer (#9).

The finale was utterly forgettable as the Rays were annihilated by the Jays 15-0. Things started off ominously enough as Sergio Espinoza (8-5) left with two out and two on in the first with what turned out to be a minor back tweak and Chris Ericson immediately gave up a homer to the first man he faced to make it 3-0. Five different Rays pitchers appeared in the game and all five allowed at least one run with Ericson a brutal 4 4 6 6 3 4 in long relief.

Final Regular Season Record: 99-63. Next up: The ALDS starting at the Trop against either the Yankees or San Antonio.

We'll have a final stats and standings update in the morning.

09-07-2025, 12:26 AM	#1575
Art Deco Hall Of Famer Join Date: May 2020 Posts: 7,622	September 30-October 2, 2039: at Toronto (3) The Rays closed out the regular season by taking 2 of 3 in Toronto, falling just short of the 100-win mark. They were overtaken for MLB's best record by the Mets, who won their final 7 games to finish 100-62 so if the teams meet in the World Series New York will have home-field advantage. Mike Blake had an up-and-down maiden season with the Rays but finished it on an up note, pitching Tampa Bay to a 3-1 win in the opener. Blake finished 11-7, 4.16 after going 6 3 1 1 1 3 and Walt Kelly closed it out for save #28 despite putting a couple of men on. A pair of runs in the 1st featuring a Danny Arroyave RBI double sent them on their way and Salvatore Garza added some insurance with a pinch solo homer (#13/36) in the 9th. Ruben Cerrillo got the ball for his final regular season tuneup before the playoffs and the intent was to have him pitch 5 or 6 innings but instead he took a perfect game into the 8th as the Rays beat Toronto again 3-0. Cerrillo was masterful and only on 77 pitches through 7 before giving up a leadoff single in the 8th to lose the perfecto and immediately departed, finishing 7 1 0 0 0 7 on the day and 14-7, 2.90 on the season. In fact with the outing he overtook teammate Danny Morales (2.95) for the AL ERA title. Walt Kelly came on again for the save (#29) and put three more runners on despite preserving the shutout. Willis Ramirez was the man on offense, supplying an RBI double and a solo homer (#9). The finale was utterly forgettable as the Rays were annihilated by the Jays 15-0. Things started off ominously enough as Sergio Espinoza (8-5) left with two out and two on in the first with what turned out to be a minor back tweak and Chris Ericson immediately gave up a homer to the first man he faced to make it 3-0. Five different Rays pitchers appeared in the game and all five allowed at least one run with Ericson a brutal 4 4 6 6 3 4 in long relief. Final Regular Season Record: 99-63. Next up: The ALDS starting at the Trop against either the Yankees or San Antonio. We'll have a final stats and standings update in the morning.