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Tampa Bay Rays Series Recap
Series Recap: White Sox at Rays (July 21–23, 2025)
Tampa Bay takes the series, 2–1. You leave St. Pete at 42–61, while the Rays move to 58–45.
Game 1 – Rays 2, White Sox 1 (7/21)
This one was a grind, and it felt winnable the whole way. Tirso Ornelas’ RBI double put you in front early, and Inohan Paniagua battled through traffic (4 BB) to keep Tampa mostly quiet over 6 innings. But a run in the 5th (helped along by a Sox error) tied it, and the Rays finally broke through late with the go-ahead RBI single in the 8th. Offensively: just 3 hits and 12 Ks—McClanahan dictated the night.
Game 2 – White Sox 4, Rays 0 (7/22)
Best all-around game of the series. You struck first immediately: Kyle Teel tripled and scored in the 1st, then Chase Meidroth launched a 2-run homer to give you breathing room. The dagger came in the 9th with a tack-on run.
The story, though, was the pitching:
Jonathan Cannon: 6 IP, 1 H, 0 R, 6 K (worked around 4 walks)
Bullpen trio Eisert / Shuster / Burke finished the shutout
Clean, controlled, and you never let Tampa’s lineup get comfortable.
Game 3 – Rays 5, White Sox 4 (10 innings) (7/23)
A classic “so close” loss. Tampa popped you early with a 3-run 3rd, but you answered right back with a 3-run 4th (key hits from Meidroth and Ornelas, plus productive outs to cash runs). The Rays reclaimed the lead on Taylor Walls’ solo shot, then you punched back again when Edgar Quero tied it with a homer in the 8th.
Extra innings decided it:
In the 10th, you had chances (including speed pressure), but couldn’t push the ghost runner across.
Bottom 10: Walls walked it off with an RBI double to end it.
Series Themes
The kids showed up: Teel (spark plug), Meidroth (impact swing), Quero (huge HR to tie Game 3).
Pitching was good enough to take the set, but you paid for a couple late moments (Game 1’s 8th, Game 3’s extras).
Offense swung between “scrappy” and “stuck.” When you weren’t pressuring with speed/extra bases, Tampa’s arms controlled the tempo.
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