Game 1:
Well it was a nice win but
Brandon Lowe is hurt again, this time suffering an intercostal strain. Thankfully it's not too serious but it will end his regular season; however, he should be OK for the wild card playoff round. To take his spot,
Brayden Taylor is once again summoned from Durham.
Game 2:
Game 3:
Game 4:
A strange, feast-or-famine series for the Rays who won two games scoring a total of 27 runs and lost the other two scoring a grand total of 1. They remain a game ahead of the Yankees for WC1 and hold the tiebreaker so it's an effective 2-game lead. Sunday's finale win also officially clinched a playoff spot for Tampa Bay, an amazing turnaround after a mid-season fire sale was initially undertaken only to reverse course when the team got hot, and they've stayed hot throughout the second half of the season. Baltimore also officially clinched the division so the Rays will be playing the Yankees in the wild card round, the only question is will be at the Trop or in the Bronx.
Next week: After getting Monday off the Rays will host Minnesota and Toronto for 3 games each to close out the regular season.
Standings going into the final week:
Not shown here are the extent of the wild card races. In the AL Cleveland is 2 games up on Boston while in the NL the Giants are 2 up on Miami (and 4 on Arizona).
Players of the Week:
AL: Luke Raley (TOR), 10-22, 4 HR, 7 RBI
NL: Jordan Walker (STL), 11-28, 3 HR, 9 RBI