The 2020 (and beyond) Tampa Bay Rays

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The AL version to determine the Rays' ALDS opponent:



And so it will be the 95-win Astros, who made quite the late-inning comeback to advance.

In the NL the winner gets Atlanta:

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A Rose by any other name...



I've run out of superlatives to describe Dave Rose in this saves, but tonight was truly one of his best starts yet and it came when it counted the most. Rose retired the first 22 Astros tonight before giving up a hit and a walk and departing as the Rays took their ALDS opener from Houston 4-0. Paul Mayes was the offense and his bases-clearing double in the 6th was cathartic as Tampa Bay squandered several decent scoring chances beforehand. Steve Swords will try to cut open a 2-0 series lead in tomorrow's game.

In the other ALDS opener:

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A day late, a dollar short...



Unlike yesterday when thanks to Dave Rose and Paul Mayes leaving men on base didn't hurt them, tonight had they plated any one of the 10 runners they stranded the Rays might be heading to Houston up 2-0 in the ALDS. Instead they fell agonizingly short, no more so than in the 9th when they put men on 1st and 3rd for their star player Jesus Avalos only to see him strike out to end the game. Steve Swords initially picked up where Dave Rose left off last night, fanning 7 Astros through 3 scoreless innings, but gave up a 2-run homer in the 4th. The Rays tacked on runs in the 7th and 8th to pull within one but tonight was not to be another Patented Publix Park Comeback. So it'll be Eljiah Whitaker taking the ball at Minute Maid Park in two nights' time.

Elsewhere in DS action:

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All four DSes are tied at a game apiece now:

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A leg up...



Brilliant pitching from Elijah Whitaker and the bullpen bought the Rays a 3-1 win over Houston and a 2-1 series lead. Whitaker allowed a mere 3 hits and nothing else over 4 2/3 before having to leave with minor back spasms, and the bullpen was solid thereafter yielding only an unearned run. Angel Gonzales was the star at the plate, going 3-4 with an RBI single in a 2-run first that got the Rays off to a quick start. Randy Mastropietro will go tomorrow to try and close out the series.

Elsewhere in the ALDS it's advantage Angels:

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Going back to Tampa...



Randy Mastropietro didn't have it today, and Jorge Barraza was a little better but not that much better, so the Rays have been forced into a winner-take-all Game 5 at Publix Park with Dave Rose on the mound. There are much worse situations to be in.

Elsewhere the Angels are already in the ALCS:

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Both NL series are going the distance:

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Delayed but not denied...



The Rays were forced to go the distance to down Houston in the ALDS but thanks to yet another dominant Dave Rose performance and a big 5-run 4th inning they're off to the ALCS to face the Angels. OOTP named David Morales MVP of the series for his shiny batting average but there's no question Rose deserved it, winning 2 games with a combined line of 14 4 1 1 2 18. Also more worthy than Morales was Paul Mayes, who had a homer and 7 RBI, including all 4 RBI in Game 1 and the big hit tonight, a 2-run triple to break it open. Regardless all that matters is the Rays move on, and Steve Swords will pitch Game 1 at Publix Park.

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Atlanta spoiled a possible Battle of Pennsylvania matchup in the NLCS:



Meanwhile you'll notice Pittsburgh's top player today was Nick Villafana. What you don't know is how good Villafana is. Just look at these ratings:



This might be the best player I've seen OOTP put together - he was a rookie this year and earned 11.4 WAR! Here's hoping the Rays don't have to face him in the World Series.

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Won, then lost, then won again...



The Rays took Game 1 of the ALCS from the Angels but it wasn't easy thanks to some more bullpen shenanigans. Steve Swords was excellent but not efficient, so they needed four innings from the pen. The first two went swimmingly but two relievers who've been up and down this year, Dave Flores and closer Mario Berumen, conspired to allow 2 runs in the 8th to let LA equalize. And after Jose Machado came off the bench in the bottom of the inning to deliver an RBI single to restore the Tampa Bay advantage, Berumen ran into more trouble by putting two more men on with two out and he finally got the hook in favor of Devin Tadlock, who retired the dangerous Ruben Cummings to end the game. Eljiah Whitaker will be tomorrow's starter as the Rays look to head out west halfway to the World Series.

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Whoa oh, we're halfway there...



The Rays are up 2-0 on the Angels in the ALCS thanks to a old-school Publix Park slugfest win, 9-6. They took a 3-1 lead just like yesterday and also just like yesterday that lead evaporated although this time it was an unusually bad game from Elijah Whitaker as he gave up a pair of 2-run homers in the 5th to put his club behind. But the Rays immediately answered in the bottom of the frame on a 2-run Vinny Colon double and a 2-run Aaron White homer, and the bullpen was better today with five relievers holding the fort and former Angel closer Jake Cid finishing it out for Tampa Bay. Now we have a chance to take an imposing 3-0 lead with ace Dave Rose on the mound in Anaheim.

Meanwhile the NLCS got underway with a familiar name having a big day:



Yes the Lee who led Pittsburgh to victory is none other than Kang-cheol Lee, our 3B to start the year who lost his job to rookie sensation Paul Mayes and was dealt as part of the big mid-season makeover. Lee was 2-4 with a homer and 3 RBI for the 'topes.

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Like the Rays, Pittsburgh is up 2-0 in their LCS but unlike Tampa Bay the Isotopes have done it on the road.

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Pretty much there...



Unlike the two games at Publix Park the Angels didn't put up much resistance at home in Game 3, which saw Dave Rose dominate again and the Rays turn the bases into turnstiles as they scored 9 runs on 14 hits and only one of them came via the homer. That homer came from Dave Gonzalez and he had probably the best overall day at the plate among many to choose from, going 2-3 with the homer, 2 walks and 3 RBI. We're going to throw a curve (figuratively and literally I guess) and start Jorge Barraza instead of Randy Mastropietro tomorrow in an attempt to end this series quickly.

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That was quick...



The Rays claimed their 23rd AL pennant and will hope for their 20th world championship (yes, they're 19-3 all-time in the World Series) after making quick work of the LA Angels with another convincing 9-3 win in Game 4. The Jorge Barraza experiment didn't work that well as now he and Mastropietro have put up lousy starts as the Game 4 guy, so we'll see who gets the call in the Series, but that was the only thing that didn't work as the bats scored 9 runs for the third straight game. Vinny Colon was voted series MVP but the funny thing is that he barely played in the ALDS because we mostly faced lefties and his platoon mate Angel Gonzales is 10-16 with 2 walks this postseason and it was Gonzales' 3-run pinch-hit homer that truly put tonight's game to bed.

And it's looking all but a certainty that our opponent in the Fall Classic will be the Pittsburgh Isotopes after they went up 3-0 today:



Aside from old friend Kang-cheol Lee we'll also be likely facing the biggest phenom in baseball over the last many years in Nick Villafana, whom I wrote about a little while back.

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And it's sweeps all around:



For the second straight day the 'topes sent their fans home in a frenzy with a walk-off homer, today it was pinch-hitter Alex Vazquez. If the guy with the #1 performance looks familiar it's because he was in our bullpen for a couple of seasons until recently. Atlanta made Dalton a starter this season and it was an inspired move as he went 11-6, 3.37 and pitched well tonight but got no support from his bullpen.

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What drama...



Rookie Henry Dominguez will now always get to say he hit a walk-off homer in the World Series as the rookie's 2-run blast in the bottom of the gave the Rays the most dramatic of wins over Pittsburgh 6-4 to take a 1-0 lead. Tampa Bay had to overcome a rare off night from Dave Rose, who had issues with both his command and the longball, putting his team in a 3-0 hole. For a little while it looked like the Game 1 narrative would be Kang Cheol-Lee's revenge as the Rays' 3B to start the season before being dealt singled in a run and homered off Rose. But the Rays responded with a 4-run 4th highlighted by Dantel Chinchilla's bases-clearing double and although Pittsburgh got another round-tripper off Rose to tie it, Dominguez made sure that would all be academic. Steve Swords will go in Game 2 tomorrow.

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All tied up...



Pittsburgh pitching led by Sean Holland was masterful as they squelched the Rays' bats in a 3-1 Isotopes win to even the World Series at 1. Paul Mayes' leadoff double in the 6th was the first hit for Tampa Bay and he didn't score - nor did Jesus Avalos after a leadoff triple in the 7th, and that was as good as things got although they did get a run back in the 8th. A fine start from Steve Swords was wasted as a result and Elijah Whitaker will hope for more support in Game 3 at PNC Park in Pittsburgh.

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Phew...



Thanks to Joel Bland's solo homer leading off the 11th and Paul Mayes' insurance RBI double which a claim was filed on, the Rays avoided the ignominy of blowing a 5-1 lead and falling behind 2-1 in the World Series to Pittsburgh. Instead they're up 2-1 thanks to more late-game heroics. It looked like Dantel Chinchilla's 3-run homer to make it 4-1 (and Vinny Colon's solo shot to make it 5-1) would be enough with Elijah Whitaker on the mound but he suddenly couldn't get anyone out in the 6th and for the second straight game Adan Guardado was more trouble than help, allowing the last two of Whitaker's runners to score to tie the game. Fortunately the bullpen was stellar the rest of the way with Mario Berumen fanning 6 in 2 innings including 3 straight in the bottom of the 9th after giving up a leadoff double. Even the much-maligned Dave Flores came through with a perfect 10th and got the win, although a tired Jake Cid (who has now appeared in all 3 games) gave up a solo homer in the bottom of the 11th. So we'll try Jorge Barraza again tomorrow in Game 4, hopefully he'll have more success against the lefty-heavy Isotopes lineup.

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We'll be playing in Tampa...



The Isotopes got the two-out hit in the 9th when they needed it and the Rays didn't, and that was the difference today as Pittsburgh evened up the series at 2 after a 4-3 walk-off win. In the top of the inning Aaron White stole second and went to third on the bad throw, but Paul Mayes (who had earlier got the Rays back into the game with a 2-run homer) flew out to center while in the bottom of the inning Jake Cid (appearing once again) gave up a 2-out single then a double down the line to lose it. The choice of Jorge Barraza was a disaster as he gave up 3 runs without recording an out to start the game but the bullpen was heroic after that, shutting down Pittsburgh until they scored off Cid in the 9th. So at least we'll have our ace Dave Rose going tomorrow and hopefully he'll pitch better than he did in Game 1, but this series is now going at least 6 games and given how close all 4 games have been so far a 7-gamer wouldn't surprise me.

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Against the wall...



There's a good chance - especially if this series goes the full 7 (which I now hope it will) - this will go down as one of the great World Series of all-time as every game has been a nail-biter. Unfortunately it didn't go Tampa Bay's way tonight as again like last night the inability to come up with a big hit cost them. Dave Rose was much better tonight than in Game 1 but he still had some control issues against this Pittsburgh lineup which drove up his pitch count and after no-hitting them through 4 he ran out of gas in the 6th and stayed in one batter too long, giving up a game-tying 2-run single to that man again, Kang-cheol Lee. And 2-2 is where we stayed until the telltale 11th. In the top of the inning the Rays got runners on 2nd and 3rd with nobody out and a golden chance to go ahead, only to hit a shallow fly ball and strike out twice. And a bullpen that was pushed hard all series finally broke with Erik Witten pressed into duty and he loaded the bases with nobody out in the bottom of the inning (not helped by an Aaron White error) and then gave up the game-winning sac fly. So it's back to Tampa and Steve Swords will hope to duplicate his Game 2 performance while the hitters will not.