The 2022 (and beyond) Tampa Bay Rays

[Art Deco]

January 1: Veteran closer Edwin Diaz is taking his talents to South Beach as he inked a 1-year, $8.9M deal with the Marlins. He's slipped a bit with ERAs of 4.25 and 5.43 the last two seasons and he may not even be Miami's closer as they also signed Raisel Iglesias to a 2/21 deal.

January 2: Our first big free agent signing of the winter, and it's a familiar face:



Is it an overpay? Probably. We also had to give him a no-trade clause which could be problematic. But he's been one of, if not the, best relievers in the league the last three years, saving 82 games and earning 7 WAR. Yes he has the occasional maddening stretch where he blows a couple of saves but he's been pretty good and with all the other defections from the pen we needed him back. To make room for Fairbanks on the 40-man we DFA'd Brett Wisely.

And one of those defectors landed elsewhere as lefty Josh Taylor signed a 3/22 deal with the Mets.

January 4: Former Ray Yonny Chirinos surfaced in Houston on a 1/1.8 deal.

January 6: Another veteran closer found a new home as the recently-itinerant Kenley Jansen went to the Yankees for 1/3.4 after saving 31 games between the Reds and Mets last year albeit with a bloated ERA.

January 8: Longtime Dodger Brusdar Graterol was shipped to the Mets for veteran catcher Tomas Nido and a minor leaguer.

January 9: Another former Ray is on the move as SS Willy Adames signed up with the White Sox for 3/27. We still have Rasmussen and Feyereisen from our Adames trade in 2021 and it made room for Wander so that worked out.

January 12: Claimed 1B/OF James Wood on waivers from the Chicago White Sox.

Willy Adames continues to bring us players as to make room for him on the 40-man the White Sox waived Wood, a serious power prospect, and we were glad to pick him up. Although we have tens of millions of $ burning a hole in our pocket this winter our new acquisitions have either been in trade (Cartaya) or free (Lonnie White and now Wood).



He has big-time power and earned 3.5 WAR between AA/AAA last year and can either play 1B or the OF corners between 50 and 60 defensively. Not sure where he fits in yet but since 1B/LF/RF are in flux for us he has a shot and if not he has two option years left. To make room for Wood on the 40-man we're DFAing Josh Fleming, who's been with the organization for several years and will stay if he clears.

January 14: The Hall of Fame balloting is in:



A lot of guys came close (Ichiro agonizingly so) but only Adrian Beltre cleared 75% so congrats to him, a deserving selection. Sayonara to Manny Ramirez, who was never going to get over the hump. The new class underwhelmed the electorate with Ryan Braun's paltry 17.5% their best showing.

January 21: A couple of the top free agent starters put their signatures on paper with Michael Kopech headed to Baltimore for 6/55 and Ranger Suarez went to Texas for 4/85. Also the oft-injured Carlos Rodon signed a 1/2.6 deal with St. Louis which could be good if he actually stays healthy for more than a month at a time, as we found out in 2024 before shipping him off to Houston in the Kyle Tucker deal.

January 24: Austin Slater, who turned himself from a fourth outfielder into a semi-decent starter, signed a 4/52 seal with Oakland.

January 25: Noah Syndergaard, no longer the pitcher he once was, rejoined former Mets running mate Jacob deGrom with the Yankees on a modest 1/1.5 contract.

January 28: Jesse Winker, one of the biggest names left on the free agent market, joined the Mets on a 4/98 deal.

February 1:





Welcome back Tanner Scott! We needed a lefty back in the pen to go with Jovani Moran and Scott has been pretty reliable for us the last couple of seasons with ERAs of 2.58 and 2.87, and the price was right. To make room for Scott on the 40-man, we DFA'd Ian Seymour.

February 14: Ryan Pressly has found a new home, remaining in the division with the Yankees on a 2/8.3 deal. Hopefully he pitches like he did in the second half with us last year when we face him.

February 19: Old friend Austin Meadows parlayed a bounce-back year with Kansas City into a 4/57 deal with the White Sox.

February 21: Big trade time!



Our bullpen makeover is complete, although since we re-signed Fairbanks and Scott it wasn't quite that dramatic. But anyway we got one of the top closers in baseball in Hendriks, even if he is getting long in the tooth at 37. He had 44 saves last year for the Marlins with 1.5 WAR, rated 70 for stuff and 70 for control (albeit 45 for movement as he will give up some homers here and there, 9 in 71 IP last season). He will take Ryan Pressly's role as the RH setup guy and sometimes closer. The cost was Ramos, who had a nice couple of months to start 2023 for us and wound up a fixture at Durham. With our OF wide open this year he was going to get another look, but he's out of options and we already have to keep Rule 5 draftee Lonnie White, so he was likely the odd man out anyway. We still have $33M to spend but this year's version of Kyle Tucker or Juan Soto isn't out there to rent so we'll have to mix and match on offense a bit more and see what opens up during the season.

February 22: Eugenio Suarez has moved on to Minnesota on a 2/16 deal, and starter Tyler Mahle is going to see his ERA rise after signing for 4/68 with the Rockies.

March 2: The Phillies acquired veteran starter Sandy Alcantara from Miami for a shortstop prospect.

March 19: OF Teoscar Hernandez joins Boston on a 1/3.3 deal.

March 24: Veteran slugger Kyle Schwarber joined the Mariners on a one-year deal for $3.2M.

[Art Deco]

Made it through spring training unscathed, and to get the roster down to 27 we made a trade:



Lewis, while possessing an excellent glove, can't really hit and was out of options and we have Brooks Lee and Alika Williams on the 40-man as well to summon should we have another run of MI injuries like last year (let's hope not). Sasaki doesn't look like he has a real MLB future. Meanwhile we acquire a potentially useful OF in Head:



He has a good glove and was worth 3.9 WAR last year in the minors, a leadoff type albeit a bit low on contact. He'll start the year at Durham.

We also have to waive Ps Ian Seymour and Chase Lee, but both cleared and went to Durham as well. This leaves the following Opening Day roster:

C-Cartaya, Vazquez
1B-Vaughn
2B-Albies
SS-Franco
3B-Schmitt
IF-J.Jackson, Mead
LF-Wood
CF-DeLoach
RF-Mears
DH-Ozuna
OF-L.White

SP-McClanahan, L.Castillo, Rasmussen, Swanda, Bradley
LR-Whitley, Sears
MR-T.Scott, Feyereisen, Gau, C.White
SU-Moran, Hendriks
CL-Fairbanks

Sandy Gaston and JJ Goss were the last cuts off the staff. As far as the lineups go, Wood is going to platoon with Mead with Vaughn moving to LF against lefties, and White may spell DeLoach in CF against some tough lefties and will be used as a defensive replacement.

Unsurprisingly without a Tucker/Soto-type in the lineup the preseason predictions don't like us much:



The good news is that the AL East is seen to be weak, and I don't ever remember underperforming the preseason picks.

[Art Deco]

Transaction: We signed former Ray Manuel Margot, who played for us from 2020-22, to a minor league deal with a major league option to give us another CF option.

Opening Day:



Well the big worry coming into 2026 would be whether the new-look lineup sans a superstar like Soto or Tucker could score enough runs, and Opening Day was far from an encouraging sign in that department. Former Ray Jonathan Loaisiga shut them out on 6 hits and although Shane McClanahan pitched well, he put two men on only for Christopher Gau to come in and immediately give up a 3-run homer to Gabriel Moreno to put the game out of reach.

Game 2: 8-12 L. LP-Castillo (0-1, 5 3 6 6 5 2, 2 HR). HR-Schmitt (1). The good news - we exploded for 8 runs. The bad news - we gave up 12. Luis Castillo walked 5 and gave up 2 homers, a bad combination, and the bullpen was equally horrible letting Toronto score every time they got back in it with Feyereisen's 4 runs allowed in one inning the worst of the lot. Albies drove in 4 including a bases-clearing double.

Game 3: 3-5 L. LP-Rasmussen (0-1, 6 6 5 5 0 6, 2 HR). HR-Schmitt (2), Cartaya (1). Rays actually held their first lead of the year, 3-2 after 2, but it obviously didn't last as they were held to only 3 hits on the day and shut out after the 1st.

Game 4: 5-4 W. WP-White (1-0). S-Hendriks (1). Starter-Swanda (6 5 3 1 1 5). HR-Ozuna (1), Franco (1), Albies (1). A win! It almost wasn't one on a couple of occasions though as after the first two men reached in the 7th for Toronto on errors with the Rays up 2-1, another Rays reliever was hit for a 3-run homer as Jovani Moran gave up a Bo Bichette blast to put the Jays up 4-2. Then after a 2-run Wander homer and an Albies shot back-to-back restored the lead in the 8th, Liam Hendriks got the first save call of the year, only to allow a double and then with two out a single to center but Zach DeLoach threw the runner out at the plate to end the game. But when it's your first of the season a win is a win.

Team record: 1-3. Next up: Houston and Kyle Tucker visit for 3 games.

[Art Deco]

Game 1: 4-5 L. LP-Bradley (0-1, 6 9 5 5 0 3). Taj was hit for 5 runs in the first two innings and although he settled in after that the damage was done. Schmitt had a 2-run double and Vaughn was 2-3 with a double, triple and RBI.

Game 2: 3-8 L. LP-McClanahan (0-2, 6 7 7 6 1 5, 2 HR). HR-Albies (2). Like Bradley yesterday Mac was hit hard early, giving up 6 in the first 3 innings as the miserable start to 2026 continues. All 3 Rays runs came on an Albies homer, he now has 8 RBI in the first 6 games as one of the few on the team producing.

Game 3: 4-3 W. WP-Castillo (1-1, 5.2 6 3 3 0 4). S-Fairbanks (1). HR-Franco (2). Finally a win and finally a win from a starter. The pen was outstanding, holding Houston hitless over the final 3 1/3. Schmitt's RBI double and Wander's homer were the big hits but the winner came courtesy of an Albies sac fly, his 9th RBI already which is 2nd-best in the AL.

Team record: 2-5. Next up: We'll try to get right against the White Sox, who visit for 3.

[Art Deco]

Game 1: 5-4 W. WP-Fairbanks (1-0). Starter-Rasmussen (5 4 3 3 3 5). Rays won consecutive games for the first time this year. After coming back from down 3-0 to go ahead 4-3, Liam Hendriks gave up a tying homer in the 8th but Mears saved his bacon with a walk-off RBI double in the 9th. DeLoach was 3-3 with 2 walks, a double and an RBI.

Game 2: 12-4 W. WP-Swanda (1-0, 5 6 4 4 3 4). HR-DeLoach (1), Wood (1), Franco (3), Mead (1). Curtis Mead got a chance to start and ran with it, going 4-5 with a double, homer and 4 RBI while Diego Cartaya had 4 hits and an RBI as the Rays finally won comfortably.

Game 3: 2-0 W. WP-Bradley (1-1, 6.1 3 0 0 0 6). S-Fairbanks (2). HR-DeLoach (2). Taj pitched a gem after a rough season debut and they hung on despite Fairbanks loading the bases in the 9th. Zach DeLoach is off to a blinding start at 394/487/606 as he finally gets the opportunity to play every day.

Team record: 5-5. After winning four straight we're only 1/2 behind the Yankees for the division lead. Next up: An off-day then our first road trip of the season begins with 3 in Oakland.

[Art Deco]

Game 1: 3-2 W (10). WP-Hendriks (1-0). S-Fairbanks (3). Starter-McClanahan (5 4 0 0 3 5). HR-Schmitt (3). Schmitt's 10th-inning homer won it for the Rays, who lost a 2-0 lead in regulation but still made it 5 straight triumphs.

Game 2: 4-2 W. WP-Castillo (2-1, 7 4 2 2 3 5). S-Fairbanks (4). HR-DeLoach (3). Zach DeLoach was 2-3 with 2 walks and a game-leading off homer as he's now 390/490/659 to start the year. Fairbanks loaded the bases in the 9th but escaped.

Game 3: 3-9 L. LP-Rasmussen (0-2, 4.1 9 4 3 0 2). HR-Mears (1), Franco (4). Rays pitching was brutal in this one with all four hurlers allowing at least one run after they took an early 3-0 lead in the 3rd on the homers as their 6-game win streak was snapped.

Team record: 7-6, actually tops in the AL East now. Next up: After flying from Tampa to Oakland we turn around and fly all the way to Boston where we'll play 4. The schedule maker is apparently employed by the airline industry.

[Art Deco]

Game 1: 3-5 L. LP-Swanda (1-1, 3.1 5 5 5 5 5). HR-Franco (5). Never a good thing when you're a pitcher with a lot of 5s in your line and that was Swanda tonight.

Time for a big trade:



Welcome to Tampa Bay, Tork! Detroit seemed eager to get rid of him and his $11.3M salary won in arbitration so with money available and the need for a thumper in the lineup, we were glad to oblige. The cost wasn't particularly high with as Margot came in on a minor league deal and was playing at Durham, as was Bello who never lived up to his promise. Lorenzo is a 1/2-star "make it work" guy. Torkelson has hit 141 HR over the last 4 years with the Tigers and while he's not Juan Soto or Kyle Tucker, he will be a boost to the offense. He'll play LF for us as Curtis Mead has gotten red-hot and reclaimed the 1B job from Andrew Vaughn, who will lose the most at-bats as a result. To make room for Tork on the active roster, rookie James Wood who was 3-for-30 with 1 homer was optioned to Durham.

Game 2: 18-1 W. WP-Bradley (2-1, 6 5 1 1 2 6). HR-Ozuna (2), Franco (6), Albies (3), Vaughn (1). The Tork effect? Spencer Torkelson made his Rays debut and although he didn't drive in any of their 18 runs, he was 2-3 with 2 walks and scored 5 runs. His walk started a 4-run rally in the 2nd and they just keep hitting and scoring from there. Ozuna drove in 5 on the night including a 3-run homer, Vaughn had a 3-run shot off the bench and Wander was 3-6 with 2 RBI, homering for the third straight game.

Game 3: 5-1 W. WP-McClanahan (1-2, 5 5 0 0 2 8). HR-Mead 2 (3), Vaughn (2). Mac was excellent even if it took him 95 pitches to get through 5 and Curtis Mead remained toasty with 2 HR and is now hitting 439/477/805. Jeremiah Jackson gave Wander a breather and contributed a 2-run double.

Game 4: 2-3 L. LP-Castillo (2-2, 6 9 3 3 0 6). HR-Ozuna (3). A tough one as the Rays couldn't get much offense going after scoring 23 runs over the previous two nights. Ozuna had a solo homer and an RBI single for the lone Rays runs, with the latter coming in the 9th. Tork was 2-3 with a walk.

Team record: 9-8, 1/2 game up in first. Next up: After flying from Oakland to Boston we fly back across the country to LA to play 3 against the 14-3 Angels, which is nobody's idea of fun.

[Art Deco]

Game 1: 1-5 L. LP-Rasmussen (0-3, 6 5 3 2 3 6). Ras pitched well in the loss but Rays' bats were held to 6 hits with only DeLoach, who doubled and tripled, worthy of mention.

Game 2: 4-0 W. WP-Swanda (2-1, 6 6 0 0 1 6). HR-Torkelson (1/5), Mears (2). Swanda was outstanding and Tork hit his first Rays homer, a solo shot to get them on the board. Schmitt was 3-4 with a 2-run double and Mears added a solo shot.

Game 3: 3-8 L. LP-Bradley (2-2, 3 8 6 6 1 6). Despite piling up the whiffs, Taj was rocked and gave up a pair of homers and this one got out of hand early.

Team record: 10-10. Next up: Back home for 3 vs Boston.

MLB News: In the series opener LA's superstar Mike Trout ruptured a finger tendon and will be lost for 4 months. Also we had this:



You might be thinking, yeah 3 HR in a game is nice but it happens probably 8-10 times a year so what's the big deal? But if you look at Kinney's season stat line at the bottom you'll see the 3 HR are his only stats and in fact those 3 HR came in Kinney's MLB debut, something that my limited research shows has never been done (the best I can find is that Bert Campaneris hit a pair of HRs in his debut in the 60s). Kinney of course was the key prospect we sent to the Rangers last year in the deal to acquire SP Luis Castillo. (This also makes the AI-generated quote in the blurb about him always having loved to hit at Guaranteed rate funny).

[Art Deco]

Game 1: 3-4 L (11). LP-Fairbanks (1-1). Starter-McClanahan (3 5 3 3 3 4). HR-Franco (7), Albies (4). Rays came back from 3-0 down but after Franco and Albies homered to tie it in the 3rd they couldn't get anything going on offense after that, managing only 5 hits through 11 innings and Boston broke through against Fairbanks in the 11th largely due to his own error.

Game 2: 4-1 W. WP-Castillo (3-2, 7 7 0 0 0 9). HR-Torkelson (2/6). Luis Castillo pitched his best game of the season and Tork drove in 3 with a 2-run single and solo homer to supply Castillo's support.

Game 3: 8-4 W. WP-Rasmussen (1-3, 5 5 2 2 2 5). HR-Torkelson 2 (4/8). Tork was at it again, going 3-5 with a double, 2 homers and 2 RBI while Wander was 3-5 with 3 RBI.

Team record: 12-11, 1 1/2 behind New York. Next up: An off-day then 3 big early season games at Yankee Stadium.

MLB News: April's monthly awards were handed out. Players: AL-Vlad Jr (TOR) .400-6-22; NL-Ronald Acuna (ATL) .348-11-21. Pitchers: AL-Matt Brash (SEA) 3-0, 0.94; NL-Max Meyer (MIA) 3-0, 1.06.

Also Devin Williams signed a whopping 1-year, $20M contract with the Yankees in this year's version of OOTP's quirk where a star reliever goes through ST unsigned and inks a whopping 1-year deal with someone.

[Art Deco]

Game 1: 2-5 L. LP-Swanda (2-2, 5 5 5 3 1 4). HR-Torkelson (5/9). Swanda (and the defense) put them in a 5-0 hole after 2 from which they couldn't recover.

Game 2: 15-4 W. WP-Bradley (3-2, 5.1 3 1 1 2 9). HR-Mears (3), Franco (8), Schmitt (4), Torkelson (6/10), DeLoach (4). Taj was great and he was handed a huge lead thanks to Mears' 4 RBI on a homer and single and an early 3-run shot from Wander. Tork homered for the fourth straight game as well.

Game 3: 4-5 L. LP-Moran (0-1). Starter-McClanahan (6 5 3 3 0 8). This was a tough loss to swallow as the Rays took a 3-0 lead in the 1st, saw Mac give up three solo homers (including a pair to former Ray Juan Soto) to let New York tie, had Albies single in a run in the 7th to put them back up, only for Jovani Moran to give up a 2-run homer to a lefty to lose it in the 8th. Also they scored the 3 runs in the 1st with nobody out and had the bases loaded but blew their chance to really break it open.

Team record: 13-13. Next up: An off-day then back home for 3 vs Texas.

[Art Deco]

Game 1: 5-4 W. WP-Gau (1-0). S-Fairbanks (5). Starter-Castillo (5 7 4 4 2 2). HR-Cartaya (2), Albies (5). Albies' 2-run homer in the 7th won it for the Rays, who trailed 3-0 before Cartaya's 3-run shot tied it in the 5th.

Game 2: 2-4 L. LP-Moran (0-2). Starter-Rasmussen (5 6 2 1 1 5). Jovani Moran gave up a 2-run homer to David Garcia in the 9th to lose it.

Game 3: 9-3 W. WP-Whitley (1-0). Starter-Swanda (4.1 6 3 3 3 7, 3 HR). HR-Schmitt (5), Cartaya (3). Rays broke open a close one late, going up 4-3 in the 5th on a 2-run Albies double and getting some breathing room with a 2-run Cartaya shot. Casey Schmitt added a 2-run triple after an earlier solo homer.

Team record: 15-14. Next up: Oakland visits for 3.

Forgot to mention in the previous post that Spencer Torkelson was last week's AL Player of the Week, going 8-24 with 5 homers.

[Art Deco]

Game 1: 9-8 W. WP-Feyereisen (1-0). Starter-Bradley (6 8 4 4 0 6). HR-Ozuna 2 (5), Torkelson (7/11). The bullpen blew an 8-4 lead in this game with Fairbanks giving up a pair in the 9th but Tork came to the rescue with a walk-off blast leading off the bottom of the 9th. Albies drove in 3 with a double and triple and Ozuna had his best game as a Ray, knocking in 3 with a pair of homers.

Game 2: 5-2 W. WP-McClanahan (2-2, 5.2 7 1 1 2 9). S-Hendriks (2). HR-Mead (4). After starting the season out of the lineup Curtis Mead has forced his way into it and was 3-4 tonight with the homer and 2 RBI. He's now hitting 370/419/600 and is 2nd in the AL in BA.

Game 3: 4-5 L. LP-Fairbanks (1-2). Starter-Castillo (7.2 7 3 3 2 9). HR-Torkelson (8/12). A gut-punch loss which saw a 4-1 lead lost when Castillo gave up 2 in the 8th on a homer before leaving and then Fairbanks blow the save again in the 9th in large part due to his own fielding error, nearly getting out of 2nd and 3rd with nobody out before giving up a 2-out 2-run single. To add injury to insult Diego Cartaya strained an oblique and will be out 5 weeks but it's good timing for Christian Vazquez who had sent me a PM demanding a spot in the lineup.

Team record: 17-15, 1 1/2 behind the Yankees. Next up: Boston comes to the Trop for 4 games.

[Art Deco]

Transaction: Diego Cartaya goes on the 10-day IL with his strained oblique and last year's backup Rene Pinto is recalled to be this year's.

Game 1: 5-0 W. WP-Rasmussen (2-3, 5.2 3 0 0 2 6). HR-Franco (9). Ras & the pen got it done and Wander had a huge game, going 3-4 with the homer and 3 RBI.

Game 2: 2-4 L. LP-Swanda (2-3, 5 6 4 1 3 7). HR-Mears (4). Swanda's own error led to 3 unearned runs in the 5th and the bats were held to 3 hits with Mears' 2-run shot the sum total of the offense.

Game 3: 7-5 W. WP-Bradley (4-2, 6.1 4 3 1 1 6). S-Fairbanks (6). HR-Mead (5). It was a 4-2 game after 6 and while the Rays and their pen kept giving up runs, they kept tacking them on as well so they hung on to win. Mead & Ozuna drove in a pair and everyone in the lineup got a hit except Mears, who walked twice. After getting the big contract in the offseason Fairbanks was shaky yet again and despite a respectable 2.84 ERA he's given up 15 hits and 10 walks in 12.1 IP so far with 2 blown saves and 2 losses.

Game 4: 2-0 W. WP-McClanahan (3-2, 7 1 0 0 2 6). S-Hendriks (3). HR-Ozuna (6), L.White (1). Mac was spotless and he got homers from Ozuna and Rule 5 guy Lonnie White, his first MLB longball. The win moved the Rays into first place for the first time this season.

Team record: 20-16, 1/2 game up on the Yankees and 1 on Toronto. Next up: The homestand concludes with 3 against Washington.

[Art Deco]

Game 1: 4-5 L. LP-Castillo (3-3, 5 5 3 3 3 5). HR-Ozuna (7). Castillo gave up a 3-run homer to Jorge Soler in the 5th and the Rays would fall behind 5-1 before Ozuna's 3-run shot in the 9th made the score close.

Game 2: 1-2 L. LP-Rasmussen (2-4, 8 5 2 2 1 7). HR-Torkelson (9/13). Rays wasted a brilliant start from Ras thanks to an almost total lack of offense.

Game 3: 1-5 L. LP-Swanda (2-4, 4.2 5 4 4 4 4). Swanda's line shouldn't have been as bad it was but he left a 1-1 game in the 5th with the bases loaded and Chris Gau immediately gave up a Judson Fabian grand slam. Just when it seemed the team had turned a corner, they get swept at home by a mediocre Nationals team and outside of a consolation 3-run homer in the opener they scored only 3 runs in the 3 games.


Team record: 20-19. We've dropped to third in the AL East but are only 1 game behind the leading Yankees (1/2 behind 2nd place Toronto). Next up: An off-day then we head to Miami to play 3 against our cross-state rival Marlins.

MLB News: The Angels' Dylan Cease's season has ceased as the starter will miss the rest of the year with shoulder inflammation. Meanwhile the Cards gave 2B Tommy Edman a 5/100 extension.

[Art Deco]

Game 1: 2-1 W. WP-McClanahan (4-2, 7 5 1 1 0 4). S-Fairbanks (7). Another stellar outing from Mac and RBI hits from Tork and Schmitt in the first inning stood up. Fairbanks struck out the side in the 9th for the save, bouncing back from a couple of blown ones.

Game 2: 0-3 L. LP-Bradley (4-3, 4.2 6 3 3 2 3). Our offensive woes continue. We did bang out 7 hits and draw 4 walks, but all the hits were singles and we grounded into three double plays.

Game 3: 4-5 L. LP-Scott (0-1). Starter-Castillo (5.2 6 4 4 5 3). HR-Ozuna (8). Ozuna's 3-run homer in the top of the 6th put the Rays ahead 4-3 but Castillo was awful in the bottom of the inning, loading the bases and walking in a man to let the Marlins equalize, then a Wander error in the 7th was the primary culprit in allowing the winner to come home. Loaded the bases in the 9th but Wander capped a horrible day (0-5 and the key error) by grounding out to end the game.

Team record: 21-21, 3rd in the East 1 1/2 behind the Yankees. Next up: 3 games in Atlanta, which sports an identical record to ours.

[Art Deco]

Game 1: 2-4 L. LP-Rasmussen (2-5, 3.2 7 4 4 2 1). HR-Ozuna (9). Ozuna's 2-run homer in the 2nd gave the Rays a short-lived lead and they didn't manage another hit until the 9th inning totaling three in all as the offense continues to struggle.

Game 2: 3-5 L. LP-Swanda (2-5, 3.2 5 4 4 4 5). HR-DeLoach (5). The Rays drop 2 games below .500 after another loss that featured a struggling start and lousy hitting. It wasn't until the final two innings they put 3 runs on the board to make it a game at the end, albeit for naught.

Game 3: 3-0 W. WP-Gau (2-0). S-Fairbanks (8). Starter-McClanahan (5 4 0 0 2 5, 96 pitches). HR-J.Jackson (1). Rays snapped a 4-game losing streak thanks to a fine start from Mac, 2 scoreless from Gau, and shaky scoreless innings from Hendriks and Fairbanks which saw them each put three men on base. Ozzie Albies had to miss his return to Atlanta with a back strain and his fill-in Jeremiah Jackson had the big hit, a 2-run homer in the 7th after Casey Schmitt singled in a run to break a scoreless tie.

Team record: 22-23, still only 1 1/2 out of first in a fortunately (for the Rays) mediocre AL East. Next up: Back home for a pair vs the Phillies.

MLB News: Former Rays lefty reliever Josh Taylor, who signed with the Yankees this past winter, is done for the season with a torn labrum.

[Art Deco]

Game 1: 10-4 W. WP-C.White (2-0). Starter-Bradley (5 5 4 3 1 7). HR-Mears (5), Mead (6), Franco (10). Rays fell behind 4-0 early and with the way they'd been hitting lately it looked like lights out, but it was the Tampa Bay bats which were lights out and Mead's 3-run homer put them up 5-4 and they piled on from there.

Game 2: 5-8 L. LP-Castillo (3-4, 4 4 6 5 3 1). HR-Vazquez (1), Torkelson (10/14), Franco (11). Tork's 3-run homer put them up 4-3 in the 3rd but Luis Castillo has just been miserable this season and he couldn't hold the lead. Tanner Scott coughed up a key 3-run homer to Bryce Harper which turned the game with Castillo's men on in the 5th.

Team record: 23-24. Next up: 2 more against these Phillies, but at Citizens Bank Park.

MLB News: Phillies starter Eduardo Rodriguez left the second game after 2 innings, and it turns out he tore his labrum and is done for the year.

[Art Deco]

Game 1: 9-4 W. WP-Gau (3-0). Starter-Rasmussen (5.1 7 3 3 1 2). HR-J.Jackson (2). This was a scoreless game until the 5th when the Rays went up 1-0 and then blew a 4-0 lead by allowing 4 in the 6th as Gau gave up a 2-run homer, but he got the win when Tampa Bay bounced back with 3 in the 7th with Vaughn's 2-run single the big hit. Jackson and Mead also knocked in a pair.

Game 2: 8-4 W. WP-Swanda (3-5, 5 5 4 4 2 4). HR-Torkelson (11/15), Albies (6), DeLoach (6). Similar story to yesterday: Rays blew a 3-0 when Swanda gave up 4 in the 3rd but the Rays got 2 in the 6th with Lonnie White's RBI single breaking the deadlock and they kept tacking on from there. They ended up taking 3 of 4 from Philly home and away and scored 32 runs in the process after barely being able to generate any offense the couple of weeks before.

Team record: 25-24. The Yankees swept their series so the Rays are still 2 1/2 back. Next up: 3 games in Minnesota, where the Twins have the same 25-24 record as us.

Rays News: Josh Lowe, who has been out since mid-September with a broken bone in his elbow, started a rehab assignment at Durham this week. When he's ready to come back someone's going to have to be the odd man out and with Lonnie White a Rule 5 guy that likely means Andrew Vaughn, a free agent at year's end and who's played his way onto the bench, will probably be dealt.

[Art Deco]

Game 1: 6-3 W. WP-McClanahan (5-2). S-Fairbanks (9). HR-Albies (7). Albies' 2-run homer in the 5th turned a 3-2 deficit into a 4-3 lead and they went to win from there. Spencer Torkelson strained an ab and will go on the IL but should hopefully be back after 10 days. Meanwhile Fairbanks got yet another save despite allowing 3 hits; he's allowed 23 hits in 16.2 IP thanks to an absurd .537 BABIP, never seen anything like it.

Transaction: Tork goes on the IL and Josh Lowe comes back from his rehab assignment a few games early, ready to make his season debut. Diego Cartaya has also joined Durham to start a rehab assignment of his own.

Game 2: 4-5 L. LP-Hendriks (1-1). Starter-Bradley (5 5 4 4 3 5). HR-Franco (12). A tough loss after squandering leads of 2-0 and 4-2 with Liam Hendriks giving up an 8th-inning homer to lose it. Lonnie White had a double and triple, scoring twice.

Game 3: 5-1 W. WP-Castillo (4-4, 6 3 1 1 2 5). HR-Mead 3 (9), Schmitt (6). Take a bow Curtis Mead as he hits 3 homers to tie the team record, driving in four. Luis Castillo pitched his best game of a rough season for him, and Schmitt was 3-4 with a double and solo homer.

Team record: 27-25, now only 1 back of the Yankees. Next up: An off-day then 3 games in Seattle.

Quite a month for Mac:

[Art Deco]

Game 1: 3-4 L. LP-Hendriks (1-2). Starter-Rasmussen (5 6 3 1 4 1). HR-Vaughn (3). Vaughn's pinch-hit 2-run homer tied it at 3 in the 7th but Liam Hendriks immediately gave up a run in the bottom of the inning to lose it.

Game 2: 9-1 W. WP-Swanda (4-5, 7 4 0 0 2 6). HR-Franco (13), J.Lowe (1), Mead (10). The three homers accounted for 8 of the 9 runs with Lowe's first since returning breaking the game open in the 8th before Mead hit a 3-run jack in the 9th. Swanda was brilliant in his best start of the season as he was starting to pitch his way out of the rotation.

Game 3: 4-5 L. LP-Hendriks (1-3). Starter-McClanahan (5.1 6 3 3 1 1). Rays couldn't hold leads of 3-0 and 4-3 as the pen faltered again with Jovani Moran allowing the tying run and Hendriks giving up the winner for the second time in three days.

Team record: 28-27. Next up: A daunting task as the 39-15 Milwaukee Brewers visit the Trop for 3 games. Meanwhile the AL East is a jumble: