The 2020 (and beyond) Tampa Bay Rays

[Art Deco]

Game 1: The Rays dropped a 4-3 decision to Seattle at Publix Park in the opener of a 4-game set as veteran Mariner starter Willie Gutierrez largely held them in check. Daniel Malone's 2-out, 2-run homer in the bottom of the 9th (#9) made it look closer but it was too little too late. Jeff Brockman got off to a rough start, allowing 3 in the first 2 innings but settled in to finish 6 6 3 3 2 6 in his first loss as a Ray.

Game 2: Danny Romero wasn't his sharpest, but he didn't have to be thanks to the offensive support in an 8-4 win. Romero gave up a pair of homers and finished 5 9 4 3 0 8 but it was good enough to improve to 8-1, 2.39. Pat Moyer had a big game as his 3-run homer in the bottom of the 5th snapped a 4-4 tie, and he added a solo shot in the 7th to give him 8 on the year. Also going yard were Jose Mendez (#2) with a 3-run blast in the 3rd, and Danny Ayala (#15) who went back-to-back with Mendez. The bullpen was dominant as Ed Pretty struck out all 4 men he faced and Ken Burgess got all 3 outs via whiff in the 9th.

Game 3: Usually when you allow 6 runs on 10 hits you're not going to get the win but Jordan Perez did just that as the Rays took a wild one 13-6. Like Danny Romero the day before a couple of homers hurt him but he walked 0 and struck out 8 over 6 innings and is now 5-4. Daniel Malone set the tone by homering (#9) to lead off the game and Josh Alexander followed right after him with #22. Jim Gebers added a 2-run shot (#5) as the Rays amassed 16 hits with Malone, Gebers and Danny Ayala (who added 3 RBI) with 3 apiece. A 7-run 4th erased an early 6-3 Seattle lead. Chris Toombs picked up his 2nd save with 3 scoreless innings.

Game 4: The Rays didn't supply the offense they did the previous two games, but they scored enough to take a 4-2 win thanks to some sharp work from the pen. Tim Gates wasn't his best, but he was better than he had been recently, going 5 6 2 1 2 4 on 100 pitches. But it was the bullpen which shone as Dan Anderson, Ken Neil, Ed Pretty and Kikuo Kawase each threw a scoreless, hitless inning with Kawase getting save #14 and Pretty once again whiffing every man he faced. Anderson was credited with his first MLB win when Danny Ayala hit HR #16 with a man on in the bottom of the 6th. The two other runs came on still another Josh Alexander homer (#23), giving him 6 in his last 9 games. The homers were 2 of only 3 hits the offense had on the day but it didn't matter.

Team record: 42-20, 4 1/2 up on Boston. Next up: Toronto visits for 3.

[Art Deco]

Game 1: Jose Mendoza was electric but Ed Pretty turned in a rare bad outing and the Rays fell 4-3 to Toronto at Publix Park. Mendoza looked like the dominant pitcher we expected him to be, going 5.2 6 1 1 1 11, and Pretty got him out of the 6th with a whiff. But the rookie flamethrower who had been so unhittable this season was tagged for 3 runs in the 7th to turn a 3-1 Rays lead into a loss. Mike McKee was 4-5 with 2 doubles and an RBI to lead the offense.

Game 2: Jeff Brockman got over one bad inning and led the Rays to a 5-3 win over Toronto. The righty gave up 3 in the 3rd but otherwise was in control, finishing 6 6 3 3 2 9 to improve to 3-1 as a Ray. Kikuo Kawase dispatched the Jays on 7 pitches in a 1-2-3 9th for save #15. Danny Ayala was the star on offense, going 3-4 with a 2-run HR (#17) in the first while Josh Alexander banged his MLB-leading 24th longball.

Game 3: Danny Romero was in excellent form once again but after Ken Burgess blew the lead for him it was up to Danny Ayala to rescue the Rays with a 3-run walk-off HR (#18) in the bottom of the 9th to give them a 6-3 win. Romero took a 3-1 lead into the 8th on a low pitch count but put two men on with one out. Burgess got a whiff for out #2 but then gave up a 2-run double to allow Toronto to tie. Kikuo Kawase had a 2-whiff 1-2-3 9th and ended up with win #6 when Ayala homered after Toronto reliever Eddie Pelton walked the first two batters of the inning. The homer capped another 3-hit day for Ayala, who had doubled twice earlier. Jim Gebers and Mike McKee were each 2-4 with an RBI as well.

Team record: 44-21. Next up: 4 games at Yankee Stadium.

[Art Deco]

June 14: Activated 2B Jaiden Hardaway from the 10-day IL, optioned P Dan Anderson to AAA Durham.

Game 1: Jordan Perez was terrible, and the Rays couldn't overcome it in a 7-3 loss at Yankee Stadium in the opener of their 4-game series. Perez was hit to the tune of 3.2 6 7 3 2 2, giving up a pair of homers. Jimmy Leonard hit his 12th homer for a losing cause.

Game 2: Tim Gates pitched his best game in ages and the Rays disposed of the Yankees 4-1. Gates went 7 5 1 1 1 4 to improve to 4-3, 4.90 and Kikuo Kawase closed it out for save #16. The Rays had no extra-base hits but Jimmy Leonard was 2-4 with a steal and an RBI as the offensive standout.

Game 3: The Rays fell just short at Yankee Stadium 4-3 as New York pitching held them to 4 hits on the day. Jose Mendoza started and was brilliant through 3, gave up 3 runs in the 4th and finished 6.1 6 4 4 0 8 when the runner he left on scored in the 7th. Andy Ruggles (#17) and Danny Ayala (#19) had solo homers.

Game 4: Tampa Bay salvaged a split of the 4-game series with a 12-1 rout of the Yankees, banging out 20 hits in the process. Josh Alexander's 3-run homer in the 2nd (#25) made it 5-0 and broke the game open, with Andy Ruggles (#18), Mike McKee (#7) and Jimmy Leonard (#13) also going deep. Ruggles and McKee each drove in 3, and Josh Beckett had 4 hits. Jeff Brockman was the beneficiary of all this support and he coasted in a 6 6 0 0 0 9 outing, his best as a Ray to make him 4-1, 4.04 since joining the team. Chris Toombs got his 3rd 3-inning save of the year finishing it out.

Team record: 46-23, still 4 1/2 up on Boston. Next up: 3 games in Houston against the always-tough (46-27) Astros.

[Art Deco]

Game 1: It was a classic pitchers' duel between Danny Romero and Houston's young ace Elias Gomez and neither were around for the decision when the Rays scored twice in the 10th to take a 3-1 win. Romero was a tidy 7 4 1 1 1 6 on 100 pitches and Gomez was even better, going 6.2 3 1 1 0 11, allowing only a Jeff Baez solo homer (#4) in the 3rd. The breakthrough came in the 10th for the Rays on RBI singles from Andy Ruggles and Jaiden Hardaway. Joe Trader picked up his 2nd win and Kikuo Kawase save #17.

Game 2: Jordan Perez pitched his best game as a Ray and a 5-run 6th broke things open as the Rays skated past the Astros 7-2. Perez went 6 2 0 0 2 4 on exactly 100 pitches to improve to 6-5, 4.87, and his teammates were beneficiaries of 10 walks and a key Houston error in that 6th inning. Josh Alexander had a 2-run double and Jaiden Hardaway a 2-run single in that frame, and a J.D. Wentzel error made all the runs unearned. Kevin Morley had a big day, walking 3 times, homering (#3) and scoring 3 times.

Game 3: It was a night of frustration for the Rays as they left 11 men on base including in key situations in the 7th and 9th, losing 4-3 as a result. In both of those innings the Rays had at least men on first and third and one out (the bases were loaded in the 7th) but in both instances neither Danny Ayala nor Andy Ruggles could come through with each whiffing in the 7th and popping up and lining out to end the game. Ruggles did have an RBI double in the first and Daniel Malone did his part, hitting a solo HR (#10) and tripling in a run. Tim Gates was not every good (5 6 4 4 3 8) but the bullpen held it close to no avail.

Team record: 48-24, still with a 4 1/2-game lead after our off-day. Next up: After that off-day we return home to face the Yankees for 3.

[Art Deco]

Game 1: It took a while for the Rays offense to get going but once it did it barely stopped as they took an 8-4 win over the Yankees at Publix Park in the series opener. They trailed 2-0 going to the bottom of the 5th, took the lead 3-2 in the 6th, and after New York tied it up in the top of the 7th Pat Moyer delivered a 2-run pinch-hit HR (#9) and the Rays never looked back. Moyer drove in another run in the 8th, Danny Ayala knocked in a pair and Jeff Baez was 3-4 with an RBI single to pace the attack. Jose Mendoza started and pitched quite well, going 6 4 2 2 2 8 but lost the win when Ed Pretty uncharacteristically gave up a run in the 7th and vultured it from Mendoza, his 4th. Ken Burgess got the final out in the 8th and stayed on to finish when the lead expanded for save #3.

Game 2: The Rays staked Jeff Brockman to leads of 6-0 and 7-2 but he nearly gave them back before the Rays hung on to win 8-5 over the Yankees. Josh Alexander homered (#26) in the first, Jimmy Leonard added a 3-run blast (#14) in the 3rd and the big lead was established. But Brockman gave up 2 in the 4th and 3 more in the 5th, just barely hanging on to get through 5 and qualify for the win after going 5 6 5 5 1 5. He wasn't tattooed but had some bad sequences while still going to 5-1, 4.65 as a Ray. Kikuo Kawase wound up with save #18 and Danny Ayala added a 7th-inning solo shot (#20).

Game 3: Tampa Bay completed the sweep with a 5-3 win over New York. Danny Ruggles delivered the game's big hit, a solo homer (#19) off a lefty in the 7th which broke a 3-3 tie. Josh Alexander had a pair of doubles and drove in a run, and Jaiden Hardaway had 3 hits, a walk and a steal to catalyze the offense. Danny Romero turned in a decent start at 6 7 3 3 1 7 but had a no-decision with the win again going to Ed Pretty (#5) and Kikuo Kawase again picking up the save (#19).

Team record: 51-24. The lead is now up to 6 1/2 on Boston, which dropped 2 of 3 at home to Seattle. Next up: 2 at home vs Washington.

[Art Deco]

Game 1: The Rays handed Jordan Perez leads of 3-2 and 5-3 but he kept giving them back and the Rays eventually dropped a 10-7 decision to the Nationals at Publix Park. Perez was 4.1 8 5 4 0 4, and Ken Neil and Steve Abeles combined to give up 5 more on a night when the pitching was terrible. In fact Andy Ruggles, who started 8 games for Oakland last year, made his Rays pitching debut with a 1-2-3 9th to mop up. They wasted a 2-homer game from Pat Moyer, who had 3 hits and drove in 4 as he now has 11 homers, and a 4-4 day with a walk from Jaiden Hardaway.

Game 2: The bad pitching continued as Tim Gates was rocked in a 7-3 loss and has temporarily at least lost his spot in the rotation. Gates was 5 6 6 6 1 3 and fell to 4-5, 5.40, numbers which are even worse of late considering he pitched very well in his few starts of the season. His spot will be taken by Vinny Willard, who went 3 scoreless tonight and has done nothing pitch well the last few years in long relief. Gates will take over Willard's role as a longman and we'll see how it goes. All three Tampa Bay runs came via solo shot with Jimmy Leonard hitting a pair to give him 16 and Mike McKee blasting #8.

Team record: 51-26, still 5 1/2 up on Boston. Next up: A rare Wednesday off-day followed by a 4-game series at home vs Houston after which we reach the halfway mark of the season.

[Art Deco]

Game 1: The Rays routed the Astros 10-4 behind the red-hot Danny Ayala in the opener of the final series of the season's first half. Ayala was 4-5 with HR #21 and 3 RBI as the Rays blasted former teammate Jon Sorrano for 7 runs in the first 2 innings with Daniel Malone adding a 2-run double off him as well. Jose Mendez later homered (#3) to tack on. Despite being given a huge early lead though, Jeff Brockman couldn't make it through 5 innings to pick up the win as he went 4.2 7 4 3 2 5 on 111 pitches. Ed Pretty came in early with the bases loaded and the score 8-4, and picked up win #6 while Chris Toombs did his 3-inning thing again for save #4.

Game 2: Jose Mendoza was really bad today, putting the Rays in a 5-0 hole and despite a valiant comeback effort they fell short against Houston 6-4. Mendoza was 4 8 5 5 2 6 as the Rays' rotation continues to struggle. Steve Abeles threw 3 shutout innings to keep them in it and Jim Gebers had a 3-run HR (#6) against his old team to pace the offense.

Game 3: High drama at Publix Park tonight as the Rays scored twice in the 7th to tie and then Mike McKee blasted a solo homer (#8) in the 8th to give the Rays a 4-3 win over Houston. Danny Romero started and pitched decently, going 6 5 3 2 1 3 but left trailing 3-1. Daniel Malone, who had earlier driven in the first Rays run, doubled in a run in the 8th to make it 3-2 and scored on Jose Mendez's grounder to tie it up, setting the stage for McKee's heroics. Ed Pretty just keeps getting wins, nabbing #7 after pitching the 8th and Kikuo Kawase nailed it down for save #20.

Game 4: The Rays closed out the first half of the season the way they played most of it, getting lousy starting pitching from guys not named Danny Romero in a 6-3 loss. Today it was Jordan Perez, who put them behind 3-0 in the 1st and went 4 5 4 4 5 5. They pulled within 4-3 on a 2-RBI double from last night's hero Mike McKee, but couldn't score again.

Team record: 53-28, 4 1/2 up on Boston. Next up: 3 games in Columbus against the team with MLB's best record as the Lightning are 57-28. We'll also be seeing recent Rays Ben Hill and Ray Cervantes as well as Will Quintana.

[Art Deco]

We'll start with the MLB standings and leaders:



The Rays team stats:



Man the starting pitching has been brutal, but you already knew that if you were following along. A lot of it is due to the bad defense (our calling card) as our defensive efficiency is a league-worst, but we've had bad defensive teams before and much better team ERAs. Also while the offense remains excellent, it's still a bit down this year as we're not even first in runs scored (although it's mainly due to playing 3 fewer games than Boston, which has scored 8 more runs).

The hitting stats:



Josh Alexander has made us forget Daniel Vasquez but Jaiden Hardaway is starting to show his age (34) these days, no longer having or on pace for 9-10 WAR seasons; instead he's on pace for 5.4 in what is likely his final season with us. Still great, just not his usual otherworldly self.

Pitching stats (don't look at them too long):



It's a bit sad to have relievers as two of your best three pitchers overall, but it is a testament to how good Ed Pretty (who should be rookie of the year IMO) and Kikuo Kawase are. Thanks to our defensive (in)efficiency, some pitchers with mediocre-to-bad numbers are actually better than appear as shown by WAR (Mendoza, Brockman), but some aren't, which is why Tim Gates is out of the rotation. And I'm afraid there's no fixing Ken Neil, and he may be dealt while he still has perceived value as Joe Trader has taken over the lefty setup role and done well.

[Art Deco]

Game 1: Vinny Willard made his season debut in the rotation and pitched well but the bats went AWOL and the Rays dropped a 4-0 decision in Columbus. Willard went 6 5 2 2 1 3 and while he thrived in his new role Tim Gates was a disaster in his relief debut, giving up 3 straight hits in the 7th to allow a Willard runner to score as well as one of his own. None of it mattered though as reigning NL Cy Young winner Juan Rosales combined with a reliever on a 4-hit shutout.

Game 2: For the second straight outing Jeff Brockman was handed a huge early lead and couldn't handle it. Unlike last time when Brockman couldn't make it through 5 but still left with the Rays ahead, this time he squandered leads of 5-0 and 6-3 before departing, although the Rays did manage to eke out a 7-6 win. Brockman cruised through the first 3 before giving up a 3-run homer to former Tampa Bay outfielder Ray Cervantes (didn't want to write "former Ray Ray") in the 4th and then a bases-clearing double in the 5th. But Jim Gebers doubled and scored on a wild pitch in the 8th and the bullpen did its job. Dan Anderson, still unscored upon in 20 innings over multiple stints with the big club, picked up his 2nd win after going 2 innings and Kikuo Kawase nabbed save #21 with a 2K 1-2-3 9th. Earlier the lead was built on the wildness of Lightning starter Marco Sandoval, who walked four straight batters to force in a run before surrendering a grand slam to Daniel Malone (#11) in the first.

Game 3: Jose Mendoza was brilliant in his best start as a big leaguer and the Rays scored 3 in the 9th to break open a close one in a 5-1 win. The young lefty was 5.1 3 0 0 3 7 to improve to a still-rough 2-4, 5.43 as he's alternated good and bad starts over his last 5 outings. Tim Gates was good in relief this time, retiring all 5 men he faced with a couple of whiffs, and Jim Gebers' RBI double was the big hit in that 3-run 9th. Danny Ayala hit #22 to give the Rays a 1-0 lead and Andy Ruggles drew a bases-loaded walk from 2-time Cy Young winner Josh Doyle to put them up 2-0 in the 4th.

Team record: 55-29. Although taking 2 of 3 from the team with the best record in baseball in their park was a fine result, the Rays still lost ground as Boston swept its series, meaning the division lead is down to 3 1/2 although the Sox are 5 back in the loss column. Next up: An off-day then we continue with interleague ball with 3 at CitiField vs the Mets where old friend Nate Thompson is scheduled to pitch the first game.

[Art Deco]

Game 1: Danny Romero had a rare bad game and the Rays fell 7-4 to the Mets at CitiField. Romero was hit for 3 runs in the 1st and then gave up a couple of solo homers to finish 5 8 5 5 1 4 and drop to 8-2, 2.83. Jimmy Leonard and Jaiden Hardaway each had 2-run doubles to supply the offense.

Game 2: Things looked bleak again when Jordan Perez continued his struggles and the Rays were down 4-0 after 5. But they clawed their way back into the game and eventually overtook the Mets to win 8-6. Perez continues to madden as he has a 28/100 BB/K ratio in 94 innings but keeps giving up hits and homers (2 more today) and went 4.2 6 4 4 0 3. Andy Ruggles got them back in it with a 2-run HR (#20) in a 3-run 6th, Josh Alexander snapped out of his recent funk with HR #27 in the 7th and they put 4 on the board in the 8th with Jim Gebers' pinch-sac fly tying it up and Ramon Ruiz's 2nd HR with a man on giving them the lead. Dan Anderson picked up win #3 in relief with two more scoreless innings (giving him 22 to start his MLB career) and Joe Trader got the final out for save #2.

Game 3: Vinny Willard, ladies and gentlemen. Maybe the solution to our starting pitching woes was sitting right under our nose the whole time as Willard made it 2-for-2 in excellent starts after being moved into the rotation with a dominant 6 1 0 0 2 7 performance in an 8-3 win over the Mets. He's now 4-2, 1.84 overall for the season. Danny Ayala had a big day, going 4-5 with 3 RBI, Josh Beckett had two big RBI hits early, Andy Ruggles added a 2-run double and Kevin Morley hit a solo homer (#4) to lead the offense.

Team record: 57-30. Boston dropped 2 of 3 in Kansas City so the lead is back up to 4 1/2. Next up: We return home for 3 against Detroit.

[Art Deco]

Game 1: Jeff Brockman was dazzling and the Rays got just enough offense to take a 3-1 over Detroit in the series opener at Publix Park. The righty went 6 5 1 1 1 8 in one of his best outings of the year to improve to 6-1, 4.95 with the Rays while Kikuo Kawase recorded save #22. All three runs came via the homer with Danny Ayala tying it in the 5th with #22 and Ramon Ruiz blasting the game winner in the 6th, a 2-run shot (#3).

Game 2: The Rays dropped a tough one to Detroit 3-2 in 11 innings. Jose Mendoza started and was looking good again but had to leave after going 3.2 2 1 1 0 5 with a sore elbow and will miss 3 weeks. The bullpen kept them in it although Dan Anderson blew the lead in the 6th when he came on and immediately threw a wild pitch to score a Tim Gates baserunner. Finally in the 11th Ken Burgess gave up a Josh Schulze homer to take the loss. Both Rays runs came in the first on a leadoff Jaiden Hardaway homer (#10) and a Pat Moyer RBI single.

July 11: Placed P Jose Mendoza on the 10-day IL with a sore elbow, recalled P Danny Hill from AAA Durham.

Game 3: Danny Romero did this thing again and the Rays took a 6-2 win to take the series from Detroit. The ace lefty went 5 5 1 1 2 8 although it took him 103 pitches and improved to 9-2, 2.79 with his next appearance likely to be starting for the AL in the All-Star Game. With the "A" bullpen tired out from last night's extra-inning affair, some of the others had to get the job done, and the just-recalled Danny Hill turned in two scoreless before things got a bit adventuresome with Ken Neil struggling again, Dan Anderson remaining unscored upon but putting 4 men on base over 2 innings and Joe Trader finally having to nail down the save (#3). Kevin Morley had the game's big hit, a 3-run blast (#4) in the 6th which turned a tenuous 2-1 Tampa Bay lead into a 5-1 advantage while Danny Ayala knocked in a pair with a double and a single.

Team record: 59-31. The Red Sox just won't go away and they swept Texas to pull back within 3 1/2 of the division lead (still 5 back in the loss column). Next up: We close out the traditional first half of the season with 4 games against Minnesota before the All-Star break.

[Art Deco]

Game 1: The Rays romped in the opener of their 4-game set in Minnesota, scoring 5 times in the first on their way to a 12-5 rout of the Twins. Daniel Malone hit his second grand slam of the month (HR #12) in that 1st, Josh Alexander had a monster game (4-5 with 2 HR and 4 RBI to give him 29 and 75 for the year) and Andy Ruggles was 3-5 with HR #21 and 3 RBI. Jordan Perez pitched well with all this support, although he had one bad inning (the 5th) in which he allowed all his runs in a 6 7 3 3 2 8 outing to improve to 7-6, 5.29.

Game 2: Vinny Willard wasn't quite as good as he was in his first two starts since joining the rotation, but he did enough in concert with the bullpen to help the Rays to a 5-1 win. Willard went 4 scoreless before running into trouble in the 5th, allowing a run, loading the bases and up to 86 pitches with the game at 3-1. Ed Pretty, used as the fireman this year whatever the inning, came in and got the final 2 outs without allowing further damage and ended up with his 8th win. Josh Alexander, who had been fairly quiet the last 3 weeks or so before last night's outburst, came through again with a 2-run double in the 5th to make it 3-0 and Jim Gebers was 2-4 with an RBI double in the 9th to make things more comfortable.

Game 3: One step forward, two steps back for Jeff Brockman, who can't quite seem to achieve consistency since joining the team in May as he was hit hard in a 12-6 loss to Minnesota. Two Ramon Ruiz errors led to half of the Twins runs being unearned, including 3 against Brockman who shouldn't really use it as an excuse after going 3.2 8 6 3 1 3 and is now 6-2, 5.10 with Tampa Bay. Andy Ruggles (#22) and Danny Ayala (#24) each had 3-run homers to supply the offense.

Game 4: The Rays made it 3 of 4 over the Twins going into the All-Star Break with a gritty, come-from-behind 5-4 win. Tim Gates was back in the rotation taking the place of the injured Jose Mendoza, and he reminded us all why he lost his spot when he allowed 4 runs in the first 4 innings. While Gates was giving up those runs the boiling hot Josh Alexander had a 3-run HR, his MLB-leading 30th and it stood at 4-3 Twins until the 7th when Alexander doubled and scored on a Ramon Ruiz sac fly, and the Rays took the win in the 8th on a pinch-triple from Andy Ruggles and Mike McKee's RBI single. Joe Trader picked up win #3 in relief and Kikuo Kawase headed to the All-Star Game with save #23.

Team record: 62-32. There's no shaking the Red Sox, who won 3 of 4 in the same time frame as well to remain 3 1/2 back. Next up: The All-Star break, which isn't much of a break for the Rays as usual with seemingly half the team headed to Seattle. When we do resume play the following weekend it'll be at home with 3 vs Columbus.

[Art Deco]

The All-Star rosters, including the Rays-laden AL:



Number of All-Star appearances for the Rays: Romero (6), Willard (2), Kawase (7), Hardaway (7), McKee (3), Alexander (1st), Ayala (5, he led the voting at all positions), Leonard (2) and Ruggles (1st).

The HR Derby:



Alexander and Ayala eliminated on squeakers in the opening round sadly.

The game itself:



Thanks to sheer volume various Rays figured into the result, most notably Mike McKee who scored the first AL run and later blasted a 2-run HR off brief former teammate Ted Hadley. Rays batters drove in 5 of the 7 AL runs with Jaiden Hardaway bringing home two and Danny Ayala with a sac fly. Danny Romero was wild in the first and not helped by a McKee error while Vinny Willard pitched the 9th and also gave up a homer to a former teammate in Jon Jimenez. The Angels' Jose Gonzales was named MVP and if you've forgotten he was the elite Rays prospect who was the centerpiece going the other way to San Francisco for Hardaway back in the winter of 2028-29. It took 11 years but Gonzales finally became an All-Star thanks mostly to his elite fielding (75 at 3B) and just enough pop as he showed tonight.

[Art Deco]

I finally had it with Gates (who was already making almost $11M and was a free agent at year's end) and Neil (anyone who follows here knows how bad he's been over the last year-plus despite having excellent ratings), so I was able to parlay them, along with 3 minor leaguers who aren't big-time prospects (Stapleton is the best, he could be a 4th/5th OF as he can hit for average but doesn't have the power for a corner OF) for Jackson, one of the league's better starters:



Jackson is making the minimum this year but is arb-eligible next season and projected for $6M, a reasonable amount. You can see from his ratings and his stats that his big thing is not allowing homers, something always welcomed. My assistant GM did not like the deal but he hasn't managed the games that Gates and Neil has pitched, so his objections were noted and ignored.

[Art Deco]

Game 1: The Rays opened the post-ASB portion of the season with a matchup of the teams holding the best records in MLB as Columbus came to town. And Tampa Bay made its statement by downing the Lightning 11-8, a misleading score considering the Rays went up 10-0 and Columbus had a grand slam in the 9th. They were matched up against 2-time Cy Young winner and top pitcher statistically this season in the NL Josh Doyle and they creamed him for 7 runs in 2 1/3. Danny Ayala had a 2-run HR (#25) off him in the 1st, and Josh Alexander hit #31 against him to get an 8-run 3rd going, an inning which also saw Jaiden Hardaway launch a 3-run shot (#11). Mike McKee added a 2-run double off Doyle. Jeff Brockman started and dominated the Lightning through 4, then fell apart in the 5th and barely got through it to get the win, finishing 5 7 4 4 2 7 to still go 7-2 with the Rays but with a 5.26 ERA. Danny Hill went the final 4 innings and got his first MLB save despite allowing that 2-out grand slam in the 9th.

Game 2: The Rays' bats once again had their way with Columbus pitching in a 10-5 win. Ramon Ruiz led the attack with a 2-run HR to get the Rays on the board in the 4th (#4) and added a sac fly later, Jaiden Hardaway homered again (#12) and drove in a pair, and Danny Ayala also homered for the 2nd straight game with a man on (#26) while Daniel Malone added a 2-run single. Jordan Perez pitched well against his old team before running out of gas in the 6th and finishing 5.1 2 3 3 2 9 to improve to 8-6.

July 22: Recalled P Alex Stephens from AAA Durham.

The original plan was to hold the roster spot opened by the trading of Tim Gates and Ken Neil for Brad Jackson for Jeff Baez, who was rehabbing at AAA Durham. But Baez strained his back on the rehab assignment and will be set back by a week, so the spot was filled with Stephens, a decent reliever whom we acquired in 2038 when we offloaded Kevin Kerstetter on San Diego.

Game 3: Brad Jackson made his Rays debut and man, it did not start well. Columbus scored 3 runs off him before he recorded his first out and things didn't look good. But Jackson settled in and gave the Lightning nothing after that and the bats went to work again enabling the Rays to take a 7-3 win. Jackson finished 5 5 3 3 2 7 on 96 pitches and got the win, and the bullpen got the job done the rest of the way including a scoreless 9th from Alex Stephens in his MLB debut. Jimmy Leonard was the star on offense, going 4-4 with a steal, homer (#17) and 2 RBI while Ramon Ruiz continued his big weekend with a 2-run double and Josh Beckett added a 2-run single.

Team record: 65-32. You'd think after sweeping the then-best team in baseball the Rays would be rewarded in the standings, but nope - Boston swept Detroit and remains 3 1/2 games back. In fact the Red Sox now have the 2nd-best record in the AL and 3rd-best in all of MLB at 63-37, and have won 9 of their last 10 and 16 of their last 20.

[Art Deco]

Game 1: Danny Romero and two relievers combined on a 6-hit shutout in a 3-0 win over the Yankees in the series opener at Publix Park. It was a matchup of the last two AL Cy Young winners as 2038 winner Romero took on the holder of the award, New York's Willie Valdez (who did it with Texas and signed a big free agent deal) and it lived up to billing as the Rays held a 1-0 lead into the 7th on a Danny Ayala sac fly. Romero went 7 4 0 0 1 6 to improve to 10-2, 2.64, Dan Anderson had a 1-2-3 8th and Kikuo Kawase notched save #24 although he made it interesting by loading the bases with one out before getting a couple of whiffs. RBI singles by Andy Ruggles and Daniel Malone in the 7th gave the Rays some breathing room.

Game 2: It was a tight affair as the Rays rallied from 3-0 down to go ahead 4-3, only for Kikuo Kawase to suffer a rare blown save in the 9th to allow New York to tie. But in the bottom of the 9th this happened:



The Yankees brought on their lefty reliever Jose Mendez, and we countered by pinch-hitting our righty outfielder Jose Mendez and under the rules of Highlander, there can be only one and our Jose Mendez took their Jose Mendez deep with his 4th HR of the season to give the Rays a walk-off 5-4 win, their 6th straight. Before all that Vinny Willard got the start and shut the Yanks down for 5 innings before tiring in the 6th in a 0-0 game. Willard allowed 3 runs and finished 5.1 6 3 3 1 7 but the Rays answered back in the bottom of the 7th on a Kevin Morley homer (#6) and consecutive RBI hits from Danny Ayala, Andy Ruggles and Daniel Malone. Kawase then ended up vulturing his 7th win after Mendez bailed him out.

Game 3: The Rays completed the sweep of New York and made it 7 straight wins after edging the Yankees 3-2. Jeff Brockman started and pitched well (5 4 2 1 4 8) while Andy Ruggles' 2-run HR (#23) made it a 2-2 game. The winning run came in the 6th when Danny Ayala was wild-pitched home. The bullpen was brilliant, with Chris Toombs getting win #4 after a scoreless 6th and Joe Trader and Ken Burgess each struck out the side in the 8th and 9th respectively with Burgess getting save #4.

Team record: 68-32. The Red Sox finally blinked and lost one of their three games to Baltimore, so the division lead increased to 4 1/2 games. Next up: 4 games against those Orioles, with the first one scheduled to be pitched by none other than Tim Gates, while Brad Jackson will face his former mates in the second game.

[Art Deco]

Game 1: The Rays matched up against recently-traded former teammate Tim Gates in the series opener and got to him for 4 runs in 5 innings in a 6-4 win to extend the winning streak to 8. Ramon Ruiz took him deep (#5) with a man on in the 5th to break a 2-2 tie, and Josh Beckett had a nice day going 3-4 with 2 doubles, 3 runs scored and an RBI while Mike McKee added a solo shot (#10). Jordan Perez was his typical self, giving up some runs on homers but with a fine BB/K ratio going 5.1 5 4 4 0 6 to improve to 9-6, 5.35. The bullpen was brilliant again, retiring all 11 men it faced with Joe Trader fanning 4 of 5 batters and Ed Pretty getting save #2.

Game 2: It was another night of a pitcher facing his very recent former teammates as Brad Jackson took the familiar mound of Oriole Park in a Rays uniform and was very good in a tight 2-1 win, the team's 9th straight. Jackson went 5.2 5 1 1 3 4 on 102 pitches and the hottest bullpen in the game did it again going 3 1/3 scoreless with Kikuo Kawase finishing for save #25 although he did put a couple on and has been shaky by his standards of late, issuing a walk in 4 of his last 5 outings. Jimmy Leonard's 18th HR in the 1st made it 1-0 and after the Orioles tied it up Daniel Malone's RBI double in the 6th was the game-winner.

Game 3: The win streak hit double digits as the Rays took yet another tight one from Baltimore 4-3. Danny Romero started and was rolling once again with a 3-0 lead, but ran out of gas in the 7th, pushed a little longer because the bullpen had seen a lot of usage lately. He ended up charged with 3 runs after Alex Stephens gave up the game-tying hit and finished 6.1 8 3 3 1 7. But the Rays got to another former teammate in Ken Neil when Josh Alexander capped a 5-hit day with an RBI single in the 9th and it was Ken Burgess' turn to get the save today, his 5th thanks to a 1-2-3 2K 9th. Danny Hill got Stephens out of a jam in the 8th and earned his first MLB win. Alexander meanwhile was unstoppable, homering in the 1st (#32) while Andy Ruggles contributed an RBI double.

July 29: Activated SS Jeff Baez from the 10-day IL, optioned P Alex Stephens to AAA Durham.

Game 4: Tired of squeaking out wins as they'd done all week, the Rays made it 11 straight with a blowout this time crushing Baltimore 15-4 on 21 hits. It was a milestone day for Danny Ayala, who first hit a grand slam in the 4th to break a 2-2 tie and then hit career homer #300 (and #28 for the year) in the 7th to cap a 5-RBI day. Josh Alexander picked up where he left off after going 5-5 yesterday by going 4-5 with HR #33 and 2 RBI, Jose Mendez, Jaiden Hardaway and Josh Beckett each had 3 hits, all driving in runs (Mendez had 2) and Mike McKee had a 2-run HR (#11). Vinny Willard enjoyed the run support and mowed down the O's between allowing a 2-run homer in the first and giving up a couple of runs in the 6th to go 6 5 4 4 0 9 and improve to 5-2, 2.47. Steve Abeles tossed 3 perfect innings with 6 whiffs to get his first save of the year.

Team record: 72-32. The only way to gain ground on the Red Sox is to never lose, and Boston did drop 1 out of 4 in the same stretch so the lead is now up to 5 1/2 games. Next up: An off-day then we return home for 3 against the Angels.

[Art Deco]

Game 1: Jeff Brockman was brilliant and the bats did their thing in a 7-4 win in the opener which extended the team's win streak to 12. The Rays held a slim 1-0 lead until they broke it open with a 6-run 6th highlighted by a Jeff Baez 2-run single and a Jose Mendez 2-run double. Brockman went 7 4 1 1 0 9 in his best Rays start yet to improve to 8-2, 4.68 with the club. Danny Hill made it interesting by giving up 3 runs on a couple of homers and Ken Burgess put two men on in the 9th necessitating Kikuo Kawase to get the final out for save #26.

August 1: Optioned P Danny Hill to AAA Durham, activated P Jose Mendoza from his rehab assignment at Durham.

Mendoza returns to find his rotation spot taken by Brad Jackson, so he will provide long relief (and short relief on occasion when a lefty is needed).

Game 2: The winning streak is now a baker's dozen as the Rays once again took a 7-4 decision. It unfolded differently than last night though as Jordan Perez was hit for 4 runs in the 1st (including of course a 3-run homer) and the streak looked in jeopardy. But Andy Ruggles made Angels starter Elijah Sanborn pay for walking the bases loaded (Sanborn had 7 in total) when he hit a grand slam (#24) in the 3rd to tie it up. Mike McKee broke the deadlock in the 5th with an RBI single and Daniel Malone added a 2-run single. Perez stuck around long enough for the win after settling down and finishing 5 5 4 4 3 6. The ERA is ugly at 5.43 but he's now 10-6 and the bullpen went 4 scoreless innings to preserve the win.

Game 3: There was little suspense this afternoon as the Rays scored 5 in the 1st on their way to a 14-0 shellacking of the Angels and 14 is also now the number of consecutive wins they've had. Josh Alexander's bases-clearing double in the 1st was the big hit, Jose Mendez drove in 3 with a double and a 2-run HR (#5), Jaiden Hardaway cranked a 3-run blast (#13) and Kevin Morley was on base all 5 times with 3 hits (2 of which were RBI singles) and 2 walks. Sitting in his rocking chair with all this run support was Brad Jackson, who went 6.2 3 0 0 1 7 and is now 3-0, 2.08 in 3 starts since being acquired.

Team record: 75-32. It's taken a 14-game winning streak to do so, but the Rays finally look to be shaking the pesky Red Sox, who dropped a couple of games and are now 7 1/2 back. Next up: The homestand continues with 3 against the White Sox.

[Art Deco]

Game 1: Danny Romero was dominant as the Rays made it 15 straight with a 4-3 win over the White Sox at Publix Park. Romero took a 3-hit shutout into the 9th before tiring, putting 2 men on and allowing a 3-run homer. He still finished 8.1 5 3 3 2 10, improving to 11-2, 2.74 and the odds-on favorite to win his 2nd Cy Young. Kikuo Kawase got the final two outs for save #27. Jose Mendez had an RBI double, Josh Beckett was 2-4 with an RBI and raised his batting average to .348, and Mike McKee launched a solo shot (#12) which turned out to be the difference.

Game 2: The beat goes on as the Rays downed the White Sox 8-3 and extended their winning streak to 16. A 4-run first on 2-run singles from Danny Ayala and Josh Beckett (who had 3 more hits) sent them on their way, and Daniel Malone hit HR #13 and drove in a pair. Vinny Willard started and wasn't his sharpest, but good enough to go 5.1 8 3 3 0 3 and pick up the win to go to 6-2. Dan Anderson had 3 innings of dominant relief (1 hit allowed, 5 Ks) for his first MLB save and now has an 0.27 ERA in 33.2 IP.

Game 3: When they're on a roll like this it seems they'll never lose again as the Rays annihilated the White Sox 18-1 to make it 17 straight wins. Danny Ayala and Andy Ruggles each were 3-5 with 2 HR and 5 RBI, with Ayala now at 30 HR and Ruggles at 26. Daniel Malone hit a 2-run shot (#14), homering for the second straight day as the offense feasted. Jeff Brockman pitched well for the win, going 6 4 1 0 4 7 and has been outstanding of late, now 9-2, 4.34 with the Rays and allowing only 2 ER over 18 IP in his last 3 starts. Jose Mendoza made his first appearance in nearly a month and went the final 3 perfect with 4 Ks for his first MLB save.

Team record: 78-32. Boston is now 8 1/2 back so unless there's some significant movement in that number this will be the last division race update in this space. Next up: An off-day then we'll try to extend the streak against Baltimore with 4 games in 3 days including a doubleheader to start things off.

[Art Deco]

Game 1: The Rays' 17-game win streak came to an abrupt end in the first game of a doubleheader at Publix Park when they fell to the Orioles 4-1. A pair of former Rays did them in, with Jeremy Curtis going 5 1/3 for the win and Ken Neil nailing down the save in the 9th. Jordan Perez was pitching his best game as a Ray with a 1-0 lead into the 7th but gave up a couple of runs to finish 6 5 2 2 1 9 after the normally reliable Joe Trader gave up a 3-run homer with Perez's runners aboard.

Game 2: Shockingly Baltimore swept the doubleheader after roughing up one of their old friends, Brad Jackson. The lefty had his roughest start since joining the Rays a month ago from the Orioles, hit to the tune of 5 9 6 6 0 6 and allowing a couple of homers, unlike him. It was his first loss with the club. The offense was quiet again with the highlight Kevin Morley's solo homer (#7) after the game was decided.

Game 3: After a miserable doubleheader the Rays came back and took their frustrations out on Baltimore the next day in a 10-4 win. The bottom of the order came through big, with Daniel Malone, Josh Beckett and Jeff Baez combining to go 8-12 with 6 RBI with Beckett driving in 3 on 3 hits. Danny Romero improved to 12-2, 2.88 after going 6 8 4 4 0 5.

Game 4: The Rays salvaged a split of the series with a 7-1 win behind a dominant performance from Vinny Willard. Willard, who probably should have been in our rotation the last few years, isn't going to let go of his spot now especially after going 6 3 0 0 3 10 today. He's now 7-2, 2.45 overall. For the second straight day the Rays scored a whole bunch of runs without homering as Daniel Malone had another 3-hit day, Josh Alexander was 2-2 with 2 walks and 2 RBI, and Danny Ayala drove in a pair for the second straight game as he's gone over the 100-RBI mark one more time.

Team record: 80-34. Next up: 3 games in Toronto.