The 2020 (and beyond) Tampa Bay Rays - Page 100

Art Deco · 05-31-2022, 09:54 AM

Game 1: The Rays couldn't come through with runners on and as a result fell 5-4 to the White Sox in the series opener. Tampa Bay left 14 on base and the biggest culprit was Nelson Bocardo, 0-5 with 12 LOB including the bases loaded with 2 out in the 9th. They trailed 4-1 and tied it in the 7th on three consecutive bases-loaded walks, the only way they could score since they couldn't get hits when they counted. But right after equalizing, Caleb Ramos (0-1) gave up a run in the bottom of the inning that proved to be the winner. Greg Bookhart started and went 5.2 8 4 4 2 4 and Dave Frick had 2 more hits although his average dropped to .595.

Game 2: Tampa Bay ran into Omar Guerrero, winner of the last 2 Cy Youngs in the AL and were shut out 5-0 to drop below .500. Guerrero held them to 5 hits over 7 2/3 (one of them from Dave Frick, 1-2 and still at .590), and Gordie Ager (1-2) struggled with his control as he went 4 4 5 5 5 2.

Game 3: The Rays were swept thanks to a another tough loss, 6-5 in 10 innings at Guaranteed Rate Field which guaranteed them a 5-7 record to start 2046. Solo homers from Doug Johns (#1) in the 6th and Mario Saro (#2) in the 7th brought them back from a 5-3 deficit, but the offense couldn't do anything after that and the White Sox scored off Willie Minier (0-1) in the 10th to take the win and the sweep. Tony Cordova and Jose Castillo each hit solo shots, the 2nd of the year for both, earlier in the game and Jim Brophy had his issues at 4 9 5 4 0 4 with 2 homers allowed. Dave Frick watch: 2-4 with an RBI single, still hitting .581.

Team record: 5-7. Next up: An off-day to lick our wounds then back home for 3 against Philadelphia.

Art Deco · 05-31-2022, 09:19 PM

Game 1: The Rays took a decisive 9-2 win over Philly to snap their mini 3-game losing streak, although it was a close game until they blew it open with 4 in the 8th. Dave Frick remained frickin' toasty, blasting a 3-run homer in the 2nd (#1) and walked twice including once with the bases loaded as he's now 26-45 (.578) to start the year. Mario Saro had a bases-clearing double in that 8th inning to make it comfortable and ensure that Ben Moses (1-1) would earn his first Rays win as a starter after a fine 6 3 1 1 1 6 outing.

Game 2: Yuji Morioka has played well since coming over from Japan this winter but today he really introduced himself to MLB, going 4-4 with 2 homers and 5 RBI as a nearly one-man offense in a 7-4 win over the Phillies. Morioka also doubled as he's now up to 4 HR and 9 RBI total in only 27 at-bats. Luis Barela had an RBI double and Alex Duran an RBI triple. Marc Gibson went to 3-0 with a strange 5 1 3 3 4 2 outing with all 3 runs coming on the lone hit he allowed, a homer in the 1st. Willie Minier had a 1-2-3 9th for his 2nd save.

Game 3: Greg Bookhart was outstanding but denied a win when Sean Forbes coughed up a 2-run homer in the 8th but the Rays themselves weren't denied when Doug Johns blasted a 3-run walk-off homer (#2) in the bottom of the 9th to take a 5-2 win and a series sweep from the Phillies. Before Johns' blast Bookhart was the story, going 7 3 0 0 0 6 as the Rays held a 2-0 lead on a Luis Barela RBI single and Juan Davila's sac fly. But Forbes, as he did often last year, gave up the big homer and it was tied. Mel Mejia (1-1) notched his first Rays win after a 1-2-3 9th.

Team record: 8-7. Next up: Texas comes to town for 3 games.

Art Deco · 06-01-2022, 10:25 AM

Game 1: The Rays took a back-and-forth game from Texas by scoring twice in the 9th to walk it off 5-4. Seth Williams and Jose Castillo had consecutive RBI singles in the bottom of the 9th to win it after Satoshi Sato lost a 3-2 lead in the 8th inning. BJ Turner struck out the side in the 9th for his first Rays win. Gordie Ager turned in a decent start at 5.1 3 2 2 1 6 and Dave Frick was 2-3 with an RBI to up his average to .528.

Game 2: The Rays and Rangers exchanged leads again and in the end the Rays made it 5 straight with a 7-6 win at Publix Park. Dan Gregory's 2-run homer (#2) in the bottom of the 6th put them ahead to stay and today the bullpen held on although Josh Grote vultured a win after losing a lead in the 6th. BJ Turner was outstanding again with a 2-whiff 1-2-3 inning and might be establishing himself as the primary RH setup man while Willie Minier had an easy 9th for save #3. Jim Brophy struggled a bit at 5.1 6 5 4 2 3 although Grote let two of his runners score. Earlier they got homers from Luis Barela (#3) and Seth Williams (#1) while Dave Frick just kept on raking, going 2-3 with a 2-run double and is now up to an unbelievable .536 through 17 games.

Game 3: No need to come back from a blown lead today as the Rays swept the Rangers and made it 6 straight wins with a fairly routine 5-2 win. Ben Moses (2-1) was outstanding going 7 4 1 1 2 8 and Willie Minier pitched around a couple of hits to earn save #4. It was a 1-1 game into the 5th when Juan Davila picked a great time to hit his first MLB homer and three batters later Mario Saro launched a 3-run jack (#3) to put it away. And all Dave Frick did today was go 2-3 again to up his average to .542.

Team record: 11-7. Next up: An off-day at home then Minnesota visits for 3 games over the weekend.

Art Deco · 06-02-2022, 12:45 PM

Game 1: The Rays opened their series against Minnesota at Publix Park with a rout that turned into a nail-biter as they held on to win 10-8. Dave Frick (again) and Dan Gregory had 2-run doubles to help build a 10-3 lead after 6 before the bullpen had some problems. Marc Gibson made it 4 wins in 4 starts after going a pedestrian 5 9 3 3 1 3 but the pen was the issue as Tristan Goulet allowed 2 runs and then Chris O'Brien gave up 3 more. Satoshi Sato put an end to the nonsense with a 1-2-3 9th for his first save of the year.

Game 2: The Rays made it 8 straight wins in another tight one, 5-4 over the Twins. Dan Gregory and Jose Castillo each hit 2-run homers for their third of the year, and Dave Frick remained inhuman with his 2nd of the year, a solo shot to bring his average to .523. Greg Bookhart (2-0) picked up the win going 5 7 3 3 2 5 and Willie Minier notched his 5th save.

Game 3: No need to sweat this one out as the Rays swept their third straight series, going 9-0 on the homestand after routing the Twins 11-1. Mario Saro had a massive game, going 4-5 with an RBI triple and a 2-run homer (#4) and Alex Duran went deep for the first time as a Ray with a 3-run shot. Gordie Ager (2-2) was excellent for the win, going 5.2 7 1 0 0 7 against his former squad.

Team record: 14-7. Next up: A scheduling quirk sees them get two off-day before traveling to Baltimore for a pair.

Art Deco · 06-02-2022, 09:38 PM

April 25: Activated IF Tomas Laboy from his rehab assignment, optioned P Tristan Goulet to AAA Durham.

Laboy is back but he's going to be ending up in a time share with Yuji Morioka, who's a much, much better defender at 2B. Laboy will spell Luis Barela some at 3B and get some at-bats but he might also be trade bait.

Game 1: The Rays made it 10 straight wins by beating Baltimore 9-5 at Oriole Park behind a 5-hit game by Seth Williams. The Rays 1B was 5-5 with 3 runs scored, a homer (#2) and 2 RBI while Jose Castillo was 3-5 with a 2-run shot (#4). Mario Saro added his 5th of the year with a man on. Jim Brophy (2-1) was solid for the win at 7 5 3 3 2 2 but Sean Forbes struggled yet again, allowing 2 runs in 1/3 of an inning.

Game 2: Tampa Bay rode 4 solo homers to take a 4-2 win over the Orioles in Baltimore, extending their win streak to 11. Dave Frick got things going with his 3rd (a 3-9 in the two games has dropped him to .474), Nelson Bocardo went back-to-back with him in the 2nd for his first, and Doug Johns hit his 3rd in the 4th. It stayed at 3-2 for quite awhile until Yuji Morioka provided some insurance with this 5th longball of the year in the 9th. All of these dingers backed Ben Moses, probably the team's best starter this year as he was 7 6 2 2 0 7 to up his record to 3-1. Satoshi Sato had a 1-2-3 9th for save #2.

Team record: 16-7. Next up: 3 games in Boston.

Art Deco · 06-03-2022, 01:34 PM

Game 1: The opener was one of those famous Fenway games with the Rays prevailing by a football score of 14-11. The Rays jumped out to leads of 8-4 and 11-7 but Boston kept coming back as the pitching wasn't too hot today with Marc Gibson keeping his perfect 4-0 record but not deserving to after going 2.2 8 7 7 3 2. Caleb Ramos (1-1) got the win in relief despite allowing 2 runs in 2 2/3 himself and eventually Willie Minier nailed down save #6. Tomas Laboy was the hitting star blasting a pair of 3-run homers, his 2nd and 3rd, and Seth Williams was 3-5 with 2 RBI.

Game 2: A much calmer affair as Gordie Ager was outstanding and the Rays extended their win streak to a baker's dozen with a 6-1 win over the Red Sox at Fenway. Ager (3-2) was 6.1 4 1 1 1 5 and Dan Anderson went the final 2 2/3 scoreless for his first save. Anderson remains unscored upon in 9 outing this season covering 13 2/3 innings in which he's only allowed 5 hits. Dave Frick's remarkable start to 2046 continued as he dominated the offense with 3 hits and 4 RBI, including a 2-run double and a solo homer as he's now hitting .488 with 4 HR and 23 RBI in 25 games.

Game 3: Greg Bookhart shut down Boston and the Rays bullpen held on shakily for a 4-2 win, a series sweep, and a 14-game winning streak. The stylish lefty improved to 3-0, 2.05 after a 6 4 0 0 2 5 outing and Satoshi Sato grabbed his 3rd save despite allowing a run in the 9th. Alex Duran was the man on offense going 3-4 with a double and 2 RBI and rookie Juan Davila contributed an RBI double.

Team record: 19-7. Next up: the road trip continues with 3 in Detroit.

Art Deco · 06-04-2022, 02:43 PM

Game 1: The Rays' 14-game winning streak came to an unceremonious end as the Tigers walloped them 8-2 at Comerica Park. We have a Jim Brophy problem as the once-dominating lefty has been downgraded to 45 stuff and lost about 3 MPH off his fastball, and his performance today reflected that as he went 3 7 6 3 4 1 and dropped to 2-2, 5.28. He's making $14M so nobody will offer anything for him in trade; we may very well be in the market for a starter. Seth Williams hit HR #3 in a losing effort.

Game 2: The Rays have started a streak of the wrong kind as the Tigers beat them once again, this time 6-2 as Ben Moses struggled. Their most consistent starter so far this season, Moses (3-2) didn't have it today and he couldn't lead the Rays to the promised land with a line of 5 8 5 5 3 0. Dan Gregory supplied all the offense with a 2-run single and then had to leave the game with another of his injuries, the latest being back spasms (moderate) for a week.

May 2: Placed OF Dan Gregory on the 10-day IL with back spasms, recalled OF Jared Richardson from AAA Durham.

Richardson, who impressed last year while Gregory and others were out, gets another chance.

Game 3: Tampa Bay salvaged a game from this series, downing Detroit 7-5. Mario Saro blasted a pair of homers (#6 & 7) and drove in 3 to lead the way, and Luis Barela also went deep with #4. Marc Gibson improved to 5-0 despite a shaky 5.1 10 4 4 1 1 record and now has a 5.97 ERA to go with that perfect record. Did I mention we could use a starter? Satoshi Sato recorded his 4th save despite allowing a 9th inning solo homer.

Team record: 20-9. Next up: An off-day then we return home for 3 vs Toronto.

Art Deco · 06-05-2022, 08:20 AM

Game 1: The Rays blew a late lead but came back in the bottom of the 8th to win anyway 5-4 over Toronto in their series opener at Publix Park. Tony Cordova's 3rd homer of the year tied it at 4, and then Mario Saro singled, stole second and went to third before Jose Castillo brought him home with a sac fly. That made a winner of Dan Anderson (1-0), who blew the lead for Gordie Ager who went 6 7 2 2 0 7. Willie Minier fanned a pair in a 1-2-3 9th for save #7. Earlier Yuji Morioka drove in a pair with a groundout and his 6th homer.

Game 2: More bullpen problems again and this time they were costly in a 5-4 loss to the Jays. BJ Turner (1-1) gave up a pair of runs in the 7th which broke a 3-3 tie and sent them to defeat. Greg Bookhart started and was unusually wild at 5 6 3 3 6 1 but limited the damage while they got early homers from Mario Saro (#8) and Doug Johns (#4).

Game 3: And for the third straight game the pen faltered but like in Game 1 they came back anyway to walk it off 8-7, loading the bases with the first three batters of the 9th before Luis Barela capped a big day with a sac fly. Jim Brophy continues to be a problem, going 4.2 6 5 5 2 2 but they held a 7-5 lead going to the 9th when it was Willie Minier's turn to struggle, allowing a pair of runs for the Jays to tie in part due to his own fielding error. Minier did end up vulturing his first win of the year. Barela meanwhile was 3-4 with HR #5 and 3 RBI and Mario Saro continued to rake, going 3-5 with 3 steals (an MLB-best 12 for the year) while Yuji Morioka drove in a pair.

Team record: 22-10. Next up: An off-day then Atlanta visits for 2 games.

Saro's big week received recognition:

Art Deco · 06-05-2022, 09:31 AM

May 8: Placed OF Jared Richardson on the 10-day IL with an abdominal strain, recalled OF/P Josh Schwartzlow from AAA Durham.

Richardson suffered the injury in the Toronto finale after doubling in a run. Schwartzlow is back up after a brief stint with us last year.

Game 1: Another game in which we outscored our pitching problems, scoring 9 times in the 7th and 8th to turn a potential 6-2 loss into an actual 11-6 win over Atlanta at Publix Park. Doug Johns' 3-run homer in the 7th (#5) tied it up and Luis Barela went back-to-back with him (#6) to provide the winning run. Dave Frick was 3-5 with a bases-clearing double in the 8th and Seth Williams capped a 3-hit day with a solo homer (#4) in the same inning to make the rubble bounce. Ben Moses struggled again, going 6 9 5 4 2 3 and the win went to Sean Forbes (1-0), who can't stop giving up homers as he allowed a solo shot in the 7th, his 3rd in 7 innings this year.

Game 2: For a change we got a well-pitched game and it came from an unlikely source as Marc Gibson was solid in a 3-2 win. Gibson, who came in with an ERA near 6 despite a 5-0 record, went 5.1 4 2 2 1 2 but ironically didn't get the win this time when Chris O'Brien allowed one of his runners to score to tie the game at 2. The Rays mounted a rally in the bottom of the 7th which culminated with a wild pitch bringing home Nelson Bocardo for the winner. Dan Anderson (2-0) picked up the win and Willie Minier nailed down save #8. Bocardo had knocked in the first two Rays run with a double. Despite the win there was some bad news though as Anderson had to leave with what was diagnosed as an arthritic elbow and is essentially done for the year (he could return mid-October in the playoffs). He's been a glue guy in the pen the last 5 years serving as a bridge to the late innings and he'll be missed.

Team record: 24-10. Next up: Another off-day then we cram 4 games into 3 days in Baltimore with a scheduled doubleheader.

Art Deco · 06-05-2022, 09:20 PM

Game 1: Gordie Ager was brilliant and the Rays took a tight 2-1 decision over the Orioles at Camden Yards. The lefty had his 5th straight strong start, going 7.2 5 1 1 1 7 to improve to 4-2. Willie Minier got the final four outs for save #9. The offense came via solo homers from Doug Johns (#6) in the 2nd and Seth Williams (#5) in the 3rd.

May 12: Activated OF Dan Gregory from the IL, optioned OF/P Josh Schwartzlow to AAA Durham.

Schwartzlow never saw any action in his couple of days up.

Game 2: The Rays dropped the first game of Saturday's doubleheader by the same score they won by on Friday night, 2-1, and they were no-hit until the 8th inning when Tony Cordova led off with a solo homer (#4). That was one of only two hits they managed, and it meant that Jim Brophy (2-3) was a hard-luck loser after going 6 7 2 2 1 1.

Game 3: Tampa Bay put 6 runs on the board in the 3rd and they stood up in a 6-2 win which gave them a doubleheader split. The ridiculous Dave Frick did it again, capping the inning with a grand slam (#5). Tristan Goulet got a spot start and excelled, getting his first decision of the year after going 6 2 2 2 4 4. Satoshi Sato earned save #5 by retiring the final 4 Orioles, 3 via the whiff, and has 26 Ks in his 14 2/3 IP this season.

Game 4: The Rays are seemingly good for one Camden Yards bullpen meltdown a season and today was one of those days as they lost a 6th-inning 12-5 lead and fell 14-12 to Baltimore, giving the teams a split of the series. The Rays built that lead without benefit of a homer but Seth Williams had a bases-clearing double, Dan Gregory was 3-5 with 2 RBI and Dave Frick was 3-3 with a double, walk and 2 RBI. Frick is showing no signs of cooling off despite his lifetime record of being a decent but not great hitter and is 452/514/690 with 5 HR and 33 RBI in 36 games, good for 3.3 WAR already in mid-May. But back to the bullpen meltdown. Greg Bookhart had to leave after tweaking his back (nothing serious) and going 3 5 3 3 1 2, pressing the pen into early action. Chris O'Brien gave up 4 runs after they were up 12-6, and then BJ Turner (1-2) matched O'Brien and took the loss. Sean Forbes added fuel to the fire as well as despite being still rated at 70 stuff, 50 movement and 65 control, can't get through an outing without being scored on.

Team record: 26-12. Next up: This coast-to-coast road trip stops in flyover country for 3 games in Kansas City.

Art Deco · 06-06-2022, 10:36 PM

Game 1: The Rays pulled away in the middle innings and took a 7-3 win over the Royals in the opener of their 3-game series. Jose Castillo and Tomas Laboy swung the big bats, with Castillo going 3-5 with a 2-run homer (#5) and Laboy 2-4 with 3 RBI. Nelson Bocardo chipped in with HR #2, a solo shot. Ben Moses (4-2) was solid for the win at 6 4 3 2 2 5.

Game 2: The Tampa Bay bats were held in check and a couple of Dave Frick errors led to a 7-2 Kansas City win in the second game. Frick, having an MVP-caliber season, didn't have his best night with errors in the 1st and 4th innings which rendered 4 of the 6 runs allowed by Marc Gibson against his old team unearned. Gibson suffered his first loss of the year against 5 wins after going 6 6 6 2 1 3.

Game 3: The Rays bounced back from the previous night's loss with a 15-7 rout of the Royals which was 15-1 in the 8th before some shaky bullpen work made the score a little more respectable for the Royals. It was a parade at the plate with homers from Jose Castillo (a 2-run shot, #6), Seth Williams (#6, a 3-run blast as part of a 4-RBI day), Luis Barela (#7), Alex Duran (#2) and Yuji Morioka (#7). Gordie Ager was brilliant with the big lead, improving to 5-2, 3.04 after going 7 3 1 1 0 8 before Josh Grote was hit for a 5-spot in the 8th.

Team record: 28-13. Next up: We head out west for 4 games in Anaheim against the Angels.

Art Deco · 06-08-2022, 10:25 AM

Game 1: The Rays were up 10-0 by the 2nd inning on their way to a 15-4 rout of the Angels in the opener of their 4-game series in Anaheim. Doug Johns' 2-run homer in the first (#7) got them going, Luis Barela and Tomas Laboy each doubled and drove in 3, and Mario Saro had a 2-run double in their 8-run 2nd. Jim Brophy (3-3) got the win after a pedestrian 5.1 6 3 3 3 1 outing.

Game 2: Tampa Bay hit double digits for the third straight game in another rout of the Angels 10-3. The irrepressible Dave Frick got them going early with a bases-clearing double, and Nelson Bocardo added the late runs on an RBI single and a 2-run homer (#3). Greg Bookhart (4-0) was solid on the mound at 6 7 2 2 1 1 and Tristan Goulet went the final 3 innings for his 1st save of the year.

Game 3: The Rays scored 10 or more for the fourth consecutive game and this time they had to in a wild 12-11 win. Mario Saro's 2-run homer in the 9th (#9) won it for them after they blew a 10-7 lead in the 8th, and that was after coming back from 5-0 down after the first inning. Doug Johns (#8, solo), Seth Williams (#7, with a man on) and Yuji Morioka (#8, a 3-run shot to put them up in the 8th) also went deep in the slugfest while Tony Cordova drove in 3 as well. Ben Moses had a nightmarish start, allowing those 5 first-inning runs and going 3 4 6 6 6 3, Sean Forbes once again showed he couldn't be trusted with a high-leverage situation by allowing 3 in the 8th, the last of which came on a homer Willie Minier allowed to blow the save. Minier stayed on in the 9th and vultured his 2nd win of the year but not without putting 2 more men on and making it an adventure.

Game 4: Tampa Bay's streak of double-digit scoring came to an end but their win streak didn't as it reached 5 with a 6-3 triumph to sweep the Angels. Marc Gibson went to 6-1 with a pretty good 6 6 3 1 2 3 outing and the bullpen excelled this time with Satoshi Sato fanning 3 in the 9th for save #6. A 4-run 3rd inning got them the win thanks to Seth Williams' RBI triple, a 2-run homer from Jose Castillo (#7) and a solo shot from Doug Johns (#9), his third homer in the series.

Team record: 32-13. Next up: An off-day to fly cross-country to Tampa where we'll host Boston for 3.

Art Deco · 06-09-2022, 08:51 AM

Game 1: The Rays rode a 7-run 5th which included back-to-back-to-back homers to take a 9-2 win over the Red Sox in the series opener at Publix Park. Dave Frick (#6), Nelson Bocardo (#4) and Mario Saro (#10) went deep consecutively with solo shots while Frick and Bocardo each drove in another run. Gordie Ager (6-2) was dominant for the win at 6 4 1 1 1 8.

Game 2: Seth Williams and the rest of the Rays' hitters had a huge day as they routed the Red Sox again 11-3 to make it 7 straight wins. Williams found the seats twice driving in 5 and giving him 9 on the year, Doug Johns had a 2-run blast (#10) as did Yuji Morioka (#9), and Luis Barela added a solo shot (#8). And Dave Frick just won't stop as he was 2-3 with 2 doubles and a walk and is hitting 452/514/684. Jim Brophy pitched about as good a game as he can these days, going 7 5 3 3 2 3 to improve to 4-3.

Game 3: Rookie Juan Davila introduced himself to MLB as the Rays' next weapon today, leading Tampa Bay to a 7-4 win, a series sweep, and 8 consecutive wins overall. Davila, who has been a top 5 MLB prospect the last few years, hit a 5th-inning grand slam (#2) which turned a 4-3 Boston lead into a 7-4 Tampa Bay advantage. He also doubled and walked twice. If not for Dave Frick, Mario Saro would be considered the MVP frontrunner so far as he had another big day, 3-5 with a 2-run homer (#11). Ben Moses (5-2) had his issues today but was well-supported for the win after going 6 6 4 4 3 3 and the front end of the bullpen finished it off with Willie Minier picking up save #10.

Team record: 35-13. Next victims, er next up: Baltimore visits Publix Park for 3 over the weekend.

Art Deco · 06-09-2022, 09:47 PM

Game 1: Greg Bookhart was dominant and so was the offense as usual as the Rays took the opener at Publix Park from Baltimore 7-1 for their 9th straight win. Bookhart (5-0) was 6 4 0 0 1 8 and lowered his ERA to 2.66 in the process. Doug Johns drove in 3 with a couple of singles, Tony Cordova doubled and tripled and drove in a run, and Dan Gregory launched a solo homer (#4).

Game 2: The Rays took advantage of 4 Baltimore errors and extended their winning streak to double digits as they won 5-3. Doug Johns stayed hot by singling in a run and hitting a solo homer (#10) and Seth Williams had a key RBI double to make a winner of Marc Gibson for the 7th time this year against one loss. Gibson wasn't dominating but good enough at 5.1 8 1 1 1 4. Willie Minier recorded his 11th save despite allowing a solo homer.

Game 3: Tampa Bay kept fighting back but ultimately succumbed 7-6 to the Orioles in 10 innings to see their win streak snapped at 10 in the series finale. Baltimore led 5-2 going into the bottom of the 8th before Luis Barela evened things up with a 3-run homer (#8), and then after the Orioles went back ahead in the 9th Seth Williams singled in a run in the Rays' half. But Satoshi Sato (0-1) gave up a 2-out run in the top of the 10th and although the Rays mounted a threat they couldn't equalize for a third time. Gordie Ager's run of fine starts came to an end after he went 4.2 6 5 5 1 4.

Team record: 37-14. Next up: We head out to Oakland for Memorial Day and a 4-game series.

Personal note: I see that this thread has passed the 100,000 views mark and I want to thank everyone who's read along for the last 2+ years (or more recently). It's been fun.

Art Deco · 06-10-2022, 11:07 PM

Game 1: The Rays wasted Jim Brophy's best start of the season, losing a 2-0 lead in the late innings as Oakland walked off a 3-2 win in their Memorial Day series opener. Brophy went 6.2 5 0 0 2 3 and Luis Barela singled one run in and doubled and scored the other, but Mel Mejia - who gave up the Game 7-tying homer to Dave Frick for Washington last season - gave up another big homer, a 2-run shot in the 8th and then 2 hits and a walk off Sean Forbes (1-1) in the 9th gave Oakland the win.

Game 2: Another Rays starter pitched a great game but was victimized by the bullpen and a lack of offense in a 4-1 loss to the A's, their third straight. This time Ben Moses was near unhittable at 6 1 1 0 1 8 but Rays' bats squandered opportunity after opportunity, leaving 12 on base and getting only one run in a pair of bases-loaded, nobody out situations and that came via a walk. After they equalized with that lone run in the 7th, Chris O'Brien (0-1) like Mel Mejia the night before surrendered a big 2-run homer and then Josh Grote gave up one up for good measure.

Game 3: The Rays have found themselves in some kind of Groundhog Day-type nightmare as once again a late homer allowed by the pen cost them in a 5-4 loss to Oakland. At least this time they didn't waste a great start as Greg Bookhart struggled at 4.2 7 4 3 3 5 and the Rays came back from a 4-2 deficit on solo homers from Seth Williams (#10) and Juan Davila (#3). But today it was BJ Turner's turn to give up a gut-punch homer and that he did in the bottom of the 7th as he dropped to 1-3 and has allowed 4 longballs in 17 1/3 IP which is not great. Alex Duran homered (#3) earlier in the game for Tampa Bay.

Game 4: Great start? check. Minimal offense? check. Bullpen let them down? Triple check. Amazingly the Rays were swept by Oakland in virtually the same fashion in all 4 games as they dropped a 3-2 decision and have now seen their losing streak grow to 5. Marc Gibson was tremendous, going 6 4 2 2 3 4 and of course the second run he allowed came courtesy of the pen as this time the malaise affected the high-end relievers like Satoshi Sato (0-2, blown save #4) who allowed Gibson's man to score then put one on in the 8th who Willie Minier allowed to score. The Rays looked like they might actually score some runs today when Jose Castillo ripped a 2-run double in the 1st, but Oakland's Emery Nielsen shut them down the rest of the way and pitched a complete-game 4-hitter.

Team record: 37-18. Next up: They'll try to change their fortunes farther up the west coast as they play 3 in Seattle. As you can see from above the bullpen has been terrible all year and for once they didn't outscore their problems. The bullpen's 4.11 ERA is 14th out of 15 in the AL and they've allowed 23 homers in 159 innings pitched. The Dan Anderson injury really hurt as he was the bridge in the 6th and 7th to Minier and Soto and the new guys like Josh Grote and BJ Turner have been dreadful. For now I'm going to start using Tristan Goulet in higher-leverage situations to see what we have there but changes will be in the offing if things don't improve soon.

Art Deco · 06-11-2022, 08:00 PM

Game 1: This game had all the hallmarks of the Rays' previous frustrating series in Oakland as they nursed a small lead with a great outing from a starter only for the bullpen to blow it. But this time they came out on top, scoring a run in the 10th to take a 3-2 win in Seattle in the series opener. Jose Castillo smacked a pair of solo homers (#s 8 & 9) and Gordie Ager took a shutout into the 7th, but put a man on with two out and Tristan Goulet got the call this time. And like his bullpen mates before him this week, Goulet gave up an RBI single to score Ager's man and an RBI double to score his own. But Mario Saro threw out the potential go-ahead run at the plate and Luis Barela singled in a run in the 10th, making a winner of Satoshi Sato (1-2) with save #12 going to Willie Minier. Ager meanwhile got a no-decision after a fine 6.2 4 1 1 2 7 outing.

Game 2: The Rays have found runs hard to come by on this trip, scoring only 12 in the previous 5 games and today they took a goose egg, losing 1-0 to the Mariners and wasting another good start from Jim Brophy. The lefty - now 4-4 - was 5.1 5 1 1 2 2 but the bats could only manage 5 hits. One of them was a leadoff triple in the 7th from Yuji Morioka, but they couldn't bring him home.

Game 3: Tampa Bay's offense finally came alive, scoring more runs today than they have in the entirety of the road trip to date as they mauled the Mariners 13-5. It was 10-2 by the 4th with Dave Frick blasting a 2-run shot (#7), Mario Saro going deep with #12 and Yuji Morioka going 3-5 with a triple and 4 RBI. Doug Johns hit a 9th-inning 2-run homer (#12) to cap a 3-RBI day for him. Ben Moses fell one out short of a win, going 4.2 3 2 2 2 4 before having to leave with back spasms which won't prevent him from making his next start. The win instead went to Chris O'Brien, his first with the Rays despite allowing 3 runs in 2 1/3 innings.

Team record: 39-19. Next up: An off-day to fly cross-country where we'll play a pair of games in Washington and revisit old friends Jose Mendez and Dan Robinson as we stage a World Series rematch.

Also on the off-day tomorrow is the Amateur Draft, and we'll have full coverage.

Art Deco · 06-11-2022, 09:06 PM

The high picks:

de la Rosa:

Mastropietro:

Gilbert:

Flowers:

See-to:

Buber:

Obviously de la Rosa is the cream of the picks here. He offers little defensive value but is potentially a truly elite hitter. Mastropietro is a risk as drafting a college closer is limiting enough but a high school closer is really going out on a limb. But he's potential 75-80 stuff, movement and control and the fact that he's a lefty made him too intriguing to pass up.

Art Deco · 06-12-2022, 06:19 PM

Game 1: The Rays overwhelmed Washington in the opener of their 2-game set at Nationals Park, picking up where they left off in last year's World Series with an 11-5 win. Seth Williams was 4-6 with 2 RBI, Tony Cordova drilled a 2-run HR (#5) as part of a 3-RBI day and Alex Duran got back at his old team with a 3-hit game that included a 2-run homer (#4). Greg Bookhart had a rough first inning, allowing 3 runs, but settled down to go to 6-0 with a 5.2 8 3 3 1 5 outing.

Game 2: Different day, same script as the Rays annihilated the Nats and former Ray Dan Robinson 14-5 to sweep the 2-game set. Seth Williams followed up his big day yesterday with another one as he was 3-6 with 2 doubles and 5 RBI, Nelson Bocardo was 3-4 with an RBI and Mario Saro was on base 5 times, going 2-3 with 2 walks, a double and 2 RBI. Marc Gibson keeps on winning at 8-1 despite another baserunner-filled outing of 6 6 1 1 4 2. The bullpen continued to disappoint as Sean Forbes had to be yanked in the 8th after giving up 2 runs on 4 hits while only getting one out, and Caleb Ramos gave up 2 more in the 9th.

Team record: 41-19. Next up: The long cross-country road trip is finally over as we return to Publix Park for 3 against Seattle.

Art Deco · 06-13-2022, 02:30 PM

Game 1: The bullpen let us down once more but the bats made up for it again as the Rays edged Seattle 5-4 in 10 innings in the opener of a 4-game set at Publix Park. Gordie Ager was dominating (6 4 1 1 3 11) but ended up with nothing to show for it after BJ Turner and Satoshi Sato combined to allow 3 runs in the 7th and lose a 4-1 lead with Sato giving up a 3-run shot to former Rays star Josh Alexander. Alex Duran came off the bench and to the rescue though as he drilled a pinch-RBI double to score Dave Frick and they walked it off, making a winner of Mel Mejia (2-1).

Game 2: One way not to worry about the bullpen (usually) is to go out and score 12 runs and that's what the Rays did in a 12-1 rout of the Mariners. Dan Gregory had a massive game, going 3-4 with a pair of homers (#s 5 & 6) and 4 RBI while Yuji Morioka was 2-4 with a 2-run blast (#10). Jose Castillo had a bases-clearing double and Dave Frick went 3-4 with an RBI and boosted his average back up to .411. Jim Brophy (5-4) seems to have settled into a groove with his diminished stuff, looking good today at 6 2 1 1 3 6 and has reeled off 4 straight fine starts.

Game 3: Tampa Bay won its sixth straight and third in a row over Seattle with a 6-3 triumph. Ben Moses (6-2) was outstanding at 6 3 0 0 1 6 but we had to have our bullpen moment with Chris O'Brien giving up 3 runs on a pair of homers in the 7th to make the game somewhat close. Satoshi Sato finished up for his 7th save. Doug Johns had the big bat today, hitting an RBI double and a 2-run homer (#13).

Game 4: The Rays completed the 4-game sweep of Seattle and ran their win streak 7, beating the Mariners 5-2 at Publix Park. Greg Bookhart went to 7-0 thanks to a 6 3 2 2 1 9 performance and the bullpen was perfect for 3 innings for a change with Willie Minier notching save #13. All 5 Rays runs came in the first inning with Doug Johns' 2-run double the big hit.

Team record: 45-19. Next up: Toronto visits for 3 games.

Art Deco · 06-14-2022, 09:00 AM

Game 1: Toronto's Angel Roig and two relievers shut the Rays down at Publix Park in the opener of a 3-game set 4-1. Tampa Bay was held to only 3 hits while Marc Gibson (8-2) went 5.2 6 4 4 3 6 for a rare loss. Caleb Ramos threw 3 1/3 shutout innings in relief for the day's lone bright spot.

Game 2: It was looking like a repeat of yesterday as Jays pitching once again squelched the Rays' bats and Toronto took a 3-1 lead into the bottom of the 9th. But they loaded the bases and Mario Saro stepped up and hit a dramatic two-out grand slam (#13) to give the Rays an unlikely walk-off win. Saro had hit a sac fly for their previous run in the 8th and finished with all 5 RBI. Gordie Ager kept them in the game, recovering from a rough 3rd in which the Jays scored all their runs and finished 7 8 3 3 0 4. Josh Grote (2-0) held Toronto scoreless over the final 2 innings and picked up the win.

Game 3: The finale was a lot like the first two games in that the Rays offense was unusually muted at Publix Park and were shut out again until the 9th. But this time the comeback fell short as Doug Johns' 3-run homer (#14) in the final frame wasn't enough and Toronto took the series with a 4-3 win. Jim Brophy (5-5) wasn't great but hung in there at 6.2 6 4 4 3 1 after giving up all 4 runs in the first 3 innings.

Team record: 46-21. Next up: Off to New York to play 4 against the Yankees.

05-31-2022, 09:54 AM	#1981
Art Deco Hall Of Famer Join Date: May 2020 Posts: 6,972	April 9-11, 2046: at Chicago White Sox (3) Game 1: The Rays couldn't come through with runners on and as a result fell 5-4 to the White Sox in the series opener. Tampa Bay left 14 on base and the biggest culprit was Nelson Bocardo, 0-5 with 12 LOB including the bases loaded with 2 out in the 9th. They trailed 4-1 and tied it in the 7th on three consecutive bases-loaded walks, the only way they could score since they couldn't get hits when they counted. But right after equalizing, Caleb Ramos (0-1) gave up a run in the bottom of the inning that proved to be the winner. Greg Bookhart started and went 5.2 8 4 4 2 4 and Dave Frick had 2 more hits although his average dropped to .595. Game 2: Tampa Bay ran into Omar Guerrero, winner of the last 2 Cy Youngs in the AL and were shut out 5-0 to drop below .500. Guerrero held them to 5 hits over 7 2/3 (one of them from Dave Frick, 1-2 and still at .590), and Gordie Ager (1-2) struggled with his control as he went 4 4 5 5 5 2. Game 3: The Rays were swept thanks to a another tough loss, 6-5 in 10 innings at Guaranteed Rate Field which guaranteed them a 5-7 record to start 2046. Solo homers from Doug Johns (#1) in the 6th and Mario Saro (#2) in the 7th brought them back from a 5-3 deficit, but the offense couldn't do anything after that and the White Sox scored off Willie Minier (0-1) in the 10th to take the win and the sweep. Tony Cordova and Jose Castillo each hit solo shots, the 2nd of the year for both, earlier in the game and Jim Brophy had his issues at 4 9 5 4 0 4 with 2 homers allowed. Dave Frick watch: 2-4 with an RBI single, still hitting .581. Team record: 5-7. Next up: An off-day to lick our wounds then back home for 3 against Philadelphia.

05-31-2022, 09:19 PM	#1982
Art Deco Hall Of Famer Join Date: May 2020 Posts: 6,972	April 13-15, 2046: vs Philadelphia (3) Game 1: The Rays took a decisive 9-2 win over Philly to snap their mini 3-game losing streak, although it was a close game until they blew it open with 4 in the 8th. Dave Frick remained frickin' toasty, blasting a 3-run homer in the 2nd (#1) and walked twice including once with the bases loaded as he's now 26-45 (.578) to start the year. Mario Saro had a bases-clearing double in that 8th inning to make it comfortable and ensure that Ben Moses (1-1) would earn his first Rays win as a starter after a fine 6 3 1 1 1 6 outing. Game 2: Yuji Morioka has played well since coming over from Japan this winter but today he really introduced himself to MLB, going 4-4 with 2 homers and 5 RBI as a nearly one-man offense in a 7-4 win over the Phillies. Morioka also doubled as he's now up to 4 HR and 9 RBI total in only 27 at-bats. Luis Barela had an RBI double and Alex Duran an RBI triple. Marc Gibson went to 3-0 with a strange 5 1 3 3 4 2 outing with all 3 runs coming on the lone hit he allowed, a homer in the 1st. Willie Minier had a 1-2-3 9th for his 2nd save. Game 3: Greg Bookhart was outstanding but denied a win when Sean Forbes coughed up a 2-run homer in the 8th but the Rays themselves weren't denied when Doug Johns blasted a 3-run walk-off homer (#2) in the bottom of the 9th to take a 5-2 win and a series sweep from the Phillies. Before Johns' blast Bookhart was the story, going 7 3 0 0 0 6 as the Rays held a 2-0 lead on a Luis Barela RBI single and Juan Davila's sac fly. But Forbes, as he did often last year, gave up the big homer and it was tied. Mel Mejia (1-1) notched his first Rays win after a 1-2-3 9th. Team record: 8-7. Next up: Texas comes to town for 3 games.

06-01-2022, 10:25 AM	#1983
Art Deco Hall Of Famer Join Date: May 2020 Posts: 6,972	April 16-18, 2046: vs Texas (3) Game 1: The Rays took a back-and-forth game from Texas by scoring twice in the 9th to walk it off 5-4. Seth Williams and Jose Castillo had consecutive RBI singles in the bottom of the 9th to win it after Satoshi Sato lost a 3-2 lead in the 8th inning. BJ Turner struck out the side in the 9th for his first Rays win. Gordie Ager turned in a decent start at 5.1 3 2 2 1 6 and Dave Frick was 2-3 with an RBI to up his average to .528. Game 2: The Rays and Rangers exchanged leads again and in the end the Rays made it 5 straight with a 7-6 win at Publix Park. Dan Gregory's 2-run homer (#2) in the bottom of the 6th put them ahead to stay and today the bullpen held on although Josh Grote vultured a win after losing a lead in the 6th. BJ Turner was outstanding again with a 2-whiff 1-2-3 inning and might be establishing himself as the primary RH setup man while Willie Minier had an easy 9th for save #3. Jim Brophy struggled a bit at 5.1 6 5 4 2 3 although Grote let two of his runners score. Earlier they got homers from Luis Barela (#3) and Seth Williams (#1) while Dave Frick just kept on raking, going 2-3 with a 2-run double and is now up to an unbelievable .536 through 17 games. Game 3: No need to come back from a blown lead today as the Rays swept the Rangers and made it 6 straight wins with a fairly routine 5-2 win. Ben Moses (2-1) was outstanding going 7 4 1 1 2 8 and Willie Minier pitched around a couple of hits to earn save #4. It was a 1-1 game into the 5th when Juan Davila picked a great time to hit his first MLB homer and three batters later Mario Saro launched a 3-run jack (#3) to put it away. And all Dave Frick did today was go 2-3 again to up his average to .542. Team record: 11-7. Next up: An off-day at home then Minnesota visits for 3 games over the weekend.

06-02-2022, 12:45 PM	#1984
Art Deco Hall Of Famer Join Date: May 2020 Posts: 6,972	April 20-22, 2046: vs Minnesota (3) Game 1: The Rays opened their series against Minnesota at Publix Park with a rout that turned into a nail-biter as they held on to win 10-8. Dave Frick (again) and Dan Gregory had 2-run doubles to help build a 10-3 lead after 6 before the bullpen had some problems. Marc Gibson made it 4 wins in 4 starts after going a pedestrian 5 9 3 3 1 3 but the pen was the issue as Tristan Goulet allowed 2 runs and then Chris O'Brien gave up 3 more. Satoshi Sato put an end to the nonsense with a 1-2-3 9th for his first save of the year. Game 2: The Rays made it 8 straight wins in another tight one, 5-4 over the Twins. Dan Gregory and Jose Castillo each hit 2-run homers for their third of the year, and Dave Frick remained inhuman with his 2nd of the year, a solo shot to bring his average to .523. Greg Bookhart (2-0) picked up the win going 5 7 3 3 2 5 and Willie Minier notched his 5th save. Game 3: No need to sweat this one out as the Rays swept their third straight series, going 9-0 on the homestand after routing the Twins 11-1. Mario Saro had a massive game, going 4-5 with an RBI triple and a 2-run homer (#4) and Alex Duran went deep for the first time as a Ray with a 3-run shot. Gordie Ager (2-2) was excellent for the win, going 5.2 7 1 0 0 7 against his former squad. Team record: 14-7. Next up: A scheduling quirk sees them get two off-day before traveling to Baltimore for a pair.

06-02-2022, 09:38 PM	#1985
Art Deco Hall Of Famer Join Date: May 2020 Posts: 6,972	April 25-26, 2046: at Baltimore (2) April 25: Activated IF Tomas Laboy from his rehab assignment, optioned P Tristan Goulet to AAA Durham. Laboy is back but he's going to be ending up in a time share with Yuji Morioka, who's a much, much better defender at 2B. Laboy will spell Luis Barela some at 3B and get some at-bats but he might also be trade bait. Game 1: The Rays made it 10 straight wins by beating Baltimore 9-5 at Oriole Park behind a 5-hit game by Seth Williams. The Rays 1B was 5-5 with 3 runs scored, a homer (#2) and 2 RBI while Jose Castillo was 3-5 with a 2-run shot (#4). Mario Saro added his 5th of the year with a man on. Jim Brophy (2-1) was solid for the win at 7 5 3 3 2 2 but Sean Forbes struggled yet again, allowing 2 runs in 1/3 of an inning. Game 2: Tampa Bay rode 4 solo homers to take a 4-2 win over the Orioles in Baltimore, extending their win streak to 11. Dave Frick got things going with his 3rd (a 3-9 in the two games has dropped him to .474), Nelson Bocardo went back-to-back with him in the 2nd for his first, and Doug Johns hit his 3rd in the 4th. It stayed at 3-2 for quite awhile until Yuji Morioka provided some insurance with this 5th longball of the year in the 9th. All of these dingers backed Ben Moses, probably the team's best starter this year as he was 7 6 2 2 0 7 to up his record to 3-1. Satoshi Sato had a 1-2-3 9th for save #2. Team record: 16-7. Next up: 3 games in Boston.

06-03-2022, 01:34 PM	#1986
Art Deco Hall Of Famer Join Date: May 2020 Posts: 6,972	April 27-29, 2048: at Boston (3) Game 1: The opener was one of those famous Fenway games with the Rays prevailing by a football score of 14-11. The Rays jumped out to leads of 8-4 and 11-7 but Boston kept coming back as the pitching wasn't too hot today with Marc Gibson keeping his perfect 4-0 record but not deserving to after going 2.2 8 7 7 3 2. Caleb Ramos (1-1) got the win in relief despite allowing 2 runs in 2 2/3 himself and eventually Willie Minier nailed down save #6. Tomas Laboy was the hitting star blasting a pair of 3-run homers, his 2nd and 3rd, and Seth Williams was 3-5 with 2 RBI. Game 2: A much calmer affair as Gordie Ager was outstanding and the Rays extended their win streak to a baker's dozen with a 6-1 win over the Red Sox at Fenway. Ager (3-2) was 6.1 4 1 1 1 5 and Dan Anderson went the final 2 2/3 scoreless for his first save. Anderson remains unscored upon in 9 outing this season covering 13 2/3 innings in which he's only allowed 5 hits. Dave Frick's remarkable start to 2046 continued as he dominated the offense with 3 hits and 4 RBI, including a 2-run double and a solo homer as he's now hitting .488 with 4 HR and 23 RBI in 25 games. Game 3: Greg Bookhart shut down Boston and the Rays bullpen held on shakily for a 4-2 win, a series sweep, and a 14-game winning streak. The stylish lefty improved to 3-0, 2.05 after a 6 4 0 0 2 5 outing and Satoshi Sato grabbed his 3rd save despite allowing a run in the 9th. Alex Duran was the man on offense going 3-4 with a double and 2 RBI and rookie Juan Davila contributed an RBI double. Team record: 19-7. Next up: the road trip continues with 3 in Detroit. Last edited by Art Deco; 06-03-2022 at 01:35 PM.

06-04-2022, 02:43 PM	#1987
Art Deco Hall Of Famer Join Date: May 2020 Posts: 6,972	April 30-May 2, 2046: at Detroit (3) Game 1: The Rays' 14-game winning streak came to an unceremonious end as the Tigers walloped them 8-2 at Comerica Park. We have a Jim Brophy problem as the once-dominating lefty has been downgraded to 45 stuff and lost about 3 MPH off his fastball, and his performance today reflected that as he went 3 7 6 3 4 1 and dropped to 2-2, 5.28. He's making $14M so nobody will offer anything for him in trade; we may very well be in the market for a starter. Seth Williams hit HR #3 in a losing effort. Game 2: The Rays have started a streak of the wrong kind as the Tigers beat them once again, this time 6-2 as Ben Moses struggled. Their most consistent starter so far this season, Moses (3-2) didn't have it today and he couldn't lead the Rays to the promised land with a line of 5 8 5 5 3 0. Dan Gregory supplied all the offense with a 2-run single and then had to leave the game with another of his injuries, the latest being back spasms (moderate) for a week. May 2: Placed OF Dan Gregory on the 10-day IL with back spasms, recalled OF Jared Richardson from AAA Durham. Richardson, who impressed last year while Gregory and others were out, gets another chance. Game 3: Tampa Bay salvaged a game from this series, downing Detroit 7-5. Mario Saro blasted a pair of homers (#6 & 7) and drove in 3 to lead the way, and Luis Barela also went deep with #4. Marc Gibson improved to 5-0 despite a shaky 5.1 10 4 4 1 1 record and now has a 5.97 ERA to go with that perfect record. Did I mention we could use a starter? Satoshi Sato recorded his 4th save despite allowing a 9th inning solo homer. Team record: 20-9. Next up: An off-day then we return home for 3 vs Toronto.

06-05-2022, 08:20 AM	#1988
Art Deco Hall Of Famer Join Date: May 2020 Posts: 6,972	May 4-6, 2046: vs Toronto (3) Game 1: The Rays blew a late lead but came back in the bottom of the 8th to win anyway 5-4 over Toronto in their series opener at Publix Park. Tony Cordova's 3rd homer of the year tied it at 4, and then Mario Saro singled, stole second and went to third before Jose Castillo brought him home with a sac fly. That made a winner of Dan Anderson (1-0), who blew the lead for Gordie Ager who went 6 7 2 2 0 7. Willie Minier fanned a pair in a 1-2-3 9th for save #7. Earlier Yuji Morioka drove in a pair with a groundout and his 6th homer. Game 2: More bullpen problems again and this time they were costly in a 5-4 loss to the Jays. BJ Turner (1-1) gave up a pair of runs in the 7th which broke a 3-3 tie and sent them to defeat. Greg Bookhart started and was unusually wild at 5 6 3 3 6 1 but limited the damage while they got early homers from Mario Saro (#8) and Doug Johns (#4). Game 3: And for the third straight game the pen faltered but like in Game 1 they came back anyway to walk it off 8-7, loading the bases with the first three batters of the 9th before Luis Barela capped a big day with a sac fly. Jim Brophy continues to be a problem, going 4.2 6 5 5 2 2 but they held a 7-5 lead going to the 9th when it was Willie Minier's turn to struggle, allowing a pair of runs for the Jays to tie in part due to his own fielding error. Minier did end up vulturing his first win of the year. Barela meanwhile was 3-4 with HR #5 and 3 RBI and Mario Saro continued to rake, going 3-5 with 3 steals (an MLB-best 12 for the year) while Yuji Morioka drove in a pair. Team record: 22-10. Next up: An off-day then Atlanta visits for 2 games. Saro's big week received recognition:

06-05-2022, 09:31 AM	#1989
Art Deco Hall Of Famer Join Date: May 2020 Posts: 6,972	May 8-9, 2046: vs Atlanta (2) May 8: Placed OF Jared Richardson on the 10-day IL with an abdominal strain, recalled OF/P Josh Schwartzlow from AAA Durham. Richardson suffered the injury in the Toronto finale after doubling in a run. Schwartzlow is back up after a brief stint with us last year. Game 1: Another game in which we outscored our pitching problems, scoring 9 times in the 7th and 8th to turn a potential 6-2 loss into an actual 11-6 win over Atlanta at Publix Park. Doug Johns' 3-run homer in the 7th (#5) tied it up and Luis Barela went back-to-back with him (#6) to provide the winning run. Dave Frick was 3-5 with a bases-clearing double in the 8th and Seth Williams capped a 3-hit day with a solo homer (#4) in the same inning to make the rubble bounce. Ben Moses struggled again, going 6 9 5 4 2 3 and the win went to Sean Forbes (1-0), who can't stop giving up homers as he allowed a solo shot in the 7th, his 3rd in 7 innings this year. Game 2: For a change we got a well-pitched game and it came from an unlikely source as Marc Gibson was solid in a 3-2 win. Gibson, who came in with an ERA near 6 despite a 5-0 record, went 5.1 4 2 2 1 2 but ironically didn't get the win this time when Chris O'Brien allowed one of his runners to score to tie the game at 2. The Rays mounted a rally in the bottom of the 7th which culminated with a wild pitch bringing home Nelson Bocardo for the winner. Dan Anderson (2-0) picked up the win and Willie Minier nailed down save #8. Bocardo had knocked in the first two Rays run with a double. Despite the win there was some bad news though as Anderson had to leave with what was diagnosed as an arthritic elbow and is essentially done for the year (he could return mid-October in the playoffs). He's been a glue guy in the pen the last 5 years serving as a bridge to the late innings and he'll be missed. Team record: 24-10. Next up: Another off-day then we cram 4 games into 3 days in Baltimore with a scheduled doubleheader.

06-05-2022, 09:20 PM	#1990
Art Deco Hall Of Famer Join Date: May 2020 Posts: 6,972	May 11-13, 2046: at Baltimore (4) Game 1: Gordie Ager was brilliant and the Rays took a tight 2-1 decision over the Orioles at Camden Yards. The lefty had his 5th straight strong start, going 7.2 5 1 1 1 7 to improve to 4-2. Willie Minier got the final four outs for save #9. The offense came via solo homers from Doug Johns (#6) in the 2nd and Seth Williams (#5) in the 3rd. May 12: Activated OF Dan Gregory from the IL, optioned OF/P Josh Schwartzlow to AAA Durham. Schwartzlow never saw any action in his couple of days up. Game 2: The Rays dropped the first game of Saturday's doubleheader by the same score they won by on Friday night, 2-1, and they were no-hit until the 8th inning when Tony Cordova led off with a solo homer (#4). That was one of only two hits they managed, and it meant that Jim Brophy (2-3) was a hard-luck loser after going 6 7 2 2 1 1. Game 3: Tampa Bay put 6 runs on the board in the 3rd and they stood up in a 6-2 win which gave them a doubleheader split. The ridiculous Dave Frick did it again, capping the inning with a grand slam (#5). Tristan Goulet got a spot start and excelled, getting his first decision of the year after going 6 2 2 2 4 4. Satoshi Sato earned save #5 by retiring the final 4 Orioles, 3 via the whiff, and has 26 Ks in his 14 2/3 IP this season. Game 4: The Rays are seemingly good for one Camden Yards bullpen meltdown a season and today was one of those days as they lost a 6th-inning 12-5 lead and fell 14-12 to Baltimore, giving the teams a split of the series. The Rays built that lead without benefit of a homer but Seth Williams had a bases-clearing double, Dan Gregory was 3-5 with 2 RBI and Dave Frick was 3-3 with a double, walk and 2 RBI. Frick is showing no signs of cooling off despite his lifetime record of being a decent but not great hitter and is 452/514/690 with 5 HR and 33 RBI in 36 games, good for 3.3 WAR already in mid-May. But back to the bullpen meltdown. Greg Bookhart had to leave after tweaking his back (nothing serious) and going 3 5 3 3 1 2, pressing the pen into early action. Chris O'Brien gave up 4 runs after they were up 12-6, and then BJ Turner (1-2) matched O'Brien and took the loss. Sean Forbes added fuel to the fire as well as despite being still rated at 70 stuff, 50 movement and 65 control, can't get through an outing without being scored on. Team record: 26-12. Next up: This coast-to-coast road trip stops in flyover country for 3 games in Kansas City. Last edited by Art Deco; 06-05-2022 at 09:30 PM.

06-06-2022, 10:36 PM	#1991
Art Deco Hall Of Famer Join Date: May 2020 Posts: 6,972	May 14-16, 2046: at Kansas City (3) Game 1: The Rays pulled away in the middle innings and took a 7-3 win over the Royals in the opener of their 3-game series. Jose Castillo and Tomas Laboy swung the big bats, with Castillo going 3-5 with a 2-run homer (#5) and Laboy 2-4 with 3 RBI. Nelson Bocardo chipped in with HR #2, a solo shot. Ben Moses (4-2) was solid for the win at 6 4 3 2 2 5. Game 2: The Tampa Bay bats were held in check and a couple of Dave Frick errors led to a 7-2 Kansas City win in the second game. Frick, having an MVP-caliber season, didn't have his best night with errors in the 1st and 4th innings which rendered 4 of the 6 runs allowed by Marc Gibson against his old team unearned. Gibson suffered his first loss of the year against 5 wins after going 6 6 6 2 1 3. Game 3: The Rays bounced back from the previous night's loss with a 15-7 rout of the Royals which was 15-1 in the 8th before some shaky bullpen work made the score a little more respectable for the Royals. It was a parade at the plate with homers from Jose Castillo (a 2-run shot, #6), Seth Williams (#6, a 3-run blast as part of a 4-RBI day), Luis Barela (#7), Alex Duran (#2) and Yuji Morioka (#7). Gordie Ager was brilliant with the big lead, improving to 5-2, 3.04 after going 7 3 1 1 0 8 before Josh Grote was hit for a 5-spot in the 8th. Team record: 28-13. Next up: We head out west for 4 games in Anaheim against the Angels.

06-08-2022, 10:25 AM	#1992
Art Deco Hall Of Famer Join Date: May 2020 Posts: 6,972	May 17-20, 2046: at LA Angels (4) Game 1: The Rays were up 10-0 by the 2nd inning on their way to a 15-4 rout of the Angels in the opener of their 4-game series in Anaheim. Doug Johns' 2-run homer in the first (#7) got them going, Luis Barela and Tomas Laboy each doubled and drove in 3, and Mario Saro had a 2-run double in their 8-run 2nd. Jim Brophy (3-3) got the win after a pedestrian 5.1 6 3 3 3 1 outing. Game 2: Tampa Bay hit double digits for the third straight game in another rout of the Angels 10-3. The irrepressible Dave Frick got them going early with a bases-clearing double, and Nelson Bocardo added the late runs on an RBI single and a 2-run homer (#3). Greg Bookhart (4-0) was solid on the mound at 6 7 2 2 1 1 and Tristan Goulet went the final 3 innings for his 1st save of the year. Game 3: The Rays scored 10 or more for the fourth consecutive game and this time they had to in a wild 12-11 win. Mario Saro's 2-run homer in the 9th (#9) won it for them after they blew a 10-7 lead in the 8th, and that was after coming back from 5-0 down after the first inning. Doug Johns (#8, solo), Seth Williams (#7, with a man on) and Yuji Morioka (#8, a 3-run shot to put them up in the 8th) also went deep in the slugfest while Tony Cordova drove in 3 as well. Ben Moses had a nightmarish start, allowing those 5 first-inning runs and going 3 4 6 6 6 3, Sean Forbes once again showed he couldn't be trusted with a high-leverage situation by allowing 3 in the 8th, the last of which came on a homer Willie Minier allowed to blow the save. Minier stayed on in the 9th and vultured his 2nd win of the year but not without putting 2 more men on and making it an adventure. Game 4: Tampa Bay's streak of double-digit scoring came to an end but their win streak didn't as it reached 5 with a 6-3 triumph to sweep the Angels. Marc Gibson went to 6-1 with a pretty good 6 6 3 1 2 3 outing and the bullpen excelled this time with Satoshi Sato fanning 3 in the 9th for save #6. A 4-run 3rd inning got them the win thanks to Seth Williams' RBI triple, a 2-run homer from Jose Castillo (#7) and a solo shot from Doug Johns (#9), his third homer in the series. Team record: 32-13. Next up: An off-day to fly cross-country to Tampa where we'll host Boston for 3.

06-09-2022, 08:51 AM	#1993
Art Deco Hall Of Famer Join Date: May 2020 Posts: 6,972	May 22-24, 2046: vs Boston (3) Game 1: The Rays rode a 7-run 5th which included back-to-back-to-back homers to take a 9-2 win over the Red Sox in the series opener at Publix Park. Dave Frick (#6), Nelson Bocardo (#4) and Mario Saro (#10) went deep consecutively with solo shots while Frick and Bocardo each drove in another run. Gordie Ager (6-2) was dominant for the win at 6 4 1 1 1 8. Game 2: Seth Williams and the rest of the Rays' hitters had a huge day as they routed the Red Sox again 11-3 to make it 7 straight wins. Williams found the seats twice driving in 5 and giving him 9 on the year, Doug Johns had a 2-run blast (#10) as did Yuji Morioka (#9), and Luis Barela added a solo shot (#8). And Dave Frick just won't stop as he was 2-3 with 2 doubles and a walk and is hitting 452/514/684. Jim Brophy pitched about as good a game as he can these days, going 7 5 3 3 2 3 to improve to 4-3. Game 3: Rookie Juan Davila introduced himself to MLB as the Rays' next weapon today, leading Tampa Bay to a 7-4 win, a series sweep, and 8 consecutive wins overall. Davila, who has been a top 5 MLB prospect the last few years, hit a 5th-inning grand slam (#2) which turned a 4-3 Boston lead into a 7-4 Tampa Bay advantage. He also doubled and walked twice. If not for Dave Frick, Mario Saro would be considered the MVP frontrunner so far as he had another big day, 3-5 with a 2-run homer (#11). Ben Moses (5-2) had his issues today but was well-supported for the win after going 6 6 4 4 3 3 and the front end of the bullpen finished it off with Willie Minier picking up save #10. Team record: 35-13. Next victims, er next up: Baltimore visits Publix Park for 3 over the weekend.

06-09-2022, 09:47 PM	#1994
Art Deco Hall Of Famer Join Date: May 2020 Posts: 6,972	May 25-27, 2046: vs Baltimore (3) Game 1: Greg Bookhart was dominant and so was the offense as usual as the Rays took the opener at Publix Park from Baltimore 7-1 for their 9th straight win. Bookhart (5-0) was 6 4 0 0 1 8 and lowered his ERA to 2.66 in the process. Doug Johns drove in 3 with a couple of singles, Tony Cordova doubled and tripled and drove in a run, and Dan Gregory launched a solo homer (#4). Game 2: The Rays took advantage of 4 Baltimore errors and extended their winning streak to double digits as they won 5-3. Doug Johns stayed hot by singling in a run and hitting a solo homer (#10) and Seth Williams had a key RBI double to make a winner of Marc Gibson for the 7th time this year against one loss. Gibson wasn't dominating but good enough at 5.1 8 1 1 1 4. Willie Minier recorded his 11th save despite allowing a solo homer. Game 3: Tampa Bay kept fighting back but ultimately succumbed 7-6 to the Orioles in 10 innings to see their win streak snapped at 10 in the series finale. Baltimore led 5-2 going into the bottom of the 8th before Luis Barela evened things up with a 3-run homer (#8), and then after the Orioles went back ahead in the 9th Seth Williams singled in a run in the Rays' half. But Satoshi Sato (0-1) gave up a 2-out run in the top of the 10th and although the Rays mounted a threat they couldn't equalize for a third time. Gordie Ager's run of fine starts came to an end after he went 4.2 6 5 5 1 4. Team record: 37-14. Next up: We head out to Oakland for Memorial Day and a 4-game series. Personal note: I see that this thread has passed the 100,000 views mark and I want to thank everyone who's read along for the last 2+ years (or more recently). It's been fun.

06-10-2022, 11:07 PM	#1995
Art Deco Hall Of Famer Join Date: May 2020 Posts: 6,972	May 28-31, 2046: at Oakland (4) Game 1: The Rays wasted Jim Brophy's best start of the season, losing a 2-0 lead in the late innings as Oakland walked off a 3-2 win in their Memorial Day series opener. Brophy went 6.2 5 0 0 2 3 and Luis Barela singled one run in and doubled and scored the other, but Mel Mejia - who gave up the Game 7-tying homer to Dave Frick for Washington last season - gave up another big homer, a 2-run shot in the 8th and then 2 hits and a walk off Sean Forbes (1-1) in the 9th gave Oakland the win. Game 2: Another Rays starter pitched a great game but was victimized by the bullpen and a lack of offense in a 4-1 loss to the A's, their third straight. This time Ben Moses was near unhittable at 6 1 1 0 1 8 but Rays' bats squandered opportunity after opportunity, leaving 12 on base and getting only one run in a pair of bases-loaded, nobody out situations and that came via a walk. After they equalized with that lone run in the 7th, Chris O'Brien (0-1) like Mel Mejia the night before surrendered a big 2-run homer and then Josh Grote gave up one up for good measure. Game 3: The Rays have found themselves in some kind of Groundhog Day-type nightmare as once again a late homer allowed by the pen cost them in a 5-4 loss to Oakland. At least this time they didn't waste a great start as Greg Bookhart struggled at 4.2 7 4 3 3 5 and the Rays came back from a 4-2 deficit on solo homers from Seth Williams (#10) and Juan Davila (#3). But today it was BJ Turner's turn to give up a gut-punch homer and that he did in the bottom of the 7th as he dropped to 1-3 and has allowed 4 longballs in 17 1/3 IP which is not great. Alex Duran homered (#3) earlier in the game for Tampa Bay. Game 4: Great start? check. Minimal offense? check. Bullpen let them down? Triple check. Amazingly the Rays were swept by Oakland in virtually the same fashion in all 4 games as they dropped a 3-2 decision and have now seen their losing streak grow to 5. Marc Gibson was tremendous, going 6 4 2 2 3 4 and of course the second run he allowed came courtesy of the pen as this time the malaise affected the high-end relievers like Satoshi Sato (0-2, blown save #4) who allowed Gibson's man to score then put one on in the 8th who Willie Minier allowed to score. The Rays looked like they might actually score some runs today when Jose Castillo ripped a 2-run double in the 1st, but Oakland's Emery Nielsen shut them down the rest of the way and pitched a complete-game 4-hitter. Team record: 37-18. Next up: They'll try to change their fortunes farther up the west coast as they play 3 in Seattle. As you can see from above the bullpen has been terrible all year and for once they didn't outscore their problems. The bullpen's 4.11 ERA is 14th out of 15 in the AL and they've allowed 23 homers in 159 innings pitched. The Dan Anderson injury really hurt as he was the bridge in the 6th and 7th to Minier and Soto and the new guys like Josh Grote and BJ Turner have been dreadful. For now I'm going to start using Tristan Goulet in higher-leverage situations to see what we have there but changes will be in the offing if things don't improve soon. Last edited by Art Deco; 06-10-2022 at 11:09 PM.

06-11-2022, 08:00 PM	#1996
Art Deco Hall Of Famer Join Date: May 2020 Posts: 6,972	June 1-3, 2046: at Seattle (3) Game 1: This game had all the hallmarks of the Rays' previous frustrating series in Oakland as they nursed a small lead with a great outing from a starter only for the bullpen to blow it. But this time they came out on top, scoring a run in the 10th to take a 3-2 win in Seattle in the series opener. Jose Castillo smacked a pair of solo homers (#s 8 & 9) and Gordie Ager took a shutout into the 7th, but put a man on with two out and Tristan Goulet got the call this time. And like his bullpen mates before him this week, Goulet gave up an RBI single to score Ager's man and an RBI double to score his own. But Mario Saro threw out the potential go-ahead run at the plate and Luis Barela singled in a run in the 10th, making a winner of Satoshi Sato (1-2) with save #12 going to Willie Minier. Ager meanwhile got a no-decision after a fine 6.2 4 1 1 2 7 outing. Game 2: The Rays have found runs hard to come by on this trip, scoring only 12 in the previous 5 games and today they took a goose egg, losing 1-0 to the Mariners and wasting another good start from Jim Brophy. The lefty - now 4-4 - was 5.1 5 1 1 2 2 but the bats could only manage 5 hits. One of them was a leadoff triple in the 7th from Yuji Morioka, but they couldn't bring him home. Game 3: Tampa Bay's offense finally came alive, scoring more runs today than they have in the entirety of the road trip to date as they mauled the Mariners 13-5. It was 10-2 by the 4th with Dave Frick blasting a 2-run shot (#7), Mario Saro going deep with #12 and Yuji Morioka going 3-5 with a triple and 4 RBI. Doug Johns hit a 9th-inning 2-run homer (#12) to cap a 3-RBI day for him. Ben Moses fell one out short of a win, going 4.2 3 2 2 2 4 before having to leave with back spasms which won't prevent him from making his next start. The win instead went to Chris O'Brien, his first with the Rays despite allowing 3 runs in 2 1/3 innings. Team record: 39-19. Next up: An off-day to fly cross-country where we'll play a pair of games in Washington and revisit old friends Jose Mendez and Dan Robinson as we stage a World Series rematch. Also on the off-day tomorrow is the Amateur Draft, and we'll have full coverage.

06-11-2022, 09:06 PM	#1997
Art Deco Hall Of Famer Join Date: May 2020 Posts: 6,972	The 2046 Amateur Draft The high picks: de la Rosa: Mastropietro: Gilbert: Flowers: See-to: Buber: Obviously de la Rosa is the cream of the picks here. He offers little defensive value but is potentially a truly elite hitter. Mastropietro is a risk as drafting a college closer is limiting enough but a high school closer is really going out on a limb. But he's potential 75-80 stuff, movement and control and the fact that he's a lefty made him too intriguing to pass up.

06-12-2022, 06:19 PM	#1998
Art Deco Hall Of Famer Join Date: May 2020 Posts: 6,972	June 5-6, 2046: at Washington (2) Game 1: The Rays overwhelmed Washington in the opener of their 2-game set at Nationals Park, picking up where they left off in last year's World Series with an 11-5 win. Seth Williams was 4-6 with 2 RBI, Tony Cordova drilled a 2-run HR (#5) as part of a 3-RBI day and Alex Duran got back at his old team with a 3-hit game that included a 2-run homer (#4). Greg Bookhart had a rough first inning, allowing 3 runs, but settled down to go to 6-0 with a 5.2 8 3 3 1 5 outing. Game 2: Different day, same script as the Rays annihilated the Nats and former Ray Dan Robinson 14-5 to sweep the 2-game set. Seth Williams followed up his big day yesterday with another one as he was 3-6 with 2 doubles and 5 RBI, Nelson Bocardo was 3-4 with an RBI and Mario Saro was on base 5 times, going 2-3 with 2 walks, a double and 2 RBI. Marc Gibson keeps on winning at 8-1 despite another baserunner-filled outing of 6 6 1 1 4 2. The bullpen continued to disappoint as Sean Forbes had to be yanked in the 8th after giving up 2 runs on 4 hits while only getting one out, and Caleb Ramos gave up 2 more in the 9th. Team record: 41-19. Next up: The long cross-country road trip is finally over as we return to Publix Park for 3 against Seattle.

06-13-2022, 02:30 PM	#1999
Art Deco Hall Of Famer Join Date: May 2020 Posts: 6,972	June 7-10, 2046: vs Seattle (4) Game 1: The bullpen let us down once more but the bats made up for it again as the Rays edged Seattle 5-4 in 10 innings in the opener of a 4-game set at Publix Park. Gordie Ager was dominating (6 4 1 1 3 11) but ended up with nothing to show for it after BJ Turner and Satoshi Sato combined to allow 3 runs in the 7th and lose a 4-1 lead with Sato giving up a 3-run shot to former Rays star Josh Alexander. Alex Duran came off the bench and to the rescue though as he drilled a pinch-RBI double to score Dave Frick and they walked it off, making a winner of Mel Mejia (2-1). Game 2: One way not to worry about the bullpen (usually) is to go out and score 12 runs and that's what the Rays did in a 12-1 rout of the Mariners. Dan Gregory had a massive game, going 3-4 with a pair of homers (#s 5 & 6) and 4 RBI while Yuji Morioka was 2-4 with a 2-run blast (#10). Jose Castillo had a bases-clearing double and Dave Frick went 3-4 with an RBI and boosted his average back up to .411. Jim Brophy (5-4) seems to have settled into a groove with his diminished stuff, looking good today at 6 2 1 1 3 6 and has reeled off 4 straight fine starts. Game 3: Tampa Bay won its sixth straight and third in a row over Seattle with a 6-3 triumph. Ben Moses (6-2) was outstanding at 6 3 0 0 1 6 but we had to have our bullpen moment with Chris O'Brien giving up 3 runs on a pair of homers in the 7th to make the game somewhat close. Satoshi Sato finished up for his 7th save. Doug Johns had the big bat today, hitting an RBI double and a 2-run homer (#13). Game 4: The Rays completed the 4-game sweep of Seattle and ran their win streak 7, beating the Mariners 5-2 at Publix Park. Greg Bookhart went to 7-0 thanks to a 6 3 2 2 1 9 performance and the bullpen was perfect for 3 innings for a change with Willie Minier notching save #13. All 5 Rays runs came in the first inning with Doug Johns' 2-run double the big hit. Team record: 45-19. Next up: Toronto visits for 3 games.

06-14-2022, 09:00 AM	#2000
Art Deco Hall Of Famer Join Date: May 2020 Posts: 6,972	June 11-13, 2046: vs Toronto (3) Game 1: Toronto's Angel Roig and two relievers shut the Rays down at Publix Park in the opener of a 3-game set 4-1. Tampa Bay was held to only 3 hits while Marc Gibson (8-2) went 5.2 6 4 4 3 6 for a rare loss. Caleb Ramos threw 3 1/3 shutout innings in relief for the day's lone bright spot. Game 2: It was looking like a repeat of yesterday as Jays pitching once again squelched the Rays' bats and Toronto took a 3-1 lead into the bottom of the 9th. But they loaded the bases and Mario Saro stepped up and hit a dramatic two-out grand slam (#13) to give the Rays an unlikely walk-off win. Saro had hit a sac fly for their previous run in the 8th and finished with all 5 RBI. Gordie Ager kept them in the game, recovering from a rough 3rd in which the Jays scored all their runs and finished 7 8 3 3 0 4. Josh Grote (2-0) held Toronto scoreless over the final 2 innings and picked up the win. Game 3: The finale was a lot like the first two games in that the Rays offense was unusually muted at Publix Park and were shut out again until the 9th. But this time the comeback fell short as Doug Johns' 3-run homer (#14) in the final frame wasn't enough and Toronto took the series with a 4-3 win. Jim Brophy (5-5) wasn't great but hung in there at 6.2 6 4 4 3 1 after giving up all 4 runs in the first 3 innings. Team record: 46-21. Next up: Off to New York to play 4 against the Yankees.