The 2021 (and only 2021) Tampa Bay Rays

[Art Deco]

Game 1: The Rays were held to 4 hits in a 5-1 loss at Detroit, as Joey Gallo's 2nd inning double brought home their only run. Tyler Glasnow gave up an immediate 2-run homer to Spencer Torkelson and finished 5 8 4 3 1 5, falling to 0-3, 4.19.

Game 2: The bad baseball continues as Joe Ryan is now up to 9 homers allowed in 21.2 IP after giving up 3 more in a 7-3 defeat by Detroit. Ryan went 4 8 7 7 1 4 and although he sports an excellent 4/27 BB/K ratio the homers mean he has an ERA of 7.89. Austin Meadows' 2-run double was the lone offensive highlight and Alex Vesia had 2 more perfect innings in relief.

Game 3: I really don't know what to say here. Disgusted at the team down 10-2 after another terrible Jack Flaherty performance, I clicked on "complete entire game" and unbelievably they came back to beat Detroit 12-10. A Jorge Ona 3-run homer in the 8th (#3) got them back within 10-5 and then a 7-run 9th which featured 4(!) homers completed the comeback. Francisco Mejia flied out to start the inning but Heliot Ramos hit his first MLB longball to make it 10-6, a single and an Austin Meadows shot (#2) made it 10-8. Brandon Lowe then went back-to-back (#4) with Meadows, then a walk and a single saw Lewin Diaz come to the plate, and he unloaded his 4th HR to make it 12-10. Diego Castillo got his 2nd relief win, and Nick Anderson had a perfect 9th for save #3. It's nice to get the win even if I didn't witness it, but it's still troubling to see Flaherty go 4.2 8 6 6 4 4 and give us another starting pitcher with an ERA reminiscent of a Boeing jet number. And 5-13 still stinks.

Team record: 5-13. Next up: 3 at home vs Baltimore.

[Art Deco]

Game 1: The bats went AWOL once again as they were dominated by Baltimore's Grayson Rodriguez in a 2-1 loss to the Orioles. Rodriguez held them to 3 hits in 6 shutout innings and fanned 11 with a Joey Bart RBI double in the 7th the only Tampa Bay run. A fine Brendan McKay start (6 3 2 2 2 7) was wasted as they drop to 5-14.

April 26: Optioned P Colin Poche to AAA Durham, activated P Peter Fairbanks from his rehab assignment at AAA Durham.

Josh Fleming was the other candidate to go down, but he's seemingly the only one in the pen with better than 35 stamina. Fairbanks had been out since May 29 of last year with a torn UCL but looks as good as ever and is a welcome addition to the pen.

Game 2: The offense was listless once again managing only 4 hits, but thanks to a great Matt Peacock start, some fine work from the pen, and the wildness of Baltimore's bullpen the Rays scratched out a 1-0 walk-off win in the bottom of the 9th. And it literally was a walk-off as two Oriole relievers combined to walk 4 Rays in the bottom of the 9th with Jorge Ona's forcing home the winner. Peacock went 6 2 0 0 3 4 and Nick Anderson picked up the win with a scoreless 9th.

Game 3: Runs were scarce again, but the Rays finally broke through for 3 in the 6th - a veritable explosion - and took a 4-2 win over Baltimore to make it 2 straight. It looked like Tyler Glasnow might be a hard-luck loser yet again but Lewin Diaz drilled an RBI double and Jorge Ona followed him with HR #4 in the bottom of the 6th. They tacked on another run in the 7th on a 2-out Baltimore error. Glasnow notched his 1st win of the year with a 6.2 7 1 1 2 6 outing which lowered his ERA to 3.45, and Nick Anderson got his 4th save despite allowing a run in the 9th.

Team record: 7-14. Next up: 3 games in Anaheim against the Angels.

[Art Deco]

Game 1: The bats snoozed again as Andrew Heaney held them in check in a 4-1 loss to the Angels. Taylor Walls had a big night giving Brandon Lowe a rest and homered in the 3rd (#1) to tie the game before finishing with 3 hits. Joe Ryan pitched well, but gave up another homer and finished 6 4 2 2 0 5 before the Angels got 2 off Alex Vesia (unearned, so his ERA remains 0.00) in the 7th.

Game 2: For one night at least it all came together for the 2023 Rays as Jack Flaherty pitched like the ace he's supposed to be and they got enough offense to top the Angels 5-2. Flaherty was dominating, going 7 2 1 1 2 13 to pick up his 2nd win in Rays colors and lower his ERA to a still-rough 5.79. Diego Castillo got save #3 with a perfect 9th. They only managed 5 hits tonight, but 2 of them were homers with Willy Adames hitting a 3-run shot in the 2nd, his 1st of the year, and Joey Bart going back-to-back with #2.

Game 3: Building off yesterday's win, the Rays came out swinging and routed the Angels 10-2 to take their second straight series. The first three Rays singled to start the game and load the bases, and it looked like it might be for naught when Randy Arozarena and Lewin Diaz struck out. But Jorge Ona rescued them with a grand slam (#5) and they rolled from there. Arozarena later hit HR #4 and Wander Franco and Austin Meadows each had 2 hits and an RBI. Brendan McKay was excellent, no-hitting LA through 4 and finishing 7 3 1 1 3 4 to pick up his first win of the year in his second straight fine start.

Team record: 9-15, slowly inching back towards respectability. Next up: an off-day, then 5-19 Kansas City comes to town for 3 games.

[Art Deco]

Game 1: The Rays lost a tough one at the Trop in the series opener against Kansas City 6-4 when Bobby Witt Jr. greeted Nick Anderson with a 2-run homer to break a 4-4 tie in the 9th. The Rays had tied it up in the 8th on Brandon Lowe's 5th homer and had gotten one from Randy Arozarena earlier as well, also his 5th. Matt Peacock turned in a mediocre 6 8 4 4 1 6 outing.

Game 2: Tampa Bay bounced back with a 4-0 win behind a near-shutout from Tyler Glasnow. The righty had to leave with 2 outs in the 9th with a blister, and it will force him to miss his next start. But before that he went 8.2 2 0 0 1 9 in another dominating performance that sent him to 2-3, 2.65. Heliot Ramos's RBI double got them on the board in the 2nd and Randy Arozarena was 2-4 with an RBI to lead the offense.

Game 3: For the third straight series the Rays repeated their pattern of losing the opener and then winning the next two as they took care of Kansas City 9-4 behind a 3-homer game from Heliot Ramos, who had only one coming in. All 3 of his homers came after they built a 4-0 1st inning lead with a 2-run Brandon Lowe double the big hit there. Ramos drove in 4 and reached all 5 times with 2 walks to go with the homers. Joe Ryan was excellent, going 7 4 2 2 1 8 with the only damage of course being a 2-run homer. He's now 2-4, 5.97 as he tries to turn his season around.

Team record: 11-16. Nothing wrong with Meat Loafing your opponents and the Rays will be glad to do that the rest of the way. They're 6 behind division leaders Toronto. Next up: 3 games in San Antonio.

[Art Deco]

Game 1: The Rays made it 7 of 10 with an 8-2 win over San Antonio at Alamo Park. Brandon Lowe had a big day, going 3-5 with a double and 3 RBI while Wander Franco was 2-4 with a double and 2 RBI. Jack Flaherty meanwhile seems back in the swing as he got the win going 6 6 2 2 0 9 to improve to 3-1.

Game 2: Dallas Keuchel shut the Rays out on a 4-hitter in a 2-0 San Antonio win. Brendan McKay was the hard-luck loser, going 6 5 2 2 2 4.

Game 3: The Rays were shut out by San Antonio again, 7-0, scratching out only 4 hits again. Matt Peacock was hit for 5 runs in 3 innings as they drop the series.

Team record: 12-18. This was a definite step back, although Toronto dropped 2 of 3 to the White Sox so the Rays remain 6 back. Next up: 3 at home vs Houston.

[Art Deco]

May 8: Optioned OFs Heliot Ramos and Joey Gallo to AAA Durham, activated OF Jarren Duran from his rehab assignment and recalled P Drew Strotman from AAA Durham.

Game 1: With Tyler Glasnow suffering from a blister, Drew Strotman got the call for the emergency start. He wasn't that great (3 7 4 1 1 2), and wasn't helped by the defense (his own error and Brandon Lowe's). Nevertheless the offense and the bullpen bailed him out as the Rays went on to win 7-4. Wander Franco's 4th-inning groundout put them ahead to stay but the heavy lifting was done by Joey Bart (a 3-run HR, #3), Lowe (HR #6) and Lewin Diaz (a 2-run HR, #5, providing insurance in the 8th). Colin Poche got win #2 as the first of 5 relievers and Nick Anderson picked up save #5 as the last of them.

Game 2: Wander Franco's 2nd homer of the day mercifully brought a 15-inning marathon to an end as his walk-off blast gave the Rays a 3-2 win at Tropicana Field. Tampa Bay had squandered great chances in the 11th, 12th and 13th to win and it looked like it would cost them until Franco came through. Joey Bart homered for the second straight day for the other run (#4). Joe Ryan was excellent, going 6 4 2 2 1 7 and *not* allowing a homer, and Nick Sandlin eventually got his first Rays win with 2 innings of relief.

May 10: Optioned P Drew Strotman to AAA Durham, recalled P Josh Fleming from AAA Durham.

Game 3: Tyler Glasnow returned to the rotation but wasn't very sharp and the Rays dropped the series finale 7-4 to Houston. Glasnow was 6 8 5 5 1 6 but at least gave them some length after the bullpen was burned yesterday. The loss wasted a fine effort from Willy Adames, perhaps emerging from his season-long slump with a pair of homers (#2 and 3) and 3 RBI. Jorge Ona's RBI double brought in the other run.

Team record: 14-19. It was nice to win 2 of 3 again after the San Antonio series, but Toronto swept Texas and is now 7 up. Next up: 3 games at Yankee Stadium.

[Art Deco]

Game 1: The offensive woes continue as the Rays fell 3-0 to the Yankees. All the scoring took place in the 1st when Aaron Judge hit a 3-run homer off Jack Flaherty after the inning was extended thanks to a Jorge Ona dropped fly ball. Ona was only in LF because Randy Arozarena needed rest. Flaherty wasn't very sharp regardless, going 5 4 3 0 6 5.

Game 2: The losing streak hit 3 after Brendan McKay was hit for 6 runs in the 1st and despite a valiant comeback which saw them take the lead, the Rays fell 9-8 at Yankee Stadium. After 3 good starts McKay was back in disaster mode giving up a 3-run homer to Giancarlo Stanton and a 2-run shot to Miguel Andujar in the 1st. The Rays put 7 up in the 4th on a 2-run single from Wander Franco, a 3-run HR from Austin Meadows (#3) and a 2-run blast from Brandon Lowe (#7). But Alex Vesia picked a bad time for his first poor outing of the year, walking 3 and giving up 2 runs to allow the Yankees to re-take the lead. Franco ended up with a big game, going 4-5 with 3 RBI.

May 13: Optioned P Josh Fleming to AAA Durham, recalled P Ryan Thompson from AAA Durham. Sent P Chris Sale to AAA Durham on a rehab assignment.

A fresh arm was desperately needed with only Diego Castillo showing rested going into today's game.

Game 3: The Rays stopped the bleeding with a 5-3 win over Gerrit Cole and the Yankees. After Cole held them hitless through the first 3, Brandon Lowe singled in a run in the 4th and Jorge Ona followed with HR #6 to give them a 3-1 lead. Jarren Duran added a solo shot in the 5th (#4) and Wander Franco (getting hot with 2 more hits) singled in a run. Matt Peacock pitched OK but didn't give us the length we were hoping for, going 5 6 2 2 2 2 but needing 106 pitches in picking up his 2nd win. The just-recalled Ryan Thompson went 2 and only allowed a run despite numerous jams, and Diego Castillo went the final two with 4 whiffs for save #4.

Team record: 15-21, 8 games behind. One step forward, two steps back is the story of the season and we got some more bad news from our scouts as Shane McClanahan's stamina has dropped from 50 to 30 after his injuries. He still has his stuff but is going to be a reliever now and will be up soon from his rehab assignment to help the pen. Also I have started shopping free agent-to-be Jack Flaherty around as if we don't get on a real hot streak soon it's going to be time to concentrate on 2024. We have a day off, then next up we go to Chicago to play the White Sox, a tough task with the Southsiders holding the best record in baseball at 25-11.

[Art Deco]

Game 1: The Rays rode a couple of early homers and a fine outing from Joe Ryan to take a 6-3 win over the AL Central-leading White Sox at Guaranteed Rate Field. Brandon Lowe hit HR #8 in the 2nd and after a Joey Bart RBI single, Randy Arozarena clubbed a 3-run blast (#6) to make it 5-0. Ryan went 6.1 3 1 1 2 3 and didn't allow a homer for the 2nd straight start. Pete Fairbanks did allow a couple of homers but Nick Anderson picked up save #6.

Game 2: A tough loss as Tyler Glasnow squandered an early 4-0 lead by allowing 3 homers, and Eloy Jimenez (who kills the Rays in all my saves) homered off Aaron Fletcher in the 8th to give the White Sox a 5-4 win. Jorge Ona's 3-run shot (#7) capped a 4-run 1st but the offense went silent after that, managing 4 hits the entire game. This became a problem when Glasnow gave up 4 runs on 3 homers and finished 6 6 4 4 0 8 before Jimenez got Fletcher in the 8th.

Game 3: The continuing complete inability of the offense to score other than via the home run cost them again today as they whiffed 16 times against Michael Kopech and 3 relievers in a 2-1 loss in which they manged only 3 hits (and only 13 total in the series). Brandon Lowe hit #9 to put them up 1-0, but Chicago got 2 off Jack Flaherty, who pitched decently at 6.1 5 2 2 4 5 but received scant support.

Team record: 16-23, 9 back of Toronto. I'm at my wit's end as this team shows no signs of improvement, except perhaps in the pitching department. And we'll have to try to get something going against the 25-14 Mariners, who visit the Trop for the next 3 games.

[Art Deco]

As we are just about a quarter of the way through the season, here are the team numbers. Read 'em and weep:



And the horrendous individual hitting numbers:



Just hard to believe how bad all these pretty decent hitters are, an offense which helped lead us to 115 wins last year. The new addition Lewin Diaz hasn't hit at all, despite being rated for 70 contact and 60 power. And Meadows, Lowe and Arozarena, who carried the offense the last two years, are only good for the occasional home run (very occasional in the case of Meadows, who got a nice contract extension). There's really not a lot for me to do other than wait for them to turn it around since much is invested in them.

However, one thing I have done is make a big trade. It's not going to help the offense but it's in recognition of the unlikelihood of us contending this year. So I did this:



As mentioned before, Flaherty is likely a free agent at year's end (it's possible he might qualify for another arbitration this season, but even if so, it's going to be 8 figures) so it was time to deal him and not run the risk of him getting hurt. Plus he's been a bit spotty this year, especially with his control. In return we get Skubal, who has quite the live arm. Detroit's been misusing him a closer this year but he's going into our rotation in Flaherty's place. These are Skubal's ratings as a starter:



It's not every day you get 70 stuff married with 60 control. Of course the price for this is 45 movement, and Skubal's been hit for a fair number of homers, about 1.8/9. Hopefully the Trop will help in that department but he was pitching in Comerica.

The other player on the block is Willy Adames. He's projected for $10M in arbitration next year and his bat isn't getting any better. I think Taylor Walls can do a decent job and if we acquire a 3B, Wander can always slide back there.

[Art Deco]

May 18: Optioned P Ryan Thompson to AAA Durham, purchased the contract of OF Hunter Bishop from AAA Durham.

Bishop, acquired last year from San Francisco, had a monster season between AA and AAA with 31 HR and 104 RBI at 3 stops last year. He was only hitting .188 with 6 HR at Durham this season, numbers that don't scream "callup", but I'm willing to try anything with this moribund offense at this point.

Game 1: Another ugly game for the Rays as they fall 7-1 to Seattle at Tropicana Field. They stunk in all phases of the game, as Brendan McKay gave up 5 runs in total including a 2-run shot in a 3-run 1st to Kyle Lewis. The bats only managed 4 hits although 2 of them, including their lone RBI, came off the bat of Hunter Bishop in his MLB debut. And errors from Wander Franco and Austin Meadows didn't help as the team hits a new nadir.

Game 2: Hello offense, nice of you to show up for a change. The Rays banged out 11 hits in a 6-1 win over the Mariners. A 4-run 3rd saw Jarren Duran triple in a run and score, a solo homer from Brandon Lowe (#10) and a Jorge Ona RBI single. And the ice-cold Lewin Diaz added a 2-run shot (#7) in the 5th. This was more than enough for Matt Peacock, who went 6.1 5 1 1 4 7 to improve to 3-3, 5.02.

May 20: Optioned P Colin Poche to AAA Durham, recalled P Shane McClanahan from AAA Durham.

As mentioned before, Mac's stamina has dropped from 50 to 30 so he's a relief pitcher now. Poche was pitching well and didn't deserve demotion, but someone had to go.

Game 3: Tarik Skubal made his Rays debut and was impressive, pitching well enough to keep them in it before they could come back and take a 3-2 win over Seattle. Skubal went 6 2 1 1 4 8 but left down 1-0. Willy Adames made sure he wouldn't take a loss with a 454-ft solo HR (#4) to tie it up, and Jorge Ona made a winner of Pete Fairbanks with a 2-run blast (#8) in the bottom of the 7th. After Diego Castillo gave up a Jared Kelenic homer to cut the lead to 3-2 in the 8th, Nick Anderson had a scoreless 9th for save #7.

Team record: 18-24, 7 games back of Toronto thanks to the Jays being swept at home by the Angels. As a result I guess we can call this series a green shoot and we still do have 3/4 of the season left. Nevertheless, I am working on a series of big trades, one of which will give us something we don't necessarily need but is too good to pass up. Next on the schedule: 3 games in Fenway.

[Art Deco]

Just completed four trades (three major, one minor) to shake up this team in the short term and get us better situated for years to come. (For those wondering, my trade settings are set about 70% of the way to "hard" and "favor prospects")

Let's start with the biggest:



This one all started with the thought of trading Willy Adames and perhaps acquiring Carter Kieboom (expendable with the Nats' signing of Nolan Arenado) to play third with Wander shifting to SS. When I saw they'd take Bitsko that made me think I should shop Bitsko and see what I could get for him. As soon as I saw Rutschman's name pop up I had to put something together, even though we have Joey Bart as our "cornerstone" catcher. So since they wanted Bitsko (who's a top 50 prospect) bad enough to deal Rutschman, I figured I'd see what it would take to get Kjerstad thrown in. That turned out to be Vasquez, who should be a major leaguer but more of an ordinary one at best. So what does this mean for Bart? Less playing time but Rutschman can play some 1B as well and given our troubles at the position this year that will be an option. It's possible Bart could be dealt in the winter but that will depend on needs. Kjerstad gives us a glut of OF prospects, another strength we can later deal from.

Big trade #2:



Dealing Willy was our worst-kept secret, as he's gotten too expensive for his contributions. The real Rays dealt him in 2021 for pitching, and that's what I did today, acquiring Canning, who will either slip into our rotation for a faltering Brendan McKay (and with Chris Sale on rehab that spot could go to Sale soon) or pitch long relief. Canning is 60/50/55 as a starter and 65 stuff in relief. Also trading Bitsko was made easier by the inclusion of Wetherbee in the trade, LA's #1 pick last year (25th overall) and ranked the #49 prospect overall by BNN. His control is the one thing which could hold him back, though. Carrera was a "make it work" guy, nothing special.

Big trade #3:



Despite trading Bitsko to Baltimore, we were still able to acquire Kieboom to play 3B. Hunt is a fine catching prospect acquired in the Blake Snell trade with good defense and power, but with the acquisition of Rutschman his path was blocked. And just like Adames, we deal Castillo two years after the real Rays did, as with the likes of McKay and perhaps Canning joining the pen we had a numbers squeeze on the staff.

Small trade #4:



With the Rustchman acquisition, Mejia became the odd man out and couldn't go to Durham again as he's out of options. So we shipped him (along with Mead, who's a meh prospect) to Philly to replenish our organizational catching depth with Davis, a first-round pick in 2021, 12th overall (the #1 overall pick in 2021 IRL), who hasn't quite panned out that well so far but still has promise.

There's a lot to unpack here but this is how the roster will shake out:

C-Bart, Rustchman (1B)
1B-L.Diaz
2B-B.Lowe
SS-Franco (3B)
3B-Kieboom
IF-Walls, Brosseau
OF-Meadows (1B), Arozarena, Duran, Bishop, Ona (DH)

SP-Glasnow, Peacock, Skubal, Ryan, Canning
LR-McKay
MR-Sandlin, Vesia, McClanahan
SU-D.Williams, Fairbanks, Fletcher
CL-N.Anderson

On rehab and coming back soon: Vidal Brujan, who will take Brosseau's place, and Chris Sale who will send someone to the pen and someone off the roster (probably Canning or Ryan and Sandlin, respectively)

[Art Deco]

Game 1: The Rays built a 5-0 lead and hung on for a 5-4 win over the Red Sox. Joe Ryan was cruising along until he gave up 2-run homers in the 6th and 7th, finishing 6.1 6 4 4 2 5 but improving to 4-4 with Nick Anderson picking up save #8. Randy Arozarena and Hunter Bishop had RBI doubles while Austin Meadows was 3-4 with an RBI.

Game 2: The first game after the big trade makeover detailed in the previous post and the Rays squandered a 6-2 lead and lost 7-6 in 10 innings to Boston with an error from one of the new guys, Carter Kieboom, allowing the winning run to score. Austin Meadows had another big day going 2-4 with a HR (#4) and 3 RBI and Wander Franco added HR #4 to give them the big early lead but Tyler Glasnow gave up a 2-run homer in the 6th to make it 6-4 and finished 6 7 4 4 1 5. Then a Meadows error at his unfamiliar position of 1B opened the door for a 2-run Trey Harris homer off Aaron Fletcher allowing Boston to tie it up. This brought us to the 10th, when Shane McClanhan in his season debut should have been out of it but Kieboom threw wildly past 2nd for what should have been an inning-ending forceout to let Boston walk it off. He was also 0-4 at the plate, as was Adley Rustchman in his Rays debut.

Game 3: After the rough debuts of Carter Kieboom and Adley Rustchman last night, Griffin Canning said "hold my beer" and was hit for 6 runs on 9 hits in 3 1/3 as the Rays fell again to the Red Sox 6-3. Ironically Brendan McKay, whose spot in the rotation he took, filled in with 3 2/3 innings of 1-hit relief. Brandon Lowe hit HR #11 and Jorge Ona singled in Adley Rutschman, who doubled for his first Rays hit and later singled, but that was about it for the offense.

Team record: 19-26, 8 back of Toronto. Maybe I shouldn't have made all the trades, they had won 3 in a row before them and then lost the next two. I'm done tinkering for now, though, we'll let the chips fall, etc. Next up is 3 games at home vs Minnesota.

[Art Deco]

Game 1: Another day, another loss as the bullpen turned a 2-1 deficit into a 7-1 hole as the Rays fell 7-3 to Minnesota at the Trop. Matt Peacock pitched well (7 3 2 2 1 5) but of course he got next to no run support with Joey Bart's 2nd inning solo HR (#5) all they could muster. But Devin Williams and Alex Vesia conspired to allow 5 runs in the 8th, meaning Taylor Walls' 2-run double in the bottom of the 8th was a footnote rather than the game-winner.

Game 2: Stop me if you've heard this before - the Rays got a good start but lost because the offensive couldn't rub two sticks together in a 3-2 loss. Tarik Skubal was pretty good today (6 7 3 3 1 9), although he was hit for a pair of homers, which is going to be his issue. Carter Kieboom's first hit as a Ray, a 2-run double in the 4th, was it for the Tampa Bay scoring.

Game 3: Apparently we're now in some sort of hell where we're doomed to repeat the same game over and over again as the Rays dropped their fifth straight (all 5 since the big trades) 3-2 to Minnesota. Today's unsupported starter was Joe Ryan, just fine at 6 5 2 2 0 7. Randy Arozarena singled in a run and Adley Rutschman hit his first Rays homer and 9th of the season but after the Rays squandered an opportunity in the 8th when Carter Kieboom led off with a double but was stranded, Nick Anderson served up a Travis Blankenhorn homer in the 9th for the game-loser. Only 4 hits today for the bats after 5 yesterday and 7 the day before.

Team record: 19-29, 9 back of Toronto as we drop below .400. Amazingly it's not double digits because the Jays dropped to 2 of 3 to San Antonio, as the 2nd-year team now owns a better record than the Rays. It's getting to the point where I may turn over the team to the AI manager because it's getting too depressing to play out and manage these games. We'll try to get in the win column with 3 in Cleveland after an off-day tomorrow.

[Art Deco]

With this season fast becoming an exercise in playing out the string, I'm just going to summarize each series (and perhaps eventually condense into week-by-week or month-by-month posts) rather than recap each individual game.

In this series they lost their third straight 3-2 game (and 6th overall) in the opener, in 11 innings, lost again 7-4, and finally won 8-4 in 11 innings. Vidal Brujan was activated and Mike Brosseau was sent to Durham, and Brujan drove in both runs in the first game, a 5-run bullpen meltdown in the 7th turned a 2-2 game into a loss in the 2nd, and despite the bullpen allowing the tying run with 2 out in the 9th, a 4-run 11th won Game 3.

Team record: 20-31, 8 back - believe it or not we gained a game on the Blue Jays as they were swept by Houston. Oakland visits the Trop for the next 3.

[Art Deco]

Just when I thought I was out.....they pull me back in!

Such are this year's Rays, who swept a series for the first time all season and thanks to yet another case of Toronto being swept, are only 5 games out of first despite still being last in the AL East.

They still couldn't hit in Game 1, but Tarik Skubal was brilliant (5.2 2 0 0 3 9) and the Nicks (Sandlin and Anderson) combined for 3 1/3 innings of perfect relief with 4 whiffs in a 2-0 win over the A's. Jorge Ona had half of their 4 hits, including an RBI double.

Game 2 was a dramatic 6-3 win in 10 innings on a Lewin Diaz 3-run walk-off homer, his 7th. Vidal Brujan had an inside-the-park homer (#1) and Wander Franco was 3-3 with an RBI double. Joe Ryan went 7 8 3 3 1 8 with 2 homers allowed (natch) and Aaron Fletcher got the win. The only reason Diaz was in the game was because Randy Arozarena got plunked on the foot with a pitch and broke it, so he'll be out 4 weeks. Also Joey Bart twisted his ankle and will be out 2 weeks.

Transactions: Arozarena and Bart head to the IL, Heliot Ramos is called up and the contract of Chris Betts is purchased to back up at catcher. To make room for Betts on the 40-man, one-time power hope Oscar Colas is DFA'd.

Tyler Glasnow was dominant in a 5-2 Game 3 win (6 4 1 1 2 10) and is now 3-4, 3.42 while Nick Anderson picked up save #10. Adley Rutschman blasted a 2-run HR (#2/#11) as part of a 3-run first, and Vidal Brujan hit one outside the park for his second homer in as many days.

Team record: 23-31, 5 back as mentioned. And we play those Blue Jays 3 times at Rogers Centre next.

[Art Deco]

Two teams headed in opposite directions stayed headed in those directions as the Rays swept Toronto to make it 7 straight wins for Tampa Bay and 11 straight defeats for the Jays.

The most dramatic of the tilts was Game 1, which started with the Rays being no-hit for 6 innings by Toronto's Ernie Severino and ended with Austin Meadows hitting a 9th-inning 2-out, 2-run homer on a 3-2 pitch to give Tampa Bay a 3-2 win. It was only Meadows' 5th of a dismal season but it was a big one. Wander Franco homered leading off in the 7th (#6) to break up the no-hit bid. Griffin Canning was brilliant (7 4 1 1 2 10), Aaron Fletcher got the win, and Devin Williams notched his 1st save of the year.

Game 2 was an 8-3 Rays blowout as they clubbed 4 homers. Wander Franco, 3-5 with 2 RBI, homered again for #7, Brandon Lowe hit 2 solo shots to give him 13, including one in the 3rd back-to-back with Wander, and Carter Kieboom hit his first Rays dinger, a 2-run blast. Matt Peacock went 5 4 0 0 1 7 for the win, he's now 4-4, 4.35.

Transaction: Chris Sale activated from his rehab, Colin Poche optioned to Durham.

The Rays blew out the Jays again 10-1 in Game 3, smashing another 5 homers to give them 11 for the series. Chris Sale tried to get through his 2nd Rays start without getting hurt, and failed after going 4 1-run innings. The verdict is an oblique strain which will sideline him a week. Devin Williams got the win pitching the 5th and 6th and Alex Vesia had a 3-inning save. The homer parade started with a 2-run Austin Meadows shot (#6) in the 1st, Adley Rutschman hit a 2-run homer in the 3rd (#3/#12), and Carter Kieboom (again, #2), Hunter Bishop (his first MLB homer) and Lewin Diaz (#8) all went solo.

Team record: 26-31, 4 back of the now-first place Yankees. Next up is a 3-game set at the Trop against Texas, struggling at 22-35.

[Art Deco]

The red-hot Rays extended their winning streak to 10 with a sweep of Texas at Tropicana Field, outscoring the Rangers 25-7 over the 3 games.

Transaction: Chris Sale goes to the 10-day IL with an oblique strain, Ryan Thompson is called up from Durham.

In Game 1, the Rays took an 11-3 win after falling behind early 2-0. Vidal Brujan had a 2-run double to tie it, Jorge Ona tied it again with HR #9 in the 6th, and after the Rays loaded the bases with nobody out and the next two men failed to get anyone home, Jarren Duran launched a grand slam (#5) to make it 7-3. Austin Meadows (#7) and Chris Betts (his first MLB homer) added 2-run blasts in the 8th. Tarik Skubal got the win going 6 5 3 3 4 7 and is now 2-1, 2.67 in four starts as a Ray.

Game 2 was a bit more of a nail-biter but the Rays came away with a 5-3 win. Tampa Bay trailed 3-2 in the 7th when Wander Franco hit #8 to tie it up and Carter Kieboom followed later with a 2-run single to provide the winning runs. Joe Ryan started and pitched well (5.1 5 3 2 0 6) but had to leave with a minor injury that won't keep him from his next start. Nick Sandlin got win #2 in relief and Nick Anderson notched save #11.

Transaction: Austin Meadows goes on the 10-day IL with an oblique strain, Joey Gallo recalled from AAA Durham.

Game 3 was a 9-1 rout the Rays put away early with a 6-run 3rd. Adley Rutschman kicked things off with a 2-run homer in the first (#4/#13), and Lewin Diaz capped that 6-run 3rd with a 3-run shot (#9). Tyler Glasnow was dominant, going 6 6 1 1 1 12 to improve to 4-4, 3.27.

Team record: 29-31, 3 games back of the Yankees. Says a lot about how poor a start this team had that it's taken a 10-game winning streak to get back within 2 games of .500, but the worm has turned despite almost a daily progression of injuries. We get a day off and then Detroit visits the Trop for 3.

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The winning streak came to an end, but the Rays still took 2 of 3 from Detroit at the Trop, giving them 12 wins in their last 13 games.

Game 1 saw the Rays make it 11 straight wins with a 9-0 blowout of the Tigers. Griffin Canning was excellent, going 6.1 4 0 0 4 9 to pick up his first win as a Ray and lower his Rays ERA to 3.86, impressive considering how badly he was bombed in his debut. Lewin Diaz had a monster game, going 4-5 with 3 RBI, including a 2-run HR (#10) in a 3-run 2nd which got them going. Brandon Lowe and Adley Rutschman each drove in a pair as well.

All good things must come to an end and that's what happened to the Rays' win streak as Detroit downed them 7-2. Matt Peacock gave up a pair in the 1st, settled in, and then ran into trouble in the 6th but should have still escaped down 3-2 when Brandon Lowe made an error to prolong the inning and Detroit's Willi Castro hit a 3-run homer. Peacock finished 6 9 7 3 0 8. The Rays' runs came on solo homers from Jarren Duran (#6) and Jorge Ona (#10).

Game 3 saw the Rays take the series with a 13-6 win. Tarik Skubal went up against his former team and coughed up a 3-run homer to Spencer Torkelson in the 1st. Earlier this year an early 3-0 deficit would have been a death sentence, but the Tampa Bay bats jumped on Casey Mize for 7 runs in the first two innings and never looked back, with Chris Betts' RBI double and Brandon Lowe's 3-run HR (#14) the big early blows. Lewin Diaz stayed hot with a 3-run shot of his own (#11) as part of a 4-RBI day, and Hunter Bishop added a 2-run homer (#2). Jorge Ona was 4-5 with an RBI as well. Skubal got the win going 5.2 8 4 4 1 9 as he gave up little after the early homer.

Team record: 31-32. Unfortunately the Yankees swept the Orioles so the Rays actually lost a game in the standings during this series and are now 4 back. Next up we hope to replicate the Yankees as we head to Baltimore for 3.

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We finally hit .500 - and for a day went over it, before dropping the third game of the series. Still the bats continued to rake, something that was unheard of a month ago.

Game 1 was a wild one which saw us lead 7-4 after 3 and hold that lead all the way until the 8th when Peter Fairbanks melted down and allowed Baltimore to score 5 times to go ahead 9-7. But in the top of the 9th Vidal Brujan led off with a homer (#3) and Adley Rutschman tied it up with an infield single. This set the stage for Rutschman to torment his former team again with an RBI double in the 11th to win it 10-9 as an earlier two-run single gave him a 4-RBI day. Nick Anderson got the win with 2 scoreless innings of relief and Aaron Fletcher picked up his first save of the year. Earlier Heliot Ramos had a 2-run homer (#5) and Brandon Lowe a 2-run double.

Game 2 was a bit more routine 5-2 win (their 14th in 15 games) thanks to another dominant outing from Tyler Glasnow, who went 6 3 1 1 2 12 to improve to 5-4, 3.14, with Devin Williams getting save #2. Glasnow's support came from Jarren Duran, 3-5 with a HR (#7) and 2 RBI, and Carter Kieboom who went boom with #3.

It looked like the Rays would sweep the series when they went up 4-1 in the 5th behind a cruising Griffin Canning but he lost it in the bottom of the inning, giving up 4 runs, then Brendan McKay (who might be ticketed for Durham), allowed 3 more on a pair of homers and the Rays dropped the finale 9-5. Hunter Bishop paced the offense by driving in 3 runs on a pair of singles and Jarren Duran went deep for the second straight game with a solo shot (#8). They actually brought the tying run to the plate in the 9th in the person of pinch-hitter Joey Gallo, but he popped to short center.

Team record: 33-33. Thanks to the Yankees being swept by the Angels and Toronto dropping 2 of 3 to Minnesota, the Rays are a season-close 2 games out of first, behind both of those teams. That's the good news; the bad news is that those 46-20 Angels are coming to visit the Trop for the next 3, marking Willy Adames' return to the Trop.

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The Angels came in with a league-best 36-20 record, and three days later they left Tropicana Field with a 36-23 record as the red-hot Rays made it 17 of 19 with a 3-game sweep of LA.

Transaction: Chris Sale was activated to start Game 1 and Joey Gallo was sent to AAA Durham. We're going with a 3-man bench and a 6-man rotation as Brendan McKay can't be sent down.

Game 1 was a tight 3-2 affair into the 6th before the Rays broke it open 6 runs on their way to a 10-4 rout. Adley Rutschman was the star again, going 3-4 with a pair of solo homers giving him 6 as a Ray, Jorge Ona hit an early 2-run HR (#11), Brandon Lowe added a solo shot (#15) and Vidal Brujan's 3-run jack (#4) put the game away. Chris Sale managed a start and managed to leave uninjured, going a decent 6 7 2 1 1 5 to get his first Rays win.

The Rays took a tight 4-3 win in Game 2 with Brandon Lowe's 8th-inning RBI single breaking a 3-3 deadlock. Vidal Brujan was 2-4 with a steal and an RBI. Pete Fairbanks got win #2 in relief and Nick Anderson nabbed save #12.

Transactions: Activated Joey Bart and Austin Meadows from the IL, optioned Chris Betts and Heliot Ramos to AAA Durham.

It's a sign of how this team has turned around that they're winning the low-scoring nailbiters again as they swept the series with a 2-1 decision behind a great outing from Tarik Skubal. The young lefty went 5.1 4 1 1 2 10 and has a 3.12 ERA and 52 whiffs in 34.2 innings since joining the team. Wander Franco singled in Taylor Walls, who singled and stole second, to tie it and that man again Adley Rustchman went deep in the 7th (#7/#16) to give them the win. Clutchman is hitting 343/434/743 as a Ray and is a big a reason as any for the turnaround. Aaron Fletcher got win #3 in relief and Nick Anderson saved (#13) for the second straight day.

Team record: 36-33, a season-high 3 games over .500. The Yankees swept Kansas City so we remain 2 behind, although we picked a game up on Toronto and are now also only 2 out of the second wild card. Next up: Those Royals come to visit for 3 as we need to keep the good times going.