The 2020 (and beyond) Tampa Bay Rays - Page 107

Art Deco · 09-01-2022, 10:09 AM

Former Ray Freddy Zamora blew the save and Arizona rallies to advance to the NLDS:

Art Deco · 09-01-2022, 10:25 AM

..and we'll be playing the Austin Dukes (formerly known as the Kansas City Royals) in the ALDS, thanks to a first-inning grand slam from former Ray Chris Fox:

Art Deco · 09-01-2022, 10:26 AM

Art Deco · 09-01-2022, 10:44 AM

A good start...

The Rays welcomed Mario Saro and Yuji Morioka back to the lineup and took a comfortable 7-1 win over Austin in their ALDS opener. Gordie Ager and Doug Johns were the heroes with the former turning in 8 efficient innings on 93 pitches and latter delivering a couple of early RBI hits to give the Rays the lead. Alex Duran added a 2-run homer and it turned out to be a routine day at the office. Greg Bookhart will try to get that 20th win of 2047 tomorrow as the Rays look to go to Austin 2-0 up.

Elsewhere:

Art Deco · 09-01-2022, 01:37 PM

Almost there...

Sometimes the Rays just have to outscore the opposition and that's what they did today, overcoming a 4-0 deficit after the first half-inning and going up 2-0 on Austin with a 9-5 win at Publix Park. Greg Bookhart had a rough first inning which included 3 walks, but the bats responded immediately in the bottom of the frame with a 2-run Nelson Bocardo homer the big hit. Yuji Morioka's longball tied it up, and Doug Johns' RBI double in the 4th gave them a lead they wouldn't relinquish. It did get hairy in the 8th but Satoshi Sato got out of the inning and a 3-run bottom of the 8th gave them the needed insurance. So Bob Riley will take the hill in the first-ever playoff game in Austin and look to make it only one for at least another year.

Meanwhile the White Sox are up 2-0 and may finally get out of the opening round:

Art Deco · 09-01-2022, 01:39 PM

This did not come as a surprise but nice to see nonetheless:

Art Deco · 09-01-2022, 02:36 PM

Bring on the White Sox or Astros...

The Rays swept through the ALDS on the strength of a 5-3 Game 3 victory in Austin, downing the Dukes and advancing to the ALCS. It took 7 innings for the offense to get going as they trailed 1-0, but get going they did with big RBI doubles from Alex Duran and Nelson Bocardo in the inning and then they scored three big ones in the 8th when Doug Johns cleared the bases with a double. Bob Riley was outstanding and despite some shakiness in the 8th from Satoshi Sato (which was partially due to a Morioka error), Willie Minier closed things out against his former teammates and now we await the winner of Chicago-Houston as the Astros stayed alive with a Game 3 win:

Congrats to the Cards and Giants as the two best teams in the NL this year will square off in the NLCS.

Art Deco · 09-01-2022, 02:40 PM

And we will finally face the White Sox in an ALCS. After years of finishing as the second-best team behind us in the AL the White Sox finally shook off the label of playoff chokers and won a round.

Art Deco · 09-01-2022, 03:12 PM

Art Deco · 09-02-2022, 07:04 PM

Still undefeated...

It was a tight, tense one and not all the typical Publix Park game as the Rays had to scratch across a run in the bottom of the 9th to take a 2-1 win over the White Sox to open the ALCS. Gordie Ager was excellent but so was Chicago's Mike Schraub and the Rays had only 4 hits going into the bottom of the 9th. But with one out the newly-returned Luis Barela and Doug Johns singled to put men on 1st and 3rd, and Alex Duran's fly ball was deep enough to score Barela with the walk-off winner. Greg Bookhart will hope to recover from a poor ALDS start in Game 2 tomorrow to try and give us a nice lead going to Chicago.

Art Deco · 09-02-2022, 07:25 PM

Halfway there as we head to the Windy City...

The Rays' bats did the talking today as they beat Chicago 9-4 to jump out to a 2-0 lead in the ALCS. They were up 4-0, saw Chicago pull within 5-4 in the 7th and then put the game away with 4 in the bottom of the inning on back-to-back 2-run doubles from Mario Saro and Seth Williams. Greg Bookhart was fairly sharp in the win, and although Ben Moses took his starting struggles to the pen by giving up a 2-run homer, it didn't matter thanks to the bats. Bob Riley will try to make it 3-0 in two days in Chicago.

Art Deco · 09-02-2022, 07:27 PM

Art Deco · 09-02-2022, 08:02 PM

9th inning magic!

The undertaker was shoveling dirt on the Rays in this game as they had 2 out in the 9th with nobody on and trailed 3-2. But Yuji Morioka doubled, Dave Frick doubled home Morioka, and Mario Saro homered to score Frick and in the space of 3 batters it went from a 3-2 loss to a 5-3 win and a commanding 3-0 ALCS lead for Tampa Bay. They still had to negotiate the bottom of the 9th and Chicago put a pair on base against Willie Minier and sent 2-time reigning AL MVP Joel Taylor to the plate, who had earlier supplied all 3 Chicago runs with a homer off Bob Riley. But Minier got Taylor on a 2-0 comebacker and the Rays are now one win from a return to the World Series after missing out last year. Melvin Delgado will get the call to try and complete the sweep tomorrow in his Rays postseason debut.

And we're likely to face the Cardinals and former Ray Jimmy Leonard after they went up 3-1 on the Giants as Josh Schulze's 3rd homer of the game walked it off after St. Louis blew the lead in the 9th:

Art Deco · 09-02-2022, 08:53 PM

How sweep it is...

The Rays cruised into the World Series thanks to an 8-4 win in Chicago, giving them a series sweep. Tampa Bay scored early and often, taking a 5-0 lead, but Melvin Delgado couldn't stand prosperity or pick up the win when he allowed 3 runs in the 5th and had to come out. The White Sox made it interesting, creeping to within 5-4, but Luis Barela put any comeback thoughts to an end with a bases-clearing double in the 9th to break it open again and send Tampa Bay on its way.

*Also I call BS on Joel Taylor winning Series MVP. It's one thing to reward a player from a losing team when the series goes the distance, but the White Sox were swept for crissakes.

We're going to have to wait at least another couple of days to see who we're going to play though as the Giants stayed alive:

Art Deco · 09-02-2022, 08:58 PM

We're going the distance in the NLCS so it's time for the rest vs rust debate with the Rays:

Art Deco · 09-02-2022, 09:25 PM

Whew!

It took the Cardinals 2 games and 15 innings to finally put away the Giants but they did so and will face the Rays in the World Series. As mentioned we'll be up against old friend Jimmy Leonard but also Mike McKee and although he never played in the bigs for us, former Rays prospect Ernesto Mordasini. The Giants should have won it in the 11th as you can see from the win probability chart; they had men on 2nd and 3 with nobody out but Ben LeFeber struck out the next three batters to save St. Louis's bacon.

Art Deco · 09-03-2022, 07:59 PM

Still undefeated this postseason...

The Rays used a couple of big homers to take a somewhat ugly 7-5 win over the Cardinals in the World Series opener at Publix Park. Seth Williams' 3-run shot in the 3rd gave them a lead they'd never relinquish, and Luis Barela's 2-run blast in the 5th proved to be the difference as they survived giving up 14 hits and a couple of unearned runs to win. Gordie Ager struggled with traffic all night, and Dave Rose nearly let St. Louis all the way back, but Abelaldo Gray and Satoshi Sato, who will be big in this series with St. Louis' lefty hitters, preserved the lead without incident.

Art Deco · 09-03-2022, 08:29 PM

Whoa, oh we're halfway there...

The Rays remained undefeated this postseason at 9-0 after taking a 6-3 win over the Cardinals to go up 2-0 in the World Series. Greg Bookhart was brilliant, and had a shutout with one out and nobody on in the 9th before things got a bit dicey. Bookhart walked the bases loaded and then Willie Minier allowed all three of those runners to score before finally retiring the last two men. Just as last night Seth Williams was in the middle of things for the offense as he doubled and scored in the first and then his RBI double keyed a 4-run 4th which blew the game open. This will likely be Williams' last hurrah with the Rays as he's a free agent this winter but he's going out with a bang. Bob Riley will take the mound in St. Louis in 48 hours.

Art Deco · 09-03-2022, 09:29 PM

History in the making?

With tonight's 3-2 win in Game 3 of the World Series the Rays are on the verge of not only winning their 16th championship in this save but could be the first team since the 1976 Cincinnati Reds to go through the postseason undefeated and the first team to ever go undefeated in a 3-round postseason. Tonight it was Bob Riley stealing the show, keeping Cardinal hitters in check with the exception of a 2-run homer, and the bats supplied just enough offense to win with Seth Williams in the middle of things once again as his fielder's choice scored the eventual winning run. Melvin Delgado will look to close it out tomorrow and make history.

Art Deco · 09-03-2022, 09:56 PM

Unbent, unbroken, and undefeated...

They did it! The first team ever to sweep through three postseason rounds undefeated. Only the fact that the ALDS was three games keeps them from adopting Moses Malone's "fo, fo and fo" mantra but the sentiment is the same. Mario Saro's 3-run homer in the 5th was all the offense they needed as Melvin Delgado held the Cardinals to 1 hit (albeit with 5 walks, but that's what they call "effectively wild") and the bullpen got the job done once again as the Rays held St. Louis to only 11 runs in the 4 games and 5 of those came in Game 1. The recap above didn't mention it but Seth Williams concluded his Rays career by being named World Series MVP after going 6-15 with a homer, 3 RBI and a steal.

09-01-2022, 10:09 AM	#2121
Art Deco Hall Of Famer Join Date: May 2020 Posts: 6,933	October 2, 2047: NL Wild Card Game Former Ray Freddy Zamora blew the save and Arizona rallies to advance to the NLDS:

09-01-2022, 10:25 AM	#2122
Art Deco Hall Of Famer Join Date: May 2020 Posts: 6,933	October 3, 2047: AL Wild Card Game ..and we'll be playing the Austin Dukes (formerly known as the Kansas City Royals) in the ALDS, thanks to a first-inning grand slam from former Ray Chris Fox:

09-01-2022, 10:26 AM	#2123
Art Deco Hall Of Famer Join Date: May 2020 Posts: 6,933	October 4, 2047: NLDS Game 1

09-01-2022, 10:44 AM	#2124
Art Deco Hall Of Famer Join Date: May 2020 Posts: 6,933	October 5, 2047: ALDS Game 1 & NLDS Game 2 A good start... The Rays welcomed Mario Saro and Yuji Morioka back to the lineup and took a comfortable 7-1 win over Austin in their ALDS opener. Gordie Ager and Doug Johns were the heroes with the former turning in 8 efficient innings on 93 pitches and latter delivering a couple of early RBI hits to give the Rays the lead. Alex Duran added a 2-run homer and it turned out to be a routine day at the office. Greg Bookhart will try to get that 20th win of 2047 tomorrow as the Rays look to go to Austin 2-0 up. Elsewhere:

09-01-2022, 01:37 PM	#2125
Art Deco Hall Of Famer Join Date: May 2020 Posts: 6,933	October 6, 2047: ALDS Game 2 Almost there... Sometimes the Rays just have to outscore the opposition and that's what they did today, overcoming a 4-0 deficit after the first half-inning and going up 2-0 on Austin with a 9-5 win at Publix Park. Greg Bookhart had a rough first inning which included 3 walks, but the bats responded immediately in the bottom of the frame with a 2-run Nelson Bocardo homer the big hit. Yuji Morioka's longball tied it up, and Doug Johns' RBI double in the 4th gave them a lead they wouldn't relinquish. It did get hairy in the 8th but Satoshi Sato got out of the inning and a 3-run bottom of the 8th gave them the needed insurance. So Bob Riley will take the hill in the first-ever playoff game in Austin and look to make it only one for at least another year. Meanwhile the White Sox are up 2-0 and may finally get out of the opening round:

09-01-2022, 01:39 PM	#2126
Art Deco Hall Of Famer Join Date: May 2020 Posts: 6,933	October 7, 2047: NLDS Game 3 This did not come as a surprise but nice to see nonetheless:

09-01-2022, 02:36 PM	#2127
Art Deco Hall Of Famer Join Date: May 2020 Posts: 6,933	October 8, 2047: ALDS Game 3 & NLDS Game 4 Bring on the White Sox or Astros... The Rays swept through the ALDS on the strength of a 5-3 Game 3 victory in Austin, downing the Dukes and advancing to the ALCS. It took 7 innings for the offense to get going as they trailed 1-0, but get going they did with big RBI doubles from Alex Duran and Nelson Bocardo in the inning and then they scored three big ones in the 8th when Doug Johns cleared the bases with a double. Bob Riley was outstanding and despite some shakiness in the 8th from Satoshi Sato (which was partially due to a Morioka error), Willie Minier closed things out against his former teammates and now we await the winner of Chicago-Houston as the Astros stayed alive with a Game 3 win: Congrats to the Cards and Giants as the two best teams in the NL this year will square off in the NLCS.

09-01-2022, 02:40 PM	#2128
Art Deco Hall Of Famer Join Date: May 2020 Posts: 6,933	October 9, 2047: ALDS Game 4 And we will finally face the White Sox in an ALCS. After years of finishing as the second-best team behind us in the AL the White Sox finally shook off the label of playoff chokers and won a round.

09-01-2022, 03:12 PM	#2129
Art Deco Hall Of Famer Join Date: May 2020 Posts: 6,933	October 12, 2047: NLCS Game 1

09-02-2022, 07:04 PM	#2130
Art Deco Hall Of Famer Join Date: May 2020 Posts: 6,933	October 13, 2047: ALCS Game 1 & NLCS Game 2 Still undefeated... It was a tight, tense one and not all the typical Publix Park game as the Rays had to scratch across a run in the bottom of the 9th to take a 2-1 win over the White Sox to open the ALCS. Gordie Ager was excellent but so was Chicago's Mike Schraub and the Rays had only 4 hits going into the bottom of the 9th. But with one out the newly-returned Luis Barela and Doug Johns singled to put men on 1st and 3rd, and Alex Duran's fly ball was deep enough to score Barela with the walk-off winner. Greg Bookhart will hope to recover from a poor ALDS start in Game 2 tomorrow to try and give us a nice lead going to Chicago.

09-02-2022, 07:25 PM	#2131
Art Deco Hall Of Famer Join Date: May 2020 Posts: 6,933	October 14, 2047: ALCS Game 2 Halfway there as we head to the Windy City... The Rays' bats did the talking today as they beat Chicago 9-4 to jump out to a 2-0 lead in the ALCS. They were up 4-0, saw Chicago pull within 5-4 in the 7th and then put the game away with 4 in the bottom of the inning on back-to-back 2-run doubles from Mario Saro and Seth Williams. Greg Bookhart was fairly sharp in the win, and although Ben Moses took his starting struggles to the pen by giving up a 2-run homer, it didn't matter thanks to the bats. Bob Riley will try to make it 3-0 in two days in Chicago.

09-02-2022, 07:27 PM	#2132
Art Deco Hall Of Famer Join Date: May 2020 Posts: 6,933	October 15, 2047: NLCS Game 3

09-02-2022, 08:02 PM	#2133
Art Deco Hall Of Famer Join Date: May 2020 Posts: 6,933	October 16, 2047: ALCS Game 3 & NLCS Game 4 9th inning magic! The undertaker was shoveling dirt on the Rays in this game as they had 2 out in the 9th with nobody on and trailed 3-2. But Yuji Morioka doubled, Dave Frick doubled home Morioka, and Mario Saro homered to score Frick and in the space of 3 batters it went from a 3-2 loss to a 5-3 win and a commanding 3-0 ALCS lead for Tampa Bay. They still had to negotiate the bottom of the 9th and Chicago put a pair on base against Willie Minier and sent 2-time reigning AL MVP Joel Taylor to the plate, who had earlier supplied all 3 Chicago runs with a homer off Bob Riley. But Minier got Taylor on a 2-0 comebacker and the Rays are now one win from a return to the World Series after missing out last year. Melvin Delgado will get the call to try and complete the sweep tomorrow in his Rays postseason debut. And we're likely to face the Cardinals and former Ray Jimmy Leonard after they went up 3-1 on the Giants as Josh Schulze's 3rd homer of the game walked it off after St. Louis blew the lead in the 9th:

09-02-2022, 08:53 PM	#2134
Art Deco Hall Of Famer Join Date: May 2020 Posts: 6,933	October 17, 2047: ALCS Game 4 & NLCS Game 5 How sweep it is... The Rays cruised into the World Series thanks to an 8-4 win in Chicago, giving them a series sweep. Tampa Bay scored early and often, taking a 5-0 lead, but Melvin Delgado couldn't stand prosperity or pick up the win when he allowed 3 runs in the 5th and had to come out. The White Sox made it interesting, creeping to within 5-4, but Luis Barela put any comeback thoughts to an end with a bases-clearing double in the 9th to break it open again and send Tampa Bay on its way. Also I call BS on Joel Taylor winning Series MVP. It's one thing to reward a player from a losing team when the series goes the distance, but the White Sox were swept for crissakes. We're going to have to wait at least another couple of days to see who we're going to play though as the Giants stayed alive: Last edited by Art Deco; 09-02-2022 at 08:54 PM.*

09-02-2022, 08:58 PM	#2135
Art Deco Hall Of Famer Join Date: May 2020 Posts: 6,933	October 19, 2047: NLCS Game 6 We're going the distance in the NLCS so it's time for the rest vs rust debate with the Rays:

09-02-2022, 09:25 PM	#2136
Art Deco Hall Of Famer Join Date: May 2020 Posts: 6,933	October 20, 2047: NLCS Game 7 Whew! It took the Cardinals 2 games and 15 innings to finally put away the Giants but they did so and will face the Rays in the World Series. As mentioned we'll be up against old friend Jimmy Leonard but also Mike McKee and although he never played in the bigs for us, former Rays prospect Ernesto Mordasini. The Giants should have won it in the 11th as you can see from the win probability chart; they had men on 2nd and 3 with nobody out but Ben LeFeber struck out the next three batters to save St. Louis's bacon.

09-03-2022, 07:59 PM	#2137
Art Deco Hall Of Famer Join Date: May 2020 Posts: 6,933	October 22, 2047: World Series Game 1 Still undefeated this postseason... The Rays used a couple of big homers to take a somewhat ugly 7-5 win over the Cardinals in the World Series opener at Publix Park. Seth Williams' 3-run shot in the 3rd gave them a lead they'd never relinquish, and Luis Barela's 2-run blast in the 5th proved to be the difference as they survived giving up 14 hits and a couple of unearned runs to win. Gordie Ager struggled with traffic all night, and Dave Rose nearly let St. Louis all the way back, but Abelaldo Gray and Satoshi Sato, who will be big in this series with St. Louis' lefty hitters, preserved the lead without incident.

09-03-2022, 08:29 PM	#2138
Art Deco Hall Of Famer Join Date: May 2020 Posts: 6,933	October 23, 2047: World Series Game 2 Whoa, oh we're halfway there... The Rays remained undefeated this postseason at 9-0 after taking a 6-3 win over the Cardinals to go up 2-0 in the World Series. Greg Bookhart was brilliant, and had a shutout with one out and nobody on in the 9th before things got a bit dicey. Bookhart walked the bases loaded and then Willie Minier allowed all three of those runners to score before finally retiring the last two men. Just as last night Seth Williams was in the middle of things for the offense as he doubled and scored in the first and then his RBI double keyed a 4-run 4th which blew the game open. This will likely be Williams' last hurrah with the Rays as he's a free agent this winter but he's going out with a bang. Bob Riley will take the mound in St. Louis in 48 hours.

09-03-2022, 09:29 PM	#2139
Art Deco Hall Of Famer Join Date: May 2020 Posts: 6,933	October 25, 2047: World Series Game 3 History in the making? With tonight's 3-2 win in Game 3 of the World Series the Rays are on the verge of not only winning their 16th championship in this save but could be the first team since the 1976 Cincinnati Reds to go through the postseason undefeated and the first team to ever go undefeated in a 3-round postseason. Tonight it was Bob Riley stealing the show, keeping Cardinal hitters in check with the exception of a 2-run homer, and the bats supplied just enough offense to win with Seth Williams in the middle of things once again as his fielder's choice scored the eventual winning run. Melvin Delgado will look to close it out tomorrow and make history.

09-03-2022, 09:56 PM	#2140
Art Deco Hall Of Famer Join Date: May 2020 Posts: 6,933	October 26, 2047: World Series Game 4 Unbent, unbroken, and undefeated... They did it! The first team ever to sweep through three postseason rounds undefeated. Only the fact that the ALDS was three games keeps them from adopting Moses Malone's "fo, fo and fo" mantra but the sentiment is the same. Mario Saro's 3-run homer in the 5th was all the offense they needed as Melvin Delgado held the Cardinals to 1 hit (albeit with 5 walks, but that's what they call "effectively wild") and the bullpen got the job done once again as the Rays held St. Louis to only 11 runs in the 4 games and 5 of those came in Game 1. The recap above didn't mention it but Seth Williams concluded his Rays career by being named World Series MVP after going 6-15 with a homer, 3 RBI and a steal.