The 2020 (and beyond) Tampa Bay Rays - Page 109

Art Deco · 09-26-2022, 07:50 PM

I'm on the run and fleein' Ian, but thanks my son driving I can still post OOTP dynasty updates.

Game 1: This was supposed to be a Friday night game but it was rained out and we played a Saturday doubleheader. An old friend came to Publix Park and treated us rudely as former Rays starter Dan Robinson went 8 1/3 shutout innings and the Dodgers blanked Tampa Bay 5-0. They did have 7 hits (3 from Luis Barela) but couldn't string them together. Chris O'Brien did not pitch well (5 7 5 5 0 5) and dropped to 3-3.

Game 2: The Rays bounced back in the second game of the doubleheader and second game of the series with a 3-2 behind a fine outing from Greg Bookhart but which was notable for Steve Falcon's save, the 300th of his illustrious career and 13th of the season. Bookhart (6-1) meanwhile went 6 7 2 2 1 5 for the win. Alex Duran's 6th-inning solo shot (#4) broke a 2-2 tie to stand up as the winner.

Game 3: The Dodgers went up 3-0 early and 6-3 in the 5th but you knew it was going to be a patented Publix Park Rays comeback - until it wasn't as they fell short 6-5 and dropped the series to LA, the first they've lost at home this year and only their fifth defeat on friendly soil. Bob Riley struggled early and looked like he might settle in but was hit hard again in the 5th and finished 4.2 9 6 6 2 2 to drop to 6-2. Juan Davila led the attack, going 3-4 with his first homer of the year and Jose Castillo also went deep for #12.

Team record: 41-12. Next up: More interleague play with 3 games in Cincinnati.

Art Deco · 09-28-2022, 10:37 AM

June 1: Placed SS Dave Frick on the 10-day IL with wrist soreness; recalled SS Josh Sprouse from AA Montgomery.

Frick should only miss the minimum 10 days.

Game 1: The Rays scored 6 times in the first two innings and rolled to an 11-5 win at Great American Ballpark over the Reds. Luis Barela had another huge game, going 3-4 with 4 RBI including a 3-run homer (#16) in the first while Nelson Bocardo was 3-5 with an RBI double. Mario Saro (#12) and Alex Duran (#5) also homered. Melvin Delgado (4-0) was solid at 6 5 3 3 0 6 for the win.

Game 2: Tampa Bay once again overpowered Cincinnati in a 9-5 win, again scoring early and often (5 runs in the first 2 innings). Mario Saro was the man of the match, hitting a 3-run homer (#13) among his three hits on the day and stole a base for good measure while Jose Castillo and Juan Davila were each 3-5 with 2 RBI. They backed a fine outing from Dave Rose (6-0) who was 7 3 2 2 3 5. The only down note was that Yuji Morioka suffered a strained shoulder and will be out 5-6 weeks.

Game 3: Rained out and will be made up June 11 when both teams had scheduled off days.

Team record: 43-12. Next up: Back home for 4 games against the Yankees and tomorrow is the Amateur Draft.

Art Deco · 09-29-2022, 01:07 PM

June 4: Placed IF Yuji Morioka on the 10-day IL with a strained shoulder; recalled IF Stevie Moore from AAA Durham.

Game 1: The Rays scored 5 times in the first, 3 more in the 2nd and went on to a 14-4 rout of the Yankees at Publix Park. Luis Barela was 5-5 with an RBI, Juan Davila was 3-5 with 4 RBI including a bases-clearing triple, and Jose Castillo went 3-3 with a homer (#13), double and 3 RBI to lead the attack. Chris O'Brien (4-3) continued to unimpress but was good enough for the win at 5.1 8 4 4 1 3 while Tony Pasillas tossed 3 hitless innings for his 2nd save.

Game 2: Greg Bookhart was excellent in another comfortable win over the Yankees 7-1. The lefty joined teammate Satoshi Sato for the AL win lead at 7-1 after going 7 6 1 1 1 5 and was supported by homers from Nelson Bocardo (#4), Jose Castillo (#14) and Chris Parham (#5) as those three combined to drive in all seven runs.

Game 3: The routs continued as the Rays once again bested New York 10-2. Luis Barela's massive week rolled on as he was 3-4 with HR #17 and 2 RBI, Vinny Rodriguez was 3-5 with a double and 2 RBI, and Doug Johns and Chris Parham each plated a pair. Bob Riley was in fine form for the win, joining teammates Greg Bookhart and Satoshi Sato on 7 wins after a 7 7 1 1 1 5 outing.

Game 4: We had a close game for a change but the same outcome as the Rays swept the 4-game series from New York in an 11-8 slugfest. It was shaping up as another Tampa Bay blowout as the Rays were up 10-1 after 5 but the Yankees scored 5 off Melvin Delgado in the 6th and two more off Jose Carrasco in the 7th to make a game of it. Delgado (5-0) still picked up the win at 6 8 6 5 2 5, and Steve Falcon finally saw some action in the 9th and notched save #14. Luis Barela ended up AL Player of the Week after today's 2-4 with HR #18 and 3 RBI, and the Rays also got longballs from Mario Saro (#14, a grand slam), Vinny Rodriguez (#6, a 3-run blast) and Alex Duran (#6). Juan Davila also had his 5th 3-hit game in the last 7, and has gone 20 for his last 32 to up his average to .396 as he gets to play every day with Morioka and Frick sidelined.

Team record: 47-12. Next up: Our first-ever trip to Oklahoma City where we'll play 3 against the expansion Sunbirds, who are off to an excellent start for a first-year team at 33-27 and are tied for the second wild card at the moment.

Art Deco · 09-30-2022, 09:05 PM

Game 1: The Rays lost their first-ever game against Oklahoma City 4-3 when Steve Falcon gave up 2 runs in the 8th to surrender the lead. Falcon dropped to 0-3 and blew his first save as a Ray, costing Dave Rose (6 5 2 2 0 4) a win. Juan Davila was 2-3 with a 2-run homer (#2) to lead the offense as he's ticked up to .404.

Game 2: It seems unlikely that the 47-12 Rays would lose again to an expansion team, but the Sunbirds are not your typical first-year franchise as they won their 10th straight by routing Tampa Bay 8-1. Chris O'Brien was hit hard once again and it's only Caleb Ramos' failures as a starter that's keeping him in the rotation. O'Brien (4-4) was a brutal 2 5 6 6 3 2 and now sports a 6.44 ERA.

Game 3: The Rays snapped Oklahoma City's 10-game winning streak and salvaged the finale with a 3-2 win at Sunbirdsdome (that's what the game calls it). Greg Bookhart (8-1) was dealing at 6 5 0 0 0 6 and Steve Falcon struggled again, giving up 2 runs to make it interesting before Satoshi Sato got the final out for save #3. Vinny Rodriguez (#7) and Jose Castillo (#15) had solo homers with Castillo's in the 9th proving to be the difference.

Team record: 48-14. Next up: We swing back to Cincinnati to make up the game that was rained out last week before moving on for 3 in Toronto.

Art Deco · 10-01-2022, 03:33 PM

The Rays took a 5-3 win over the Reds at Great American Ballpark in a makeup of last week's rainout. Bob Riley (8-2) was strong, going 7 7 2 2 0 5 for the win and Satoshi Sato notched save #4 despite allowing a run and loading the bases on 4 hits in the 9th. Mario Saro led off the game with a homer (#15) and had an RBI double in the 2nd while Juan Davila went back over .400 with 3 hits and an RBI in 5 trips.

Team record: 49-14. Next up: 3 games in Toronto.

Art Deco · 10-01-2022, 06:08 PM

Game 1: The Rays jumped out to a 3-0 in the 1st inning thanks to a 2-run Alex Duran double, but that was the high point of the game for them as they fell 6-3 at Rogers Centre to the Jays. Melvin Delgado suffered his first loss of the year as his former mates treated him rudely at 5 10 5 5 1 4.

June 13: Activated SS Dave Frick from the 10-day IL, optioned IF Steve Moore to AAA Durham.

Game 2: Once again Tampa Bay jumped out quickly with a pair of runs in the first inning and once again they couldn't score thereafter, losing for the second straight day 3-2 despite a complete-game effort from Dave Rose. Like Melvin Delgado yesterday, Rose suffered his first defeat of the year but unlike Delgado he pitched quite well, going 8 6 3 3 2 7 on 94 pitches.

Game 3: Luis Barela made sure the Rays wouldn't be swept by Toronto as he clubbed a pair of 2-run homers to lead Tampa Bay to a 5-2 win over the Jays. As in the previous two games the Rays scored in the opening frame with the first of Barela's 2-run shots, but this time they scored later with Barela going deep again in the 6th for his 20th of the year. The 3B is ready to claim another MVP as he's already earned 4.2 WAR, 1.3 more than his nearest AL competitor, on the strength of a 373/460/726 line and 56 RBI. Chris O'Brien, who had been pitching his way out of the rotation, snapped back with a fine 6 5 2 2 2 4 outing to improve to 5-4, and Steve Falcon recorded save #15.

Team record: 50-16. Next up: Our long and winding road trip is finally over as we return to Publix Park for 3 against Austin.

Art Deco · 10-03-2022, 08:38 AM

Game 1: After having some issues scoring in Toronto the Rays were glad to be back to the home cooking at Publix Park and they drubbed the Dukes 11-4 in the series opener. Doug Johns had a monster game with a 2-run homer and a grand slam to give him 20 dingers on the year, and Vinny Rodriguez (#8), Mario Saro (#16) and Juan Davila (#3) also found the seats. That was more than enough for Greg Bookhart (9-1), who turned in another quality outing at 6 5 2 2 2 7. Caleb Ramos gave up 2 runs in his 3 innings, but picked up his first save of the year.

Game 2: The scoring woes returned but it was the bullpen which was the real culprit in a 3-2, 11-inning loss to Austin. Bob Riley was excellent at 8 6 1 1 1 3 and maybe should have come out for the 9th on only 84 pitches but Steve Falcon got the call and gave up a tying homer in the 9th. Satoshi Sato then put a man on with his own error and allowed him to score in the 11th to drop to 7-1. Of course had the normal offense been present none of this would have been an issue but Dukes pitching held Rays' bats in check with Doug Johns' 21st homer a rare highlight.

Game 3: Once again the Rays struggled to score in a 4-2 loss to Austin and dropped the series as a result. Melvin Delgado (5-2) gave up 3 runs in the first two innings but settled in despite allowing a lot of hits in going 6 11 3 3 1 3. Luis Barela was 2-4 with HR #21 but the rest of the bats failed to show.

Team record: 51-18. Next up: An off-day then Detroit comes to town for the weekend with Seth Williams making his return to Publix Park after seven seasons in Rays colors with five rings and a sixth he'll receive before Friday's game.

Art Deco · 10-04-2022, 10:14 AM

Game 1: Still another comeback win after a lousy start as the Rays overcame a 6-2 deficit and beat Detroit 10-6 in their series opener at Publix Park. Dave Rose, who had been on a roll, struggled at 4 8 6 6 1 6 allowing a pair of homers. But Doug Johns led the comeback with another pair of homers to give him 23, and Luis Barela's 3-run blast (#22) gave the Rays the lead to stay. Juan Davila added a 2-run double, and the win went to Jose Morales (4-0) who tossed a pair of scoreless innings while Abelaldo Gray recorded 5 outs on only 11 pitches for his first save of the season.

Game 2: This game was supposed to be played on Saturday but it was rained out and instead became the first game of a Sunday doubleheader, which the Rays took convincingly 8-2. Mario Saro (#17) and Tomas Laboy (#8) each homered and drove in a pair as everyone in the lineup had at least one hit and five had two. Chris O'Brien (6-4) turned in his second straight quality start at 6.1 5 2 2 2 3 with both runs scoring after he left.

Game 3: The Rays swept the doubleheader and the series with a 12-8 win over Detroit that really wasn't that close as the bullpen allowed 5 late runs to make it respectable for the Tigers. Jose Castillo had a massive day with a 2-run double and a 3-run homer (#16) while Tomas Laboy cranked out two more round-trippers to give him three on the day and 10 for the year. Juan Davila chipped in a 2-run shot (#4) and Chris Parham added a solo blast (#6). Greg Bookhart went to 10-1 with a fine start (5 6 3 2 1 5) but Tony Pasillas and Dan Anderson combined to allow five runs in the final two innings.

Team record: 54-18. Next up: 4 games in Boston.

Art Deco · 10-05-2022, 06:19 PM

Game 1: The Rays won a typical slugfest, downing the Red Sox 10-7 in the opener of their 4-game set in Fenway after taking a 10-1 lead. Doug Johns' grand slam (#25) broke the game open while Jose Castillo (#17), Tomas Laboy (#11) and Dave Frick (#4) all went deep. Bob Riley (9-2) was coasting through 5 but couldn't get anyone out in the 6th although he still picked up the win despite a rough 5 7 5 5 0 1 line. Satoshi Sato went the final two innings perfect for his 5th save.

Game 2: After scoring in double digits yesterday the Rays couldn't get anyone home today in a 4-0 loss to the Red Sox as they managed only six hits. Melvin Delgado (5-3) pitched well but lost his third straight decision after going 6 5 3 2 1 6.

Game 3: For quite a while it looked like the Rays might be shut out a second straight time but a 2-run Luis Barela homer (#23) in the 7th gave them a 2-1 win over Boston. Dave Rose (7-1) was outstanding at 7 3 1 1 1 5 and Steve Falcon had a 1-2-3 9th for save #16. They won despite getting only two hits, both of which came from Barela.

Game 4: The Rays took the series with a 7-2 win at Fenway. Dave Frick's 2-run single in the 4th broke open a 1-0 game, Chris Parham drove in a pair, Juan Davila homered (#5) and Vinny Rodriguez was 3-5 with a double and an RBI to lead the offense. Caleb Ramos was pressed into a start today with the recent doubleheader altering the rotation and he responded admirably, improving to 3-2 after going 6 5 0 0 3 3.

Team record: 57-19. Next up: Back home for 3 vs Texas.

Art Deco · 10-06-2022, 01:35 PM

Game 1: The Rays scored 5 times in the 8th to break a 2-2 tie and take a 7-2 win over the Rangers in their series opener at Publix Park. Juan Davila's 2-run single was the game winner, and Chris Parham and Dave Frick followed him by hitting triples with Parham's bringing in a pair. The rally made a winner of Satoshi Sato (8-1) while Chris O'Brien turned in another good start at 6 5 2 2 1 2. Luis Barela earlier hit HR #24.

June 27: Placed C Nelson Bocardo on the 10-day IL with a strained oblique, recalled C Kurt Ferguson from AAA Durham.

Bocardo was hurt in yesterday's game and should miss the minimum.

Game 2: Greg Bookhart struggled and the bats couldn't keep up in an 8-3 loss to the Rangers. Bookhart (10-2) suffered a rare loss after a 5 9 5 5 2 5 outing and the Rays' runs came on homers from Akio Suzuki (#1, solo) and Doug Johns (#25, with a man on).

Game 3: The Rays dropped the series to Texas as they were shut out 5-0 in the finale. Luis Barela and Doug Johns were in need of a rest and their bats were missed. Bob Riley (9-3) kept them in the game at 6.2 9 2 2 0 3 but Abelaldo Gray and Mel Mejia combined to cough up three runs late to let it get away.

Team record: 58-21. Next up: The homestand continues with 3 against Seattle.

Art Deco · 10-07-2022, 06:10 PM

Game 1: The Rays put 5 runs on the board in 2nd which was enough by itself to give them a 9-4 win over Seattle in the series opener at Publix Park. And what was more impressive is that they scored all those runs with a makeshift lineup as today's stars were seldom-used CF Steve Emerson and C Kurt Ferguson. Emerson was 2-3 with a pair of 2-run doubles and Ferguson was 3-3 with a pair of doubles including one which brought home two. Juan Davila stayed red-hot with a 2-run double of his own among his two hits and Melvin Delgado (6-3) ended his personal 3-game losing streak with a fine 6 3 2 2 3 8 start.

Game 2: The Rays rode another 5-run inning today, breaking open a 3-2 game and mauling the Mariners 11-3. Doug Johns had a big day, going 4-5 with a solo homer (#26) and an RBI double, while Akio Suzuki clubbed a 3-run homer (#2) and Jose Castillo added a 2-run shot (#18). Dave Rose went to 8-1 with a 5 7 2 2 3 9 outing.

Game 3: Tampa Bay completed the sweep but had to work harder for this one as they edged Seattle 5-4 in 11 innings on Jose Castillo's walk-off homer, #19. Dave Frick's 5th longball of the year gave them a 4-3 lead in the 7th but Jose Carrasco surrendered a tying dinger in the 8th, sending us to extras. Dan Anderson, who's struggled quite a bit this year, managed a scoreless 11th to win his first decision of the year. Chris O'Brien was adequate at 5 6 3 3 2 5 with the start.

Team record: 61-21. We've hit the halfway mark of the season so the next post will be a midseason review. Next up: A day off then Baltimore comes in for three.

Art Deco · 10-07-2022, 06:41 PM

Another dominant first half at 61-21, and here's where things stand:

Our usual productive offense of course, and our starting pitching has been fairly gruesome, probably the worst we've had in this save. It's not be as good the last few years and I keep thinking it'll be our undoing. It hasn't yet (certainly wasn't last year) but one of these days we're not going to outscore our problems. Now some of this is defense, but the D is actually a little better this year. And we are still #1 in WAR which tells me there's been some bad luck involved and the pitching isn't quite as bad as it looks. But it's not elite by any means.

Luis Barela is the front-runner for yet another MVP, one that could go to Doug Johns as well. Juan Davila has finally lived up to his billing as one of the game's top prospects earlier this decade as he's gotten a chance to play with the Yuji Morioka injury. Morioka is due back any day now, though, so I'll have to be real creative to get Davila steady at-bats. Otherwise, despite injuries to Morioka and Nelson Bocardo the offense has hummed along.

With the exception of fifth starters O'Brien and Ramos, the top four have been pretty decent in terms of WAR so again I'm thinking they'll put up better surface numbers in the second half. The pen has been fine for the most part as we have four legitimate closers (Soto, Gray, Carrasco, Falcon) although Gray and Carrasco have struggled some of late. Really at this point the only thing that matters is how they show up for the postseason.

Art Deco · 10-08-2022, 07:06 PM

Game 1: The Rays dropped the opener to Baltimore at Publix Park 7-2. It was a 3-2 Oriole lead going into the 7th when the struggling Abelaldo Gray took the mound and couldn't get anyone out, giving up 4 runs (3 earned) on 5 hits without retiring a batter, and that was that. Greg Bookhart (10-3) was the hard-luck loser after a decent 5 5 2 2 2 3 outing on 96 pitches and Vinny Rodriguez's solo homer (#9) was the lone Tampa Bay highlight.

Game 2: Tampa Bay bounced back to beat Baltimore 6-2 behind a solid Bob Riley outing and a balanced attack that saw six different Rays drive in a run. Riley (10-3) was in good form if a little wild at 6 6 2 2 4 2 and the bullpen held Baltimore without a hit over the final 3 innings. Vinny Rodriguez homered for the second straight day (#10) while Chris Parham and Dave Frick each had two hits and a ribbie.

Game 3: The bats were subdued again and Baltimore took the series with a 4-1 win over the Rays. Luis Barela's 6th inning solo shot (#25) was the sum total of the offense and Melvin Delgado (6-4) took the loss despite a halfway-decent 7 6 4 4 3 6 performance.

Team record: 62-23. Next up: We had to Chicago for 3 against the White Sox.

Transactions: We made a minor deal with San Diego, sending them veteran 36-year-old AAA OF DJ Henson, who has good power but little contact, for veteran swingman Joel Byers, 31. Byers is a solid long-middle reliever rated 60/60/55 but I made the deal without looking at the current roster and there's nobody in the pen worthy of sending down with options so there's really not a spot for him. I have five more days to find a home for him so I'm hanging in to see an injury creates a roster opening.

And we also made our July 2 signing. I try not to get too carried away with these guys as they all look good when you sign them at 15 or 16 but many of them fizzle out. This year's lottery ticket is 1B Vinny Colon, who has 75 contact and 70 power potential but no speed or defensive value. My first choice signed elsewhere and a couple of the other top IFAs weren't interested in us.

Art Deco · 10-09-2022, 02:38 PM

July 6: Activated 2B Yuji Morioka from his rehab assignment, optioned IF Josh Sprouse to AAA Durham.

Game 1: Dave Rose pitched well but the bats didn't support him and the Rays lost a tough one to Chicago 3-2. It was 2-2 going into the bottom of the 8th when Satoshi Sato (8-2) coughed up a run enabling the White Sox to win. Rose went 7 5 2 2 3 6 as he's rounded into form while Jose Castillo's solo homer (#20) was the highlight on offense.

Game 2: The Rays clubbed six homers as they routed the Pale Hose 11-3 at Guaranteed Rate Field. Mario Saro, who had been in a deep slump, set the tone by leading the game off with a homer and then added another later to give him 19, and Luis Barela (#26), Akio Suzuki (#3), Jose Castillo (#21, a 3-run shot) and Doug Johns (#27) also went deep. Chris O'Brien continued on his renaissance and improved to 7-4, going 7 5 3 3 1 3.

Game 3: Tampa Bay took the rubber game from Chicago 5-3 as Greg Bookhart took over the AL lead in wins with 11 and Jose Castillo homered for the third straight game. Bookhart (11-3) wasn't dominating but did enough for the win at 5 4 3 3 2 5, and four relievers held the fort from there with Steve Falcon getting a four-out save, his 17th. Castillo's 2-run shot in the 5th turned out to be the difference as it made it 4-0 Rays.

Team record: 64-24. Next up: An off-day then we're back home for 3 vs Toronto.

Art Deco · 10-10-2022, 05:21 PM

Game 1: The Rays suffered a rare offensive outage at Publix Park as Toronto's Angel Roig and a reliever shut them out on three hits in a 6-0 loss to the Jays. Bob Riley (10-4) didn't have it today, going 5 8 5 5 2 5.

July 11: Activated P Joel Byers, optioned OF Steve Emerson to AAA Durham.

There wasn't room on the staff for Byers, acquired last week in trade, so we created some by making him our 15th pitcher. We don't need 15 pitchers (heck we probably didn't need 14), but we weren't going to waive him or someone else on the staff to make room.

Game 2: You can't keep a good offense down for long and Toronto learned that today as the Rays took out their frustration of yesterday by routing the Jays 11-1. Doug Johns took over the MLB lead in RBI by driving in six today on a bases-clearing double, a 2-run double and an RBI single. Vinny Rodriguez added a 2-run circuit clout (#11) as did Akio Suzuki (#4). Melvin Delgado shut down his former team and improved to 7-4 thanks to a fine 7 8 1 1 2 3 outing. Joel Byers made his Rays debut by finishing up with two scoreless innings.

Game 3: The Rays took the finale and the series in dramatic fashion, edging Toronto 4-3 in 13 innings on walk-off walk to newly-named All-Star Chris Parham after Dave Frick hit a clutch 2-out homer (#6) in the bottom of the 9th to tie it up. Before then all the scoring came in the first two innings with the teams trading a pair of runs in the first and Toronto going ahead in the 2nd off Dave Rose, who settled down and finished 6 7 3 3 1 4. Tony Pasillas, the Rays' 7th pitcher of the day, went to 4-0 with the win after pitching the top of the 13th.

Team record: 66-25. Next up: The All-Star break, which isn't much of a break for the Rays considering virtually their starting lineup is in the game (more on that in the next post). Luis Barela and Doug Johns have been selected to participate in the Home Run Derby as well. We'll return to action on the Thursday with a 4-game series in Baltimore.

Art Deco · 10-11-2022, 03:52 PM

The rosters, which in the AL are quite Rays-laden:

Yes that's 7 Rays voted in as starters - C Nelson Bocardo (his 2nd appearance, although he'll miss the game with an injury), 2B Yuji Morioka (2nd), 3B Luis Barela (9th), SS Dave Frick (3rd), LF Mario Saro (3rd), CF Chris Parham (1st) and RF Doug Johns (5th). Also making it were SP Greg Bookhart (3rd) and closer Steve Falcon (7th, first as a Ray). As mentioned in the previous post, we also have a couple of entrants into the Home Run Derby and here's how it went:

Johns made it to the finals, only to lose. Of course this is the OOTP22 "dead ball" derby carried over in this save.

The game itself:

Despite the presence of all the heavy-hitting Rays the ASG was a low-scoring affair although Yuji Morioka did go deep for the AL. Greg Bookhart joined his numerous teammates in the starting lineup and turned in a scoreless inning, as did Steve Falcon in the 8th.

Art Deco · 10-11-2022, 09:09 PM

Game 1: The Rays returned from the All-Star break with a spring in their step despite one-third of the roster participating in the game as they scored 10 times in the first three innings and routed Baltimore 11-2. Vinny Rodriguez had a bases-clearing triple in the 1st, Mario Saro launched a 2-run homer (#20) in the 2nd and Chris Parham had a 3-run blast in the 3rd (#7) to pace the offense. Chris O'Brien (8-4) stayed on his roll with a 6 4 2 2 1 4 start.

Game 2: Vinny Rodriguez had the big early hit yesterday and he had the big late hit today, a 2-run homer (#12) in the 10th inning to propel the Rays to a 7-4 win. The Rays overcame an early 4-0 deficit to tie it in the 7th on Mario Saro's 21st homer and his second in as many days. Bob Riley had a rough start (5 9 4 4 0 2) but the pen was excellent with Jose Carrasco getting his first Rays win and Steve Falcon recording save #18.

Game 3: The Rays made it three straight out of the break and five straight overall with a comfortable 8-1 win over the Orioles. They broke the game open with 7 in the middle innings led by Nelson Bocardo and Doug Johns, who each drove in three. The Rays put 8 on the board despite getting only one extra-base hit (a double) and supported Dave Rose (9-1) who gave them length at 8 6 1 1 0 3.

Game 4: It appeared the Rays would pull off the sweep when Nelson Bocardo singled in a run in the top of the 10th to put them up 4-3 but the Orioles answered with a pair in the bottom of the frame to walk it off against Steve Falcon (0-4) and take a 5-4 win. Falcon had pitched the and was probably unwisely pushed to a second inning despite his 55 stamina. The Rays had taken a 3-0 lead behind Greg Bookhart, who gave up a pair in the 6th to finish 6 6 2 2 2 3, and then Jose Carrasco surrendered a solo homer in the 7th to allow Baltimore to equalize.

Team record: 69-26. Next up: 3 games in Houston.

Art Deco · 10-12-2022, 10:29 PM

Game 1: Melvin Delgado didn't get the win but he pitched his best game as a Ray tonight and a pair of runs in the 9th spared him from a hard-luck loss as the Rays rallied late to beat Houston 2-1 at Minute Maid Park in the series opener. Delgado went 7 4 1 1 1 8 but left trailing and the Rays looked like they'd suffer a rare shutout. But Chris Parham doubled in Doug Johns who had singled in the 9th, and Dave Frick's sac fly brought home the winner. Abelaldo Gray (3-0) pitched the 8th for the win and Satoshi Sato picked up save #6.

Game 2: The clock struck midnight for Chris O'Brien, who had been pitching very well of late after a terrible first couple of months as he reverted to early-season form in a 9-4 shellacking by Houston. O'Brien was hit for 5 runs in the opening frame and finished 3.1 7 5 5 4 1 in dropping to 7-5. The Rays did pull back within 5-3 by the 6th but recent pickup Joel Byers gave up 3 runs on a pair of homers to let it get out of hand, although all 3 were unearned thanks to a Chris Parham error (which shows the folly of the unearned runs rule as Byers was directly responsible for two of them). They did get solo homers from Luis Barela (#27), Dave Frick (#7) and Nelson Bocardo (#5) for naught.

Game 3: Tomas Laboy had himself a night as the Rays scored 5 times in the 10th to beat Houston by the same 9-4 score they lost to them the night before. The reserve cornerman hit a slam (#12) in the 10th to cap a 3-5, 5-RBI day and break the game open after Luis Barela drew a bases-loaded walk to put them in front. Bob Riley had a rough start (5 1 1 4 4 0 1) which put the Rays in a 4-0 hole but they overcame it. Abelaldo Gray (4-0) got the win again going the final 1 2/3.

Team record: 71-27. Next up: An off-day then we return home to Publix Park for 3 against the Angels.

Art Deco · 10-14-2022, 11:06 AM

Game 1: The Rays' bats were muted today in a 4-3 loss at Publix Park to the Angels in their series opener. LA went ahead 2-1 in the 7th to stay, and although the Rays got within one in the 8th it wasn't enough. Chris Parham was 3-3 with an RBI as one of the few who hit. Dave Rose (9-2) took a tough loss after pitching well at 5.1 5 2 2 1 9.

Game 2: New day, same story as the Rays struggled to score again and lost 3-2 to a good Angels team. Once again Chris Parham was the only guy hitting as he was 2-4 with a triple. Greg Bookhart gave up 3 in the 3rd and that was enough for LA with the lefty falling to 11-4 despite a quality 6 7 3 3 0 6 start.

Game 3: The Rays salvaged the finale by scoring more than a few runs as they beat LA 5-1 behind a fine Melvin Delgado outing. Delgado (8-4) kept his recent run of good starts going with a 6 5 0 0 1 5 performance. Jose Carrasco got out of Abelaldo Gray's mini-jam in the 8th and stayed through the 9th for his 3rd save. The offense wasn't humming on all cylinders as they scored on two groundouts and a sac fly but Doug Johns did hit HR #28 and drove in a pair to up his MLB-leading RBI total to 84.

Team record: 72-29. Next up: Off to New York for 3 but our opponent this time is the Mets, mired in mediocrity at 48-52.

Art Deco · 10-15-2022, 09:31 AM

Game 1: The bats took a siesta as the Rays fell to the Mets 7-1 at Citi Field in the opener. Luis Barela did hit HR #28 to get them within 2-1 in the 4th but that was as good as it got. Chris O'Brien (8-6) wasn't terrible at 6 8 3 3 1 2 but Mel Mejia and Joel Byers were behind him.

Game 2: Bob Riley's the kind of pitcher who relies on his defense, and today a couple of key errors cost him as the Rays dropped another one to the Mets 8-6. Errors by Nelson Bocardo and Luis Barela meant 4 of the 6 runs off Riley were unearned as he fell to 10-5 with a 5.1 9 6 2 1 2 outing. Doug Johns hit HR #29 and drove in a pair, Dave Frick had a 2-run shot (#8) and a 2-run 9th-inning rally fell short as they left the bases loaded.

Game 3: The Rays suffered their first series sweep of the season as they were edged 4-3 by the Mets in the finale. Satoshi Sato (8-3) was nicked for a run in the 8th to break a 3-3 tie after they got a solid start from Dave Rose (6 5 3 3 1 4). Luis Barela was 2-3 with an RBI to top the offense.

Team record: 72-32. Next up: An off-day then we head to the desert to play 3 against Arizona.

Getting swept in a series is the closest thing to a crisis for this team, so of course we had to make a trade as the rotation could use some bolstering despite our gaudy record:

Gardner is a rental and as you can see from the numbers above he's pitched really well this year. He's 60/60/60-rated too. Akua has some potential to be decent but we can live without him. To make room for Gardner in the rotation and on the roster, Chris O'Brien is being optioned to Durham. Although he's pitched decently of late he was still the weak link in the rotation and Gardner gives us someone who can pitch a playoff game for us.

09-26-2022, 07:50 PM	#2161
Art Deco Hall Of Famer Join Date: May 2020 Posts: 6,933	May 29-31, 2048: vs LA Dodgers (3) I'm on the run and fleein' Ian, but thanks my son driving I can still post OOTP dynasty updates. Game 1: This was supposed to be a Friday night game but it was rained out and we played a Saturday doubleheader. An old friend came to Publix Park and treated us rudely as former Rays starter Dan Robinson went 8 1/3 shutout innings and the Dodgers blanked Tampa Bay 5-0. They did have 7 hits (3 from Luis Barela) but couldn't string them together. Chris O'Brien did not pitch well (5 7 5 5 0 5) and dropped to 3-3. Game 2: The Rays bounced back in the second game of the doubleheader and second game of the series with a 3-2 behind a fine outing from Greg Bookhart but which was notable for Steve Falcon's save, the 300th of his illustrious career and 13th of the season. Bookhart (6-1) meanwhile went 6 7 2 2 1 5 for the win. Alex Duran's 6th-inning solo shot (#4) broke a 2-2 tie to stand up as the winner. Game 3: The Dodgers went up 3-0 early and 6-3 in the 5th but you knew it was going to be a patented Publix Park Rays comeback - until it wasn't as they fell short 6-5 and dropped the series to LA, the first they've lost at home this year and only their fifth defeat on friendly soil. Bob Riley struggled early and looked like he might settle in but was hit hard again in the 5th and finished 4.2 9 6 6 2 2 to drop to 6-2. Juan Davila led the attack, going 3-4 with his first homer of the year and Jose Castillo also went deep for #12. Team record: 41-12. Next up: More interleague play with 3 games in Cincinnati. Last edited by Art Deco; 09-28-2022 at 10:30 AM.

09-28-2022, 10:37 AM	#2162
Art Deco Hall Of Famer Join Date: May 2020 Posts: 6,933	June 1-3, 2048: at Cincinnati (3) June 1: Placed SS Dave Frick on the 10-day IL with wrist soreness; recalled SS Josh Sprouse from AA Montgomery. Frick should only miss the minimum 10 days. Game 1: The Rays scored 6 times in the first two innings and rolled to an 11-5 win at Great American Ballpark over the Reds. Luis Barela had another huge game, going 3-4 with 4 RBI including a 3-run homer (#16) in the first while Nelson Bocardo was 3-5 with an RBI double. Mario Saro (#12) and Alex Duran (#5) also homered. Melvin Delgado (4-0) was solid at 6 5 3 3 0 6 for the win. Game 2: Tampa Bay once again overpowered Cincinnati in a 9-5 win, again scoring early and often (5 runs in the first 2 innings). Mario Saro was the man of the match, hitting a 3-run homer (#13) among his three hits on the day and stole a base for good measure while Jose Castillo and Juan Davila were each 3-5 with 2 RBI. They backed a fine outing from Dave Rose (6-0) who was 7 3 2 2 3 5. The only down note was that Yuji Morioka suffered a strained shoulder and will be out 5-6 weeks. Game 3: Rained out and will be made up June 11 when both teams had scheduled off days. Team record: 43-12. Next up: Back home for 4 games against the Yankees and tomorrow is the Amateur Draft.

09-29-2022, 01:07 PM	#2163
Art Deco Hall Of Famer Join Date: May 2020 Posts: 6,933	June 4-7, 2048: vs NY Yankees (4) June 4: Placed IF Yuji Morioka on the 10-day IL with a strained shoulder; recalled IF Stevie Moore from AAA Durham. Game 1: The Rays scored 5 times in the first, 3 more in the 2nd and went on to a 14-4 rout of the Yankees at Publix Park. Luis Barela was 5-5 with an RBI, Juan Davila was 3-5 with 4 RBI including a bases-clearing triple, and Jose Castillo went 3-3 with a homer (#13), double and 3 RBI to lead the attack. Chris O'Brien (4-3) continued to unimpress but was good enough for the win at 5.1 8 4 4 1 3 while Tony Pasillas tossed 3 hitless innings for his 2nd save. Game 2: Greg Bookhart was excellent in another comfortable win over the Yankees 7-1. The lefty joined teammate Satoshi Sato for the AL win lead at 7-1 after going 7 6 1 1 1 5 and was supported by homers from Nelson Bocardo (#4), Jose Castillo (#14) and Chris Parham (#5) as those three combined to drive in all seven runs. Game 3: The routs continued as the Rays once again bested New York 10-2. Luis Barela's massive week rolled on as he was 3-4 with HR #17 and 2 RBI, Vinny Rodriguez was 3-5 with a double and 2 RBI, and Doug Johns and Chris Parham each plated a pair. Bob Riley was in fine form for the win, joining teammates Greg Bookhart and Satoshi Sato on 7 wins after a 7 7 1 1 1 5 outing. Game 4: We had a close game for a change but the same outcome as the Rays swept the 4-game series from New York in an 11-8 slugfest. It was shaping up as another Tampa Bay blowout as the Rays were up 10-1 after 5 but the Yankees scored 5 off Melvin Delgado in the 6th and two more off Jose Carrasco in the 7th to make a game of it. Delgado (5-0) still picked up the win at 6 8 6 5 2 5, and Steve Falcon finally saw some action in the 9th and notched save #14. Luis Barela ended up AL Player of the Week after today's 2-4 with HR #18 and 3 RBI, and the Rays also got longballs from Mario Saro (#14, a grand slam), Vinny Rodriguez (#6, a 3-run blast) and Alex Duran (#6). Juan Davila also had his 5th 3-hit game in the last 7, and has gone 20 for his last 32 to up his average to .396 as he gets to play every day with Morioka and Frick sidelined. Team record: 47-12. Next up: Our first-ever trip to Oklahoma City where we'll play 3 against the expansion Sunbirds, who are off to an excellent start for a first-year team at 33-27 and are tied for the second wild card at the moment.

09-30-2022, 09:05 PM	#2164
Art Deco Hall Of Famer Join Date: May 2020 Posts: 6,933	June 8-10, 2048: at Oklahoma City (3) Game 1: The Rays lost their first-ever game against Oklahoma City 4-3 when Steve Falcon gave up 2 runs in the 8th to surrender the lead. Falcon dropped to 0-3 and blew his first save as a Ray, costing Dave Rose (6 5 2 2 0 4) a win. Juan Davila was 2-3 with a 2-run homer (#2) to lead the offense as he's ticked up to .404. Game 2: It seems unlikely that the 47-12 Rays would lose again to an expansion team, but the Sunbirds are not your typical first-year franchise as they won their 10th straight by routing Tampa Bay 8-1. Chris O'Brien was hit hard once again and it's only Caleb Ramos' failures as a starter that's keeping him in the rotation. O'Brien (4-4) was a brutal 2 5 6 6 3 2 and now sports a 6.44 ERA. Game 3: The Rays snapped Oklahoma City's 10-game winning streak and salvaged the finale with a 3-2 win at Sunbirdsdome (that's what the game calls it). Greg Bookhart (8-1) was dealing at 6 5 0 0 0 6 and Steve Falcon struggled again, giving up 2 runs to make it interesting before Satoshi Sato got the final out for save #3. Vinny Rodriguez (#7) and Jose Castillo (#15) had solo homers with Castillo's in the 9th proving to be the difference. Team record: 48-14. Next up: We swing back to Cincinnati to make up the game that was rained out last week before moving on for 3 in Toronto.

10-01-2022, 03:33 PM	#2165
Art Deco Hall Of Famer Join Date: May 2020 Posts: 6,933	June 11, 2048: at Cincinnati (1) The Rays took a 5-3 win over the Reds at Great American Ballpark in a makeup of last week's rainout. Bob Riley (8-2) was strong, going 7 7 2 2 0 5 for the win and Satoshi Sato notched save #4 despite allowing a run and loading the bases on 4 hits in the 9th. Mario Saro led off the game with a homer (#15) and had an RBI double in the 2nd while Juan Davila went back over .400 with 3 hits and an RBI in 5 trips. Team record: 49-14. Next up: 3 games in Toronto.

10-01-2022, 06:08 PM	#2166
Art Deco Hall Of Famer Join Date: May 2020 Posts: 6,933	June 12-14, 2048: at Toronto (3) Game 1: The Rays jumped out to a 3-0 in the 1st inning thanks to a 2-run Alex Duran double, but that was the high point of the game for them as they fell 6-3 at Rogers Centre to the Jays. Melvin Delgado suffered his first loss of the year as his former mates treated him rudely at 5 10 5 5 1 4. June 13: Activated SS Dave Frick from the 10-day IL, optioned IF Steve Moore to AAA Durham. Game 2: Once again Tampa Bay jumped out quickly with a pair of runs in the first inning and once again they couldn't score thereafter, losing for the second straight day 3-2 despite a complete-game effort from Dave Rose. Like Melvin Delgado yesterday, Rose suffered his first defeat of the year but unlike Delgado he pitched quite well, going 8 6 3 3 2 7 on 94 pitches. Game 3: Luis Barela made sure the Rays wouldn't be swept by Toronto as he clubbed a pair of 2-run homers to lead Tampa Bay to a 5-2 win over the Jays. As in the previous two games the Rays scored in the opening frame with the first of Barela's 2-run shots, but this time they scored later with Barela going deep again in the 6th for his 20th of the year. The 3B is ready to claim another MVP as he's already earned 4.2 WAR, 1.3 more than his nearest AL competitor, on the strength of a 373/460/726 line and 56 RBI. Chris O'Brien, who had been pitching his way out of the rotation, snapped back with a fine 6 5 2 2 2 4 outing to improve to 5-4, and Steve Falcon recorded save #15. Team record: 50-16. Next up: Our long and winding road trip is finally over as we return to Publix Park for 3 against Austin. Last edited by Art Deco; 10-01-2022 at 06:10 PM.

10-03-2022, 08:38 AM	#2167
Art Deco Hall Of Famer Join Date: May 2020 Posts: 6,933	June 15-17, 2048: vs Austin (3) Game 1: After having some issues scoring in Toronto the Rays were glad to be back to the home cooking at Publix Park and they drubbed the Dukes 11-4 in the series opener. Doug Johns had a monster game with a 2-run homer and a grand slam to give him 20 dingers on the year, and Vinny Rodriguez (#8), Mario Saro (#16) and Juan Davila (#3) also found the seats. That was more than enough for Greg Bookhart (9-1), who turned in another quality outing at 6 5 2 2 2 7. Caleb Ramos gave up 2 runs in his 3 innings, but picked up his first save of the year. Game 2: The scoring woes returned but it was the bullpen which was the real culprit in a 3-2, 11-inning loss to Austin. Bob Riley was excellent at 8 6 1 1 1 3 and maybe should have come out for the 9th on only 84 pitches but Steve Falcon got the call and gave up a tying homer in the 9th. Satoshi Sato then put a man on with his own error and allowed him to score in the 11th to drop to 7-1. Of course had the normal offense been present none of this would have been an issue but Dukes pitching held Rays' bats in check with Doug Johns' 21st homer a rare highlight. Game 3: Once again the Rays struggled to score in a 4-2 loss to Austin and dropped the series as a result. Melvin Delgado (5-2) gave up 3 runs in the first two innings but settled in despite allowing a lot of hits in going 6 11 3 3 1 3. Luis Barela was 2-4 with HR #21 but the rest of the bats failed to show. Team record: 51-18. Next up: An off-day then Detroit comes to town for the weekend with Seth Williams making his return to Publix Park after seven seasons in Rays colors with five rings and a sixth he'll receive before Friday's game.

10-04-2022, 10:14 AM	#2168
Art Deco Hall Of Famer Join Date: May 2020 Posts: 6,933	June 19-21, 2048: vs Detroit (3) Game 1: Still another comeback win after a lousy start as the Rays overcame a 6-2 deficit and beat Detroit 10-6 in their series opener at Publix Park. Dave Rose, who had been on a roll, struggled at 4 8 6 6 1 6 allowing a pair of homers. But Doug Johns led the comeback with another pair of homers to give him 23, and Luis Barela's 3-run blast (#22) gave the Rays the lead to stay. Juan Davila added a 2-run double, and the win went to Jose Morales (4-0) who tossed a pair of scoreless innings while Abelaldo Gray recorded 5 outs on only 11 pitches for his first save of the season. Game 2: This game was supposed to be played on Saturday but it was rained out and instead became the first game of a Sunday doubleheader, which the Rays took convincingly 8-2. Mario Saro (#17) and Tomas Laboy (#8) each homered and drove in a pair as everyone in the lineup had at least one hit and five had two. Chris O'Brien (6-4) turned in his second straight quality start at 6.1 5 2 2 2 3 with both runs scoring after he left. Game 3: The Rays swept the doubleheader and the series with a 12-8 win over Detroit that really wasn't that close as the bullpen allowed 5 late runs to make it respectable for the Tigers. Jose Castillo had a massive day with a 2-run double and a 3-run homer (#16) while Tomas Laboy cranked out two more round-trippers to give him three on the day and 10 for the year. Juan Davila chipped in a 2-run shot (#4) and Chris Parham added a solo blast (#6). Greg Bookhart went to 10-1 with a fine start (5 6 3 2 1 5) but Tony Pasillas and Dan Anderson combined to allow five runs in the final two innings. Team record: 54-18. Next up: 4 games in Boston.

10-05-2022, 06:19 PM	#2169
Art Deco Hall Of Famer Join Date: May 2020 Posts: 6,933	June 22-25, 2048: at Boston (4) Game 1: The Rays won a typical slugfest, downing the Red Sox 10-7 in the opener of their 4-game set in Fenway after taking a 10-1 lead. Doug Johns' grand slam (#25) broke the game open while Jose Castillo (#17), Tomas Laboy (#11) and Dave Frick (#4) all went deep. Bob Riley (9-2) was coasting through 5 but couldn't get anyone out in the 6th although he still picked up the win despite a rough 5 7 5 5 0 1 line. Satoshi Sato went the final two innings perfect for his 5th save. Game 2: After scoring in double digits yesterday the Rays couldn't get anyone home today in a 4-0 loss to the Red Sox as they managed only six hits. Melvin Delgado (5-3) pitched well but lost his third straight decision after going 6 5 3 2 1 6. Game 3: For quite a while it looked like the Rays might be shut out a second straight time but a 2-run Luis Barela homer (#23) in the 7th gave them a 2-1 win over Boston. Dave Rose (7-1) was outstanding at 7 3 1 1 1 5 and Steve Falcon had a 1-2-3 9th for save #16. They won despite getting only two hits, both of which came from Barela. Game 4: The Rays took the series with a 7-2 win at Fenway. Dave Frick's 2-run single in the 4th broke open a 1-0 game, Chris Parham drove in a pair, Juan Davila homered (#5) and Vinny Rodriguez was 3-5 with a double and an RBI to lead the offense. Caleb Ramos was pressed into a start today with the recent doubleheader altering the rotation and he responded admirably, improving to 3-2 after going 6 5 0 0 3 3. Team record: 57-19. Next up: Back home for 3 vs Texas.

10-06-2022, 01:35 PM	#2170
Art Deco Hall Of Famer Join Date: May 2020 Posts: 6,933	June 26-28, 2048: vs Texas (3) Game 1: The Rays scored 5 times in the 8th to break a 2-2 tie and take a 7-2 win over the Rangers in their series opener at Publix Park. Juan Davila's 2-run single was the game winner, and Chris Parham and Dave Frick followed him by hitting triples with Parham's bringing in a pair. The rally made a winner of Satoshi Sato (8-1) while Chris O'Brien turned in another good start at 6 5 2 2 1 2. Luis Barela earlier hit HR #24. June 27: Placed C Nelson Bocardo on the 10-day IL with a strained oblique, recalled C Kurt Ferguson from AAA Durham. Bocardo was hurt in yesterday's game and should miss the minimum. Game 2: Greg Bookhart struggled and the bats couldn't keep up in an 8-3 loss to the Rangers. Bookhart (10-2) suffered a rare loss after a 5 9 5 5 2 5 outing and the Rays' runs came on homers from Akio Suzuki (#1, solo) and Doug Johns (#25, with a man on). Game 3: The Rays dropped the series to Texas as they were shut out 5-0 in the finale. Luis Barela and Doug Johns were in need of a rest and their bats were missed. Bob Riley (9-3) kept them in the game at 6.2 9 2 2 0 3 but Abelaldo Gray and Mel Mejia combined to cough up three runs late to let it get away. Team record: 58-21. Next up: The homestand continues with 3 against Seattle.

10-07-2022, 06:10 PM	#2171
Art Deco Hall Of Famer Join Date: May 2020 Posts: 6,933	June 29-July 1, 2048: vs Seattle (3) Game 1: The Rays put 5 runs on the board in 2nd which was enough by itself to give them a 9-4 win over Seattle in the series opener at Publix Park. And what was more impressive is that they scored all those runs with a makeshift lineup as today's stars were seldom-used CF Steve Emerson and C Kurt Ferguson. Emerson was 2-3 with a pair of 2-run doubles and Ferguson was 3-3 with a pair of doubles including one which brought home two. Juan Davila stayed red-hot with a 2-run double of his own among his two hits and Melvin Delgado (6-3) ended his personal 3-game losing streak with a fine 6 3 2 2 3 8 start. Game 2: The Rays rode another 5-run inning today, breaking open a 3-2 game and mauling the Mariners 11-3. Doug Johns had a big day, going 4-5 with a solo homer (#26) and an RBI double, while Akio Suzuki clubbed a 3-run homer (#2) and Jose Castillo added a 2-run shot (#18). Dave Rose went to 8-1 with a 5 7 2 2 3 9 outing. Game 3: Tampa Bay completed the sweep but had to work harder for this one as they edged Seattle 5-4 in 11 innings on Jose Castillo's walk-off homer, #19. Dave Frick's 5th longball of the year gave them a 4-3 lead in the 7th but Jose Carrasco surrendered a tying dinger in the 8th, sending us to extras. Dan Anderson, who's struggled quite a bit this year, managed a scoreless 11th to win his first decision of the year. Chris O'Brien was adequate at 5 6 3 3 2 5 with the start. Team record: 61-21. We've hit the halfway mark of the season so the next post will be a midseason review. Next up: A day off then Baltimore comes in for three.

10-07-2022, 06:41 PM	#2172
Art Deco Hall Of Famer Join Date: May 2020 Posts: 6,933	2048 Midseason Review Another dominant first half at 61-21, and here's where things stand: Our usual productive offense of course, and our starting pitching has been fairly gruesome, probably the worst we've had in this save. It's not be as good the last few years and I keep thinking it'll be our undoing. It hasn't yet (certainly wasn't last year) but one of these days we're not going to outscore our problems. Now some of this is defense, but the D is actually a little better this year. And we are still #1 in WAR which tells me there's been some bad luck involved and the pitching isn't quite as bad as it looks. But it's not elite by any means. Luis Barela is the front-runner for yet another MVP, one that could go to Doug Johns as well. Juan Davila has finally lived up to his billing as one of the game's top prospects earlier this decade as he's gotten a chance to play with the Yuji Morioka injury. Morioka is due back any day now, though, so I'll have to be real creative to get Davila steady at-bats. Otherwise, despite injuries to Morioka and Nelson Bocardo the offense has hummed along. With the exception of fifth starters O'Brien and Ramos, the top four have been pretty decent in terms of WAR so again I'm thinking they'll put up better surface numbers in the second half. The pen has been fine for the most part as we have four legitimate closers (Soto, Gray, Carrasco, Falcon) although Gray and Carrasco have struggled some of late. Really at this point the only thing that matters is how they show up for the postseason.

10-08-2022, 07:06 PM	#2173
Art Deco Hall Of Famer Join Date: May 2020 Posts: 6,933	July 3-5, 2048: vs Baltimore (3) Game 1: The Rays dropped the opener to Baltimore at Publix Park 7-2. It was a 3-2 Oriole lead going into the 7th when the struggling Abelaldo Gray took the mound and couldn't get anyone out, giving up 4 runs (3 earned) on 5 hits without retiring a batter, and that was that. Greg Bookhart (10-3) was the hard-luck loser after a decent 5 5 2 2 2 3 outing on 96 pitches and Vinny Rodriguez's solo homer (#9) was the lone Tampa Bay highlight. Game 2: Tampa Bay bounced back to beat Baltimore 6-2 behind a solid Bob Riley outing and a balanced attack that saw six different Rays drive in a run. Riley (10-3) was in good form if a little wild at 6 6 2 2 4 2 and the bullpen held Baltimore without a hit over the final 3 innings. Vinny Rodriguez homered for the second straight day (#10) while Chris Parham and Dave Frick each had two hits and a ribbie. Game 3: The bats were subdued again and Baltimore took the series with a 4-1 win over the Rays. Luis Barela's 6th inning solo shot (#25) was the sum total of the offense and Melvin Delgado (6-4) took the loss despite a halfway-decent 7 6 4 4 3 6 performance. Team record: 62-23. Next up: We had to Chicago for 3 against the White Sox. Transactions: We made a minor deal with San Diego, sending them veteran 36-year-old AAA OF DJ Henson, who has good power but little contact, for veteran swingman Joel Byers, 31. Byers is a solid long-middle reliever rated 60/60/55 but I made the deal without looking at the current roster and there's nobody in the pen worthy of sending down with options so there's really not a spot for him. I have five more days to find a home for him so I'm hanging in to see an injury creates a roster opening. And we also made our July 2 signing. I try not to get too carried away with these guys as they all look good when you sign them at 15 or 16 but many of them fizzle out. This year's lottery ticket is 1B Vinny Colon, who has 75 contact and 70 power potential but no speed or defensive value. My first choice signed elsewhere and a couple of the other top IFAs weren't interested in us.

10-09-2022, 02:38 PM	#2174
Art Deco Hall Of Famer Join Date: May 2020 Posts: 6,933	July 6-8, 2048: at Chicago White Sox (3) July 6: Activated 2B Yuji Morioka from his rehab assignment, optioned IF Josh Sprouse to AAA Durham. Game 1: Dave Rose pitched well but the bats didn't support him and the Rays lost a tough one to Chicago 3-2. It was 2-2 going into the bottom of the 8th when Satoshi Sato (8-2) coughed up a run enabling the White Sox to win. Rose went 7 5 2 2 3 6 as he's rounded into form while Jose Castillo's solo homer (#20) was the highlight on offense. Game 2: The Rays clubbed six homers as they routed the Pale Hose 11-3 at Guaranteed Rate Field. Mario Saro, who had been in a deep slump, set the tone by leading the game off with a homer and then added another later to give him 19, and Luis Barela (#26), Akio Suzuki (#3), Jose Castillo (#21, a 3-run shot) and Doug Johns (#27) also went deep. Chris O'Brien continued on his renaissance and improved to 7-4, going 7 5 3 3 1 3. Game 3: Tampa Bay took the rubber game from Chicago 5-3 as Greg Bookhart took over the AL lead in wins with 11 and Jose Castillo homered for the third straight game. Bookhart (11-3) wasn't dominating but did enough for the win at 5 4 3 3 2 5, and four relievers held the fort from there with Steve Falcon getting a four-out save, his 17th. Castillo's 2-run shot in the 5th turned out to be the difference as it made it 4-0 Rays. Team record: 64-24. Next up: An off-day then we're back home for 3 vs Toronto.

10-10-2022, 05:21 PM	#2175
Art Deco Hall Of Famer Join Date: May 2020 Posts: 6,933	July 10-12, 2048: vs Toronto (3) Game 1: The Rays suffered a rare offensive outage at Publix Park as Toronto's Angel Roig and a reliever shut them out on three hits in a 6-0 loss to the Jays. Bob Riley (10-4) didn't have it today, going 5 8 5 5 2 5. July 11: Activated P Joel Byers, optioned OF Steve Emerson to AAA Durham. There wasn't room on the staff for Byers, acquired last week in trade, so we created some by making him our 15th pitcher. We don't need 15 pitchers (heck we probably didn't need 14), but we weren't going to waive him or someone else on the staff to make room. Game 2: You can't keep a good offense down for long and Toronto learned that today as the Rays took out their frustration of yesterday by routing the Jays 11-1. Doug Johns took over the MLB lead in RBI by driving in six today on a bases-clearing double, a 2-run double and an RBI single. Vinny Rodriguez added a 2-run circuit clout (#11) as did Akio Suzuki (#4). Melvin Delgado shut down his former team and improved to 7-4 thanks to a fine 7 8 1 1 2 3 outing. Joel Byers made his Rays debut by finishing up with two scoreless innings. Game 3: The Rays took the finale and the series in dramatic fashion, edging Toronto 4-3 in 13 innings on walk-off walk to newly-named All-Star Chris Parham after Dave Frick hit a clutch 2-out homer (#6) in the bottom of the 9th to tie it up. Before then all the scoring came in the first two innings with the teams trading a pair of runs in the first and Toronto going ahead in the 2nd off Dave Rose, who settled down and finished 6 7 3 3 1 4. Tony Pasillas, the Rays' 7th pitcher of the day, went to 4-0 with the win after pitching the top of the 13th. Team record: 66-25. Next up: The All-Star break, which isn't much of a break for the Rays considering virtually their starting lineup is in the game (more on that in the next post). Luis Barela and Doug Johns have been selected to participate in the Home Run Derby as well. We'll return to action on the Thursday with a 4-game series in Baltimore.

10-11-2022, 03:52 PM	#2176
Art Deco Hall Of Famer Join Date: May 2020 Posts: 6,933	All-Star Break 2048 The rosters, which in the AL are quite Rays-laden: Yes that's 7 Rays voted in as starters - C Nelson Bocardo (his 2nd appearance, although he'll miss the game with an injury), 2B Yuji Morioka (2nd), 3B Luis Barela (9th), SS Dave Frick (3rd), LF Mario Saro (3rd), CF Chris Parham (1st) and RF Doug Johns (5th). Also making it were SP Greg Bookhart (3rd) and closer Steve Falcon (7th, first as a Ray). As mentioned in the previous post, we also have a couple of entrants into the Home Run Derby and here's how it went: Johns made it to the finals, only to lose. Of course this is the OOTP22 "dead ball" derby carried over in this save. The game itself: Despite the presence of all the heavy-hitting Rays the ASG was a low-scoring affair although Yuji Morioka did go deep for the AL. Greg Bookhart joined his numerous teammates in the starting lineup and turned in a scoreless inning, as did Steve Falcon in the 8th.

10-11-2022, 09:09 PM	#2177
Art Deco Hall Of Famer Join Date: May 2020 Posts: 6,933	July 16-19, 2048: at Baltimore (4) Game 1: The Rays returned from the All-Star break with a spring in their step despite one-third of the roster participating in the game as they scored 10 times in the first three innings and routed Baltimore 11-2. Vinny Rodriguez had a bases-clearing triple in the 1st, Mario Saro launched a 2-run homer (#20) in the 2nd and Chris Parham had a 3-run blast in the 3rd (#7) to pace the offense. Chris O'Brien (8-4) stayed on his roll with a 6 4 2 2 1 4 start. Game 2: Vinny Rodriguez had the big early hit yesterday and he had the big late hit today, a 2-run homer (#12) in the 10th inning to propel the Rays to a 7-4 win. The Rays overcame an early 4-0 deficit to tie it in the 7th on Mario Saro's 21st homer and his second in as many days. Bob Riley had a rough start (5 9 4 4 0 2) but the pen was excellent with Jose Carrasco getting his first Rays win and Steve Falcon recording save #18. Game 3: The Rays made it three straight out of the break and five straight overall with a comfortable 8-1 win over the Orioles. They broke the game open with 7 in the middle innings led by Nelson Bocardo and Doug Johns, who each drove in three. The Rays put 8 on the board despite getting only one extra-base hit (a double) and supported Dave Rose (9-1) who gave them length at 8 6 1 1 0 3. Game 4: It appeared the Rays would pull off the sweep when Nelson Bocardo singled in a run in the top of the 10th to put them up 4-3 but the Orioles answered with a pair in the bottom of the frame to walk it off against Steve Falcon (0-4) and take a 5-4 win. Falcon had pitched the and was probably unwisely pushed to a second inning despite his 55 stamina. The Rays had taken a 3-0 lead behind Greg Bookhart, who gave up a pair in the 6th to finish 6 6 2 2 2 3, and then Jose Carrasco surrendered a solo homer in the 7th to allow Baltimore to equalize. Team record: 69-26. Next up: 3 games in Houston.

10-12-2022, 10:29 PM	#2178
Art Deco Hall Of Famer Join Date: May 2020 Posts: 6,933	July 20-22, 2048: at Houston (3) Game 1: Melvin Delgado didn't get the win but he pitched his best game as a Ray tonight and a pair of runs in the 9th spared him from a hard-luck loss as the Rays rallied late to beat Houston 2-1 at Minute Maid Park in the series opener. Delgado went 7 4 1 1 1 8 but left trailing and the Rays looked like they'd suffer a rare shutout. But Chris Parham doubled in Doug Johns who had singled in the 9th, and Dave Frick's sac fly brought home the winner. Abelaldo Gray (3-0) pitched the 8th for the win and Satoshi Sato picked up save #6. Game 2: The clock struck midnight for Chris O'Brien, who had been pitching very well of late after a terrible first couple of months as he reverted to early-season form in a 9-4 shellacking by Houston. O'Brien was hit for 5 runs in the opening frame and finished 3.1 7 5 5 4 1 in dropping to 7-5. The Rays did pull back within 5-3 by the 6th but recent pickup Joel Byers gave up 3 runs on a pair of homers to let it get out of hand, although all 3 were unearned thanks to a Chris Parham error (which shows the folly of the unearned runs rule as Byers was directly responsible for two of them). They did get solo homers from Luis Barela (#27), Dave Frick (#7) and Nelson Bocardo (#5) for naught. Game 3: Tomas Laboy had himself a night as the Rays scored 5 times in the 10th to beat Houston by the same 9-4 score they lost to them the night before. The reserve cornerman hit a slam (#12) in the 10th to cap a 3-5, 5-RBI day and break the game open after Luis Barela drew a bases-loaded walk to put them in front. Bob Riley had a rough start (5 1 1 4 4 0 1) which put the Rays in a 4-0 hole but they overcame it. Abelaldo Gray (4-0) got the win again going the final 1 2/3. Team record: 71-27. Next up: An off-day then we return home to Publix Park for 3 against the Angels.

10-14-2022, 11:06 AM	#2179
Art Deco Hall Of Famer Join Date: May 2020 Posts: 6,933	July 24-26, 2048: vs LA Angels (3) Game 1: The Rays' bats were muted today in a 4-3 loss at Publix Park to the Angels in their series opener. LA went ahead 2-1 in the 7th to stay, and although the Rays got within one in the 8th it wasn't enough. Chris Parham was 3-3 with an RBI as one of the few who hit. Dave Rose (9-2) took a tough loss after pitching well at 5.1 5 2 2 1 9. Game 2: New day, same story as the Rays struggled to score again and lost 3-2 to a good Angels team. Once again Chris Parham was the only guy hitting as he was 2-4 with a triple. Greg Bookhart gave up 3 in the 3rd and that was enough for LA with the lefty falling to 11-4 despite a quality 6 7 3 3 0 6 start. Game 3: The Rays salvaged the finale by scoring more than a few runs as they beat LA 5-1 behind a fine Melvin Delgado outing. Delgado (8-4) kept his recent run of good starts going with a 6 5 0 0 1 5 performance. Jose Carrasco got out of Abelaldo Gray's mini-jam in the 8th and stayed through the 9th for his 3rd save. The offense wasn't humming on all cylinders as they scored on two groundouts and a sac fly but Doug Johns did hit HR #28 and drove in a pair to up his MLB-leading RBI total to 84. Team record: 72-29. Next up: Off to New York for 3 but our opponent this time is the Mets, mired in mediocrity at 48-52.

10-15-2022, 09:31 AM	#2180
Art Deco Hall Of Famer Join Date: May 2020 Posts: 6,933	July 27-29, 2048: at NY Mets (3) Game 1: The bats took a siesta as the Rays fell to the Mets 7-1 at Citi Field in the opener. Luis Barela did hit HR #28 to get them within 2-1 in the 4th but that was as good as it got. Chris O'Brien (8-6) wasn't terrible at 6 8 3 3 1 2 but Mel Mejia and Joel Byers were behind him. Game 2: Bob Riley's the kind of pitcher who relies on his defense, and today a couple of key errors cost him as the Rays dropped another one to the Mets 8-6. Errors by Nelson Bocardo and Luis Barela meant 4 of the 6 runs off Riley were unearned as he fell to 10-5 with a 5.1 9 6 2 1 2 outing. Doug Johns hit HR #29 and drove in a pair, Dave Frick had a 2-run shot (#8) and a 2-run 9th-inning rally fell short as they left the bases loaded. Game 3: The Rays suffered their first series sweep of the season as they were edged 4-3 by the Mets in the finale. Satoshi Sato (8-3) was nicked for a run in the 8th to break a 3-3 tie after they got a solid start from Dave Rose (6 5 3 3 1 4). Luis Barela was 2-3 with an RBI to top the offense. Team record: 72-32. Next up: An off-day then we head to the desert to play 3 against Arizona. Getting swept in a series is the closest thing to a crisis for this team, so of course we had to make a trade as the rotation could use some bolstering despite our gaudy record: Gardner is a rental and as you can see from the numbers above he's pitched really well this year. He's 60/60/60-rated too. Akua has some potential to be decent but we can live without him. To make room for Gardner in the rotation and on the roster, Chris O'Brien is being optioned to Durham. Although he's pitched decently of late he was still the weak link in the rotation and Gardner gives us someone who can pitch a playoff game for us.