The 2022 (and beyond) Tampa Bay Rays

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Game 1: 0-4 L. LP-Bradley (3-1, 2.1 4 2 2 0 3). Taj Bradley left with a herniated disc and will be out 3-4 weeks while the hitters all played like they had herniated discs.

Transaction: Taj goes to the IL and Sandy Gaston, who was brilliant in last year's playoffs but has yet to make a regular season appearance, is called up from Durham.

Game 2: 7-8 L (10). LP-Fairbanks (1-1). Starter-McClanahan (5 7 4 4 2 3). HR-J.Lowe (8). A wild game that saw the Rays down 4-3 after 8 only for Feyereisen to allow 3 runs before they rallied for 4 in the bottom of the inning to tie it on Lowe's homer, a 2-run Wander triple and a balk to score him. Alas Fairbanks gave up a run in the 8th and they still lost anyway.

Game 3: 6-3 W. WP-Swanda (3-3, 6.1 7 3 3 3 9). S-Pressly (2). HR-Schmitt (5), Arozarena (5), W.Franco (8). Swanda was excellent, shutting out Oakland through 6 before a rough 7th, and Casey Schmitt's 3-run homer was the big blow.

Team record: 20-12. The Yankees swept Seattle and have pulled into a first-place tie, a tie which will be addressed when New York visits for 4 games. This will be our third series with the Yanks already this year.

MLB News: Craig Kimbrel recorded his 400th career save for the Mets, who promptly put him on waivers.

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Game 1: 13-8 W. WP-Gau (3-2). Starter-Patino (4.1 8 5 4 3 4). HR-Franco (9), Schmitt (6), Mears (3). Rays went up big early and handed Patino a 10-2 lead, but he couldn't make it through the 5th and the Rays' pen wasn't very good. Fortunately they kept tacking on runs with Schmitt 2-3 with the HR & 3 RBI and Wander 3-5 with a double, homer and 4 RBI.

Game 2: 13-2 W. WP-Rasmussen (2-1, 5 3 1 1 4 5). HR-Mears (4). The Rays put a baker's dozen on the board for the second straight night and this time banged out 20 hits. Kyle Tucker drove in 4 with a double and single, Josh Mears had a 2-run homer and RBI double, and Wander had another big night going 3-5 with 2 RBI.

Game 3: 7-1 W. WP-Whitley (1-0, 7 2 0 0 2 11). HR-Arozarena (6), Franco (10). Forrest Whitley made his first start for the Rays after 58 relief appearances the last two years and he may not be going back to the bullpen after tonight's dominant outing filling in for Taj Bradley. He got plenty of support as Wander drove in 3 more, Mead was 2-4 with 2 RBI and Arozarena had 3 hits including a homer as the Rays have scored 33 runs in the first three games of this showdown series.

Game 4: 5-7 L (13). LP-Gaston (0-1). Starter-McClanahan (6 5 2 2 1 5). HR-J.Jackson (4). Tonight started out as a McClanahan-deGrom duel and it was just that as it stood 2-1 Yanks after 8. Tanner Scott then gave up a run to make it 3-1 New York in the top of the 9th but in the bottom of the inning Jeremiah Jackson ripped a 2-out, 2-run double to tie it. And after the Yankees went back ahead 5-3 in the 12th Jackson did it again, launching a 2-run homer to keep the Rays alive. Alas, Sandy Gaston struggled big-time in the 13th and this time the Rays didn't have an answer (probably because they couldn't get Jackson to the plate) and had to settle for taking 3 of 4 in the series.

Team record: 23-13, 2 up on New York. Next up: Philadelphia comes to town for 3 in a rematch of last year's World Series. The Phillies are atop the NL East once again, but with a middling 19-16 record.

MLB News: Arizona's Ketel Marte will miss 1-2 weeks after spraining his knee while chasing his girlfriend on the beach (in Arizona?). Meanwhile the Tigers swung a deal with Cincinnati sending pitcher Matt Manning to the Reds for power-hitting young 3B Elly de la Cruz.

Rays news: We signed veteran starter and long-time Mariner Marco Gonzales to a minor league deal for some starter depth. Gonzales is recovering from a torn elbow ligament and won't pitch for three weeks, and he wasn't exactly overpowering to begin with so I'm not expecting much here.

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Game 1: 4-5 L. LP-Swanda (3-4, 5 7 5 5 2 5). HR-Vaughn (2). Swanda put them in a 5-0 hole which they nearly climbed out of with Vaughn's 3-run homer getting them back in it, and they should have won it considering they left 14 on base.

Game 2: 7-9 L (11). LP-Feyereisen (0-2). Starter-Patino (3.2 7 7 7 4 3). HR-Arozarena (7). Patino was horrible again including allowing 5 in the first before retiring anyone, but they came all the way back from 7-0 down only to lose in extras. Arozarena's 3-run shot in the 8th tied it up, only to give them another tough loss.

Game 3: 0-2 L. LP-Rasmussen (2-2, 5 4 2 2 1 6). They finally got a good start but forgot to score runs as the Phillies managed a small measure of revenge for last year's World Series by sweeping the Rays. Hyun-Jin Ryu dominated them completely (7.1 2 0 0 2 5), getting 12 ground ball outs.

Team record: 23-16. The Yankees won 2 of 3 from Washington at the same time and then beat the Mets on a walk-off Stanton slam on our off-day so the Rays have dropped 1/2 game behind New York. Next up: After that off-day we'll play 3 in Miami.

Disgusted by the sweep and especially Luis Patino's pitching (now with an 8.33 ERA), it was time to make a move:



Starting pitching has been the team's weak link this year and we went ahead and shored it up by acquiring one of the top starters over the last several years in Luis Castillo. The veteran righty was 4-1, 1.95 this year and earned 7.3 WAR over the previous two full seasons. Castillo didn't come cheap of course, both in terms of what we gave up (Kinney, the #90 prospect in MLB) and what we'll spend (Castillo is due $16.8 next year and $14.7M in 2027, although Texas is picking up 10% of that). Castillo will of course take Patino's spot in the rotation with Patino either going to Durham (he still has an option) or going to long relief.

While I wasn't thrilled about dealing Kinney, he was probably going to end up at 1B rather than 2B given his mediocre defense and we have two pretty good 1B prospects still in Kyle Manzardo and Junior Caminero, not to mention a young guy in Curtis Mead already holding down the position with the big club. Zellem was a "make it work" guy we'll likely not miss.

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Game 1: 0-2 L. LP-Whitley (1-1, 5 4 2 2 3 2). The Rays were dominated by Sandy Alcantara, who went 8 5 0 0 0 10 against them as they suffered their fifth straight defeat.

Game 2: 9-1 W. WP-McClanahan (3-1, 6.1 5 1 1 1 7). Tampa Bay snapped its 5-game losing streak in emphatic fashion but it came at a price. Wander Franco tore his groin and will be lost for 2 1/2 months. As for the game, Casey Schmitt drove in 3 with a 2-run single and a triple and Andrew Vaughn had a 2-run double.

Transactions: Wander went on the 10-day IL although he could be shifted to the 60 if we need a 40-man spot. Alika Williams' contract was purchased from Durham; the 2020 supplemental first-rounder finally makes the bigs as he's hit 371/427/567 at Durham (the 291/342/383 he hit last year is a bit more representative) and sports a 60 glove at SS. Jeremiah Jackson will get first crack at SS but Williams will sub for him defensively and get some starts as well. We also optioned Colby White to AAA Durham to make room on the roster for Luis Castillo, who will start the finale. White had a 1.64 ERA in 21 innings and is a big-leaguer but someone with an option had to go and Sandy Gaston and Luis Patino can pitch multiple innings (plus one of those two is going down anyway when Taj Bradley comes back).

Game 3: 3-4 L. LP-Scott (0-2). Starter-Castillo (6 4 3 3 1 6). Josh Mears' 2-run double in the first gave Luis Castillo a 3-0 lead in his Rays debut, but he gave the 3 runs back in the 2nd. He pitched well otherwise but the offense couldn't score again the rest of the way and Scott gave up the winner in the 7th.

Team record: 24-18. The Yankees split two games with the Mets while we played this series so we're 1 back in the division. Next up: We visit Citi Field to take on those Mets for 3 games.

MLB News: Cleveland ace Shane Bieber tore his UCL and is done for the year.

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Game 1: 5-0 W. WP-Swanda (4-4, 7 5 0 0 1 3). HR-Mears (5). Swanda was outstanding and Josh Mears singled in a run in a 3-run 1st and then put the game away with a 2-run homer in the 6th.

Game 2: 5-1 W. WP-Rasmussen (3-2, 5 8 1 1 2 4). HR-Mears (6). Another solid win was marred by an injury to 2B Ozzie Albies, who will miss 3 weeks with elbow inflammation and puts our entire keystone combo of he and Wander out of commission. Casey Schmitt had a big 2-run double in the 1st.

Transaction: Albies goes on the IL and Royce Lewis is brought up from Durham. Jeremiah Jackson will take over at 2B and Alika Williams will be the everyday SS.

Game 3: 7-2 W. WP-Whitley (2-1, 5 4 2 2 4 4). S-Gaston (1). HR-Arozarena (8), Vazquez (2). The Rays completed the sweep of a Mets team which now has the worst record in MLB at 15-30. Randy's 3-run HR in the 2nd sent them on their way and Gaston went the final 3 for his first MLB save. Kyle Tucker had 3 hits including a couple of doubles.

Team record: 27-18. The Yankees were swept in Atlanta so the Rays are now back in first by 2 games over New York. Next up: Back home for 2 against Washington then we go there for 2 more. Kind of strange the schedule makers didn't reverse the order of those for travel purposes.

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Game 1: 5-4 W. WP-Taylor (2-0). Starter-McClanahan (6 5 1 1 0 5). HR-Vazquez (3). Vazquez was in the thick of everything, with his 3-run homer giving the Rays a 4-1 lead, his error in the 9th opening the door for two Washington unearned runs to tie it, and then he won it with a walk-off RBI single in the 9th.

Game 2: 6-4 W. WP-Patino (3-1). S-Fairbanks (6). Starter-Castillo (5 9 4 4 1 6). HR-J.Jackson (5), Mears (7). Luis Castillo's Trop debut with the Rays didn't go so well as he put them in a 4-0 hole but Jeremiah Jackson brought them back, first with a solo homer to get them on the board then a bases-clearing double to put them up in the 6th.

Team record: 29-18. Good news as the Yankees dropped both their games and suddenly the division lead is up to 4 after they were in second five days ago. Next up: The return leg to Washington for 2 games.

Transaction: Taj Bradley was activated off the IL and Sandy Gaston was sent to Durham. Bradley will return to the rotation and Forrest Whitley will go back to long relief after filling in admirably as a starter.

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Game 1: 1-9 L. LP-Swanda (4-5, 4 6 6 6 3 2). HR-A.Williams (1). Brutal game all around with Swanda giving up a Jorge Soler slam in the first. Only 3 hits from the offense but one was Alika Williams' first MLB homer.

Game 2: 2-9 L. LP-Scott (0-3). Starter-Bradley (1.2 3 0 0 0 2). HR-Tucker (7). We had not one, not two but three pitchers leave the game with injuries. Bradley left with back spasms in his first start back, Whitley took over and two batters later he left with a mild oblique strain and then Jovani Moran replaced him, went 1 1/3 and left with wrist soreness. It was actually a 2-2 game in the 6th when Soler took Tanner Scott deep to break the tie then Pressly and Feyereisen combined to allow 6 thereafter to let it get away. Among the injuries Moran's is the most serious and will require an IL stint; the other two are day-to-day for a week (minimal).

Team record: 29-20. Of course the Yankees won both of their games so the lead is back down to 2. Next up: 3 games in Chicago against the White Sox.

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Transaction: Placed P Jovani Moran on the 15-day IL with wrist soreness, recalled P Sandy Gaston from AAA Durham. Gaston's demotion did not last long.

Game 1: 6-7 L. LP-Fairbanks (1-2). Starter-Rasmussen (5 6 4 3 2 5, 2 HR). HR-Tucker (8). The Rays lost leads of 4-2 and 6-4 in this game with Chicago walking it off against Fairbanks in the 9th. Tucker had a double and a 3-run homer.

Game 2: 6-3 W. WP-Gaston (1-1). Starter-McClanahan (6 3 1 1 1 8). HR-Tucker (9). It was the Kyle Tucker show with the star RF hitting a 3-run homer and 2-run double. Luis Patino, who struggled in the rotation, struggled in the pen today as well blowing a 3-1 lead in the 7th before Tucker rescued him and the team with the 2-run double in the 8th.

Game 3: 9-4 W. WP-Castillo (1-0, 6.1 4 2 0 1 6). HR-Mead (4). Curtis Mead drove in 5 including a first-inning slam and Luis Castillo picked up his first Rays win after two no-decisions to start his Tampa Bay career, improving to 5-1 overall. Kyle Tucker capped a massive series by going 2-3 with two walks and an RBI, making him 8-12 with 3 walks, 2 homers and 9 RBI in the three games.

Team record: 31-21. The Yankees dropped 2 of 3 so the Rays are 3 up in the division. Next up: An off-day then we head to Seattle for 3.

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Game 1: 4-1 W. WP-Gau (4-2). S-Fairbanks (7). Starter-Swanda (5 7 1 1 1 6). HR-Mears (8). Josh Mears' 3-run homer in the 7th turned a potential 1-0 loss into a win. The ridiculous run of middle infield injuries continued as Jeremiah Jackson, filling in so well with Wander and Albies out hitting .303-5-15, took a knee to the head on a collision at 2nd and suffered a concussion which will put him out for a little over two months.

Transaction: Jackson went on the 60-day IL and without any more middle infielders on the 40-man we purchased the contract of Brett Wisely from Durham. Wisely can only play 2B and not that well, but he swings a decent bat. A lefty hitter, we'll platoon him with Royce Lewis at 2B until Albies comes back in a couple of weeks.

Game 2: 1-3 L. LP-Rasmussen (3-3, 6 1 1 1 3 4). Ras was brilliant in a return to his hometown Pacific northwest, but unfortunately the one hit he gave up was a Jesse Winker homer, then Seattle got two more off the pen as the bats only managed 4 hits and didn't score until the 9th.

Game 3: 5-3 W. WP-McClanahan (4-1, 6 6 3 3 0 5). S-Fairbanks (8). HR-Mears (9). Kyle Tucker capped his big week with a 3-RBI performance including a key 2-run double to put the Rays up 3-0 early. He now leads the AL in RBI with 41 and is second in WAR at 2.6.

Team record: 33-22. The Yankees dropped 2 of 3 to Texas so the division lead grows by another game to 4. Next up: We return home to face the 32-22 Cardinals for 3 including a game against old friend Blake Snell.

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Game 1: 1-3 L (10). LP-Taylor (2-1). Starter-Bradley (5 3 0 0 2 6). The Rays hung in there and the pen pitched out of jams galore (Cards had 12 LOB) before finally faltering in the 10th as the offense could only manage 4 hits on the night, half of which came from Brett Wisely.

Game 2: 7-2 W. WP-Castillo (2-0, 6.2 2 1 1 2 10). HR-Tucker (10), Arozarena (9), Pinto (1). Luis Castillo was dominant and Tucker and Arozarena blasted 3-run homers in the 1st and 2nd off Blake Snell, treated rudely in his return to the Trop.

Game 3: 0-1 L. LP-Swanda (4-6, 5.2 3 1 1 2 9). A gem from Swanda was wasted as the bats went silent again with another 4-hit night. Playing without Wander and Albies has caught up to the team.

Team record: 34-24. Despite losing 2 of 3 they lost no ground as the Yankees did likewise to the Angels, so they're still 4 up. Next: Toronto comes to the Trop for 4 games.

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Game 1: 3-1 W. WP-Rasmussen (4-3, 5 3 1 1 1 9). S-Fairbanks (9). Brilliant pitching from Ras and the pen got them in a win in a game which saw Arozarena and Tucker need to rest. The makeshift lineup with Wander and Albies also out got a couple of RBI hits from Curtis Mead.

Game 2: 7-6 W. WP-McClanahan (5-1, 5.2 7 6 2 1 7). S-Taylor (3). HR-J.Lowe (9), Mears (10). Jays went up 5-0 in the first on a 3-run Kieboom homer (4 runs unearned) but the Rays stormed back, immediately answering with a 2-run Lowe shot and then going ahead for good in the 5th on a 2-run Mears homer and the pen locked it down again with 2 1/3 scoreless from Forrest Whitley.

Game 3: 1-3 L. LP-Bradley (3-2, 4 5 3 3 2 4). HR-Mead (5). Taj put the first two on to start the game and then gave up a 3-run homer to Vlad Jr, and you could have gone home after that.

Game 4: 4-1 W. WP-Castillo (3-0, 5 4 1 1 2 8). S-Fairbanks (10). Luis Castillo was brilliant again but ran up a pitch count early so he only lasted 5, which was no problem with the way the bullpen pitched this series. Alika Williams' RBI infield hit in the 4th broke a 1-1 tie.

Team record: 37-25. The Yankees took 2 of 3 and were off on Thursday, so the lead is now 4 1/2 games. Next up: We fly cross-country to play 3 in San Francisco.

Rays news: We signed veteran SP Zach Wheeler to a minor-league deal. He's lost the stuff which made him dominant at times about 4-5 years earlier (now rated 40) but still has 65 movement and 55 control, so he could be passable if needed.

MLB News: Seattle's Eugenio Suarez hit his 300th homer, the Yankees lost reliever Yerry De Los Santos for the season with a torn rotator cuff, and the Dodgers' Chris Taylor tripped over a coffee table and will be out 4 days.

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Game 1: 7-3 W. WP-Swanda (5-6, 6 5 2 2 2 3). HR-Tucker (11). A 6-run 5th which saw Josh Lowe hit a 2-run double followed by Tucker's 3-run homer broke it open.

Transactions: Activated 2B Ozzie Albies from the 10-day IL; optioned IF Brett Wisley to AAA Durham, sent P Shane Baz to AAA Durham for a rehab assignment. Baz, thought to be out for the year, has made surprising progress and my trainer says he's ready to pitch again. With Taj Bradley pitching well there really isn't an opening but we'll see what happens over the next couple of weeks while Baz rehabs.

Game 2: 13-6 W. WP-Gau (5-2). Starter-Rasmussen (4.1 5 2 2 3 2). The Rays banged out 19 hits, with everyone in the lineup getting at least 2 except for Mead (who had 1). Schmitt and Vazquez drove in 3 while Tucker and Arozarena each plated a pair. Rasmussen couldn't handle a 6-0 lead to get through the 5th and get the win.

Game 3: 2-4 L. LP-McClanahan (5-2, 3.2 6 4 4 2 5). Mac struggled although the pen kept them in it. Alas after scoring 20 the previous 2 games the offense struggled although Tucker and Arozarena rested. Both pinch-hit and reached in a 9th-inning rally that fell short with the bases loaded. Also Josh Lowe left with a calf strain and will miss 3 weeks.

Team record: 39-26. The Yankees swept Arizona so the lead is down to 3 1/2. Next up: We had down the coast to play 3 at Dodger Stadium.

MLB News: Former Ray Nate Eovaldi's career is over thanks to a torn labrum while the high-flying Angels (an absurd 46-19) lost starter Dylan Cease for the rest of the year with a torn back muscle. And Julio Urias, whom we tried to sign in the offseason but had outlandish demands relative to his health record, unsurprisingly tore his rotator cuff and is done after making 5 starts with the Cubs.

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Transaction: Josh Lowe went on the IL with his calf strain and Heliot Ramos is back for the first time in two years from Durham. Ramos, who carried the Rays in April & May of 2023 only to slump badly and then never to be heard from again, was a decent 271/333/415 with the Bulls.

Game 1: 1-3 L. LP-Bradley (3-3, 5 4 2 2 1 4). HR-Pinto (2). The Rays were shut down by the immortal Adbert Alzolay, who went 7.1 2 0 0 0 7 against them with Pinto's consolation homer in the 9th averting a shutout.

Transaction: Forrest Whitley strained his elbow and will be out 2 weeks, so another Luis Patino demotion is short-lived.

Game 2: 1-6 L. LP-Castillo (3-1, 5.2 7 3 3 3 3). HR-Arozarena (10). Randy led off the game with a homer but that was it once again for the offense and Luis Castillo lost his first game since coming over from Texas.

Game 3: 5-4 W. WP-Swanda (6-6, 5 8 3 3 3 4). S-Fairbanks (11). HR-Mears (11), Tucker (12), DeLoach (1). DeLoach's 2-run homer in the 4th broke a 3-3 tie and the Rays held on over the last 5 innings to snap a 3-game losing streak.

Team record: 40-28. The Yankees took 2 of 3 from Colorado to whittle the division lead to 2 1/2. Next up: An off-day to fly cross-country as we return home for 3 against the White Sox.

MLB News: Toronto shipped OF Ian Happ to Atlanta for a prospect and Houston sent veteran RP Aroldis Chapman to Colorado for one as well. Meanwhile the Angels lost another starting pitcher as Jake Odorizzi tore his flexor tendon and is done for 2025.

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Game 1: 6-3 W. WP-Rasmussen (5-3, 6 4 0 0 1 3). S-Taylor (3). HR-Tucker (13). Tucker drove in 3 with a 2-run single and homer, and Alika Williams had a big RBI double to back a strong Ras outing.

Game 2: 7-2 W. WP-Gau (6-2). Starter-McClanahan (6 5 2 2 3 7). HR-Arozarena (11), Mears (12). A rookie duo broke a 2-2 tie in the 8th when Casey Schmitt had a 2-run single and Josh Mears followed with a 3-run homer to propel the Rays to victory.

Game 3: 11-0 W. WP-Bradley (4-3, 5 4 0 0 2 6). HR-Albies (4), Mead 2 (7), Tucker (14). Schmitt did it again, driving in 5 with a a 2-run double and a bases-clearing two-bagger, Albies scored 4 runs and Mead homered twice to pace a rout.

Team record: 43-28. The Yankees took 2 of 3 from Detroit so the lead is back up to 3 1/2. Next up: 4 games in Boston.

MLB News: Pirates star Brian Reynolds hit for the cycle - again. Having done it on June 8, he did it again on the 20th. According to this article, only Toronto's Aaron Hill in 2015 had a pair of cycles closer together - by one day (11) to Reynolds' 12. Also 38-year-old Andrew McCutchen of the Phillies is done for the year after tearing his labrum.

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Game 1: 3-2 W. WP-Castillo (4-1, 5.1 4 2 2 3 4). S-Fairbanks (12). Bullpen was brilliant with 3 2/3 hitless innings to preserve the slender lead. Alika Williams was 2-3 with an RBI single and he scored on Rene Pinto's RBI double that was the difference.

Game 2: 14-8 W. WP-Gau (7-2). Starter-Swanda (4 8 6 5 4 3). HR-Schmitt (7). A remarkable game which saw the Rays score 12 in the final 3 innings to overcome an 8-2 deficit, tying it with a 6-run 7th capped by Vazquez's 2-run single and then going ahead in the 8th on Schmitt's 2-run homer before tacking on 4 in the 9th. Schmitt drove in 4 while Albies and Alika Williams each knocked in 3.

Game 3: 18-6 W. WP-Rasmussen (6-3, 5 6 5 5 1 5). Instead of recapping the homers, I'm just going to post the batting part of the box:



37 baserunners! 16 LOB (it could have been so much more)! By the way combined with yesterday that's 30 runs in their last 12 innings. Also Casey Schmitt has knocked in 17 runs over his last 5 games.

Game 4: 8-7 W. WP-Pressly (5-0). S-Fairbanks (13). Starter-McClanahan (5 7 2 2 0 9). HR-Mears (13). 8 more runs, why not? They needed all of them after blowing a 7-2 lead thanks to Sandy Gaston loading and bases and letting a run in before Chris Gau gave up a Paul Goldschmidt grand slam. But they loaded the bases in the 9th and Vaughn was hit by a pitch to force in the winner, they completed the 4-game sweep, and extended their win streak to 8. Vaughn was 3-3 with a walk, the HBP and 4 RBI as he's about doubled his YTD output in the last two games.

Team record: 47-28. The Yankees split their 4 games with Baltimore so the lead has grown to 5 1/2. Next up: Back home against Pittsburgh, which in the past would have sounded like a gimme but the Pirates are really good this year at 42-33.

Rays News: Josh Lowe's calf strain is not healing as well as hoped and he'll be out another two weeks.

MLB News: Miami's Mike Moustakas is done for the year with a broken bone in his elbow.

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Game 1: 2-0 W. WP-Bradley (5-3, 5.2 4 0 0 1 7). S-Fairbanks (14). HR-Mears (14). Taj was dealing again, lowered his ERA to 2.67 and has allowed only 5 runs total over his last 5 starts. Mears' homer in the 2nd was all they needed tonight.

Game 2: 2-0 W. WP-Castillo (5-1, 7 3 0 0 2 5). S-Taylor (4). Deja vu all over again as Castillo lowered his Rays ERA to 2.68 and has been everything we hoped for after acquiring him. Mears stayed hot, going 3-3 with a walk and RBI double as the Rays made it 10 straight wins.

Game 3: 13-1 W. WP-Swanda (7-6, 6 5 1 1 3 3). HR-Arozarena (12), Pinto (3), Tucker (15), Mears (15). Rays scored 7 in the 3rd to break it open with a Mead 2-run single and Schmitt 2-run triple the big hits. Josh Mears capped his huge week(end) with a homer and 3 RBI as it's now 11 straight wins for Tampa Bay.

Team record: 50-28. The Yankees won 2 of 3 over the weekend (including a 6-hit Gerrit Cole shutout in which he fanned 18) then lost 1-0 to San Diego on our off-day Monday, so the lead is now a whopping 7 games. Next up: That off-day followed by a trip to Coors Field to play 3 against the Rockies, which should test our staff.

MLB News: The Rays are not the only MLB team on a double-digit win streak as St. Louis has now won 13 in a row. We also had a couple of trades. Former Rays farmhand Joe Ryan was dealt by Minnesota to San Diego, and it was he who shut down the Yankees in that game in his Padres debut. And another former Ray is on the move as Oakland dealt Willy Adames to Cincinnati. Injuries of note: Boston has lost Trevor Story for 3 months with a torn meniscus and the Angels have lost yet another pitcher as Jordan Hicks joins Dylan Cease, Jake Odorizzi and Ryan Yarbrough on the shelf with a torn elbow ligament, putting him out for over a year. Finally Houston's Anthony Rizzo is done for the year with a broken bone in his elbow.

June Monthly Awards:

Player: AL-Juan Soto (NYY). Last year's MVP and Rays star hit .410-7-22 after a slow start in New York. NL-Joey Gallo (ATL) .330(!)-17(!!)-35 with a .459 OBP. Incredible. In this save Gallo is rated for 45 contact so he's a true superstar with his HR/BB ability and fielding.

Pitcher: AL-Gerrit Cole (NYY), 5-1, 1.99 with 69 Ks in 49 IP. NL-Rookie Donye Evans (NYM), 4-1, 2.94, 51 whiffs in 33 IP.

Also down on our farm:



The former #13 overall pick in 2022 has consistently over-performed his ratings (50 contact, 40 power, 45 eye), hitting 304/378/472 last year in AA and 333/395/509 so far this year for the Bulls. He's blocked of course by Albies and Wander and we have other good middle infielders (Jeremiah Jackson, Alika Williams, Royce Lewis), so his future with the big club is uncertain but if nothing else he's building trade value after we traded Austin Shenton (at AAA for LAA) and Nick Schnell (out of baseball) for him a couple of winters ago.

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Game 1: 4-14 L. LP-Rasmussen (1.1 6 9 9 4 0). Coors Field had to have freaked out Rasmussen, who put up one of the ugliest lines I've ever seen. DeLoach's 2-run double was the Rays' lone highlight as their 11-game win streak came to an ignominious end. It wasn't a good night for streaks as the Cardinals' win streak ended at 13 as well.

Game 2: 9-7 W. WP-Pressly (6-0). S-Fairbanks (15). Starter-McClanahan (6 5 2 2 2 5). HR-Tucker (16), Arozarena (13), Lewis (1), Mears (16), Albies (5). Your typical Coors game as Gau and Pressly blew a 6-2 lead allowing 5 in the 7th but Mears' 2-run homer in the 8th restored the lead and they held on. Royce Lewis was 4-4 with 2 doubles, a steal and a homer in the game of his MLB career.

Game 3: 4-1 W. WP-Patino (4-1). S-Fairbanks (16). Starter-Bradley (2 1 0 0 1 1). HR-Mears (17). Taj had to leave with a herniated disc (he'll miss a couple of weeks) after the red-hot Josh Mears hit a 3-run shot in the 3rd to make it 4-0. Colorado scored in the bottom of the frame and then somehow we had 6 scoreless innings to close out the game which suited the Rays fine.

Team record: 52-29. The Yankees won both their games so our lead is 6 1/2 games at the halfway mark of the season. Next up: We return home for the July 4 holiday with 3 against Cincinnati.

July 2 international signing news: The best 3-4 guys weren't particularly interested in us including a couple of promising pitchers so we signed this guy:



I'm hoping this wonderfully-named Aruban becomes our catcher of the 2030s; not only does he have a very promising bat but he also projects to be an above-average defensive catcher. He could be one (Van) Hell of a player if he pans out.

MLB News: While Van Hell's career begins another one ends as sadly once-promising young pitcher Matt Manning has been forced to retire due to a badly torn labrum. Meanwhile the Nationals traded once highly-regarded prospect and current closer Cade Cavalli to the Cardinals just for the alliteration, er for a pitching prospect.

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A hot streak which has seen the Rays win 13 of 14 - all without Wander Franco - has them at 52-29 and with the second-best record in baseball, only one behind the Angels who got off to a ridiculous start but have come back to Earth lately. The standings and leaders:



(Side note: I wish OOTP would let you open the standings page in a browser like reports and boxscores, would make it easier to put all the leaders and the wild-card race in there too).



Two great months sandwiched around a mediocre one and we're on pace for 104 wins. The pitching has been excellent despite our usual lousy defense and an uncharacteristic penchant for walks. And thanks to some recent outbursts in Boston and Colorado our offense now ranks among the league's best.



And aside from Kyle Tucker, who's been every bit the superstar and Juan Soto replacement we hoped he'd be (now we just need to find the next Soto or Tucker next year to rent), nobody has really stood out on offense over the course of the season despite the success we've had in putting runs on the board. Instead it's been kind of one guy gets hot for a while and right now the hot guy is Joshua Mears with 5 homers in his last 7 games. And really, Mead, Arozarena and Vazquez have been pretty dreadful at the plate, so this team could score even more runs if they get going when Wander returns in about a month.



Excellent pitching numbers all around with the exception of Feyereisen and Patino. Taj Bradley has exceeded all expectations - when he's been healthy that is as he's gone back on the DL but for a short stint. And swapping out Patino for Luis Castillo has really made the staff formidable.

A look at the farm:



Not quite as impressive as a year or two ago, with graduations (Mead, DeLoach, Taj, Schmitt, Mears) and trades (Cooper Kinney, Danny Jimenez, Carlos Colmenarez) depleting the list.

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Transaction: Taj Bradley went on the 15-day IL and Forrest Whitley was activated.

Game 1: 10-1 W. WP-Castillo (6-1, 6.2 5 1 1 4 8). HR-Vazquez (4), Schmitt (9). Luis Castillo was dominant against his original team and the bats feasted again with Schmitt's 3-run shot a big blow and Josh Mears still going nuts at 3-4 with 2 RBI.

Game 2: 6-4 W. WP-Scott (1-3). S-Taylor (5). Starter-Swanda (4.2 6 3 3 4 5). HR-Mears (18). Rays came back from 3-0 down with Albies' RBI single (one of his 4 hits) the game-winner and DeLoach's 2-run single the difference.

Game 3: 8-5 W. WP-Scott (2-3). S-Fairbanks (17). Starter-Whitley (4 5 4 4 2 4). HR-Mead (8), Tucker (17). Whitley lost a 3-0 by giving up a slam in the 4th but they came back of course. Mead was 3-5 with the homer and 2 RBI, Schmitt was 3-4 with a ribbie and Tucker's 2-run shot put it away. Mears' 9-game RBI streak came to an end although he did double and score.

Team record: 55-29. They've now won 16 of 17, now have the best record in MLB, and have opened up an 8 1/2-game lead in the AL East. Next up: 4 games at home vs Baltimore.

[Art Deco]

Game 1: 6-1 W. WP-Rasmussen (7-4, 6 3 1 1 1 6). HR-Schmitt (10). Ras rebounded from his Coors debacle and Schmitt drove in 2 more runs to put him 3rd in the AL at 60 as the Rays made it 17 of 18.

Game 2: 0-3 L. LP-McClanahan (5-3, 7 4 3 2 0 6). Grayson Rodriguez cooled off the Rays, holding them to 3 hits in 8 innings, and Adley Rutschman drove in all 3 Baltimore runs with a homer and sac fly.

Transaction: Josh Lowe was activated off the IL and Heliot Ramos was returned to Durham.

Game 3: 1-2 L. LP-Castillo (6-2, 7 5 2 2 2 6). Luis Castillo was great once more but the offense was toothless again today. Josh Mears extended his hit streak to 13 in his last at-bat in the only highlight of note.

Game 4: 9-7 W. WP-Gau (8-2). S-Fairbanks (18). Starter-Swanda (6 5 4 4 2 7). HR-Albies (6), Vazquez (5). Swanda left down 4-3 then Scott put 2 on in the 7th and Gau gave up a 3-run homer to make it 7-3 as it looked like the Rays would drop 3 straight. But a 6-run outburst in the 8th won it for Tampa Bay with Tucker's pinch-RBI double tying it and Arozarena's 2-run single the winning hit. Everyone in the lineup had at least a hit including Mears who's now hit in 14 straight.

Team record: 57-31, 8 1/2 up on the Yankees. Next up: Off to Kansas City for 3 before we hit the All-Star break. The Royals are an impressive 55-33 so it could be a playoff preview.

MLB News: The 2025 Amateur Draft is the Friday before the break and I'll recap the Rays' high picks in the next post. In injury news St. Louis lost starter Tyler Anderson for the season with a torn labrum.