The 2022 (and beyond) Tampa Bay Rays

[Art Deco]

This was not a particularly deep draft class so not the best year to have 3 first-round picks. Still we drafted so let's see what we got:



Rodriguez:



He's a college product from Mississippi State who had a broad-based set of skills, just none that are elite except for his ability to draw walks. He's also a mediocre shortstop so he may end up at 2B, perhaps ready to take over when Ozzie Albies' contract runs out after 2027.

Carmichael:



Our first supplemental pick (for losing Juan Soto) is a college catcher from Oklahoma who's surprisingly athletic, having stolen 30 bases/season with the Sooners. He looks to be a plus at the plate considering the position and projects to be a good defensive catcher. He's not going to be a JT Realmuto but could be an above-average player at the position.

de Anda:



Our second supplemental 1st-round pick (this one for Bregman) is a high-school pitcher who'll need to develop a third pitch to be a starter but is projected to be above-average overall, so his floor is a multi-inning reliever.

Wooden:



Our 2nd rounder is a high school pitcher as well, and he has the potential to overpowering, but also wild and homer-prone so he's a high beta pick and will be interesting to follow.

Lara:



Rolling the dice on another HS pitcher here in the 3rd round. Lara's a little more of a longshot of course but could have elite ability to keep the ball in the park.

Millien:



Another high school pitcher, why not? Our 4th round pick projects to be in the bullpen for now unless he develops a third pitch but could be very interesting with the stuff/control potential. These high school picks are all lottery tickets, maybe one of them hits.

Byrd:



Back to college for our 5th round pick. Byrd looks like a potential 4th OF with a nice array of skills although the power and patience will need a bit more development. He should be able to start in full-season minor league ball.

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Game 1: 2-10 L. LP-Whitley (2-2, 3 7 7 7 2 2). HR-Mead (9). This one was over by the 4th as the Royals pounded Forrest Whitley.

Game 2: 5-1 W. WP-Rasmussen (8-4, 5 6 1 1 1 4). Ras was solid and was supported by Schmitt (2-4, 2 doubles, 2 RBI) and Alika Williams (2-4, double, 3 RBI).

Game 3: 7-9 L. LP-McClanahan (3 8 8 8 2 2). HR-Mead (10), Tucker (18), Vaughn (5), Mears (19). Mac's worst outing of the year put the Rays behind 8-2 early before the bats fought back and made a game of it. Vaughn drove in 3 with his homer and a bases-loaded walk.

Team record: 58-33. Despite the two losses the Rays still hold MLB's best record and an 8 1/2-game lead in the AL East as we head into the All-Star break. Next up: After the break we head to Cleveland for 3 starting on Friday.

Rays moves: After the finale we optioned Luis Patino to Durham and activated Shane Baz, who has been out since last season with Tommy John surgery. Baz's ratings took a slight hit and he had a rough rehab with Durham, striking out 34 in 24 IP but allowing 7 homers. For now he'll take Patino's long relief role. Meanwhile Taj Bradley should be ready to return to the rotation when we need a 5th starter after the break.

MLB News: The struggling Mets offloaded veteran reliever Kenley Jansen to Cincinnati for minor leaguers while the Cardinals signed free agent reliever Craig Kimbrel. Meanwhile on Friday night of this past weekend we had a couple of 3-homer games with Alex Bregman, who had been off to a slow start in Philadelphia, getting it done and Atlanta's Mark Vientos also pulling off the hat trick.

[Art Deco]

The respective squads:





Wander and Tucker were voted in, the 3rd nod for the former and 4th for the latter and first as a Ray of course. On the pitching side Luis Castillo makes his 2nd trip (and also of course 1st as a Ray) and Pete Fairbanks does likewise. Former Rays making an appearance include Juan Soto, Taylor Walls, Blake Snell, and Alex Bregman while Genesis Cabrera was once in the Rays' system.

The HR Derby:



The game:



Our Rays did well with Luis Castillo and Pete Fairbanks each pitching a perfect inning and Kyle Tucker drawing a walk and scoring the AL's first run but Ronald Acuna Jr's 3-run homer in the 8th was the memorable moment.

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Game 1: 5-8 L. LP-Taylor (2-2). Starter-Swanda (5.2 5 4 4 1 5). HR-Schmitt 2 (12). Rays squandered a 5-0 lead built on Schmitt's pair of 2-run homers, starting with Swanda allowing a pair of 2-run shots himself, Chris Gau giving up a Jose Ramirez solo shot, and Taylor giving up a run and leaving two on for Feyereisen to let them score, so everyone who took the mound had a hand (or arm) in the defeat.

Game 2: 2-0 W. WP-McClanahan (6-4, 7 2 0 0 1 4). S-Fairbanks (19). HR-Tucker (19). Mac was brilliant, bouncing back from his disaster start in KC last week, and Tucker's 2-run homer in the 8th won it.

Game 3: 3-2 W (11). WP-Taylor (3-2). S-Fairbanks (20). Starter-Rasmussen (4 5 2 2 1 6). Rays were dead and buried in this one, down 2-0 after 8 and only having managed 4 hits. But a 2-run rally off Cleveland closer Clase tied it, and Josh Mears' double in the 11th set up Alika Williams to bring home the winner on a sac fly. 7 scoreless from the pen was the key today, including one from Shane Baz in his first appearance since last year.

Team record: 60-34. Next up: 3 in the desert against Arizona.

Rays moves: Taj Bradley was activated from the IL and will start in Arizona with Sandy Gaston optioned to Durham.

MLB News: The White Sox lost starter Jameson Taillon to a torn UCL, Cincinnati's Kenley Jensen recorded his 400th save, and Kyle Higashoka had a 3-homer game for the Yankees at Fenway on Sunday.

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Game 1: 8-4 W. WP-Castillo (7-2, 7 5 3 3 2 4). HR-Arozarena (14), Tucker (20), Albies (7). Tucker's 3-run shot in the 5th broke a 3-3 tie and sent the Rays on their way to the win. Arozarena added 2 doubles to go with his homer, which led off the game.

Game 2: 4-7 L. LP-Bradley (5-4, 5 9 5 4 1 3). HR-Mears (20), J.Lowe (10). A rough start for Taj in his return from the IL as he allowed 3 in the first (all with 2 out) and they never recovered.

Game 3. 4-5 L (10). LP-Scott (2-4). Starter-Swanda (6 1 1 1 4 5). HR-Mears (21). This was a tough loss to swallow as the Rays had a 4-0 lead in the 7th and Swanda was pitching a no-hitter. He gave up a leadoff single in the 7th and was pulled at 93 pitches for Ryan Pressly, who promptly gave up back-to-back homers to make it 4-3. Fairbanks then blew his first save of the year in the 9th by giving up a 2-out RBI single and after the D-backs loaded the bases with 2 out against Tanner Scott in the 10th, Chris Gau came in and hit Ramon Laureano to force in the winning run.

Team record: 61-36. After losing 6 of 9 of this road trip sandwiched around the ASB, the Rays are still 7 up on the Yankees in the division. Next up: A day off to fly back home where NL East-leading Atlanta (59-38) and former Ray (and 2025 All-Star) Taylor Walls await us.

Rays News: At long last our national nightmare is over. Or something like that as Wander Franco has been sent on a rehab to Durham after missing the last two months with injury. The only problem is that Durham is off this week with the AAA All-Star break so we might have to wait an extra 4-5 days to get him back after enough at-bats.

MLB News: Former Rays reliever Andrew Kittredge, who signed a free agent deal with the White Sox this winter, has been shipped to Atlanta for a minor leaguer so perhaps we'll be facing him this weekend. However Atlanta will be without star OF Joey Gallo, who will miss 5 weeks with back spasms. Gallo was only hitting 281/412/702 with 37 HR in 302 AB, so it's not like they're going to miss him or anything.

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Game 1: 6-1 W. WP-McClanahan (7-4, 6 3 1 1 0 4). HR-Schmitt (13), J.Lowe (11). Schmitt's 3-run homer in the 4th put the Rays ahead to stay and Mac was excellent again.

Game 2: 6-4 W. WP-Gau (9-2). S-Fairbanks (21). Starter-Rasmussen (4.2 8 3 3 3 7). HR-Albies (8). Ozzie Albies had a big game against his former team with a 2-run HR and RBI single, and Arozarena's fielder's choice RBI in the 6th broke a 4-4 tie.

Game 3: 2-5 L. LP-Castillo (7-3, 4.1 5 5 5 5 2). HR-Tucker (21). Luis Castillo had his worst game as a Ray, especially with the walks, and the final two against him were walked in with the bases loaded by Forrest Whitley. Max Fried went 5 2/3 scoreless, shutting down the offense.

Team record: 63-37. Despite taking 2 of 3 from a tough opponent we lost ground as the Yanks swept the Jays and crept to within 6 of us in the division. Next up: 3 more at home, against Seattle.

Rays News: Tanner Scott pulled a hamstring in the finale and will be out a month. Rather than bring Luis Patino or Sandy Gaston back up, JP Sears is summoned from Durham to give us a third lefty in the pen. Lefty Jovani Moran, who has been great this year, will move up to higher-leverage situations with Scott out. Also Wander Franco went 5 for 13 with a homer and 3 RBI over the weekend with the Bulls and I'm deeming him ready for return against Seattle. Alika Williams, who was better than expected in Wander's stead, goes back to Durham and Royce Lewis stays up as the utility IF as he has more position versatility.

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Game 1: 6-2 W. WP-Gau (10-2). Starter-Swanda (5 7 2 2 1 3). HR-Vaughn (6), Mears (22). Rays turned the game around in the 6th on a pair of homers with Mears' solo shot tying it and Vaughn's 2-run blast proving to be the game-winner. Chris Gau continues to pile up the relief wins.

Game 2: 5-1 W. WP-Bradley (6-4, 8 4 1 1 1 9). HR-Albies (9), Vaughn (7). Taj Bradley pitched the best game of his short MLB career and a 2-run homer by Albies in the 2nd and a 3-run shot by Vaughn in the 3rd provided all the offense.

Game 3. 4-6 L (13). LP-Taylor (3-3). Starter-McClanahan (5 2 4 4 4 5). HR-Schmitt (14). Mac couldn't hold leads of 3-0 and 4-3 and the offense squandered several chances late and in extras to get the winner home, and then Jarred Kelenic took Josh Taylor deep in the 13th to win it for Seattle.

Team record: 65-38. The Yankees took 2 of 3 as well so the lead stays at 6 games. Next up: A day off to fly to the west coast as we visit Anaheim and the Angels for 3. LA has an identical 65-38 record so it should a good series.

Rays News: We're letting the trade deadline pass without making any more deals. The Luis Castillo deal in May solved our need for a starter and while an extra bullpen arm might have been welcome, Shane Baz has been like a deadline acquisition as he's been lights-out since coming back from injury.

MLB News: The deadline passed without any major deals, with the biggest seeing Oakland deal JT Ginn to the Cubs for Alexander Canario in a swap of two promising young players, while the Mets sent Starling Marte to Baltimore for a mid-level prospect.

Players of the Month: AL-Juan Soto (NYY), .333-9-28; NL-Matt Olson (ATL) .381-10-24. Pitchers of the Month: AL-Jacob deGrom (NYY), 4-1, 2.66; NL-Shelby Lackey (LAD), 2-0, 1.23, 7 saves.

Ronny Simon of Durham was named the IL Player of the Month for July after a .337-6-21 performance. He's a longshot to help the big club though.

[Art Deco]

Game 1: 5-6 L. LP-Taylor (3-4). Starter-Castillo (5 5 0 0 1 8). HR-J.Lowe (12), Tucker (22). A dreadful night for the Rays as Castillo left after 5 and 93 pitches with a 5-0 lead, only for the pen to blow it. Forrest Whitley was handed the ball in the 6th, only to give up 3 runs on 2 homers, Jovani Moran gave up another, and then Josh Taylor surrendered a 2-run shot in the 8th to AJ Pollock.

Game 2: 3-5 L. LP-Gau (10-3). Starter-Rasmussen (4.2 5 3 3 1 4). HR-Tucker (23). Deja vu all over again as an early 3-0 lead disappeared, first off Ramsussen then Moran gave up another critical homer, a 2-run shot to Nick Castellanos in the 7th.

Game 3: 9-6 W. WP-Swanda (8-6, 5.1 6 4 4 1 7). HR-Schmitt (15), Mead (11), Tucker (24). A 3-run shot by Schmitt and a 2-run homer by Mead in the 1st gave Tampa Bay a quick 5-0 lead but just like the first two games the Angels fought back, getting within 7-5 in the 6th. But unlike the first two games the Rays kept tacking on runs; still, Fairbanks had to survive a 9th in which he allowed a run and left the bases loaded. Schmitt added a run-scoring double to give him a 4-RBI day.

Team record: 66-40, still 6 up in the division as the Yanks also lost 2 of 3, but they lost ground to the Angels and KC and are now the #3 seed in the AL. Next up: The road trip rolls on with 3 in Minnesota.

Rays News: A couple of guys who were recently with the team won't be back up soon as Alika Williams (strained back, 2 weeks) and Sandy Gaston (sore shoulder, 4 weeks) both suffered injuries at Durham.

MLB News: The weekend wasn't all good news for the Angels as closer Raisel Iglesias had to leave Saturday's game against us with what turned out to be a torn flexor tendon and he will on the shelf for a year.

[Art Deco]

Game 1: 5-4 W. WP-Sears (1-0). S-Taylor (6). Starter-Bradley (5 3 2 1 1 5). HR-Vaughn (8), Arozarena (15), Albies (10). Rays lost a 3-1 lead before Albies' 2-run homer in the 8th won it, and the pen had to work out of a few jams late to hang on. Arozarena was 3-4 with a 2-run shot.

Game 2: 6-1 W. WP-McClanahan (8-4, 7 3 1 1 2 9). HR-Schmitt (16), Tucker (25). Mac pitched perhaps his best game of the year and he had plenty of support with 6 different Rays driving in runs.

Game 3: 5-7 L. LP-Castillo (7-4, 5 7 7 7 2 6). HR-Schmitt (17), Tucker (26). Luis Castillo had his worst start as a Ray although he was great in 4 of his 5 innings. Problem was he gave up 7 in the 3rd capped by a Cavan Biggio slam. They almost came back, scoring twice and leaving the bases loaded in the 9th as old friend Nick Anderson struck out pinch-hitter Andrew Vaughn to end the game.

Team record: 68-41. The Yankees were swept by Toronto so the lead has ballooned back up to 8 games. Next up: After an off-day we're finally back home for 3 against Baltimore.

Rays News: Jeremiah Jackson is finally over his injury and has gone out on a rehab assignment to Durham.

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Game 1: 4-7 L. LP-Rasmussen (8-5, 4 6 4 3 3 5). HR-Schmitt (18). Rays were down 4-0 by the 2nd and couldn't quite catch up although they got within 5-4. Casey Schmitt did homer for the third straight game.

Game 2: 6-2 W. WP-Swanda (9-6, 6 6 2 2 0 4). HR-Albies (11), Tucker (27). Albies' 2-run 6th-inning homer put them up 3-2 and then Tucker added a 3-run shot for insurance in the 8th.

Game 3: 2-5 L. LP-Fairbanks (1-3). Starter-Bradley (5 4 1 1 4 4). A tough one for Tampa Bay as they took a 2-1 lead into the 9th with the usually-reliable Fairbanks on to close, but he gave up a string of hits and a couple of sac flies and Baltimore had 4 runs in the 9th to win. Fairbanks seems to go through one of these funks each year and he's blown two saves in his last five outings and allowed runs in 3 of them.

Team record: 69-43. The Yankees swept the Phillies to move back within 6 games of the division lead. Next up: Cleveland visits for 3 games.

MLB News: Having already missed a chunk of the season previously, the Padres lost superstar Fernando Tatis Jr. for another month with a knee sprain, not great news as they cling to a 1-game lead in the NL West.

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Game 1: 3-2 W. WP-Gau (11-3). S-Fairbanks (22). Starter-McClanahan (4.2 5 2 1 3 6). HR-J.Lowe (13). Josh Lowe's 5th-inning solo homer broke a 2-2 tie and the pen got the job done from there with 5 1/3 hitless innings.

Game 2: 1-2 L. LP-Taylor (3-5). Starter-Castillo (5 6 1 1 3 5). The offense was muted and Cleveland won the game in the 8th when Josh Taylor came in and couldn't get anyone out, loading the bases before the winning run scored on a sac fly.

Game 3: 7-3 W. WP-Rasmussen (9-5, 7 6 3 3 0 3). S-Sears (1). HR-Mead (12), Arozarena (16). Ras was unusually efficient, needing only 65 pitches to get through 7 although he did allow a couple of homers to put the Rays down 3-0 before they scored 7 times over the 6th, 7th and 8th to pull it out. Arozarena's 2-run homer in the 7th put them ahead for good, and Mead drove in 3 including his 2-run shot in the 6th to get them on the board. With lefties due and Moran and Taylor fatigued, JP Sears got them through the 8th and stayed on for the 9th after the lead expanded to get his first MLB save.

Team record: 71-44. The Yankees swept Minnesota, so despite taking 2 of 3 the Rays saw their lead drop to 5 games. Next up: An off-day then back on the road for 3 in Detroit. The Tigers are 60-55 and sit in the second wild card spot.

Rays News: Jeremiah Jackson re-injured himself on rehab, pulling a hamstring so he'll be out another 3 weeks.

MLB News: One of those Yankee wins was a Zach Eflin no-hitter in which he was nearly perfect. Eflin allowed only one runner, hitting Byron Buxton with a pitch but getting an immediate double play as he faced the minimum 27 batters, struck out 10 and did it on 99 pitches to record a Maddux as well.

[Art Deco]

Game 1: 4-14 L. LP-Swanda (9-7, 1.1 5 7 6 2 2). HR-Franco (11). Wander homered to lead off the game and it went badly after that with Swanda and Whitley combining to allow the Tigers 9 runs in the first two innings.

Game 2: 3-4 L (13). LP-Baz (0-1). Starter-Bradley (5 3 2 2 4 2). HR-Mears 2 (24). Mears kept them in the game with a pair of homers including the equalizer in the 7th, but they couldn't rub two sticks together in extras and eventually lost on a walk-off homer allowed by Baz in the 13th.

Game 3: 4-6 L. LP-Feyereisen (0-3). Starter-McClanahan (4.1 8 3 2 2 5). HR-J.Lowe (14). A gut-punch of a loss as the Rays were one out away from winning before Feyereisen gave up a 3-run homer to Justin Turner in the bottom of the 9th to let Detroit walk it off again and sweep the series, after the Rays had taken a 4-3 lead in the top of the inning.

Team record: 71-47. The only silver lining in this dreadful weekend was that the Yankees dropped 2 of 3 to Kansas City so they only shaved one game off the division lead which is down to 4. Next up: If the Rays don't win the next series that lead will be even slimmer as they head to Yankee Stadium for 3 games including two scheduled against Gerrit Cole and Jacob deGrom. Wheeee!

MLB News: Atlanta lost star OF Ronald Acuna Jr. for a month with a fractured thumb and White Sox closer Garrett Crochet tore his UCL.

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Game 1: 5-9 L. LP-Castillo (3.1 8 6 6 4 2). HR-Arozarena (17), J.Lowe (15). Rays fell behind big early as Castillo turned in his third poor start in his last five outings, and the Yankees pulled to within 3 of the division lead.

Game 2: 7-4 W. WP-Sears (2-0). S-Taylor (7). Starter-Rasmussen (4.2 7 4 4 3 2). HR-Tucker (28). Rays put all 7 on the board in the first 5 but Ras couldn't get it done to get the win. Instead the bullpen went 4 1/3 scorless allowing only 1 hit led by former Yankee JP Sears, who went 2 2/3 and hasn't allowed a run in 13.1 IP since being recalled. The win was costly though as we lost our keystone combo of Wander (herniated disc, 4 weeks) and Albies (back stiffness, 10 days) once again.

Transactions: The middle infield shuffle returns with Wander and Albies going on the IL and Alika Williams and Brett Wisely back up from Durham. Unfortunately Jeremiah Jackson re-injured himself so we can't go with him as we've been snakebit at 2B and SS.

Game 3: 4-3 W (12). WP-Gau (12-3). Starter-Swanda (6 7 3 3 0 6). HR-Schmitt (19). The pen came through again with 6 scoreless innings, including two by Gau who has 3 more wins than anyone else on the staff. Arozarena's RBI single in the 12th was the winner in an extremely important game, and Schmitt was 3-5 with his 2-run HR and now has 83 RBI in a successful rookie season.

Team record: 73-48, now 5 up on New York after this pivotal series. Next up: Back home for 3 vs Toronto.

[Art Deco]

Game 1: 9-6 W. WP-Baz (1-1). S-Feyereisen (2). Starter-Bradley (4.1 5 3 3 2 6). HR-J.Lowe (16), Schmitt (20). A back-and-forth game which saw the Rays give the lead away twice before Schmitt's 3-run homer in the bottom of the 7th made it 7-6. Josh Lowe was 3-5 with his homer and Baz picked up the win despite allowing a 3-run Vlad Jr. homer.

Game 2: 6-3 W. WP-McClanahan (9-4, 6 3 1 1 4 4). S-Pressly (3). HR-Vazquez (6), Tucker (29), Schmitt (21). Schmitt was 4-4 with a 2-run homer while Josh Lowe was 2-3 with 2 steals and 2 runs scored.

Game 3: 2-1 W (13). WP-Baz (2-1). Starter-Castillo (6 3 0 0 1 7). Casey Schmitt's great series and week concluded with the walk-off winner, an RBI single in the bottom of the 13th. Josh Mears had 3 hits including 2 doubles and scored the Rays' run in regulation as they won their 5th straight.

Team record: 76-48. The Yankees lost 2 of 3 in Boston and another on our off-day so the lead is back up to a comfortable 7 1/2 games after it was down to 3 only five days ago. Next up: An off-day then we play 3 at Texas.

The league recognized Casey Schmitt's big week:



MLB News: Lorenzo Cain, whom we picked up as a rental last year and helped us win a World Series, will not be returning to the Fall Classic this year regardless of whether his Phillies return as he broke his kneecap and is done for the year.

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Game 1: 3-5 L (10). LP-Sears (2-1). Starter-Rasmussen (6 5 1 1 0 8). HR-Tucker (30), Vaughn (9). Andrew Vaughn's 2-run homer in the 9th appeared to give the Rays a 3-1 win but Fairbanks blew the save in the bottom of the inning and JP Sears picked a bad time to give up his first runs with the big club this season, surrendering a 2-run shot to Marcus Semien to let Texas walk it off.

Game 2: 9-1 W. WP-Swanda (10-7, 5.1 4 0 0 2 4). HR-Arozarena 2 (19), Mead (13). Arozarena led off the game with a homer, doubled, and added a 3-run shot later as the Rays romped. Mead's homer was a 3-run jack as well.

Game 3: 4-5 L. LP-Pressly (6-1). Starter-Bradley (4.2 6 0 0 0 5). HR-Mead (14), DeLoach (2). Another blown game by the pen as they took a 3-1 lead into the bottom of the 8th before Jovani Moran (who has been great all season) and Ryan Pressly (who was great in the first half and shaky in the second) combined to allow 4 Texas runs to doom the Rays to defeat. And to add injury to insult Taj Bradley tore his meniscus, ending his season. He was really outstanding when healthy (6-4, 2.71, 29/96 BB/K ratio in 96 IP) but that was the rub - he was on the IL multiple times this year.

Team record: 77-50. The Yankees split the two games they played so the lead is 7 games and the magic # to clinch the division is 29. Next up: We return home for 3 vs Minnesota.

Transaction: Bradley went on the 60-day IL, finally giving us a 40-man opening which we might use for someone we want on the playoff roster. For now, Luis Patino is recalled and Shane Baz will take Bradley's rotation spot.

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Game 1: 5-3 W (10). WP-Taylor (4-5). Starter-McClanahan (5.2 5 2 2 3 2). HR-Schmitt (22), Vaughn (10), J.Lowe (17). Looked like the Rays had won in regulation on Vaughn's pinch-homer in the bottom of the 8th which made it 3-2 but Fairbanks blew the save. Josh Lowe came to the rescue though with a 2-run walk-off blast in the bottom of the 10th.

Game 2: 3-2 W (10). WP-Taylor (5-5). Starter-Castillo (7 5 2 2 1 5). HR-Vaughn (11). Vaughn came up big again as the Rays walked it off in extras once again on his solo homer. Josh Taylor picked up the win retiring only one batter for the second straight day.

Transaction: Ozzie Albies was activated off the IL and Brett Wisley optioned to Durham.

Game 3: 6-1 W. WP-Rasmussen (10-5, 5 2 1 0 7 3). HR-Vaughn (12), Mears (25), Tucker (31). Weird game for Ras with all the walks but he kept getting out of trouble. Vaughn homered for the third straight game and may be on the verge of taking the 1B job from Mead.

Team record: 80-50. The magic number is down to 24 for the division and more importantly the Rays have re-passed KC and the Angels to regain the league's best record (in fact they now have MLB's best record). Next up: 4 games in Toronto. The Jays are 3 back of the third wild card and are making a run, having won 5 straight.

MLB News: Players of the Month: AL-Juan Soto (NYY), .349-8-22 (looking like he'll repeat as MVP); NL-Nolan Gorman (ARI), .340-8-33. Pitchers of the Month: AL-Sonny Gray (HOU) 4-0, 2.30; NL-Nick Lodolo (CIN) 5-0, 2.95. Manny Machado also recorded his 2000th hit.

Rays News: Sandy Gaston's sore shoulder is not recovering as quickly as hoped and now he has an "uncertain return date", so he may not be the X-factor he was in last year's playoffs come this postseason.

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Game 1: 1-3 L. LP-Swanda (10-8, 5.2 6 2 2 2 6). HR-Schmitt (23). Rays were shut down by Toronto's Luis Medina and got their only run when Schmitt homered with 2 out in the 9th.

Game 2: 5-7 L. LP-Baz (2-2, 3.1 10 6 6 1 2). Shane Baz's return to the rotation was a disaster and included in that lousy line was 2 more homers allowed, giving him 6 coughed up in 23 IP since returning from injury. The bats made a nice effort to come back from the 6-0 hole he put them in, but not enough.

Game 3: 9-1 W. WP-McClanahan (10-4, 6 3 1 1 3 5). HR-Schmitt (24). A good old-fashioned rout led by Andrew Vaughn, who was 4-5 with 4 RBI singles. Vaughn has wrested the 1B job from Curtis Mead and has been our hottest hitter the last couple of weeks. Schmitt, who has also been hot, was 3-6 with the homer and 2 RBI.

Game 4: 3-4 L. LP-Pressly (6-2). Starter-Castillo (1 1 1 1 0 1). Quite simply the worst game of the season of the Rays, and not just because they lost a late 3-2 lead when Ryan Pressly's inability to get people out in the 2nd half of the season manifested itself again when he gave up 2 in the 8th. No, it was the abbreviated outing of Luis Castillo you see above that created the dark cloud as he suffered an elbow strain and is done for the season. With Taj Bradley on the shelf the Rays have now lost 2 of their 3 most effective starters this year and are in poor shape for a title repeat. And it wasn't just Castillo - just when Andrew Vaughn had gotten hot and won the 1B job, he too is done for the year after suffering an oblique strain today. Combined with the fact that the Yankees swept a 4-game home-and-home with the Marlins and are in a nominal race again at 6 back, it was a dark day indeed.

Team record: 81-53. Next up: Back home for 3 vs Houston.

Rays news/transactions: As a result of the injuries Luis Patino now moves back into the rotation to take Castillo's spot; Patino had looked good since returning with 6 scoreless over 2 long relief outings. Colby White is back up to take Castillo's spot on the staff. On the position player side, Jeremiah Jackson is activated from his second rehab assignment and will take over at SS from Alika Williams, who was sent back to Durham, until Wander returns in a couple of weeks. To take Vaughn's roster spot Kyle Manzardo gets the call for the first time. The 2nd round pick from 2021 has MLB-caliber hit and power tools even though he wasn't tearing up Durham (265/322/462 with 14 HR). He'll get some starts at 1B against righties to see what we have.

MLB News: The Rays weren't the only team suffering serious injuries. Houston will come into town without Yordan Alvarez, who severely strained a hip muscle and is out 6 weeks, and the Angels, who are locked in a battle with the Rays for a playoff bye, lost 2B Gavin Lux for 2025 to elbow ligament reconstruction surgery.

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Game 1: 7-5 W. WP-Rasmussen (11-5, 5.2 6 5 5 1 5, 4 HR). S-Fairbanks (23). HR-Schmitt (25), Mears (26), Tucker (32). Ras was handed a 5-0 lead on a Schmitt slam (which brought the rookie to 100 RBI) and a Mears solo shot, but gave it all back on 4 homers to Houston to let them tie. Fortunately Tucker struck against his old team with a 2-run shot in the bottom of the 5th and the pen held from there.

Game 2: 2-1 W. WP-Swanda (11-8, 6 3 1 1 2 3). S-Fairbanks (24). HR-Tucker (33). Tucker won it again against his former club with a solo homer in the 6th to break a 1-1 tie while Swanda was outstanding. Kyle Manzardo made his MLB debut and was 0-4.

Game 3: 6-3 W. WP-Patino (5-1, 6 3 2 2 0 8). HR-Albies (12), J.Lowe (18). Luis Patino was outstanding in his return to the rotation, giving up a pair of solo homers and nothing else and Albies and Lowe hit 2-run homers to pace the offense as the Rays completed the sweep.

Team record: 84-53. The dark cloud of earlier in the week was lifted with the sweep and an Oakland sweep of the Yankees so the division race is really over at 9 games with the magic # down to 17. Next up: A big series in the only race that matters now, the one for a playoff bye. Kansas City, 1/2 game behind the Rays for the #2 seed, visits for 3 games. Tampa Bay is one game behind the Angels for the top seed.

MLB News: The Angels will have to do without two-way superstar Shohei Ohtani for the next 2-3 weeks with a bone bruise in his wrist after being hit by a pitch. Also former Rays reliever Oliver Drake announced his retirement effective at season's end.

Meanwhile here's a look at the standings as we're down to the season's final weeks:



A historically bad season for the Giants, who are at risk of having the worst record since the notorious 2003 Tigers.

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Game 1: 1-4 L. LP-Baz (2-3, 5.1 5 3 3 3 5). Rays got a run on two hits in the first inning and had none of either the rest of the way as the Royals moved ahead of them into the second seed in the AL.

Game 2: 2-3 L. LP-McClanahan (10-5, 7 6 3 3 1 6). Nick Gordon homered for the second straight day with today's off Mac breaking a 2-2 tie in the 7th as the Rays fell further back in the seeding race.

Game 3: 4-3 W. WP-Taylor (6-5). Starter-Rasmussen (5 5 3 3 2 4). HR-Tucker (33). Ras couldn't hold a 3-0 lead but the Rays won anyway in the bottom of the 9th when Arozarena singled, stole second, went to third on the bad throw and scored on a Royce Lewis single.

Team record: 85-55. The Yankees swept their series so the magic # was only reduced by one to 16. Next up: An off-day then we head to the west coast for 3 at San Diego. The Padres are in the thick of a tight NL West race, only 1 up on Colorado.

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Game 1: 4-2 W. WP-Swanda (12-8, 5.1 4 2 2 3 4). S-Fairbanks (25). HR-Mead (15). Mead's 2-run homer in the 4th proved to be the difference as the bullpen was excellent with 3 2/3 scoreless.

Game 2: 1-0 W. WP-Patino (6-1, 7 3 0 0 1 5). S-Fairbanks (26). Luis Patino has been a revelation since being brought back up a few weeks ago and today he shackled his old team to make it 2 runs allowed in 19 IP with a 4/19 BB/K ratio in that span. He may be pitching his way into the playoff rotation after the injuries to Taj Bradley and Luis Castillo. Speaking of injuries, we were dealt yet another serious blow when Josh Lowe broke a bone in his elbow scoring the game's only run in the 1st inning on a Mead RBI single. Not only is Lowe done for the year but he's likely out until May-June of next season, a shame as he was having a great bounce-back season (2.3 WAR in 300 AB).

Game 3: 3-2 W (15). WP-Sears (3-1). Starter-Baz (5 8 2 2 0 4). HR-Mead (16), J.Jackson (6). Jeremiah Jackson's homer in the top of the 15th helped end a 5-hour, 20-minute marathon as the Rays completed the sweep of the Padres and dropped San Diego into 2nd in the NL West. They went 13 innings without scoring after Curtis Mead's career-high 16th homer, a 2-run shot in the 1st, capped a big weekend for him. Sears was the 9th pitcher for the Rays who thankfully have an off-day tomorrow.

Transactions: Goodbye Josh Lowe but hello Wander Franco as our star SS returns from his rehab assignment and was in the lineup in the finale for the first time in nearly a month. The rust showed a bit as he went 1-7. Royce Lewis was also sent down after the finale and Heliot Ramos gets the call as we needed another OF. Lineup-wise this will likely make a regular of Michael A. Taylor, whose Gold Glove-caliber defense in CF will be appreciated (he made an incredible running catch on the final batter to preserve the 1-0 win in the second game) with Arozarena sliding over to LF. Randy was decent in center (about a 0 ZR) but is Gold Glove-caliber himself in LF.

Team record: 88-55. A great weekend for Tampa Bay as they reduced their magic number to 11 and the Royals were swept at home by top-seed LA, so the Rays are now two games up on KC for the all-important 2nd seed and a bye. Next up: An off-day to travel coast-to-coast again and they'll land in Baltimore where they'll play 3.