The 2021 (and only 2021) Tampa Bay Rays

[Art Deco]

In what's become a familiar refrain of late, the Rays took 2 of 3 and could have swept if not for the bullpen.

The opener saw Tarik Skubal dominate his old team in a 5-2 win at the Trop. The lefty was 7 5 1 1 1 7 and finally picked up a win in his 6th start of the season to improve to 1-2, 5.17. With lefties due in the 9th and Aaron Fletcher and Devin Williams unavailable, Alex Vesia got the call and converted his first save in two seasons. Meanwhile Wander Franco was a one-man offense, driving in all 5 runs on 3 hits including a 2-run HR (a team-leading #6) in the first.

The Rays routed Detroit 9-2 in the second game, steadily adding to their lead throughout. Andrew Greckel broke a 1-1 tie in the 2nd with a 2-run shot (#4) while Brandon Lowe (#6) and the slow-starting Heston Kjerstad (#3) also went deep. Jarren Duran drove in 3 including a 2-run single in the 5th which broke things open. Joe Ryan was outstanding at 6 4 2 1 3 9 to go to 3-1, 2.60 and Taj Bradley was dazzling in relief, going the final 3 innings scoreless and fanning 6 to record his first MLB save.

The Rays held leads of 2-0 in the 5th and 4-3 after 6, but couldn't close the deal and dropped a 6-5 decision to the Tigers in the finale. They were up against old friend Yonny Chirinos who was unusually wild with 4 walks and Carter Kieboom made him pay for one of them with a 2-run shot in the 6th (#4) which gave the Rays that 4-3 lead. But Game 1's bullpen hero Alex Vesia put 2 on in the 7th and Levi Kelly couldn't get the job done, allowing those 2 to score plus one of his own in the 8th. The Rays had a golden chance to at least tie it in the bottom of the 9th with men on 1st and 3rd with 1 out, but Heston Kjerstad whiffed for the third time today and Andrew Greckel was caught looking to end the game. The blown leads wasted another good performance from fill-in starter Reggie Lawson, who went 5.2 6 3 2 0 6.

Team record: 15-15, 3 back of the first-place Yankees whose 8-game win streak was finally snapped by the Angels. Next up: 3 games in Texas.

[Art Deco]

An impressive sweep in Texas which saw them twice come back to overcome poor outings from the starters. The Yankees won 2 of 3 but the Rays are now in sole possession of second place in the AL East, 2 games behind.

The Rangers got to Tyler Glasnow for 3 runs in the 1st inning but the bats answered back for a 6-4 win in Arlington. Angelo DiSpigna hit his 2nd MLB homer in the 2nd and Lewin Diaz launched his first of the year in the 3rd to cut the Texas lead to 3-2, and then a 4-run 4th keyed by all things a passed ball on a third strike allowed the Rays to go ahead to stay. Diaz, Wander Franco and Brandon Lowe all had RBI singles in the rally. Glasnow stuck around long enough for the win, going 5 8 4 4 3 3 without his best stuff - he's now 4-3, 5.45. The bullpen shut down the Rangers for the final 4, culminating with Devin Williams' 7th save.

Different day, same story in the second game as Dustin May was knocked around early but the offense picked him up in an 8-5 win. Like Glasnow yesterday May wasn't dominant (6 9 5 5 1 2) but got the win to improve to 3-2 thanks to a 5-run outburst in the 3rd which saw Angelo DiSpigna homer for the second straight day, this time with 2 men on (#3) while Taylor Walls was 3-4 with a steal and an RBI and Andrew Greckel was 2-4 with a ribbie. Once again the bullpen did its job and once again Devin Williams picked up the save, his 8th.

The Rays completed the sweep in the finale with a more conventional win behind another solid start from Tarik Skubal, who has turned his season around, by a 3-2 score. The lefty went 5.1 3 1 1 3 7 to up his record to 2-2, 4.66 and JT Ginn got him out of a bases-loaded situation in the 6th by getting the speedy Adalberto Mondesi to ground into an inning-ending double play. With the "A" pen tired from the previous two games some other names got high-leverage duty and after Aaron Fletcher gave up a one-out homer in the 9th to allow Texas within a run, Guillermo Zuniga stepped in and got the final two men for his first big-league save. Lewin Diaz's 2-run double in the 2nd was the big hit of the game and Wander Franco was 3-5, driving in the other Tampa Bay run.

Team record: 18-15. Next up: Back to the Trop for 3 vs Cleveland.

[Art Deco]

A disappointing return home for the Rays as they dropped 2 of 3 to Cleveland. Fortunately the Yankees had the same result in their series against Boston so the Rays remain in 2nd, 2 games behind.

Lewin Diaz had a big game to lead the Rays to a 7-6 win over Cleveland in the opener to make it 7 wins in 8. Diaz drilled a 3-run homer (#2) in the 2nd which gave the Rays a 4-2 lead in the 2nd, and added an RBI double in the 7th to make it 7-5 which proved the difference. Heston Kjerstad added a 2-run shot, his 4th. Joe Ryan was not very good today, but managed to hang around long enough to improve to 4-1, 3.40 despite a rough 5 9 5 5 1 3 line. Levi Kelly fanned 5 over 2 shutout innings and Luis Garcia, the third pitcher in the 9th, picked up his 1st save as a Ray getting the final out as Devin Williams left after putting the leadoff man on with a tired arm and Alex Vesia put two more on. Williams will miss 4 days but not go on the IL as we have an off day in that time frame.

Reggie Lawson was excellent in his first two starts since joining the rotation but today he wasn't and he put the Rays in a 6-0 hole that they just couldn't quite climb out of in a 6-5 loss. Lawson had no command and went 3.1 6 6 6 4 1 in taking his first loss of the year. Taj Bradley was electric in long relief, fanning 6 over 3 1/3 and the bullpen kept them in it. Lewin Diaz homered for the second straight day, a 2-run shot (#3) off Shane Bieber in the 4th and Wander Franco did likewise in the 5th (#8) to cut the lead to 6-4. They did push one run across in the 9th which scored on Franco's groundout but they couldn't get the tying run home.

A lack of offense doomed the Rays in the finale as they only managed 3 hits in a 4-2 loss. Tyler Glasnow was pretty good (5.1 6 2 2 0 8) but got little support as Cleveland's Josh Wolf no-hit the Rays until Corey Collins doubled leading off the 6th and came home on a 2-run Andrew Greckel homer (#5) which tied the game at the time. But Aaron Fletcher, who got Glasnow out of a jam in the top of the 6th, gave up a run in the 7th to take the loss and the Guardian bullpen shut them down the rest of the way.

Team record: 19-17. Next up: An off-day then we head to Toronto to take on the division rival Jays, who are one game back of us at 18-18.

[Art Deco]

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[Art Deco]

After looking like we had turned things around, we dropped 2 of 3 in Toronto on top of losing 2 of 3 to Cleveland with a 4-game losing streak in the middle of all that. The Yankees got a sweep in San Antonio, so they're now 4 up on us in first.

Dustin May's first four starts of the year were great but his last four have been brutal as he was hit hard in a 10-5 loss at Rogers Centre. May went 3 7 7 7 4 2 with 2 homers allowed and now has allowed 22 runs over his last 17 2/3 innings seeing his ERA balloon from 1.95 to 5.56. The Rays were down 7-1 but rallied to pull with 7-5 before Taj Bradley gave up 3 runs to put the Jays back in control. Heston Kjerstad's 2-run homer (#5) was the offensive highlight for Tampa Bay.

The Rays dropped a heartbreaker in the second game, losing 3-2 when Toronto scored twice in the 8th inning. Tarik Skubal pitched great against Toronto's righty-heavy lineup, going 6 5 1 1 4 4 and Angelo DiSpigna's 2-run homer in the 4th (#4) had them up 2-1 going into the 8th. But Pete Fairbanks walked a pair who ended up on 2nd and 3rd with 2 out and with lefty Cavan Biggio due up, Aaron Fletcher came on. Toronto countered with righty pinch-hitter Nick Castellanos and he delivered a 2-run single off Fletcher to give Toronto the win. The bats managed a measly 4 hits on the day.

Tampa Bay did salvage the finale behind Joe Ryan 5-2. The righty, who has been the team's most consistent starter this season, looked in trouble early when he allowed solo homers in each of the first two innings, but settled in from there to go 6 5 2 2 1 7 and improve to 5-1, 3.35. Levi Kelly pitched a scoreless 7th and 8th and Devin Williams showed no ill effects from his dead arm by fanning a pair in a 1-2-3 9th for save #9. The big hit of the game came off the bat of Heliot Ramos, whose grand slam in the 4th (#4) gave us the final score. Adley Rutschman also hit his 4th homer for the first run.

Team record: 20-19. Next up: 3 at home vs Seattle.

[Art Deco]

The Rays bounced back from some recent woes to take 2 out of 3, but not before losing the opener and falling back to .500. The team remains mired in a hitting slump but the pitching was very good in this series and bailed them out.

Transaction: Activated 1B/OF Austin Meadows from his rehab assignment and optioned P Taj Bradley to AAA Durham.

As mentioned the Rays dropped the opener to Seattle, managing only 4 hits in a 4-1 loss. The Mariners tried to help them as they walked the bases loaded in both the 1st and 2nd innings but the Rays could only manage 1 run on a bases-loaded walk to Jarren Duran. Reggie Lawson pitched well, going 6 3 3 3 1 7.

The Rays' bats have slumped lately but they got help from a couple of unlikely heroes in a 4-2 win in the second game. Heliot Ramos had RBI hits in the 2nd (a double), 6th and 7th and rookie backup catcher Corey Collins launched a solo homer (#2) in the 5th for the Tampa Bay scoring. This was enough for Tyler Glasnow, who went 6 5 2 2 2 8 to improve to 5-3, 4.89, and the bullpen was solid with Aaron Fletcher pitching 2 perfect innings and Devin Williams grabbing save #10.

Dustin May shook off a bad 4-start run in the finale by going 8 scoreless innings in a 5-0 win. The righty was brilliant at 8 4 0 0 2 5 and would have a shot at the shutout had he not thrown 107 pitches. The win takes him to 4-3, 4.72 and Alex Vesia completed the team shutout with a 1-2-3 9th. Three early solo homers provided the support May needed with Wander Franco (#8) in the 1st, Carter Kieboom (#6) in the 2nd and Austin Meadows (#2) in the 4th all going deep. Angelo DiSpigna and Jarren Duran added RBI doubles later.

Team record: 22-20. The Yankees took 2 of 3 as well so the Rays remain 4 games back. Next up: Three games in the Windy City against the White Sox.

[Art Deco]

The Rays came close to pulling off a sweep in Chicago but were unable to push a run across in extras and dropped the finale. The Yankees lost 2 of 3 to Minnesota so the Rays have pulled within 3 games of the division lead and are currently tied with Houston for the 2nd wild card.

Tampa Bay took a 4-3 win in the series opener behind some 5th-inning power and a solid outing from Tarik Skubal. Skubal's only bad inning was the 4th when he allowed a pair of homers to put the Rays behind 3-1, but they responded in the 5th on an Angelo DiSpigna solo shot (#5) and a 2-run blast from Austin Meadows (#3) to make it 4-3. That scoreline held up the rest of the way thanks to Skubal, who finished 6.1 6 3 3 0 4 to improve to 3-2, 4.22, and 2 2/3 scoreless from Pete Fairbanks and Devin Williams, who collected save #11.

Joe Ryan was dealing and the offense took advantage of 10 walks issued by White Sox pitching in an 8-3 win in the second game. Ryan went 7 5 3 1 1 8 and has been the team's best starter this year at 6-1, 3.08. His 64 strikeouts are now 2nd in the AL. Meanwhile, Chicago pitchers kept putting runners on base and the Rays kept knocking them in, with Carter Kieboom and Jarren Duran each delivering 2-run singles and Andrew Greckel tripling in a run. They could have had even more had they not grounded into 3 double plays.

The Rays dropped a tough one in the finale, falling 5-4 in 11 innings. Reggie Lawson turned in another decent start but he was hurt by a pair of Rays errors as he went 5 4 4 2 2 5. But despite leaving down 4-2, Lawson was taken off the hook when then the two bashers from the first game, Angelo DiSpigna and Austin Meadows, went deep again in the 6th and 7th to tie the game, the 6th for DiSpigna and the 4th for Meadows. Guillermo Zuniga took the loss after putting the leadoff man on in the 11th, who scored after Aaron Fletcher loaded the bases and Devin Williams gave up a one-out single.

Team record: 24-21. Next up: Back home for 3 vs Oakland.

[Art Deco]

The upward trajectory continues for the Rays as they took 2 of 3 from Oakland, are a season-best 4 games over .500, are in sole possession of the second wild card and have moved within 1 game of the Yankees for the division lead as New York was swept at home by the red-hot Kansas City Royals.

The series did not start well though as the bats only managed one run on five hits in a 6-1 loss. Heliot Ramos' 5th homer of the year was the sum total of the offense. Tyler Glasnow started and pitched decently at 5 4 3 3 2 6 but fell to 5-4, 4.94, and then the bullpen let the game get away late.

The offense finally got going with a 3-run 4th on their way to a 5-2 win in the second game. They strung several hits together for a change and Heliot Ramos came through with a 2-run single to cap the inning. Wander Franco then added some insurance in the 7th with a 2-run homer, his 9th. Dustin May wasn't his best but limited the damage and went 5.2 8 2 2 1 4 to get the win and improve to 5-3, 4.58 while Devin Williams recorded save #12.

A huge comeback saw the Rays erase a 5-0 deficit and walk it off in the 9th to take a 6-5 win and the series from Oakland. Tarik Skubal had another rough outing (4 8 5 5 2 6 with 2 more homers allowed) and things did not look good. But a 5-run 5th highlighted by Wander Franco's 2-run double tied the game up and things were tense after that with the teams trading zeroes until Franco walked with one out in the 9th and scored on a Heston Kjerstad double to send the Trop into delirium. Aaron Fletcher, who had to come in with one out in the top of the 9th with men on 1st and 3rd and got out of it with two straight whiffs, deservedly picked up his 2nd win.

Team record: 26-22. Next up: An off-day to travel out west to face an always-tough opponent in the Angels for 3.

[Art Deco]

Not the best trip out west as the Rays dropped 2 of 3 to the Angels, but the Yankees were swept by Houston to see their losing streak extend to 8 so the Rays are now tied with New York (and Toronto, which took 2 of 3 in their series) for first place in the AL East.

The Rays flexed their muscles in the opener, hitting 5 homers and opening up an 8-1 lead before going to take a 10-5 win over the Angels. Adley Rutschman, off to a slow start this year, blasted a pair of 2-run shots including one in the first to get things going to give him 6 on the year. Also finding the seats were Carter Kieboom (#7) as part of a 3-hit game, Jarren Duran (#2) and Heliot Ramos (#6). Joe Ryan kept rolling with a 7 5 3 3 1 2 outing to improve to 7-1, 3.17.

Tampa Bay dropped a tough one in the second game, coming back from 3-0 down in the 6th to go ahead, losing the lead, and tying it back up before finally succumbing to a walk-off Anthony Rendon RBI double in the bottom of the 9th off Pete Fairbanks in a 7-6 loss. Reggie Lawson got the start but had to leave in the 2nd with a sore back which won't shelve him, and Levi Kelly was hit for 3 runs to put the Rays behind. But a 5-run 6th thanks to a 3-run Adley Rutschman shot (#7) and a 2-run Heston Kjerstad blast (#6) gave Tampa Bay a 5-3 lead. Guillermo Zuniga, though, showed he was human in a rare bad outing for him allowing the Angels to score 3 in the bottom of the frame. Andrew Greckel tied it right back up in the 7th with a solo shot (#6) but Fairbanks gave up a single and the Rendon double without retiring anyone in the 9th as he took the loss.

The Rays were beaten 5-1 in the finale as LA's Tyler Mahle pitched a complete-game 6-hitter with only one walk and two whiffs. Adley Rutschman continued his good series with a sac fly to give them lead in the top of the 1st, but that was as good as it got as Tyler Glasnow gave up a couple and finished 5 3 2 2 4 4. It was still a 2-1 game into the 7th before LA broke it open with 3 runs off JT Ginn.

Team record: 27-24. Next up: 3 games in New York against the fellow first-place Yankees as they'll try to extend the Bronx Bombers' losing streak.

[Art Deco]

A big late-May series for the Rays saw their recent woes continue as they dropped 2 of 3 and with the exception of the first game, struggled to score runs as has been a problem this season. For example, check out these anemic numbers from the starting lineup:



Not a pretty sight. Toronto swept its series so they've taken over first, with the Yankees a game behind and the Rays 2 back.

I've been using the phrase "tough loss" a lot lately and the opener was yet another one for the Rays. After falling behind 3-0, coming back to tie, seeing the Yankees go back up 6-3 and then taking a 7-6 lead, the bullpen let them down in the 8th as the Yankees scored twice to take an 8-7 win. Dustin May was pretty bad at 4.2 9 6 6 1 3 but a 4-run 7th gave them the lead when Brandon Lowe hit HR #7 and Andrew Greckel also hit #7 with a man on to cap the rally. But Pete Fairbanks put men on 2nd and 3rd in the 8th and Devin Williams gave up a 2-run double to DJ LeMahieu and the Rays fell. Angelo DiSpigna also had a nice game with an RBI double and solo HR (also #7), but it was all for naught.

Tarik Skubal continues to struggle with consistency and the bats were held to 4 hits in a 5-1 loss in the second game. Skubal went 5.1 6 4 4 3 3 and fell to 3-3, 4.94 but it probably didn't matter much since they couldn't generate any offense. Andrew Greckel homered again (#8) in the 7th to keep them from being shut out.

Thanks largely to Joe Ryan the Rays salvaged a game from the series and snapped their 4-game losing streak in a 3-1 win over the Yankees. Ryan has been this year's ace, and his 7 4 1 1 0 7 (no homers allowed!) outing makes him 8-1, 2.97 and about the only reliable thing they've had this year. Devin Williams recorded save #13 with a perfect 9th. Jarren Duran led the game off with HR #3 and Andrew Greckel homered for the third straight game (#9) to supply the offense along with Adley Rutschman's RBI single.

Team record: 28-26. Next up: 3 games at home against Boston, which is one game behind the Rays in the tight AL East.

[Art Deco]

The Rays' bats finally came to life before petering out again as they scored 19 runs in winning the first two of the series over Boston before being shut out in the finale. Toronto took 2 of 3 to stay 2 ahead of the Rays while the Yankees dropped 2 of 3 to fall back into a tie with Tampa Bay.

The opener was a classic back-and-forth affair as Boston went up early 3-0, the Rays took a 5-3 lead, and the Red Sox tied it up at 6 before Brandon Lowe's 2-run single in the 8th gave Tampa Bay an 8-6 victory. Reggie Lawson had a rough 1st inning allowing those 3 runs and finished 4.2 7 4 4 1 4. The win eventually went to Aaron Fletcher (his 3rd) while Devin Williams secured save #14 but not without putting a couple of men on in the 9th to make things tense. Wander Franco and Andrew Greckel were each 3-4 with an RBI but Franco had to leave with back spasms which will necessitate a short IL stay and it was Lowe, injured himself and being rested, who took his place in the lineup and delivered the winning hit. Taylor Walls was 2-4 with 2 steals and an RBI as well.

Transaction: Wander Franco went on the 10-day IL with back spasms and should be ready to return when eligible. Vidal Brujan's rehab assignment at AAA Durham was cut short after 2 games as he's now needed with the big club.

A couple of big homers propelled the Rays to an 11-4 rout of the Red Sox in the second game. Adley Rustchman's 8th homer with a man on in the 3rd made it a 3-1 game, and Heston Kjerstad broke it open with a 3-run shot (#7) in the 5th. Andrew Greckel added his 10th later for good measure while Jarren Duran drove in 3 against his old org with a double and a single. Tyler Glasnow was solid (6 6 2 2 3 8) in improving to 6-5, 4.65.

The hitters apparently were so pleased with themselves for scoring 19 the last two games that they decided to take the finale off and the Rays lost 2-0. They wasted a fine start from Dustin May (6 4 1 0 2 6) and only managed 6 hits on day with 3 of them coming from Vidal Brujan.

Team record: 30-27. Next up: 3 games in San Antonio against the 17-40 Alamos. Anything less than 2 of 3 will be a big disappointment.

Also this:

[Art Deco]

I said coming into this series taking 2 of 3 from the struggling Alamos was a must and that's what the Rays did as they stay in the thick of the wide-open AL East. The last 3 days saw the Yankees sweep the Guardians while the Jays were swept by the Angels so it's now New York back on top, 1 game up on the Rays and Jays.

Tampa Bay took the opener behind a pair of homers from Jarren Duran in a 9-5 win at Alamo Park. Duran homered to lead off the 4th after San Antonio's Owen White had retired the first 9 Rays, and then he went yard again in the 5th with 2 men on (#5) to break the game open. Austin Meadows also broke out of his season-long slump to club a pair of longballs and drive in 4 (#s 5 and 6) while Andrew Greckel continued his power spree with HR #11, his 6th in the last 9 games. Tarik Skubal went to 4-3 after going 6 5 3 3 0 2 but the bullpen was dicey, allowing 8 hits over the last 3 innings and 2 runs.

The Rays' hottest pitcher and hottest hitter teamed up to lead them to an 8-0 win in the second game. Joe Ryan continues to be in the Cy Young hunt after going 7 4 0 0 2 7 to improve to 9-1, 2.69 with 80 whiffs in 73 IP. On the other side of things, Andrew Greckel clubbed 2 more homers to give him 8 in his last 10 games and 13 overall, adding a double to go with 3 RBI. Adley Rutschman was 3-4 with HR #9, a double and 2 RBI and Jarren Duran added a 2-run double.

As they did in their previous series, the bats went silent in the finale after putting up big numbers in the first two games and the Rays fell 5-1. Jarren Duran's RBI double in the 3rd gave them a 1-0 lead but Reggie Lawson lost it in the middle innings and finished 5 5 4 4 4 6 to drop to 0-3, 4.69. Griffin Canning continues to have a hard time staying healthy on his rehab assignment so Lawson will get another start or two unless other options are explored.

Team record: 32-28. Next up: An off-day then 3 games at the Trop against another struggling team in the Orioles, who are 18-42 just like San Antonio.

MLB News: The Phillies lost Bryce Harper for the year as he will undergo Tommy John surgery, Juan Soto hit for the cycle and Eric Hosmer got his 2000th hit.

[Art Deco]

The Rays' good run of late continued as they were able to complete a sweep of Baltimore primarily thanks to outstanding pitching, holding the Orioles to 4 runs over the 3 games. The Yankees and Jays went head-to-head and New York took 2 of 3 from Toronto. This means the Rays and Yankees are tied for first and Toronto is now 2 games behind.

Tyler Glasnow pitched well if wild in the opener and the Rays took a 3-1 win. The righty went 5 3 1 1 4 5 but left down 1-0 before the day's unlikely offensive hero, Taylor Walls, went to work. Walls hit his first homer of the year in the bottom of the 5th to tie it up and then drew a bases-loaded walk in the 6th to provide the winning run. Andrew Greckel added an RBI single for insurance, while JT Ginn picked up his first Rays win and Devin Williams secured save #15.

Dustin May was excellent as the Rays took the second game 8-2. May was an economical 8 6 2 2 1 5 to improve to 6-4, 4.40 and Austin Meadows continued to show signs of breaking out of his slow start to 2025 with a 6-RBI day which included a grand slam in the 7th (#7) after Baltimore had pulled within 4-2. Heliot Ramos added his 7th longball as well.

Tarik Skubal pitched the Rays to a sweep as they took a 5-1 win from Baltimore at the Trop. Skubal went to 5-3 with a 5.2 2 1 1 3 4 outing and he was backed by the two guys acquired from Detroit. Angelo DiSpigna had sat for a few games after slumping and the rest did him good as he homered twice (#s 8 & 9) while Andrew Greckel kept on raking with #14, a 2-run shot to put the Rays ahead to stay in the 4th.

Team record: 35-28. Next up: 3 games in Minnesota.

[Art Deco]

As the English would say, Minnesota is our bogey team and for the second time this season they swept us as soon poor starting pitching and too-little, too-late rallies did us in.

Joe Ryan was due for a stinker and he obliged in the first game, although his final 5.1 5 4 4 2 5 line wasn't horrible in a 5-4 loss. He dropped to 9-2, 2.96 with Carter Kieboom's 3-run homer (#8) in the 9th with 2 out making the final score respectable.

Trades! We made some trades:



In the first deal we sent veteran OF Kyle Schwarber to KC for Chamberlain, a young lefty with nasty stuff who's capable of starting. For now we'll use him in the pen to give us a third lefty with Alex Vesia and Aaron Fletcher. You're probably saying "I didn't even know the Rays had Schwarber" and you'd be right because I hadn't mentioned him after he was signed to a minor league contract in April by the AI assistant GM. He wasn't doing much at Durham and is only 40 contact to go with his prodigious 65 power and we have enough outfielders.

In the second deal we moved Lawson, who wasn't getting it done as the 5th starter and was out of options so it was move him or lose him so we dealt him along with Seymour, a 2020 draft pick who's hasn't panned out mostly due to control, for Stoudt whom I'm going to try as the 5th starter and can pitch in relief if/when Griffin Canning ever gets back (he now has an "uncertain return date" on his rehab, which is never good).

There were also a slew of other moves. Wander Franco was activated off the 10-day IL, Angelo DiSpigna was sent to Durham as he had options and was losing at-bats to Vidal Brujan at DH, and we signed IF/OF Whit Merrifield to a minor league contract. Merrifield gives us a potential RH bat with versatility to offset our lefty-heavy lineup should we need him. He can still hit .280 with 10-15 HR power and good OF defense. Chamberlain took Lawson's roster spot and we'll have to send a pitcher down (or out) when Stoudt is ready to be activated.

The second game would have been Reggie Lawson's turn in the rotation but he was traded and his replacement Levi Stoudt wasn't rested enough to start so the ball was handed to Levi Kelly for a spot start. It turned out that Lawson couldn't have done worse as Kelly was terrible, putting the Rays in a 5-0 hole. But they came back to tie it at 5, and after Minnesota went ahead in the bottom of the 8th Heliot Ramos hit a dramatic pinch-hit homer (#8) to tie it again in the 9th. The Rays couldn't get another run across through, and Alex Vesia gave up a 2-run homer in the bottom of the 11th to give Minnesota an 8-6 win in another tough defeat. Kelly was a brutal 4 8 5 5 3 0 and will be heading back to long relief, but the pen did well (including a 1-2-3 inning from debutant Christian Chamberlain) until things went wrong for Vesia. Andrew Greckel had a 2-run HR (#14) and Austin Meadows drove in a pair to ignite the ill-fated comeback.

After winning the Cy Young last year, Tyler Glasnow has only been consistent this year in his inconsistency and he turned in a poor start in another closer-than-it-really-was 6-4 loss in the finale. Glasnow was awful at 3.2 7 6 6 2 4 allowing a pair of homers and dropping to 6-6, 4.99, an accurate gauge of his 2025 efforts. Wander Franco's first hit since coming off the IL was a solo HR (#10) and Heston Kjerstad's pinch RBI double in the 9th sparked a 3-run 9th that was too little, too late once again.

Team record: 35-31. We're now 2 games behind the Yankees and tied with Toronto for 2nd in the AL East. Next up: No easy task as although we return to the Trop, it's against the surprise team in MLB: the Kansas City Royals, who sport an AL-best 44-22 record.

[Art Deco]

The bats went silent in the first two games but came alive in the third to salvage one game of the series against the AL-best Royals and snap a 5-game losing streak.

Our trade with the Royals earlier in the week came back to haunt us as Kyle Schwarber's homer proved to be the difference in a 2-1 loss to the Royals. His homer in the 6th off Dustin May made it 2-0 KC, and May deserved a better fate after going 6 7 2 2 0 5. But the offense was largely non-existent, only managing 5 hits with Vidal Brujan's 1st homer of the year in the 8th keeping them from being shut out.

All of the scoring in the second game took place in the 2nd inning, which was a bad thing for the Rays as the Royals put 4 on the board against Tarik Skubal and Tampa Bay only answered with 1 in the bottom of the frame. 3 of the runs came with two out and Skubal finished 4.1 5 4 4 4 9 in a busy outing which saw him throw 102 pitches. Once again the offense was held to only 5 hits.

Smarting from the first two games and widespread criticism in the local media, the offense perked up in the finale, scoring 4 times in the 1st and 3 more in the 3rd to go on to a 10-5 rout of the Royals. Heston Kjerstad's bases-clearing double in the opening frame was the first of his three hits on the day, Heliot Ramos drove in a pair including an RBI double in the 3rd, and Wander Franco capped a 3-hit day with a 2-run homer (#11) in the 7th. Austin Meadows went back-to-back with Franco for his 8th in that 7th inning, runs that were needed after KC had climbed back within 7-4. Joe Ryan was his usual solid self, going 6 6 2 1 2 5 to improve to 10-2, 2.86 but the bullpen was a bit shaky although a couple of errors made the 3 runs it allowed unearned.

Team record: 36-33, now tied with Toronto 3 games back of the Yankees. Next up: 3 games in Houston, never a fun place to play.

[Art Deco]

When you don't score a lot of runs your margin for error is extremely thin, and that's what the Rays found out in Houston as they dropped 2 of 3 to the Astros and are now 5 games behind the Yankees, who swept Oakland.

Transaction: Added P Levi Stoudt to the active roster, optioned P Guillermo Zuniga to Durham. As always when Zuniga gets sent down he doesn't deserve it, but he has options. Stoudt will start the series opener.

The Rays took the opener, building a 7-2 lead before hanging on to win 7-6 at Minute Maid Park. They looked listless at the plate early and were down 2-0 after 4 but exploded for 7 in the 5th with Austin Meadows' 2-run shot (#9) putting them ahead to stay and Heston Kjerstad capping the inning with a 3-run blast (#8). Levi Stoudt started and pitched well if not dominantly, going 5 7 2 2 1 1 and winning his Rays debut. Levi Kelly gave up a couple of homers to let Houston back within 7-5, Aaron Fletcher gave up another in the 8th and Devin Williams had to get a 4-out save, his 16th.

Tyler Glasnow got the call in the second game and pitched well, but got next to no support in a 2-1 loss. Brandon Lowe homered in the 4th (#8) to make it 1-0 Rays but the Astros got it right back in the bottom of the inning and then Francisco Lindor homered off Glasnow in the 6th and that was it. He finished 6 6 2 2 1 5. Christian Chamberlain impressed again in relief, striking out all 5 batters he faced and has now retired all 16 men he's faced in 4 outings with the Rays, fanning 12 of them.

Transaction: Alex Vesia sprained his ankle badly enough that it will require an IL trip, so Guillermo Zuniga was called right back up.

I think I've used the phrase "heartbreaking loss" almost once every post and the finale was the biggest gut punch of the season as Devin Williams gave up a 3-run homer to Jeremiah Jackson with 2 out in the 9th to give Houston a 5-3 walk-off win. The Rays built a 3-1 lead on Jarren Duran's 6th HR and a 2-run Brandon Lowe double but had additional chances to score and squandered them, which came back to haunt. Dustin May started and did OK but couldn't finish the 5th, ending 4.2 5 1 1 2 5 on 90 pitches and was pulled before facing Kyle Tucker with men on base a third time after Tucker had homered off him. Guillermo Zuniga got him out of the jam and although Aaron Fletcher allowed a run in the 7th Tyler Rogers had a 1-2-3 8th and it was set up nicely for Williams. But he put two on and couldn't get that third out.

Team record: 37-35. Next up: An off-day then the road trip continues in Detroit with 3 as the Rays try to break free of .500's grip.

[Art Deco]

We're 6 games away from the midway point of the season so I'll save most of my grumbling for the midseason review post but this team just ain't hitting and they really aren't pitching that great either. They dropped 2 out of 3 in Detroit and now sit just one game over .500 and 6 games off the division lead with no signs of a turnaround.

They did take the opener from the Tigers 6-2 behind a fine game from Tarik Skubal against his old mates. Skubal went 6 5 2 1 1 7 and improved to 6-4, 4.59 and Christian Chamberlain was dominant again in relief, fanning 3 in 1 2/3 although he finally allowed his first baserunner as a Ray on a walk. Adley Rutschman drove in 3 with a sac fly and 2-run single and Andrew Greckel had a 2-run double, also again his old org, to lead the offense.

Joe Ryan pitched well in the second game but received minimal support in a 5-1 loss at Comerica for the Rays. Ryan was 6 5 3 2 2 3 and both he and Aaron Fletcher combined to allow 3 to score in the 7 to let the game get away from them with a Brandon Lowe error making all the runs unearned.

We thought we were getting a bonus start from Tyler Glasnow with the day off allowing him to pitch on full rest before we head to the All-Star Break, but Glasnow wasn't very good and neither were his teammates in an 8-2 loss. Glasnow didn't have very good command and went 3.2 5 3 3 4 6 on 93 pitches. Levi Stoudt, whose start was skipped, got him out of the 4th but gave up a run and left two men on in the 5th before JT Ginn was greeted by a 3-run Marcelo Mayer homer and the game was out of hand. The bats were largely held in check by former Ray Yonny Chirinos.

Team record: 38-37. Next up: The All-Star Break, which comes at a good time I guess considering how they've played of late. We'll resume play with 3 at home against Texas after the break and if things don't improve over the next few weeks changes will be made.

[Art Deco]

Will never get used to these OOTP schedules giving us the All-Star Game in late June, but so be it. Here are the All-Star rosters and the only Rays to make it were Adley Rutschman (voted in at C) and Ps Joe Ryan and Christian Chamberlain. Fitting for a .500 team like ours:



The Home Run Derby, with no Rays invited:



And the game itself:



The Rays who played acquitted themselves well with Adley Rutschman 2-3 with a double and an RBI while Christian Chamberlain turned in a scoreless inning. Joe Ryan did not see action.

[Art Deco]

The Rays dropped the first game of this series to fall to .500 but found some offense over the final two which they won. They remain 5 back of the Yankees and 2 back of the 2nd wild card with several teams in front of them.

The offense was moribund in a 4-1 loss in the opener with Heston Kjerstad's 2nd-inning homer (#9) the only run and one of only three hits they managed on the day. Dustin May turned in another good start for naught, going 6 8 2 2 0 2.

It was looking like more of same offensive ineptitude in the second game for five innings until they scored 3 times in the 6th to take a 3-1 win. Adley Rutschman's 10th homer tied it up and several batters later Vidal Brujan delivered a 2-run single to provide the winning margin. Tarik Skubal was extremely sharp, no-hitting Texas through 5 and finishing 6.2 3 1 1 0 7 to improve to 7-4, 4.34. Devin Williams nabbed save #17 to close it out.

As in the second game it took the offense a while to get going in the finale but once it did the runs flowed as the Rays topped Texas 10-7 in a game that was only that close thanks to some shaky bullpen work from the "B" pen. All-Star Joe Ryan started and looked like he might be a hard-luck loser but ended up with the win thanks to a 7-run 5th, finishing 6 6 2 2 0 9 and going to 11-3, 2.88. The 5th inning eruption came at first due to Texas starter Dinelson Lamet's wildness as he walked 4 in the inning including 2 with the bases loaded to tie it up. Heston Kjerstad broke the tie with an RBI single and Andrew Greckel singled in two more to make it 5-2. Vidal Brujan doubled in two more as part of a 3-hit day and Adley Rutschman had a 2-run double and drove in 3 in total. With the Rays up 7-2, Guillermo Zuniga gave up a couple of runs and after it was 10-4 going to the 9th Levi Stoudt was terrible, allowing 3 runs and necessitating Devin Williams to come in and get save #18.

Team record: 40-38. Next up: 3 games in Cleveland.

[Art Deco]

Ugh. The Rays were swept in Cleveland and have now dropped below .500. The Yankees were swept by Boston so the Rays are nominally in the division race still at 5 games behind but they're now 4 behind Toronto in 2nd place in the division and who also holds the second wild card at the moment. The pitching was brutal in this series, allowing 25 runs in the 3 games.

Tyler Glasnow just ain't right as he was hit hard again in an 8-2 loss in the opener. He went 5 7 7 7 1 3 allowing a couple of homers and fell to 6-9, 5.40. Brandon Lowe had 2 hits including HR #9.

Transaction: Alex Vesia came off the 10-day IL and Guillermo Zuniga, he of the options, went back down to Durham despite not deserving to.

The second game summed up this season for the Rays: just not good enough. They overcame 4-0 and 8-4 deficits to take a 9-8 lead in the top of the 7th and then immediately gave it right back and lost a 12-10 slugfest. Levi Kelly got the call to start and was terrible again as both Levis (he and Stoudt) haven't gotten the job done (come back Reggie Lawson, all is forgiven) in the 5th starter role. Kelly allowed 7 runs on 9 hits in 3 1/3 but Andrew Greckel single-handedly kept the Rays in it with 2 HR & 5 RBI to give him 17 while Carter Kieboom had a grand slam (#9). But Aaron Fletcher imploded in the bottom of the 7th after the Rays went ahead, allowing 3 runs, and a rally in the 9th only yielded one run. The game also saw Christian Chamberlain allow his first run as a Ray.

Heston Kjerstad gave the Rays an early 2-0 lead in the finale with his 9th HR but Dustin May gave it right back and Cleveland completed the sweep with a 5-3 win. May was 5 9 5 5 1 4 and dropped to 6-7, 4.35.

Team record: 40-41, as we reach the halfway mark. Next up: 3 games at home vs Toronto, which it would behoove us to win - as in all 3.