The 2021 (and only 2021) Tampa Bay Rays

[Art Deco]

From the league office:



Game 1: The Rays kicked off their big 4-game set with the second-place Yankees today and it was not the start they wanted in a 6-2 loss. Tyler Glasnow held the Yankees in check through 4 with a 1-0 lead but was wild today and not his sharpest overall, and New York broke through for 2 in the 5th. In the top of the 6th the Rays had a great chance to have a big inning by loading the bases with nobody out, but Randy Arozarena and Ji-Man Choi struck out, and although they got a run to tie it up when Jonathan Loaisiga walked Willy Adames to force in a run, that's all they got and then the Yankees erupted off a tiring Glasnow in the bottom of the frame with the big hit a 3-run homer from Mike Tauchman. Glasnow ended a rough 5.2 7 6 6 5 7. Andrew Kittredge and Nick Anderson (getting some work in) wrapped it up, but it didn't matter as the bats couldn't do anything against the New York bullpen. The Yankees now pull within 1 1/2 games of the division lead.

Game 2: This turned out to be an epic game which will be remembered at the end of the season as the Rays got a 2-run inside-the-park HR from Yandy Diaz (!) in the top of the 12th to beat the Yankees 5-3, a game they led in the 8th and 10th innings before losing those leads yet they still won. Chris Archer was very good and got some help from Austin Meadows gunning down Gleyber Torres at the plate but still went 5 4 1 1 1 5. Homers by Brandon Lowe in the 1st (#13) and Ji-Man Choi in the 6th (#5) meant the Rays had a 2-1 lead and it was set up for their bullpen to close it out. Chaz Roe (6th) and Peter Fairbanks (7th) did their jobs, but Diego Castillo was greeted by a Gary Sanchez homer leading off the 8th and we were tied. Nick Anderson pitched the 9th and off to extras we went when Lowe doubled in Diaz to make it 3-2 Rays in the 10th. Anderson stayed on and got the first two out before Caleb Kowart of all people took him deep to tie it up with the Yankees' final swing. Ryan Thompson came in for the 11th and got a double play to get out of that inning and that set the stage for Diaz to be the hero, with his drive off the LF wall taking a weird bounce, getting past Brett Gardner and scoring Meadows (who had a 4-hit day). Thompson remained in for a second inning and got yet another double play (the 4th they turned) to finish the game and restore the Rays' 2 1/2-game lead in the AL East.

Game 3: Another high-drama affair at Yankee Stadium went the Rays' way when Austin Meadows hit his 2nd HR of the game (#13) in the 8th with Mike Zunino aboard to give the Rays a 3-2 win and a 3 1/2-game lead in the AL East. Meadows led off the game with a homer against Gerrit Cole, but the Yankee flamethrower game the Rays virtually nothing after that, striking out 12, allowing only two hits and leaving with a 2-1 lead after 7. Never has a team been so glad to see the starter come out and they proved that when Zunino drew a walk from Yankee reliever Nick Nelson and Meadows went deep again. Meanwhile Rays pitchers were putting on a high-wire act, giving up baserunners galore but mostly getting out of it. Michael Wacha allowed 7 hits but 0 runs through the first 4 innings until his luck ran out in the 5th when he gave up RBI singles to Aaron Judge and DJ LeMahieu and finished 4.2 10 2 2 0 4. Cody Reed got him out of it, and then Chaz Roe got Reed out of the 6th with a couple of men on. Andrew Kittredge pitched the 7th and ended up with win #2, and got one out with one on in the 8th for Peter Fairbanks to take over as Diego Castillo and Nick Anderson were unavailable. Fairbanks was great, whiffing a pair to finish the 8th and whiffing two more in the 9th to pick up his 2nd save and the Rays got a huge win in a game which they were outhit 12-4 (and Meadows had 3 of them!).

June 3: Optioned P Ryan Thompson to AAA Durham, recalled P Josh Fleming from AAA Durham.

With Diego Castillo and Trevor Richards the only non-tired relievers in the pen, we needed a fresh arm who could give us multiple innings if needed.

Game 4: After outhitting the Rays 12-4 last night and still losing, the Yankees figured today they should just hit home runs so they blasted 4 of 'em in a 5-3 win over the Rays. Aaron Hicks set the tone by taking Ryan Yarbrough deep to lead off the game and Mike Tauchman followed in the 3rd to put the Yankees up 2-0. Kevin Kiermaier hit a homer of his own (#3) in the 5th to cut the lead in half, but in the bottom of the frame the Yanks scored their only non-homer run on a Tauchman RBI single. Yarbrough ended up leaving after 6 with a quality start, going 6 6 3 3 1 4 but took the loss to drop to 6-3. After the Rays got an unearned run in the 8th off Jameson Tallion, who had stifled them for the most part, on an Austin Meadows RBI single, Trevor Richards gave up back-to-back 2-out homers to Hicks and Luke Voit in the bottom of the 8th to put the game away for New York. Willy Adames did take Aroldis Chapman yard in the 9th for his 4th but it was too little, too late and the teams ended up splitting the 4-game series. That's not a bad result overall for the Rays, who came in with a 2 1/2-game lead and left with that same lead.

Team record: 34-24. Next up: A weekend set in Texas as the Rays play their first regular season games in Globe Life Field after having played the World Series there last year.

[Art Deco]

First we did this:



Tsutsugo just isn't working out for us as you can see from those numbers above. Fortunately we found a buyer who was willing to take his full salary, allowing us to save $4M. And not only did we get salary relief and a roster spot, we picked up a potentially useful reliever in Sharp, who as apparently named after the NFL legend. Sharp had pitched 5 2/3 scoreless innings with Washington this year with 7 whiffs, although he did allow 7 hits and 3 walks. His 65 movement and 50 control make up for his 45 stuff, but he's particular deadly to righties so he might have a role with us at some point.

Trading Tstustugo opened up a roster spot so we could do this:

June 4: Optioned P Sterling Sharp to AAA Durham, recalled 3B Wander Franco from AAA Durham.

The day has arrived! The team has played well but could definitely use another bat so why not bring up the best prospect in baseball? Franco has more than earned the recall, hitting 382/469/582 in 55 ABs at AA Montgomery, then repeating the feat at Durham with a 397/470/569 line in 58 AB there. He will be our everyday 3B and occasionally spell Willy Adames at SS while Yandy Diaz will take over as the primary DH.

[Art Deco]

Game 1: It was Wander Franco Day as the game's #1 prospect made his MLB debut but it was a 4-year vet who stole the show as Austin Meadows hit for the cycle (a natural cycle, no less!) to lead the Rays to a 5-1 win over Texas. Meadows singled in the first, stole second and scored on Brandon Lowe's double, doubled in the 3rd and was stranded, and then with the biggest hit of the game, blasted a 2-run triple in the 5th to put the Rays ahead to stay. He then completed the natural cycle with a homer (#14) in the 7th to make it 6-1. He struck out in the 9th but ended up 4-5 with 3 RBI and has 12 hits in his last 4 games with 3 HR and 6 RBI. He has to be the front-runner for player of the week. And Franco? It was a successful debut for him as well, although in his first at-bat in the 1st he popped out to short with 2 men on and 2 men out. He lined to center his next time but then doubled in the 6th for his first MLB hit and added a single in the 8th to start his MLB career 2 for 4. He also flawlessly handled his chances at 3B. Not to be overlooked in the excitement of Meadows' cycle and Franco's debut was another great game from the wily veteran lefty Alex Wood, who went 7 6 1 1 0 4 to make it 3 wins in 4 starts since being acquired from the Giants. The only damage against him was a 3rd-inning Leody Taveras homer. Josh Fleming made his season debut with a pair of scoreless innings to finish the game. And a wonderful day got even better with the news the Yankees were pummeled by Boston 9-2, so the division lead is back up to 3 1/2.

Game 2: The Rays scored early and often in a 13-1 beatdown of Texas today. Ranger starter Mike Foltynewicz was very wild and the Rays managed to score 7 runs in the first two innings despite getting only 2 hits. Two walks and an error loaded the bases for Ji-Man Choi in the 1st and he cleared them with a double. Wander Franco then got his first MLB RBI with a grounder to score Choi an out later. Then in the 2nd after a couple of more walks Brandon Lowe hit a ball that bounced around in LF and eluded Texas OFers long enough for him to circle the bases with a 3-run inside-the-park HR. Lowe later hit an outside-the-park HR with a 450-ft shot to dead center in the 4th to give him 15. Later Willy Adames added a 3-run HR (#5), and Franco had an RBI single. Tyler Glasnow cruised with all this run support, matching his season-high with 13 strikeouts in 6 innings of work allowing only 4 hits and one run on a Khris Davis solo homer. Glasnow is now 5-4, 4.40 as he looks to recover from some recent mediocre starts. Cody Reed pitched an inning and Trevor Richards two to finish the game out. And the Yankees lost in extra innings to Boston so the division lead is a season-high 4 1/2 games.

Game 3: The Rays continue their excellent play of late and completed the sweep of Texas with a 10-3 win that was a 3-1 Rays lead through 8 innings. The ludicrously hot Austin Meadows bashed a 3-run homer in the 2nd (#15) and that stood up for most of the game. Chris Archer started and wasn't exactly Cy Young out there but he got the job done, going 5.2 5 1 1 5 5 and getting key outs when he needed them. Chaz Roe got a key out for Archer with two men on and two out in the 6th, he got a couple of outs in the 7th, and Cody Reed and Diego Castillo held it there through the 8th. Then all hell broke loose in the 9th for the Rays as they scored 7 times. Manuel Margot started it with a pinch-double and Yandy Diaz singled him home, Brandon Lowe and Mike Brosseau had RBI doubles, two runs scored on a Nick Solak error, etc. Josh Fleming came on for the 9th and got two quick outs, and then couldn't get anyone out, allowing 2 runs and loading the bases before finally getting out #3. The Yankees weren't going to be swept by their arch-rival Red Sox so the lead stays 4 1/2.

Team record: 37-24. Next up: An off-day then the Washington Nationals (and Yoshi Tsutsugo!) come to town for a pair.

[Art Deco]

To nobody's surprise:



Game 1: What an extraordinary game. The Rays were up against a tough customer in Max Scherzer and he was everything as billed, shutting down the Rays to the tune of 8 2 0 0 2 11. But Michael Wacha matched him pitch-for-pitch and had a perfect game until Starlin Castro led off the 6th inning with a single. But that didn't faze Wacha as he went 8 2 0 0 1 10 in by far his best outing as a Ray and lowered his ERA to 3.48. Diego Castillo pitched the 9th and the Rays had a great chance to win in the bottom of the inning when Brandon Lowe doubled and Randy Arozarena walked with 2 out, but Ji-Man Choi struck out. Peter Fairbanks took over in the 10th and it did not go well at all for him as he put the first two men and Josh Reddick doubled in a run, and Victor Robles added a sac fly to make it 2-0 Nats. In the bottom of the inning, Wander Franco got his first hit at the Trop in his first appearance before the home fans, and Willy Adames singled to left with Juan Soto overrunning the ball and putting men on 2nd and 3rd. Kevin Kiermaier popped to short and pinch-hitter Joey Wendle walked to load the bases for reigning AL Player of the Week Austin Meadows, and he delivered a 2-run single to tie the game. Yandy Diaz then singled but Wendle had to hold up, and then Lowe grounded into a 6-2-3 double play to end the threat. Nick Anderson pitched a clean 11th. The Rays had another golden chance to win in the 11th when Randy Arozarena singled, stole second and after a walk went to third with one out on a Franco fielder's choice. But Adames and Kiermaier struck out to strand him. Anderson had a 1-2-3 12th, and then the Rays threatened again as Meadows singled with one out, went to 2nd when Diaz walked, Lowe had an infield single to load the bases, and Arozarena lined a single to right to score Meadows as the Trop went into a walk-off frenzy and the Rays won what might have been the game of the year 3-2. Anderson got his 2nd win and elsewhere the Yankees won to stay 4 1/2 back.

Game 2: Once again we had an epic pitchers' duel and once again the Rays took over the game late as they won their 5th straight game with a 5-1 win over the Nationals. And when I say late, I mean the bottom of the 8th inning as Kyle McGowin had outdueled Ryan Yarbrough and left with a 1-0 lead. McGowin held the Rays to 7 2 0 0 1 6 and is now sporting a 1.35 ERA in 40 innings, but he got a tough-luck no-decision as Luis Avilan blew it for Washington in the 8th. Manuel Margot pinch-hit for Kevin Kiermaier and led off with a double, went to third on a wild pitch and scored on Mike Zunino's single to tie it. After Avilan struck out Austin Meadows and got Yandy Diaz on a fly ball, Brandon Lowe came through with a triple to score pinch-runner Joey Wendle and give the Rays the lead. Avilan walked Randy Arozarena and then Jhonatan German came on and promptly gave up a 3-run homer to Ji-Man Choi (#6) to make it a very comfortable lead. Meanwhile Yarbrough didn't get the win but he pitched more than well enough to earn one, going 7 3 1 1 2 7 on 109 pitches to lower his ERA to 3.95. Andrew Kittredge got win #3 with a scoreless 8th, and then things got a little interesting in the 9th when Cody Reed got two outs but put two men on, so with the big 3 of the pen tired from last night Chaz Roe came on, and he too walked a man to load the bases to bring the tying run to the plate in the person of Victor Robles. But Roe got him on a ground ball to end the game and secure his 1st save of the season. And the Yankees lost so the lead has now grown to a healthy 5 1/2 games.

Team record: 39-24. Next up: An off-day before Baltimore comes to town for the weekend.

[Art Deco]

Game 1: "Team of destiny" is such an overused cliche in the sports world, but I can't help but feel the 2021 Rays might just be one, especially after their highly improbable comeback today to win. Down 4-1 and with two out and nobody on in the bottom of the 9th, they mounted a rally to tie the game and then won it in the 10th inning 5-4. Late-game heroics were the last thing on anyone's mind, though, as Tyler Glasnow took a no-hitter into the 7th inning although his team hadn't scored a run to support him. The no-hitter was lost with two out when Pat Valaika took him deep to LF to make it 1-0 Baltimore, and Glasnow departed having gone an exceptional 7 1 1 1 3 13. Meanwhile, the Rays were shut down by Felix Hernandez, who turned back the clock to shut them down through 7 innings. Peter Fairbanks gave up a 2-out triple in the 8th and then balked the man home to make it 2-0 Orioles, and although the Rays finally got one back in the bottom of the inning on an Austin Meadows RBI single, Diego Castillo gave up a 2-run shot to that man Valaika again in the top of the 9th and it looked to be game over at 4-1. Tanner Scott came on to close for Baltimore, and got two quick groundouts before Ji-Man Choi doubled and Wander Franco beat out an infield single. Willy Adames then doubled in Choi and with men on 2nd and 3rd, Mike Brosseau pinch-hit for Kevin Kiermaier and delivered a 2-run single to tie it. After Castillo got two out in the 10th and Nick Anderson the final out, Meadows walked to lead it off, went to 3rd on a perfectly executed hit-and-run single with Yandy Diaz, and Brandon Lowe singled in Meadows with the walk-off winner. The Yankees lost last night while the Rays were idle but were themselves off tonight so the lead continues to grow to 6 1/2.

WTG Brett Honeywell!



Game 2: It didn't take any late-game heroics today for the Rays to win (unless you define the bottom of the 5th as "late") as they took a 7-4 decision over Baltimore to make it 7 straight wins and 9 of 10. The bats got off to a quick start when Oriole starter Dean Kremer walked the first two men he faced and Brandon Lowe (now leading all MLB hitters in WAR at 3.6) took him deep for a 3-run shot (#16) with Kevin Kiermaier later singling in a run in a 4-run 1st. But Baltimore fought back against Chris Archer, getting a Cedric Mullins homer and then a 3-run rally in the top of the 5th to tie it up. But as in their game-winning rally the night before, Austin Meadows and Yandy Diaz singled to lead off the bottom of the frame and put men on 1st and 3rd, and Randy Arozarena's sac fly made it 5-4. They added some insurance in the 7th and 8th on a Meadows solo shot (#16) and a Wander Franco RBI double. Archer hung in there long enough to get the win, going 6.1 8 4 4 0 8 to improve to 4-2 even though his ERA ticked up to 4.27. Chaz Roe was the savior today, as Archer left having given up a triple with one out, but the righty reliever whiffed 2 Orioles to strand the runner and preserve the lead. Roe's been great this year in middle relief with 40 strikeouts in 24 1/3 innings and a 1.09 ERA. He stayed on through the 8th and Nick Anderson pitched around a 2-out double to pick up save #13. And the division lead keeps on widening with a Yankee loss in Philadelphia today, now standing at a commanding 7 1/2 games. In fact if the Yankees keep losing it might be Boston we're looking at soon as they're within 1/2 game of New York. Also with Arizona's loss tonight the Rays are tied with the Diamondbacks for the best record in MLB at 41-24.

Game 3: The roll continues as Tampa Bay had its way with the Orioles today, routing them 9-2 to make it 8 wins on the trot, as the English say. Alex Wood was excellent again and has been an inspired acquisition as the veteran lefty went 7 4 1 1 2 6 and is now 4-1, 2.83 in 5 starts since joining the Rays. Josh Fleming went the final 2 innings and allowed a 9th-inning run. Brandon Lowe started the hit parade as usual, launching a 2-run shot in the 1st (#17) and added a sac fly later while Wander Franco had the best game of his young MLB career with an RBI double and a 2-run single. Rays batters were on base all day as the Oriole staff walked 11 to go with the 10 hits they banged out. One oddity: Randy Arozarena was plunked with pitches twice today, and has a total of 8 for the season. The Yankees won today to stop their bleeding but they remain 7 1/2 back, and Arizona won so we continue the share the best record in MLB.

Team record: 42-24. Next up: Road trip time as we head to the Windy City to play 3 against the White Sox.

[Art Deco]

Another player of the week:



Game 1: The Rays faced their toughest road test yet, the White Sox. Chicago is atop the AL Central and is only one game behind the Rays in the overall standings. And after tonight's brutal loss at Guaranteed Rate Field, they're now tied as Zack Collins' 2-run HR off Nick Anderson with 2 out in the 9th gave the White Sox a 5-4 win over the Rays. The Rays had nursed their 4-3 lead from the 4th inning on, after Kevin Kiermaier took a Dylan Cease offering deep to RF for HR #4. Austin Meadows had given them an early 2-0 lead in the 3rd with HR #17 but Michael Wacha let the Sox score 3 times in the 3rd to take the lead. Wacha settled in from there, and went 7 7 3 3 1 4 on an efficient 80 pitches. Diego Castillo got a 1-2-3 8th, but Anderson gave up a one-out single, and after getting Yoan Moncada on a fielder's choice he let Collins wrap one around the RF foul pole for a tough loss. The homer was the 6th allowed by Anderson in 22 2/3 innings which is not...good, although it was only his 2nd blown save. You could say the game was really lost in the top of the 9th, though, as the Rays had the bases loaded with nobody out and failed to score as Brandon Lowe to hit into a force at the plate followed by Randy Arozarena and Ji-Man Choi (who whiffed 3 times today with men on base to end an inning) striking out as they should have scored at least one or two insurance runs. The Yankees were idle so they creep to within 7 back.

Game 2: It looked like the Rays were going down to defeat again as they trailed the White Sox 7-2 going into the 9th, and 7-3 with two out in the 9th, but another miracle comeback saw them tie it up and win it in the 11th on Yandy Diaz's 6th HR of the year 8-7. Things obviously did not go well early, and White Sox hitters belted four homers off Ryan Yarbrough and Josh Fleming, including two more from last night's White Sox walk-off hero Zack Collins. Yarbrough was a rough 5 9 5 5 0 6 and Fleming gave up 2 runs in what appeared to be 3 mop-up innings. But Wander Franco led off the 9th with a double as part of his first MLB 3-hit game, Willy Adames singled, and Kevin Kiermaier walked to load the bases. Chicago closer Liam Hendriks came on and whiffed Mike Zunino, and after an Austin Meadows single made it 7-3, Diaz hit into a fielder's choice for out #2. But Brandon Lowe drilled a 2-run double and Randy Arozarena followed suit with one of his own, and it was 7-7. Chaz Roe pitched the 9th, and Peter Fairbanks came in for the 10th and saved his own win by pitching the 11th. The Yankees lost so the lead is now 8 games.

Game 3: Randy Arozarena belted a pair of home runs, Tyler Glasnow pitched 6 dominant innings and the Rays managed to hang on to a 6-4 win over Chicago to take two of three in the series and 10 of their last 11 overall. Arozarena hit the first of his homers with 2 on in the 1st to give the Rays a quick 3-0 lead and then he tacked on #11 in the 5th to make it 5-1. Glasnow was excellent if pitch-inefficient as he ran numerous full counts on his way to a 6 2 1 1 3 8 outing with the only damage a Jose Abreu homer. He improved to 6-4, 3.96 and has 124 whiffs in 88 2/3 innings. Every time we tried going to a "B" bullpen guy with a healthy lead it backfired, with Andrew Kittredge coming on and hitting 2 guys and walking 2 without getting anyone out and forcing in a run to make it 5-2 in the 7th, but Diego Castillo struck out the next 3 to strand the bases loaded. Castillo stayed on for the 8th and got through that while the Rays tacked on with a Mike Brosseau RBI double to score Wander Franco (now hitting .310). With the 4-run lead again going to the bottom of the 9th, Cody Reed came on and promptly gave up solo homers to two of the three batters he faced, forcing Nick Anderson to come in. Anderson whiffed Zack Collins as a measure of revenge for the first game of the series and got Tim Anderson to ground out and end the game for save #14. And with the Yankees losing once again, the lead is now a more-than-healthy 9 games in the division.

Team record: 44-25, now the best record in MLB. Next up: We head west for 4 games in Seattle.

[Art Deco]

Game 1: Chris Archer was brilliant and an unlikely hitting hero came to the fore as the Rays edged Seattle 3-2 in the opener of their four-game series. After the first two batters combined for two hits and a run, Archer completely shut down the Mariners from there, going 7 3 1 1 1 5. This allowed the bats to get a couple of runs. First, usual suspect Brandon Lowe went opposite field with #18 off Yusei Kukuchi in the 4th and then the forgotten Francisco Mejia in a rare start hit his 4th of the season off Kikuchi in the 5th to give the Rays the lead. Mejia then came through again in the 7th with an RBI double, an insurance run they cashed in when Pete Fairbanks allowed an unearned run in the 8th thanks to a Willy Adames error. Nick Anderson pitched the 9th, struck out the first two, gave up a couple of singles, and then whiffed Dylan Moore to end the game and grab save #15. Archer is now 5-2, 3.92 and he won his 5th straight decision. The Yankees won so the lead stays at 9.

Game 2: The Rays got a taste of their own miracle comeback medicine tonight when they squandered a 5-0 lead and lost to Seattle 6-5 in 10 innings. Alex Wood started and retired the first 14 Mariners while his teammates built a healthy lead, but the Seattle comeback started in the 6th when Wood suffered his old bugaboo, the gopher ball, allowing a pair of homers to make it 5-2 Rays. Wood still finished an excellent 6 4 2 2 0 12 with the strikeouts his most as a Ray. Cody Reed also continued his disturbing trend of allowing homers as he coughed up one up in the 7th to make it 5-3. Andrew Kittredge got him out of that, and Chaz Roe had a 1-2-3 2K 8th. With Nick Anderson tired, Diego Castillo got the call in the 9th, and got two outs with one man on but the single-hitting J.P. Crawford picked this moment to hit his 2nd homer of the year, tying the game with Seattle's last at-bat. And in the 10th Castillo gave up two quick singles to put men on 1st and 3rd and a Ty France sac fly brought home the winning run for a tough loss. The Rays got the big lead early on, taking advantage of 6 walks issued by Mariner rookie starter Emerson Hancock with a Randy Arozarena RBI double a 2-run Brandon Lowe single the big hits. Fortunately Jesus Luzardo shut down the Yankees in a 3-0 Oakland win, so no ground was lost.

Game 3: The Rays had kind of a skeleton crew today as Brandon Lowe, Austin Meadows and Willy Adames were all showing as fatigued, as well as the big 3 at the back end of the bullpen (Fairbanks, Castillo, Anderson). So it was up the irregulars to pick up the slack and with the help of some still-playing regulars they managed a 6-4 win. Randy Arozarena's 12th HR of the year with a man on in the 8th broke a 3-3 tie to give them the win, and earlier Mike Brosseau (getting a rare start against a righty) had a 2-run double. Mike Wacha started and no-hit the Mariners until the 5th, but his penchant for allowing homers bit him as after giving up his first hit to Julio Rodriguez, Kyle Lewis took him deep, and then in the 7th Lewis repeated the feat against him, sending Wacha to the showers with a 6.1 4 3 3 1 2 line. Trevor Richards came on and picked up the win (his first of the year) after Arozarena's blast, and although he allowed a run in the 8th it didn't hurt. Andrew Kittredge came in for the save but tweaked something (will only miss tomorrow) in his back and had to leave with one on and one out, so Cody Reed notched his first save by retiring the last two Mariners. The Yankees lost again (dropping to .500) so the division lead is now in double digits at 10.

Game 4: The Rays fell behind big early and almost came back all the way before falling 6-5 to Seattle and settling for a split of the 4-game series. Ryan Yarbrough did not have it today, hit to the tune of 4.1 7 5 5 2 4 and dropping to 6-4, 4.52. Josh Fleming went the next 2 2/3 and gave up a run which at the time made it 6-1 but ended up very important. That's because once Rick Porcello left after befuddling the Rays with a 7 3 1 1 1 9 line, they scored 3 times on the Seattle bullpen in the 8th on RBI singles from Yandy Diaz and Wander Franco and a bases-loaded walk to Ji-Man Choi. Nick Anderson pitched the 8th and held the Mariners and then Manuel Margot led off the 9th with his first homer of the year off Seattle closer Aaron Fletcher. But despite a couple of hard hit balls, they couldn't get anyone else on base and fell just short. In the division race, the Yankees lost again to fall below .500 and were usurped for 2nd by Boston, which is now .500 at 36-36, meaning the division lead is 9 1/2 over the Red Sox.

Team record: 46-27. Next up: An off-day then back home for three vs those same Red Sox.

[Art Deco]

Game 1: Tampa Bay had to overcome losing its starting pitcher after the first batter tonight, but nothing seems to faze the 2021 Rays as they took a 6-2 win over Boston to extend their division lead to a whopping 10 1/2 games. Tyler Glasnow gave up a leadoff double to Alex Verdugo then had to leave with hamstring soreness. Fortunately it's not serious and he'll make his next start but it put the bullpen in a jam. Trevor Richards came on and was excellent. Although he loaded the bases in the first, he got Bobby Dalbec to rap into a double play to end the threat and he went 4.2 6 0 0 0 7 in a brilliant outing under the circumstances. Cody Reed came in and pitched well but Chaz Roe didn't, giving up 2 hits to allow 2 Boston runs to score in the 6th and giving up 2 more hits in the 7th before Andrew Kittredge struck out 3 straight batters to end that threat. At that point the Rays were down 2-1 getting a Willy Adames RBI single but in the bottom of the 7th Nate Eovaldi loaded the bases with nobody out and Austin Meadows stepped up and hit a slam (#18) off Ryan Brasier to turn the game around. Kevin Kiermaier, who had doubled ahead of Meadows, homered in the 8th (#5) to make it 6-2. Kittredge got the deserved win (his 4th) and Diego Castillo stayed on for the 9th after a 1-2-3 8th and picked up save #2. Is it too early to start printing playoff tickets?

June 23: Optioned P Josh Fleming to AAA Durham, purchased the contract of P Hunter Strickland from AAA Durham.

After the bullpen had to cover the entire 9 innings last night, a fresh arm was needed so we welcome the wily vet Strickland.

Game 2: It was time for some patented #JiManMagic tonight as the Rays' 1B hit a key grand slam in the 6th and drove in all five Rays runs in a 5-2 win over Boston. Boston took a 2-0 lead off Chris Archer in the top of the 5th, and although the Rays had baserunners galore against Nick Pivetta they had a hard time getting any of them home. And after former Ray Hunter Renfroe threw out old friend Austin Meadows at the plate for the second out of the 5th, it looked like their frustration would continue. But a walk loaded the bases for Ji-Man and he came through with his 7th round-tripper of the year to suddenly make it 4-2. He added an RBI single in the 7th for some insurance to complete his big night. Archer was solid in not allowing a hit until the 4th but he gave up those 2 runs in the 5th and got into more trouble in the 6th, leaving with two on and two out with a 5.2 6 2 2 3 7 line on 101 pitches. Enter the newly called-up Hunter Strickland in his Rays debut, and he got Renfroe to fly out to end the threat then pitched a 1-2-3 7th. Pete Fairbanks followed suit in the 8th, and Nick Anderson got the first two Red Sox in the 9th before having to leave with a blister. Cody Reed then came in and whiffed Alex Verdugo to end the game as Archer got the win to go 6-2, 3.86. Anderson's blister is described as "moderate" and to bother him for a week, so he'll have to rest. He can afford to as the Rays now have an 11-game lead on the Yankees, who moved back into second with a win tonight and Boston's loss.

MLB News: The Mariners traded SP James Paxton to the Phillies for C Andrew Knapp and relief pitching prospect Kyle Dohy. Also Noah Syndergaard, in his second start back from Tommy John surgery for the Mets, had to leave the game and will miss a month with a sore shoulder.

Game 3: The Rays continue to roll with a 5-2 win and 3-game sweep of the Red Sox behind the heroics of Alex Wood and Wander Franco. After whiffing 12 in 6 innings in his last start against Seattle, Wood was in double digits again tonight, going 6 4 0 0 0 11 in a dominating outing, at least as dominating as someone who sits 91-93 can be. He continues to be a revelation for the Rays, as we were just expecting 5-6 decent innings to keep us in games, not 5-1, 2.43 with a 5/43 BB/K ratio in 40 innings. Mega-prospect Franco, meanwhile, had been OK but not spectacular since being called up (although they're 15-2 in the 17 games he's played) but that changed tonight. He beat out an infield single for an RBI in the first, had a line-drive RBI single in the 3rd, and then hit his first MLB homer in the 7th, a solo shot. Willy Adames also went deep with the bases empty in the 6th for his 6th, and Mike Brosseau had an RBI single. Meanwhile, Chaz Roe had his second straight bad outing allowing Boston a couple of runs in the 7th, but Pete Fairbanks had a scoreless 8th and Diego Castillo a 1-2-3 9th with two whiffs to get his 3rd save. The Yankees did win so the lead remains 11.

Team record: 49-27. Next up: The Angels come to the Trop for a weekend series.

[Art Deco]

Game 1: Michael Wacha surrendered a first-inning grand slam to Jose Iglesias and the Rays never recovered, losing 5-3. The veteran righty retired the first two Angels to start the game but loaded the bases for Iglesias and the normally singles-hitting SS clubbed a Wacha offering 412 feet into the LF stands to make it 4-0. Randy Arozarena responded in the bottom of the frame with #13, a 2-run shot off Shohei Ohtani, and an Austin Meadows sac fly in the 2nd got them within 4-3, but they couldn't get over the hump the rest of the way. Wacha allowed another run in the 5th and finished 6 6 5 5 3 5 with the best thing to be said about his outing being its length. Andrew Kittredge had a pair of scoreless innings and Hunter Strickland got through the 9th. Ohtani settled in after the first two innings and whiffed 9 Rays in his 5 innings, and the Rays did have a chance in the bottom of the 9th when they loaded the bases with one out against Angel closer Raisel Iglesias but Yandy Diaz grounded into a double play to end the game. The Yankees won in Fenway so in a rare development the Rays actually lost ground but still hold a healthy 10-game lead.

Game 2: The Angels are a red-hot team right now, and they made it eight straight by dealing the once-hot Rays another loss 7-1. The score is a bit misleading since for the most of the game it was a tight pitchers' duel between Dylan Bundy and Ryan Yarbrough. In fact Yarbrough started by retiring the first 13 Angels before David Fletcher singled off him in the 5th. Unfortunately for the Rays the next batter reached on a Ji-Man Choi error and after Yarbrough got the second out Jared Walsh lined a double down the left field line scoring both runners. Doubles by Justin Upton and Fletcher got another run off Yarbrough in the 7th but the Rays lefty still turned in a fine game, going 7 4 3 1 0 5 although he fell to 6-5. In the bottom of the inning Brandon Lowe managed only the Rays' second hit of the game with a moonshot to center off Bundy (#19) but that was all they'd get against the LA righty, who went 7.1 2 1 1 2 8 against them. Trevor Richards came on and gave up 2-run homers to Upton and Albert Pujols to make it a bit of a rout while the Rays could only manage one more hit the rest of the way in a forgettable affair. The Yankees beat Boston again to pull within 9.

June 27: Designated P Trevor Richards for assignment and placed him on waivers, activated P Collin McHugh from his rehab assignment at AAA Durham.

Richards was out of options so he had to go on waivers, and someone had to go with McHugh due to come back from rehab. McHugh will be used in long relief, essentially taking Richards' role.

Game 3: Rays pitchers combined for 17 strikeouts in a 3-2 win over the Angels which salvaged a game from this series. Tyler Glasnow started and was all over the place in the first, loading the bases with nobody out before getting a couple of whiffs to get out of it, and he ran up a high pitch count (106) but made it through the fifth, going 5 6 1 0 2 9. The Angels took a 1-0 lead thanks to a Brandon Lowe error which came around to score in the 5th, but in the bottom of the inning Austin Meadows took former teammate Aaron Slegers deep for a 2-run shot (#19) to give the Rays the lead. The just-returned Collin McHugh came on and pitched two brilliant innings, whiffing 4 to hold the lead, and Peter Fairbanks got through the 8th. Lowe atoned for his error by drilling a Slegers pitch into the RF seats for his 20th HR to give the Rays insurance, and they cashed in that insurance when Diego Castillo got into some 9th-inning trouble, allowing 3 hits and a run before whiffing Jo Adell to end the game and get save #4. Glasnow goes to 7-4, 3.75 with the win. The Yankees won again so the lead remains 9.

Team record: 50-29. Next up: An off-day then a pair of games in our nation's capital which will bring us to the midpoint of the season.

[Art Deco]

Game 1: The Rays were hoisted by their own petard or something like that as Yoshi Tsutsugo, dumped on Washington a month ago, dumped all over the Rays today with a big 3-run homer off Chris Archer to break a 2-2 tie in the 5th and later singled in another in the 7th to lead the Nationals to an 8-4 win over Tampa Bay. The Rays took a quick 2-0 lead early on a Ji-Man Choi RBI double in the 1st and Mike Zunino's 12th homer in the 2nd, but Archer couldn't hold it and had trouble with the Washington lineup throughout his outing. It was 2-2 in the 5th with 2 out and 2 on, and with his pitch count in the 90s I left Archer in to try and get one more out, but that backfired when Tsutsugo took him deep. Archer ended a pretty bad 4.2 8 5 5 3 4. Andrew Kittredge went 1 1/3 scoreless but Cody Reed gave up a couple in the 7th and Trea Turner took former teammate Hunter Strickland deep in the 8th. The Yankees won again with a 9th inning rally so what was once an 11-game lead has been pared down to 7 1/2.

Game 2: A tight, tense game into the 7th inning became a Washington laugher as they scored 7 times in bottom of the 7th on their way to an 11-2 win over the Rays, Tampa Bay's fourth loss in five games. It was a duel between veteran lefties Alex Wood and Patrick Corbin, and both left it as a 2-2 stalemate with Wood going a respectable 5.2 5 2 2 2 4 and Chaz Roe getting the final out in the 6th. The Rays got their second sac fly of the game in the 7th with Austin Meadows bringing home the equalizer, and things looked set up for the back end of the Rays pen to keep it there. But Peter Fairbanks was flat-out awful, and when the dust settled he allowed 5 baserunners, all of whom scored, and Diego Castillo wasn't much better trying to clean up his mess although a Willy Adames error wasn't helpful either and it was 9-2 Washington. Collin McHugh mopped up and allowed two more runs. New York lost so the lead stays at 7 1/2, but the Blue Jays won their 10th straight to pull within 1/2 game of the Yankees.

Team record: 50-31. Next up: An off-day then a weekend in Toronto against those red-hot Jays.

[Art Deco]

We've reached the halfway point of the season, and the Rays are on pace to win 100 games, something they've never done in team history (they did go 40-20 in last year's abbreviated season, but I doubt they would have won 108 games). Here are the MLB standings and leaders:



A few surprises here, we figured Milwaukee and Minnesota would be good, but best records in baseball good? And on the other side of the coin, it's surprising how bad the Braves have been as well as the Cardinals and Cubs.

Here are the Rays midseason stats:



The offense definitely has been a "whole is greater than the sum of its parts" so far as we're second in scoring despite being 7th in OPS. Part of it is due to our excellent baserunning but I suppose this could be a portent of some relative offensive struggles in the second half. Our run prevention has been fine, the defense is good, and we're not outplaying our Pythageorean record so all good there. The only pitching negative is that we've given up a lot of homers, something guys like Wacha, Wood and even Glasnow are prone to do.

The hitting stats:



This has basically been a 3-man offense (Lowe, Meadows, Arozarena) with Adames' high WAR total in large part due to his defense. Wander Franco needs to get going as he's cooled off after a relatively hot start to give us a 4th option, and Ji-Man Choi needs to produce a little more. We'll see how things go over the next month as to whether we need to bring another bat in.

The pitching stats:



WAR doesn't like our pitchers because they give up a fair number of homers, but they've gotten the job done. Rich Hill will be back soon from rehab with Chris Archer the shakiest member of the rotation. I don't see picking up anyone else in trade since we have Shane McClanahan and Brendan McKay pitching well at Durham.

[Art Deco]

Game 1: The Rays kicked off the second half of their season with perhaps their most frustrating loss of the year, falling 3-2 to the red-hot Blue Jays, who have now won 12 straight and moved into second place in the AL East, 6 1/2 behind Tampa Bay. Frustrating was the word as the Rays had 17(!) baserunners but could only plate two of them with the most egregious example coming in the 9th. With the Rays down 3-1, Jays closer Kirby Yates loaded the bases with nobody out and Yandy Diaz delivered a single to make it 3-2 and re-load the bases. Surely they'd at least tie it? Nope. Brandon Lowe and Randy Arozarena struck out, and Wander Franco (who hit into a bases-loaded, 1-out double play in the 1st) grounded out to end the game. Diaz had driven in the first Rays run in the 7th after Ryan Yarbrough allowed Toronto to put 3 on the board in his 6 innings, including a Bo Bichette homer to lead off the game. He still hung in there OK (6 7 3 3 0 4) and Andrew Kittredge had 2 scoreless innings, but the offense's inability to get a key hit doomed them. It's funny because this is precisely the concern that spooked me in my midseason recap: they were so efficient in scoring runs during the 1st half that some of that luck was bound to boomerang on them, and it boomeranged with a vengeance tonight.

Game 2: It was a matchup of two of most exciting young starters in MLB as Tyler Glasnow went up against Nate Pearson this afternoon in Toronto. As it turned out neither was that great, but Glasnow and the Rays' bats were better in a 9-3 win to snap the Rays out of their recent funk and snap Toronto's 12-game winning streak. Glasnow seemed to go full count on everyone, and although he wasn't hit that hard, walks hurt him as it took him 113 pitches to go 5 4 3 3 5 6. Thanks to the Rays taking the lead for good in the 6th, he picked up his 8th win, with Chaz Roe, Peter Fairbanks and Hunter Strickland combining for 4 scoreless innings of relief. The hitting star was Austin Meadows, who led off the game with a dinger against Pearson and then victimized him again in the 5th with a solo shot to tie the game at 3, giving him 21 for the season. The big rally came in the 6th as the Rays got the first two men on and Joey Wendle (who had 3 hits today) doubled one in to make it 4-3 and Kevin Kiermaier followed with a 2-run double. Brandon Lowe tacked on HR #21 in the 7th and Randy Arozarena drove in a pair of runs as the bats were clicking today. The Yankees topped the Mets so they move back into 2nd ahead of the Jays, and the division lead is now 7.

Game 3: The Rays were forced to spend July 4 in another country and they won one for America in one of their more exciting games of the season, 7-6 over the Blue Jays in 10 innings. Michael Wacha put them in an early hole when he gave up a 3-run homer to Reese McGuire to make it 4-0 Toronto in the 2nd, and he made it through 4 innings in a 4 6 4 4 2 5 outing. The bats started chipping away with the big hit in the 4th a Wander Franco triple which brought home a run before he was singled in by Willy Adames. And in the 5th after Austin Meadows doubled, Brandon Lowe singled him home to cut the lead to 1. The bullpen held it close with Collin McHugh going two scoreless, Cody Reed one and Diego Castillo one more but it looked bleak for the Rays as it was still 4-3 going into the 9th. But the young superstar-in-the-making Franco came through with his biggest hit in the bigs, a second-deck homer leading off the 9th off Kirby Yates to tie it up. Castillo got the Jays out in the 9th after giving up a 2-out double, and in the 10th Jordan Romano retired the first two Rays before Ji-Man Choi walked, and Franco kept the inning alive with a single for his third hit of the game. This brought Adames to the plate and he jumped all over a Romano fastball and hit it into the LF seats for HR #7 and a 7-4 Rays lead. Nick Anderson got two quick outs in the bottom of the inning but walked a man ahead of Marcus Semien, who took him deep to cut the lead to 7-6. But Anderson got McGuire to ground out to end it, and the Rays had a special win. Anderson notched save #16, however shaky, and Castillo got his 2nd win of the season. The Yankees won so the lead remains at 7.

Team record: 52-32. Next up: Back home at the Trop for 3 vs Cleveland.

[Art Deco]

Game 1: It was a matchup between reigning AL Cy Young winner Shane Bieber and the Rays' Chris Archer, and if I told you one pitcher had a 7 3 0 0 1 9 line and the other went 4.2 7 6 6 2 6 you might be forgiven for figuring the Rays suffered a bad loss. But it was Archer who was dominant tonight and most of that damage against Bieber came from Randy Arozarena, who homered twice and tripled off him to drive in 5 of the Rays' runs in a 6-0 win. Arozarena tagged Bieber for a 3-run shot in the 1st, a solo blast in the 3rd (#15) and an RBI triple which finally chased him in the 5th. Austin Meadows brought the other Rays run home with a sac fly. Meanwhile Archer was dealing against an admittedly mediocre Cleveland lineup but 3 hits and 9 Ks in 7 innings is impressive no matter what and improved to 7-3, 3.86. Andrew Kittredge looked to finish the game but left after 1 1/3 with a pulled ab, so Hunter Strickland got the final 2 outs to complete the team shutout. The Yankees and Jays were idle tonight, so the lead is up to 7 1/2.

Game 2: The Rays had to come back twice, but they did and thanks to Brandon Lowe's walkoff homer leading off the 9th they took a 6-5 win to make it 2 of 2 over Cleveland. Alex Wood started and was excellent once again, going 7 4 2 2 0 8 with the only runs against a Franmil Reyes 2-run shot in the 4th. This erased a brief 1-0 lead on a Yandy Diaz RBI single in the 3rd but the Rays grabbed it right back when Kevin Kiermaier took Zach Plesac just over the RF wall for HR #6. And 3-2 is how is stayed through 7 as the Rays had additional chances to take the lead but couldn't convert. Diego Castillo came in for the Wood in the 8th and was terrible, giving up a game-tying pinch-hit homer to Eddie Rosario and then another Rosario did him in as Amed tripled, scored on a Jose Ramirez double and then Reyes doubled in Ramirez to give Cleveland a 5-3 lead. But the Rays loaded the bases in the bottom of the 8th with nobody out against Scott Moss, and although Moss struck out the next 3 Rays he threw a pair of wild pitches to bring home the two runs to tie it. And after Chaz Roe got Castillo out of the 8th and got the first two in the 9th before giving way to Cody Reed to get Eddie Rosario out, Lowe hit his walk-off winner, #22 on the season. Reed picked up his 2nd win. The Yankees won so the lead remains 7 1/2.

Game 3: The Rays made it 5 straight with a 6-3 win and sweep of Cleveland, behind the bat of Ji-Man Choi and the arm of Ryan Yarbrough. But first it was Joey Wendle getting the Rays on the board with a 2-run shot (#4) in the 1st inning and the rally continued with another run crossing the plate on Wander Franco's groundout. Choi then hit a solo homer in the 3rd (#8) to make it 4-1 and followed with an RBI double in the 5th to add to the lead. Yarbrough was cruising through 5, allowing 1 run on 2 hits and whiffing 7, but ran out of gas in the 6th, allowing a couple of runs but finishing the inning to go 6 6 3 3 1 7 and improving to 7-6, 4.31. Pete Fairbanks got them through the 7th, Cody Reed the 8th, and Nick Anderson had a 1-2-3 9th all on strikeouts for save #17 after Willy Adames doubled in a run in the 8th for some insurance. Brandon Lowe saw his 38-game on-base streak end though with an 0-4. The win keeps them 7 1/2 up as New York won once again.

Team record: 55-32. Next up: A day off, then the Blue Jays come to town for the weekend before we hit the All-Star break.

[Art Deco]

Game 1: The Rays rode a 5-run 7th inning for a come-from-behind 7-4 win over Toronto to extend their winning streak to 6. Trailing 3-2 entering the 7th, Blue Jays reliever Anthony Kay came unglued, loading the bases with a hit batter and a walk, giving up an RBI single to Brandon Lowe to tie it, a 2-run double to Randy Arozarena and then he walked Willy Adames and Manuel Margot with the bases load to force in two more. Wander Franco (who had another big game at 3-4 with a steal) hit his third homer with a man aboard off Nate Pearson in the 2nd to put the Rays up 2-0 early, and Tyler Glasnow was having one of his Bobby Witt Sr. games, walking 5 and whiffing 7 through 5 no-hit innings. But in the 6th he gave up three singles to load the bases with nobody out and with his pitch count well over 100, Chaz Roe came in and got a whiff but gave up a 2-run single to George Springer. Roe got out of it after that, however Pete Fairbanks allowed a Rowdy Tellez homer in the 7th to put the Jays ahead before the big Rays rally. With a 4-run lead we went with Hunter Strickland but he could retire one of the four men he faced, allowing a run, so Diego Castillo had to come in an whiff a pair to get out of that, and Nick Anderson had 3 strikeouts in the 9th (although one reached) to nail down save #18. Fairbanks was credited with his 3rd win. The Yankees continue to win just like the Rays, so the lead continues at 7 as New York won last night while the Rays were idle.

MLB News: Tough break for the Dodgers and Dustin May as he tore his rotator cuff and is out for the season.

July 10: Designated P Collin McHugh for assignment and placed him on waivers; activated P Rich Hill from his rehab assignment at AAA Durham.

Gonna use Hill out of the pen, will give me a second lefty to go with Cody Reed. If McHugh clears waivers, I'll try to send him to Durham but he could refuse.

Game 2: You know things are going your way when an error actually helps you in a key spot, and that's what happened today for the Rays in a 5-4 win over Toronto, their 7th straight. Diego Castillo came on for the save to start the 9th and walked Danny Jansen to lead off the inning. Marcus Semien hit a foul pop which should have been an easy catch by Francisco Mejia but the Rays catcher inexplicably dropped the ball, giving Semien a second life. Unfortunately for the Jays 2B, he used that second life to ground into a double play, making two outs instead of the one he should have. Castillo then whiffed Bo Bichette to end the game. The Rays took an early 3-0 lead on Randy Arozarena's 3-run shot off Ross Stripling in the 1st, his 16th, but Michael Wacha gave up 2 runs to Toronto in the 3rd. The Rays made it 4-2 in the 5th on Brandon Lowe's RBI double but the Jays cut the lead to one again in the 6th off Wacha, who left the inning without retiring a man and finished 5 6 3 3 4 5 but still managed win #7. The Rays again regained their 2-run lead on a Willy Adames sac fly, but once again the Jays cut it back to one with a run off Andrew Kittredge in the 7th. Rich Hill made his first appearance for the Rays since May 7 and whiffed Rowdy Tellez to end the inning, and Peter Fairbanks got through the 8th. The Rays could have made it more comfortable in the 8th but after loading the bases with nobody out, they struck out, hit into a force at the plate and flied out, but won anyway. And the Yankees lost in Houston so the lead is back up to 8.

Now this is funny:



We let Morton walk since he was making too much money, of course, but now Atlanta is 40-49 (and that's after winning 4 straight) and looking to fire sale. While the offer isn't bad, Charlie's 37 and has a 4.67 ERA in the NL.

Game 3: The Rays head into an All-Star break they really don't want to happen, given how hot they are as they won their 8th straight in a 4-2 decision over Toronto. The 2 runs allowed was impressive considering they lost Chris Archer in the 2nd inning due to elbow tendinitis, and he'll be out 3 weeks. The recently-activated Rich Hill was sprung into action and he did quite well, going 3 2/3 and although he allowed both runs, only one was earned and he whiffed 3 to earn his 5th win of the season. Andrew Kittredge gave us 2 solid innings in relief of Hill and Hunter Strickland pitched the 8th with Castillo and Fairbanks tired. Nick Anderson pitched around Willy Adames' 2nd error of the game to nail down save #19. The offense came on a Yandy Diaz singled in the 3rd, a massive 490-foot homer from Wander Franco to the back of the opening for the Rays tank in RCF in the 4th to take the lead to stay, and a 2-run double from Randy Arozarena in the 5th. The Yankees fell to Houston so the Rays enter the break with a commanding 9-game lead and the best record in baseball. What a first half!

Team record: 58-32. Next up: The All-Star break, then a weekend trip to Atlanta to visit old friend Charlie Morton, whom we're most definitely not bringing back with us.

[Art Deco]

Leiter slipped to the Astros at 15, sheesh.



We went for pitching early with Hartle (a high-school lefty) and Peyton Smith (a high-school righty and Vanderbilt commit). Cooper Kinney, a high-school 2B, was our 2nd round pick.

[Art Deco]

Here are the All-Star rosters. Randy Arozarena was the only Ray to win the voting (for LF), with Brandon Lowe and Austin Meadows the only other two going to the game:





Caddyshack fans are thrilled to see Tyler Webb make the NL squad.

The Home Run Derby:



Woo hoo Brandon Lowe! Everything's coming up Rays so far this year. I simmed the whole thing, not a fan of the spacebar game option. Also noticed it odd that there was only one NL representative in the Derby (Arenado).

MLB News: A couple of trades made the day of the All-Star Game. Minnesota sent Willians Astudillo to Houston for Lance McCullers Jr. and the Angels shipped Dylan Bundy to Milwaukee for Avisail Garcia.

And the game itself:



Francisco Lindor had 2 homers to lead the NL to victory and was named MVP. Randy Arozarena had a single in three trips, Austin Meadows was 0-2 as a sub, and Brandon Lowe managed the AL's only hit off Josh Hader, an infield single in the 9th.

[Art Deco]

July 16: Placed P Chris Archer on the 15-day IL with elbow tendinitis, recalled P Brian Moran from AAA Durham.

Moran is a 32-year-old lefty who's made 12 MLB appearances over the last 2 years for Miami and Toronto (whiffing 11 in his 7 2/3 innings) and has looked good in 16 IP at Durham, and he'll give us an extra arm for a bit. The plan is to send him down and recall Shane McClanahan in a few days to take Archer's turn.

Game 1: The Rays visited Atlanta's Truist Park, a beautiful stadium but a boondoggle for the local taxpayers, and they made themselves at home with a 5-3 win to extend their winning streak to 9 as we come out of the ASB. After Randy Arozarena doubled in a run in the 1st to give the Rays a 1-0 lead, Tyler Glasnow lost it in the 4th on a solo shot yielded to Ronald Acuna Jr & a 2-run blast from former Ray Travis d'Arnaud. But the Rays grabbed the lead right back in the top of the 5th on a 2-run triple from Wander Franco to tie it before Brandon Lowe singled him home to take the lead. And Austin Meadows hit #22 in the 7th as part of a 4-hit day to give them a bit of a cushion. Glasnow wasn't his usual overpowering self, pitching more to contact, and he finished 5 8 3 3 1 3 on 76 pitches before being pinch-hit for in the 6th. The bullpen was lights-out from there as Chaz Roe (6th), Pete Fairbanks (7th), Diego Castillo (8th) and Nick Anderson (9th) combined to go 4 1 0 0 0 7 in an impressive display. Glasnow went to 9-4, 3.89 and Anderson notched save #20. The Yankees beat Boston for the second straight night so the lead is 8 1/2 games.

July 17: Released P Collin McHugh.

McHugh cleared waivers but refused a demotion to Durham and nobody wants to offer any kind of prospect for him, so he was released.

Game 2: All good things must come to an end and so it was with the Rays' 9-game win streak as they fell to Atlanta 5-2 tonight. Ryan Yarbrough did not have it, particularly in a bad sequence in the 2nd when with two out he hit Tyler Flowers with a pitch, gave up an RBI single to the pitcher Max Fried, and then surrendered a 2-run double to Ozzie Albies to put the Rays in a hole they couldn't escape. Yarbs was nicked for a couple of more runs including a Marcell Ozuna homer and finished a rough 3.2 9 5 5 0 3 to fall to 7-7 and see his ERA rise to 4.56. Nominally our #2 starter, Yarbrough has probably pitched the poorest of all of them so far this year. Brian Moran came in and was impressive in an extended 2 1/3 IP outing, and Hunter Strickland added a couple of scoreless innings to keep things in hand. But the only offense the Rays could muster was a Wander Franco solo HR (#5) in the 5th off former Ray Drew Smyly, who had to replace Fried in the 4th when he sprained an ankle, and a 2-out in the 9th consolation homer from Manuel Margot (#2). Franco had a 2-hit night and continues to heat up, now at 292/351/500. The Yankees won again so they've cut the lead to 7 1/2.

July 18: Optioned P Brian Moran to AAA Durham, recalled P Shane McClanahan from AAA Durham.

Mac is back, and hopefully this time around he does better than his flop of a start against the Mets back in May. He'll pitch tomorrow at home against Baltimore rather than a tougher Atlanta team, but I made the move today since Moran was used up last night and the AI Durham manager would have started McClanahan today for the Bulls. And there's a slight chance if today's starter Michael Wacha gets knocked out early, he could be used in long relief.

Game 3: Maybe we should have taken Atlanta up on that Charlie Morton offer so we wouldn't have had to face him today. The ex-Ray baffled his former teammates, holding them without a hit until Kevin Kiermaier's double in the 6th in a 10-2 thrashing. Morton nearly pitched a complete game but left with 2 out in the 9th after giving up his second hit of the inning and finished 8.2 5 2 2 1 6. Meanwhile Atlanta had their way with Michael Wacha, who was living dangerously until the dam burst in the 5th inning when Atlanta scored 5 times to turn a 2-0 game into a 7-0 one. He finished a terrible 4 7 5 5 3 3 and Rich Hill (who had to leave after 2 batters with a hamstring tweak), Cody Reed and Andrew Kittredge weren't too much better, allowing another 5 runs. The only offense they generated against Morton was a Ji-Man Choi solo homer in the 7th (#9) and a Willy Adames RBI double after Morton had left which scored one of his runners. And with the Yankees winning again New York pulls to within 6 1/2, the closest they've been in some time.

Team record: 59-34. Next up: A quick 3 games at home vs Baltimore before hitting the road again.

[Art Deco]

Game 1: Prized prospect Shane McClanahan was back up after a bad spot start against the Mets earlier this season, eager to prove himself. And at the outset it looked like deja vu as McClanahan was taken deep by Pat Valaika for a 2-run homer in the first and gave up a double immediately following, needing 31 pitches to get out of the inning. But after the Rays answered with 3 in the bottom of the frame it seemed to calm Mac down and he rolled from there, going an impressive 6 3 2 2 2 8 including striking out the side in the 5th to get the win in a 9-5 triumph. They loaded the bases in the 1st with nobody out and scored a ground out, sac fly and RBI single from Wander Franco, then Randy Arozarena hit a 2-run HR (#17) in the 3rd to make it 5-2, and Franco and Arozarena each drove in a run in the 4th to open it up to 7-2. Brandon Lowe later added HR #23, a solo shot in the 6th as he was 3-3 with 4 runs scored. McClanahan left with an 8-2 lead and it should have been smooth sailing but Hunter Strickland allowed a couple of runs in the 7th before leaving with a hamstring strain and Pete Fairbanks was tagged for a Ryan Mountcastle homer in the 8th to make it 9-5. Then Chaz Roe ended up loading the bases with 2 out for Valaika in the 9th, and Diego Castillo retired him on a deep fly ball that looked like it might have a chance to tie it for a moment to get save #6. The Yankees were idle so the Rays are now up 7.

July 20: Placed P Hunter Strickland on the 15-day IL with a hamstring strain, called up P Brian Moran from AAA Durham.

Strickland's injury is "minimal" but it's going to last 2 weeks and a 100% Strickland isn't usually the best option so I certainly don't want one that's 80%. Moran impressed in his lone outing a few days back and gets to come back up.

Game 2: The Rays took a 6-0 win over Baltimore but it was a costly one as they lost Alex Wood for the season. The veteran lefty, who had been brilliant for the Rays since being acquired from San Francisco in mid-May, tore his labrum in the 4th inning and concludes his Rays career having made 10 mostly excellent starts, with a 7/57 BB/K ratio in 57 IP going 5-1, 2.37. It's been no coincidence that the team hit another level after Wood was acquired and Wander Franco was called up, and he'll be tough to replace in the rotation. Possibilities include Rich Hill, pitching in relief these days, a callup of Brendan McKay who's been pitching great at Durham, or we just plug Chris Archer back in when he comes off the IL and we leave Shane McClanahan in. As for the game, Wood was 3.2 2 0 0 0 2 before leaving, and he ended up combining with Brian Moran (another great outing of 2 1/3 with 3 whiffs), Hill (1 1/3 with 3 whiffs before he had to leave with a calf strain), and Cody Reed on a 6-hit team shutout. On offense Brandon Lowe got the Rays the only run they'd need with HR #24 in the first inning, and Manuel Margot doubled in a run in the 4th. They broke it open in the 7th with the aid of a Baltimore error, with Randy Arozarena drawing a bases-loaded walk before Franco cleared them with a double. The Yankees stay hot with another win so the lead stays at 7.

July 21: Placed P Alex Wood on the 60-day IL with a torn labrum, recalled P Brendan McKay from AAA Durham.

McKay will take Wood's place in the rotation for now, and also give us a bat off the bench as he was hitting 241/371/487 with 4 HR and 20 RBI.

Game 3: Tyler Glasnow started off without his best stuff, found it later and propelled the Rays to a 5-2 win over Baltimore and a sweep of the series. He was giving up a lot of contact in the first several innings, not getting his first strikeout until the 4th and getting through the 5th on only 53 pitches when last time out he was about double that number in the same # of innings. But by the time he was done in the 7th he had 7 whiffs and finished 6.2 5 2 1 3 7 to improve to 10-4, 3.75. Peter Fairbanks quickly got him out of the 7th and pitched the 8th while Nick Anderson made it an adventure in the 9th, loading the bases with one out before getting a shallow fly ball and Chance Sisco looking to end the game for save #21. On offense Ji-Man Choi's 3rd inning RBI single got them on the board and in the 4th Austin Meadows gave them the lead with a sac fly before Yandy Diaz drilled #7 with a man on into the LCF stands to make it 4-1. Wander Franco singled in a run in the 6th for their 5th and final run. The Yankees lost to Philadelphia so the division lead is back up to 8.

Team record: 62-34. Next up: 4 games in Cleveland, including the season debut of Brendan McKay.

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Game 1: Brendan McKay made his 2021 debut for the Rays but wasn't around for the decision as Tampa Bay came from behind to eke out a 4-3 win over Cleveland. McKay was tagged for a 1st-inning solo homer from Jose Ramirez, settled down, and then gave up another solo blast to Andres Gimenez in the 5th and a double after that, departing with a 4.1 7 2 2 1 5 line on 81 pitches and left trailing 2-0. Andrew Kittredge got him out of the 5th and then the Rays mounted a 3-run rally in the 6th against Zach Plesac who had shut them down on 2 hits through 5. With two out and Austin Meadows on first after a walk, Brandon Lowe doubled in Meadows, Randy Arozarena (3-3 with a HBP today) tripled in Lowe, and Ji-Man Choi singled in Arozarena. The Rays added their 4th (and decisive run) in strange fashion in the 7th. Kevin Kiermaier singled, stole second, went to third on Austin Hedges' bad throw with 2 out, and then scored when Hedges compounded his error by dropping Meadows' third strike, allowing him to reach and Kiermaier to score. Meanwhile Kittredge got through the 6th, Chaz Roe had a 1-2-3 inning on 4 pitches in the 7th, and Diego Castillo got through the 8th. For the second straight day Nick Anderson gave us heartburn in the 9th, putting two men on, balking them to 2nd and 3rd, giving up an infield grounder to score one, but getting the tough Ramirez to ground out with a man on 3rd to end the game and grab save #22 while Kittredge now has 5 wins in relief. The Yankees were victorious so the division lead stays at 8.

Game 2: On a night when the bullpen was extremely short-handed Ryan Yarbrough and Brian Moran came to the rescue as the two combined to go the full 9 innings in a 6-2 Rays win over Cleveland to extend their latest winning streak to 5. Yarbrough allowed a 3rd-inning solo homer to Jose Ramirez and that was it for him, going 6.1 6 1 1 1 6 on 107 pitches. Moran, who has impressed every time out, did it again going the final 2 2/3 and only allowing a run with 2 out in the 9th. Yarbs improves to 8-7, 4.40 and he was backed by 3 big hits today. The first was a 2-run homer from Brandon Lowe (#24) in the 1st, the second a 2-run single from Randy Arozarena in the 2nd, and the third a 2-run homer by Francisco Mejia (#5) in the 6th to make things comfortable. The Yankees put two touchdowns on the board at Fenway to back a Jonathan Loaisiga 5-hit shutout so tonight's win keeps them at bay 8 behind.

Game 3: Michael Wacha, folks. The veteran righty turned in a career performance tonight with a 2-hit shutout, walking only one and whiffing 10 Cleveland batters, including their superstar Jose Ramirez to end the game in a 5-0 Rays win. Wacha's Game Score of 92 is the 4th best in the majors so far this season and he was never in any real trouble as he improved to 8-4, 4.06. Eddie Rosario had both Cleveland hits, including a single on which he was thrown out by Austin Meadows trying to stretch it into a double. Wacha was hooked up in a duel with Cleveland's Triston McKenzie before the ice was broken in the 5th by Mike Zunino, who hit the first of his two homers on the night, a 2-run blast. He later followed with a solo blast in the 7th to make it 3-0 and give him 14 for the season, and Brandon Lowe (#26) and Randy Arozarena (#18) went back-to-back in the 8th to make things less pressure-packed for Wacha. The Yankees were involved in a shutout as well, except they were the ones failing to score so the lead is back up to 9.

Game 4: The Rays rode an 8-run 7th inning and another excellent outing from Shane McClanahan to a series and season sweep of Cleveland, triumphing today by the score of 10-2 and making it 7 straight wins. McClanahan and Shane Bieber were in a bit of a duel with Brandon Lowe's 27th homer of the season, a 2-run shot in the 4th, accounting for the Rays' runs. Bieber was gone by the 7th and Tampa Bay loaded the bases with nobody out in the top of the inning when Kevin Kiermaier was hit by a pitch to force in the go-ahead tally before Mike Zunino delivered a 2-run double. Manuel Margot's RBI grounder preceded a Wander Franco RBI double, another run scored when Cleveland's Nolan Jones overran a single in the outfield and Ji-Man Choi capped it all off with a 2-run homer (#10). McClanahan meanwhile was in control, going 7 3 2 2 1 5 for his 2nd win in as many starts since his second recall of the season and this time he looks to be up to stay. Andrew Kittredge allowed 5 baserunners in his 2 innings of work but none of them scored. Brendan McKay got a start at DH today and was the only Ray to reach against Bieber in the first 3 innings with a walk, later striking out before being lifted for Mike Brosseau when Cleveland brought in a lefty. This win coupled with another Yankee loss has the division lead up to double digits.

Team record: 66-34. Next up: An off-day then the Yankees come to town and they'll need to sweep the Rays if they want to have any realistic hope of winning the division.

MLB News: The Phillies traded SP Vince Velasquez to the Diamondbacks for speedy OF Tim Locastro. The trade deadline is approaching in 5 days, and checking out who's on the block the Nationals are making free-agent-to-be Max Scherzer. However when we inquired about him we were informed Scherzer is invoking his 10/5 rights to block a deal. Whether that's just for Tampa Bay or for any team is unknown.

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Game 1: The Yankees rolled into town, looking to take a sweep to keep any last-gasp division hopes alive even though there are two months left in the season. They sent out their ace, Gerrit Cole, and the Rays countered with theirs, Tyler Glasnow. And the game was everything it was billed to be and then some. Glasnow was overpowering in his 6 innings of work, going 6 5 1 1 4 12 with the only damage against him a 5th-inning solo homer from Gary Sanchez. But Cole was just as good, if not better, and he no-hit the Rays until the bottom of the 5th when Ji-Man Choi answered Sanchez's homer with one of his own to tie the game (#11). And 1-1 we went, with Pete Fairbanks and Diego Castillo turning in scoreless innings and Cole 2-hitting the Rays through 8, walking 1 and whiffing 7. Nick Anderson got the Yanks 1-2-3 in the 9th with a pair of whiffs and New York brought on Aroldis Chapman to pitch the 9th. Chapman got himself into trouble by walking Austin Meadows to lead off the inning, and Meadows stole second. After Yandy Diaz popped out, Brandon Lowe walked and after Kyle Higashioka's passed ball sent the runners to 2nd and 3rd, Randy Arozarena was intentionally walked. This brought up Choi, but instead of the lefty-on-lefty matchup, I brought in Mike Brosseau, who famously took Chapman deep to win last year's ALDS after being thrown at by him in the regular season, to pinch-hit. Brosseau didn't homer this time but he did get the ball in the air deep enough to CF to score Meadows with the winning run and the Trop went nuts. Anderson got credit for his 4th win of the season and the Rays have now opened up an almost unassailable 11-game lead in the AL East. Rays pitching struck out 19 Yankees on the day as the 3 relievers added 7 to Glasnow's 12 in their 3 innings of work.

MLB News: The Astros acquired free agent-to-be SP Eduardo Rodriguez from Boston for 3 players, including pitching prospects Nivaldo Rodriguez and Bryan Abreu. I had kicked the tires on Rodriguez but didn't think he was all that much better than McKay and McClanahan. The Angels acquired Jake Bauers from Cleveland for C Kurt Suzuki and a minor-leaguer.

Down on the farm: Luis Patino, who was up with us in April, has been on a tear at AA Montgomery. Over his last 4 starts he's gone 23 2/3 innings and allowed only 2 runs, walked 8 and whiffed 33. I can definitely see him back up later this season as a multi-inning reliever.

Game 2: This team has become ridiculous. Trailing 5-1 in the 5th and 6-3 going into the bottom of the 8th, the Rays erupted for 4 runs against Yankee reliever Chad Green to take an improbable 7-6 win and further tramp the dirt down on the grave of the Yankees, pushing them 12 games back in the division and taking their 9th straight win. Their 68-34 record matches last season's winning percentage of .667 but over a sample that's 42 games larger. Brendan McKay got the start and it was a tough assignment against the Yankees with all their right-handed power (Stanton, Judge, Torres, Voit, Sanchez) and it played out about as expected except for McKay issuing 3 walks, two of which scored on Yankee homers as Luke Voit got him for a 2-run shot in the first and then Torres had a 3-run blast in the 5th. He left with a rough 4.1 6 5 5 3 6 line of which at least the whiffs were impressive. Brian Moran got him out of the inning but put two men on to start the 6th and Chaz Roe allowed one of them to score. Rich Hill followed with 2 scoreless innings but got hurt again (back tightness, moderate 5 days). Jameson Tallion allowed numerous runners (10 hits + a walk) but the only runs they managed off him in 7 innings were solo homers from Ji-Man (#12, his 3rd in 3 games), Yandy Diaz (#8) and Brandon Lowe (#28). Then came Green in the 8th and the Rays went to town. Ji-Man walked, Wander Franco doubled, Willy Adames brought Choi home with a sac fly, then Kevin Kiermaier tripled to score Franco and make it 6-5. Up stepped Mike Zunino. Although the Rays C has his typical sub-Mendoza .189 batting average, he's contributed with one big homer after another and today was no exception as he drilled a 2-run shot (#14) to amazingly put the Rays ahead. Nick Anderson then got a 1-2-3 9th with two whiffs for save #23 while Hill notched his 6th win.

We have a trade:



I can't believe it but I actually got a trade offer that I liked, and took. Dolis is a solid reliever who will help our depth (he'll probably take Brian Moran's place in the pen) and Gigliotti is a 4th OF at best as our real CF prospect is Josh Lowe. Plus we get Montgomery, who doesn't look like much but is better than nothing.

Game 3: The Rays completed the sweep of the Yankees with a 7-3 win, which combined with a Toronto triumph tonight has knocked New York into 3rd place and the Rays now have a 12 1/2 game division lead over the Jays after winning their 10th straight. Their magic # to clinch the division is down to 48, for those who keep track of these things. Austin Meadows was the hero today with a pair of homers, a solo shot in the 3rd to put them up 3-1 and then a game-clinching 3-run blast in the 8th after the Yankees had pulled within 4-3, giving him 24 for the season. Randy Arozarena kicked things off in the 1st with a 2-run shot off Jonathan Loaisiga (#19) and Ji-Man Choi had an RBI single in the 7th for the other runs. Ryan Yarbrough started and outside of a Giancarlo Stanton solo homer in the 2nd, gave up next to nothing, going 6.1 3 1 1 3 3 and improving to 9-7, 4.26. Pete Fairbanks gave up a 2-run homer to Luke Voit in the 8th but after Meadows' 2nd homer opened things up again, Andrew Kittredge pitched the 9th and got them 1-2-3.

Team record: 69-34. Next up: Boston is in town for the weekend.