The 2021 (and only 2021) Tampa Bay Rays

[Art Deco]

After scoring 4 runs in 3 games in Toronto, the Rays found their bats again and took 2 of 3 from Seattle, but they actually lost some ground as the Yankees swept San Antonio and moved within 4 of them in the wild card race although they still hold the first spot by a game over Kansas City. Also Toronto took 2 of 3 so they remain 2 back in the division race.

The Rays took the opener 11-5 from the Mariners at the Trop, thanks to a big 5-run 4th inning which broken open a game they led 3-2. Adley Rutschman's 2-run double was the big hit in that inning and they got homers from Wander Franco (#19), Kody Hoese (#2) and the first MLB round-tripper from Garrett Whitley as the offense was spread around. Drew Rasmussen pitched well for the win (5 3 2 2 4 8) but had to labor through 112 pitches to qualify for it, which now has him 6-2, 3.05 as a Ray. Guillermo Zuniga went the final 3 innings scoreless with 4 whiffs for his 3rd save.

Dustin May kept rolling and so did the offense in a 7-0 win in the second game. The righty was a solid 6 2 0 0 3 7 on 106 pitches to go to 14-7, 3.72 and the much-maligned Levi Kelly went the final 3 innings to complete the shutout and pick up his first Rays save. Matt Chapman drilled a 3-run homer, his 3rd as a Ray and 26th overall while Angelo DiSpigna drove in a pair with a single and a solo homer (#24).

The finale was a frustrating 3-2 loss for the Rays as they had several chances to tie it or go ahead late but couldn't get the big hit when they needed it. Most notably they loaded the bases in the 8th with 1 out but a shallow fly ball and a strikeout did them in. Tarik Skubal started and didn't look like he'd survive the 3rd, but he got a couple of whiffs after a mound visit to end the inning and wound up 6 5 3 3 3 6 albeit still losing to drop to 10-9. Matt Chapman was 2-3 with an RBI as he's finally starting to hit some since being acquired.

Team record: 76-56. Next up: 3 games in Chicago against the White Sox.

[Art Deco]

A decent showing at Guaranteed Rate Field for the Rays as they took 2 of 3 from the woeful White Sox. The Jays dropped 2 of 3 at home to Cleveland so the Rays pull within one of the division lead, and they maintain a 2-game lead on KC for the first wild card and a 4-game lead on the Yankees who are next in line.

The opener was a tense, tight affair until the Rays broke it open with 5 runs in the 10th to take a 7-2 win over Chicago. Joe Ryan was decent (5 7 2 2 1 3) but it was the bullpen which really shone as JT Ginn went 2 scoreless with 4 whiffs and Matt Foster had 2 perfect innings against his old team to grab his 3rd Rays win. Wander Franco tied the game in the 7th with one of his three hits, and in the 10th Brandon Lowe broke the deadlock with a 2-run HR (#15) while Kody Hoese cleared the bases with a double to give him a 4-RBI day.

The middle game was a frustrating one for the Rays as they had chances to score but couldn't in a 3-0 loss. Tyler Glasnow allowed a pair of homers in the 1st for all 3 White Sox runs but literally didn't give up anything the rest of the way in a 7 3 3 3 1 6 outing. Wander Franco had 2 more hits, including a 2-out double in the gap on which Vidal Brujan inexplicably didn't score from 1st.

Transaction: Guillermo Zuniga left yesterday's game with a tired arm and will be out for 2 weeks. He goes on the IL and Osvanni Gutierrez, up briefly earlier this year after being acquired in the Devin Williams/Pete Fairbanks deal, comes up from Durham.

The Rays had their way in the finale, clubbing 5 homers in a 12-1 win. Adley Rutschman was the star of the show, blasting a pair of longballs including a 3-run shot in a 6-run 3rd that got them going as he drove in 5 on the day and upped his homer total to 19. Angelo DiSpigna also went deep in that 3rd inning with his 25th, as did Nick Schnell with #4. Jarren Duran added his 7th, and in the non-homer department Wander Franco stayed hot, smashing 3 doubles and driving in 3. Drew Rasmussen kept doing his thing by going 5 4 1 1 1 5 for another win; he's now 7-2, 2.95 since joining the club.

Team record: 78-57. Next up: A day off, then Oakland comes to town.

[Art Deco]

Not a great series as we dropped 2 of 3 at home to Oakland which came into this series at 60-75. But despite that the one game we won was enough to pull us into a tie atop the division with Toronto after they were inexplicably swept at home by Detroit. Our wildcard fallback position did get a bit more tenuous as the red-hot Yankees took 2 of 3 and now are 3 back of us just outside the second wild card spot (as well as in the division of course).

Things started off promisingly enough in the opener as the Rays rode the arm of Dustin May and the bat of Angelo DiSpigna to a 6-1 win. May continued his hot streak (more on that later in this post) with a 6 4 1 1 2 6 outing to improve to 15-7, 3.64. DiSpigna meanwhile put the Rays up 2-0 in the first with a 2-run double, and then blasted a 2-run homer (#26) in the 6th. Two batters later Nick Schnell added a solo shot (#5).

The bats took the night off in the second game as Ty Madden pitched a complete-game 3-hit shutout in a 6-0 A's win. Tarik Skubal gave up single runs in the first and 2nd and was nearly pulled in the 3rd but got out of trouble and settled down to go 6.1 5 3 3 2 8, with the final run coming in a 4-run 7th which saw Matt Foster implode and allow Skubal's runner to score along with 3 of his own, but none of it mattered since the offense was blanked.

Transaction: It was September 1 so time to expand the roster by a couple of players. Heliot Ramos is a week or so away from returning, so the hitter we called up was Brett Baty, acquired from Memphis in the Lewin Diaz deal a couple of months back. Baty can hit (55 contact/65 power/50 eye) but was scuffling at Durham probably due to unhappiness at being in the minors. Being a lefty swinger, he'll split some time with Kody Hoese at DH. On the pitching side we're giving lefty reliever Franklin Dacosta a shot, he has 65 stuff with 45 movement and 55 control and had a 21/82 BB/K ratio in 62 IP at Durham. He's been in our system since 2017 when signing as a 17-year old international free agent.

The finale saw our bats pick up where they left off the game before, i.e., doing nothing. Oakland's Jimmy Lambert no-hit us until Wander Franco singled in the 6th and going into the bottom of the 9th it was 2-0 Oakland. But with two out A's rookie closer Jack Crowder walked the bases loaded and then gave up a 2-run single to Brett Baty in his Rays debut. Unfortunately JT Ginn coughed up a run in the top of the 10th and despite putting the leadoff man on in the bottom of the inning they couldn't get him home and lost 3-2. Franco's and Baty's singles were the only 2 hits the offense managed, giving them a grand total of 5 over the last two games. As a result they wasted another fine start from Tyler Glasnow (6 4 2 2 3 5) while Franklin Dacosta looked good in his MLB debut, pitching a scoreless 9th with a pair of whiffs.

Team record: 79-59. Next up: We head out west to Anaheim for 3 against the Angels, always a tough proposition with LA sporting an 85-53 record.

As alluded to earlier, Dustin May got some recognition for his recent hot streak:

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Our offensive slump continued as we continued to have trouble scoring runs in Anaheim, taking only one of the three games. Fortunately, Toronto has cooled off considerably and dropped 2 of 3 of well, as did the Yankees, so it's as you were before the series started with the Rays tied with the Jays atop the division and 2 games up on the Yankees.

Transaction: Claimed P Dennis Santana on waivers from Atlanta. This is a weird one as Santana was having a Cy-caliber season at 17-4, 3.38. It's come out of nowhere as he was a reliever in previous years and has a 4.03 FIP but it's one of those weird things the OOTP AI does from time to time so we jumped on it. It's possible he goes into the rotation in place of Tarik Skubal, who's struggled, or we just use him in long relief.

It took an impressive comeback to win the opener but the Rays did it by scoring twice in both the 8th and 9th to take a 5-4 win in Anaheim. Joe Ryan wasn't his best (5 7 4 4 2 4) and they trailed 4-1. The bullpen held LA in check, though, with Levi Kelly going 2 1/3 scoreless, and after Angelo DiSpigna's RBI single pulled them within 4-3, Carter Kieboom came off the bench in the 9th and swatted a 2-run pinch-hit homer (#12) off former Ray Ken Giles to give them the win, which was credited to Osvanni Gutierrez, his first as a Ray. Tyler Rogers fanned a pair in a 1-2-3 9th for his 13th save.

The Rays let a tight one get away from them in the 7th when JT Ginn gave up a pair of 2-run homers and they lost 6-3 to the Angels. Drew Rasmussen was overpowering (5 5 2 2 2 10) and Brandon Lowe's solo homer in the first (#17) and an Adley Rutschman RBI triple had the game tied at 2 through 6 1/2 but Ginn gave up the homers and that was the ballgame.

The finale was another low-scoring loss as the Rays fell 3-2. Dustin May was great again (7 7 2 2 1 3) but was outdueled by Jack Leiter, who went 8 3 1 1 1 10 in a dominant performance. Both Rays runs came via Brandon Lowe solo homers, his 18th and 19th including one off Ken Giles in the 9th.

Team record: 80-61. Next up: The difficult road trip continues with 3 in New York against the Yankees, the closest threat to taking our playoff spot.

[Art Deco]

Another not-great series for the Rays which saw them lose the first two games while scoring only 2 runs over 21 innings but salvage the finale to at least stay 2 games ahead of the Yankees (and one ahead of the Royals) in the first wild card spot. Toronto however swept their series against the lowly White Sox so Tampa Bay now trails by 2 in the division race with 18 games remaining.

Transaction: Franklin Dacosta was optioned to AAA Durham to make room for the newly-acquired Dennis Santana, who makes his Rays debut in the first game.

Dennis Santana got the call in the opener and while he whiffed 8 and didn't walk anyone in 4.2 innings he caught way too much of the plate and allowed 6 runs on 10 hits, including 3 homers in a 6-2 loss at Yankee Stadium. Luke Voit victimized him twice to lead the Yankees. The offense didn't manage anything until scoring a run in both the 8th and 9th on a couple of fielder's choices.

The second game was maddening as the Rays and Yankees traded zeroes for 11 1/2 innings before Matt Foster gave up a 3-run homer to Aaron Judge in the 11th to give the Yankees a 3-0 win. The Rays had numerous chances to score but could never get a hit when it mattered and ultimately it bit them. Foster has been brutal recently allowing 7 runs over his last 3 outings covering only 2 innings, with a pair of homers in there. Tyler Glasnow had a bizarre game, allowing only 2 hits in 6 2/3 innings but walking 8 and striking out 5. He did get the benefit of Vidal Brujan throwing out a runner at the plate in the 4th. The loss was also costly in that Brandon Lowe suffered a mild shoulder strain which will bother him for 2 weeks but not enough to IL him, and Angelo DiSpigna hyperextended his ankle which will shelve him for 4 days but not warrant an IL trip either.

The Rays finally scared up some runs in the finale, despite fielding a makeshift lineup with some regulars out hurt and/or tired, in taking a 5-3 win. Matt Chapman singled in a run in the 1st and Brett Baty provided the game's biggest hit with a 2-run homer in the 3rd, his first as a Ray. Garrett Whitley was also 3-3 with a double and a walk. Joe Ryan started and picked up the win, but he wasn't that great at 5 9 3 3 1 4, allowing a couple of homers. Still he improved to 16-6 and leads the AL in wins. Osvanni Gutierrez was the hero of the staff today, going 3 perfect inning in relief of Ryan, and Aaron Fletcher had a 1-2-3 9th for save #5.

Team record: 81-63. Next up: Back home for 3 vs Boston.

[Art Deco]

A decent series overall for the Rays as they took 2 of 3 from the Red Sox at Tropicana Field but they lost another regular for the season to injury. Toronto dropped 2 of 3 to Oakland so the Rays pulled within one in the division while the Yankees took 2 of 3 to leapfrog the fading Royals (who were swept) into the second wild card spot. Therefore, the Rays are 3 ahead of the Royals for a WC.

Matt Chapman made his biggest contribution yet since joining the Rays before the trade deadline and Drew Rasmussen was great again in a 7-3 win. But it was a costly win as Vidal Brujan broke his kneecap and is done for the season. With all the other recent injuries Brujan had taken over as the everyday LF against righties and CF against lefties and now gives us another absence to cover. As for the game, Chapman homered in the 2nd to get the Rays on the board and then drilled a 2-run homer in a 3-run 4th (#5/#28) to put them ahead comfortably. Kody Hoese also went deep twice with a 2-run homer in the 1st and a solo shot in the 8th to give him 4. Rasmussen meanwhile went 6 3 1 1 3 6 to improve to 8-2, 2.88 as a Ray while Tyler Rogers notched save #14.

Transaction: Brujan was put on the 60-day IL and we purchased the contract of OF Matt Higgins from Durham. All Higgins has done since we drafted him in the 10th round in 2022 is rake at every level with a career minor league slash line of 317/364/530. He doesn't walk a lot and is a mediocre defensive OF but the bat is very good. He'll get some PT in LF against righties as he's a lefty swinger.

The Rays came back from being down 3-1 early to beat Boston 6-4 for their third straight win. Matt Chapman's third homer in two days (#6/#29) broke a 4-4 tie in the 7th and made a winner of JT Ginn in relief, his 5th. Aaron Fletcher took care of the 9th for save #6. Dustin May started and was adequate (5.2 8 3 3 1 3) while Cody Collins hit HR #4 and Jarren Duran was 3-5 with a double and RBI. Matt Higgins singled in his first MLB plate appearance and was 1-4.

Transactions: Guillermo Zuniga (mainly because there wasn't a spot for him on the staff right now) and Heliot Ramos (because he's been out a month) were sent to Durham on rehab assignments. Ramos will be gladly welcomed back with our recent spate of OF injuries.

Despite coming back twice from deficits, the Rays still fell in the finale 7-5 to Boston. Dennis Santana was terrible again in his 2nd Rays start (maybe Atlanta knew something we didn't when they waived him despite being 17-4) going 2.1 5 5 5 3 1 and allowing another homer. Tarik Skubal has looked mediocre in a couple of relief outings but he may get his starter's job back anyway. Wander Franco was 3-4 with an RBI and Nick Schnell had a 2-run HR (#7) but Christian Chamberlain gave up a run in the 7th to break a 5-5 tie and no comeback was in the cards.

Team record: 83-64. Next up: An off-day then the schedule maker does us a favor by sending us to lowly San Antonio for 3 games. Now the team just needs to get it done.

[Art Deco]

After taking 2 of 3 in Alamo Park from San Antonio the Rays are now tied for first in the AL East with Toronto, which dropped 2 of 3 at home to the Angels including a 17-inning affair in the finale. The wild card race has become insane with the Rays and Jays 4 up on a 3-team pack tied for the second spot (Yankees, Royals, Tigers) with the red-hot Astros (who won 10 straight before losing their last game) only one back of those three.

Tyler Glasnow continued his 2nd half return to form in the opener, combining with Osvanni Gutierrez on a 3-hit shutout in a 4-0 Rays win over San Antonio. Glasnow was 7.2 3 0 0 2 8 to improve to 11-12, 4.22. Adley Rutschman supplied all the offense needed with a 2-run homer (#20) in the 1st while Matt Chapman was 2-4 with an RBI single later in that 1st inning.

Joe Ryan was forced to leave in the 5th with back stiffness (he'll make his next start) but the Rays still prevailed over the Alamos 4-2. Ryan threw 4 shutout innings and was succeeded by JT Ginn, who went 3 2 1 1 0 4 in long relief to record his 6th win, and Tyler Rogers had a shaky 9th allowing a run but hung on for save #15. Wander Franco had the game's big hit, a 2-run homer (#20) in the 3rd, and Kody Hoese and Matt Higgins contributed RBI singles in the 7th.

Dustin May, who has been a large part of our second-half turnaround, didn't have it today in the finale, giving up a pair of homers in the first and three overall in a 6-2 loss to San Antonio. May finished 4.2 8 6 6 2 7 and dropped to 15-9, 3.84 while Tarik Skubal looked his best in a long while by going 3 1/3 perfect in relief. Adley Rutschman and Matt Higgins were each 2-4 with an RBI to supply the offense, which did have some chances to get back in the game late but squandered them.

Team record: 85-65. Next up: 3 games at home vs Baltimore, another team having a very rough year.

Transactions/Durham update: Another of our OFers heads to North Carolina for rehab as Heston Kjerstad joins Heliot Ramos with the Bulls. Both were in the lineup for Durham's playoff opener against Charlotte, a game Durham lost 6-5 with both of the rehabbers picking up a pair of hits.

[Art Deco]

Another successful series as the Rays took 2 of 3 from the Orioles. The Jays did likewise against the Yankees, meaning Tampa Bay and Toronto remain tied for first. They're both 4 ahead of the second wild card, which is a tie between Houston and Detroit with Kansas City and the Yankees a game behind them. The Rays' magic # to clinch a wild card is down to 6.

Dennis Santana was dealing in the opener, taking a 2-0 lead into the 7th before giving up a 2-run homer to Austin Hays, and then Tyler Rogers melted down physically and mentally in the 9th as the Rays fell 5-2 to Baltimore. Santana was impressive overall, going 7 3 2 2 0 10 in by far his best start since joining the club, but Rogers served up a homer to Ryan Mountcastle leading off the 9th and then hit Hays, sparking a benches-clearing brawl which led to a 4-game suspension for both. Aaron Fletcher let that runner score, then one of his own and the game was out of reach.

The Rays lost a couple of leads in this game but scored 3 times in the 7th to win it once and for all 6-3 over the Orioles at the Trop. Jarren Duran was the hero, bringing all 3 of those 7th-inning runs home with his 8th homer of the year and making a winner of JT Ginn for the 7th time this year. Christian Chamberlain went the final two innings perfect with 3 Ks for his 3rd save. Drew Rasmussen turned in another fine start (5.2 6 2 2 0 6) and Matt Chapman was 2-4 with an RBI.

Transactions: Griffin Canning's rehab time was up and we decided to bring him back as a reliever (65 stuff). Since he had been on the 60-day IL we had to make room on the 40-man so Garrett Whitley was waived, and we also activated Heliot Ramos from his rehab assignment (with Heston Kjerstad to follow soon) with Guillermo Zuniga going back to Durham (he came up the day before with Rogers on the restricted list).

Run-scoring has been the Rays' biggest problem despite a good second half but it wasn't a problem today as they banged out 18 hits in a 13-5 blowout of Baltimore in the series finale. Heliot Ramos rejoined the lineup and it was like he never left as he went 3-4 with a 2-run HR (#15), Kody Hoese had a 3-run blast (#5) and Matt Chapman (#7/#30) and Adley Rutschman (#21) added solo shots. Brandon Lowe chipped in with 4 RBI on a pair of 2-run doubles as well. Tyler Glasnow evened his record at 13-13 after going 6.2 6 3 3 4 7 and Griffin Canning made his first appearance since April with a scoreless 9th.

Team record: 87-66. Next up: Uh oh, 3 games in Minnesota, our personal house of horrors in this save.

[Art Deco]

Considering that we had lost 8 of 9 games to Minnesota this season, taking 2 out of 3 stands as one of the season's great accomplishments in my book. And not only did the Rays win the series, they also took over sole possession of first place in the AL East by a game as Toronto dropped a pair to Boston. The wild card picture has gotten a bit clearer with Detroit now moving 2 games ahead of the pack for the second wild card, and the Rays' magic number there is 2 with 6 games left.

The Rays took the opener from Minnesota thanks to the bats in a 10-6 victory. Angelo DiSpigna had a 2-run HR (#27) in a 3-run first and Matt "All He Does is Rake" Higgins was 3-4 with a solo shot (his first in the bigs) in the 2nd inning. Taylor Walls added a 2-run double and Jarren Duran a 2-run single as well. Joe Ryan was not very good today, perhaps due to his still-lingering minimal back stiffness as he was hit for 4.1 11 4 4 0 5 so Levi Kelly came on and picked up win #3 with 2 2/3 scoreless in relief. Luis Garcia made a mess in the 9th with a 10-4 lead after 2 had scored, Aaron Fletcher had to get the final out for save #7.

Once again it was the bats to the rescue as the Rays took an 8-5 win at Target Field over the Twins. Wander Franco capped a 4-4 day with a solo homer in the 7th (#21) to break a 5-5 tie to go with 2 doubles and a walk, and Matt Higgins was 2-4 with a 2-run double later in the inning to pad the lead. Nick Schnell had a 3-run homer (#8) to give them an early lead but Dustin May couldn't hold it in his second straight poor start (5 6 5 5 3 3). JT Ginn ended up with the win after fanning 5 in 2 scoreless innings, his 8th, and Christian Chamberlain retired all 4 men he faced to notch his 4th save.

Another disastrous Dennis Santana start doomed the Rays in the final as they fell 9-4. Santana was clobbered for 5 runs on 6 hits in 1 2/3 innings, making it 3 bad starts out of 4 since joining the rotation and a 10.34 ERA in that span, despite a very impressive 4/21 BB/K ratio in his 15.2 IP of work. The 6 homers he's allowed is the culprit of course. He's due one more start so we'll probably roll the dice with him one last time but the playoff rotation seems set (Glasnow, May, Ryan, Rasmussen). Tarik Skubal, whose spot Santana took and who could potentially re-take it, went 3 1/3 1-run innings but left the game with forearm tendinitis and will go on the IL since it will knock him out for the final week. They did pull back within 6-4 on a 2-run Jarren Duran triple, and Adley Rutschman had a solo shot (#22) but this time they couldn't outscore Minnesota.

Team record: 89-67. Next up: Home for 3 against Kansas City, which is still in the wild card race 2 back of second-spot Detroit.

Transaction: Tyler Rogers came off his suspension so Luis Garcia was optioned to AAA Durham. Speaking of Durham, they prevailed in Game 5 of their AAA East opening-round playoff series over Charlotte and will play the Iowa Cubs for the title. They won't have the benefit of Heston Kjerstad, though, as he'll be activated and join us in St. Pete for the KC series.

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We were up against a desperate team in Kansas City, and the Royals thumped us twice around an extra-inning win. And with Toronto playing in San Antonio, dropping 2 of 3 would normally be damaging to our division hopes. But the Alamos shockingly took a pair from the Jays, so the division lead remains one going into the final weekend of the season, and we have clinched at least a wild card thanks to that one win in the series.

TRANSACTION: Activated OF Heston Kjerstad from his rehab assignment, optioned 1B Brett Baty to AAA Durham.

Wander Franco out-cycled a cycle but the Rays still were whupped in the opener by the Royals 8-3. Franco doubled, tripled and homered (#22) and then after grounding out doubled again in the 9th instead of singling. He was about the only highlight of the game for Tampa Bay as Drew Rasmussen had a rare bad start, getting tagged for 3 homers and allowing 5 runs in 3 1/3 to drop to 8-3 as a Ray.

The second game was a 13-inning marathon but the Rays ended up prevailing 5-4 after losing two leads in regulation but coming back to tie. Jarren Duran, who had tripled in the tying run in the 7th, hit a bases-loaded sac fly with one out in the bottom of the 13th to bring home the game-decider and make a winner of Osvanni Gutierrez, who fanned 3 in 2 scoreless innings for his 2nd victory. Earlier the red-hot Wander Franco (#23) and Heston Kjerstad (#13) homered while Tyler Glasnow turned in a nice 6 6 2 2 2 7 but lost a shot at a win when JT Ginn gave up a 2-run homer in the 7th to Chadwick Tromp of all people.

The finale started off great when Jarren Duran tripled to lead off the game for the Rays and scored on Wander Franco's sac fly. Little did anyone know at the time that would be the only hit the Rays would get the entire day (and almost the only baserunner as Heston Kjerstad drew an 8th-inning walk) in a 6-1 loss. Like Rasmussen in the first game before him, Joe Ryan was done in by the home run as he allowed a pair and went 6 7 6 6 2 5 and ends his regular season 16-7, 3.52 after a rough September which saw him allow 17 ER in 24 1/3 IP over 5 starts.

Team record: 90-69. Next up: We close out the regular season in Houston against a tough opponent. The Astros are mathematically alive but realistically finished, 3 games behind the second wild card, tied with the Yankees and a game behind Kansas City. Detroit holds that second wild card spot with Toronto in the first one as we head into the final weekend.

Over in the NL, the divisions are all clinched (Atlanta, St. Louis, the Dodgers) but 3 teams are battling over two wild card spots with the Mets a game up on Arizona and San Diego. And the Mets are playing the Diamondbacks on the final weekend so things will be very interesting there.

[Art Deco]

The Rays came into Houston with a 1-game lead in the division while the Blue Jays were in Baltimore to face the 58-101 Orioles, so it wasn't going to be easy. They lost a tough game in the opener to Houston, which was fighting for its wild card life, but fortunately the Jays dropped their game. So the Rays were now in a position to clinch the division in the second game, and they did their part by winning. Toronto trailed 4-3 late in their game in Baltimore, and then the Orioles put 4 on the board in the bottom of the 8th to go on to an 8-5 win and the Rays were division champs once again. The Rays took the finale and Toronto lost yet again on the final day to make it a 3-game division win.

While everything turned out alright in the end, they didn't know that in the opener as leads of 4-2 and 5-4 were squandered in a 7-6 Astros win. Jarren Duran did his part, going 3-5 with a pair of homers (#9 & 10) and 3 RBI and Adley Rutschman drove in a pair with a double. Dustin May continued his late-season swoon going 5.2 5 4 4 3 3 with a pair of homers allowed and saw his ERA go over 4 to finish the season at 15-9, 4.04. Osvanni Gutierrez took the loss, allowing a pair of solo homers in the 8th to break a 5-5 tie in his worst outing as a Ray.

Drew Rasmussen cemented his status as the best in-season acquisition by the Rays this year, going 6.2 5 1 1 0 4 to help the Rays to a 4-1 win, a win which ended up clinching the division when Toronto lost. The righty was 9-3, 3.18 and a huge catalyst for the team's turnaround after being acquired for Austin Meadows. Tyler Rogers pitched the 9th for his 16th save. Adley Rutschman's 2-run homer in the first (#23) proved to be all the offense they'd need while Matt Chapman was 2-4 with an RBI single.

With the division clinched it was empty-the-bench time for the Rays, and Dennis Santana got the start instead of Tyler Glasnow, who's being saved for the playoff opener. As he's been for the Rays since being claimed on waivers, Santana wasn't very good (4.2 8 4 4 1 4 and 0-2, 9.74 in 5 starts) but the bats overcame that and took an 8-4 win. Brandon Lowe drove in 3 with a bases-loaded walk and a 2-run double, Taylor Walls was 3-4 with an RBI and Jarren Duran finished a strong series by going 2-4 with 2 doubles and an RBI. Matt Foster threw 2 perfect innings to secure his 4th Rays win.

Final Regular Season Record: 92-70. Next up: The ALDS against the Guardians, starting in Cleveland.

MLB Playoff Update: Detroit secured the second wild card and will face the slumping Blue Jays, while in the NL the Diamondbacks took 2 of 3 head-to-head from the Mets, but both teams advanced to the wild card game after San Diego lost 2 of 3 in Colorado, including an extra-inning heartbreaker on the final day when they could have forced a 3-way tie. The Cardinals were swept in their final series, meaning they won the NL Central with a losing record at 80-82.

[Art Deco]

Rays team stats:



Strong pitching, mediocre hitting, lousy defense: The 2025 Tampa Bay Rays.

Hitting stats:



You can see why we ranked in the middle of the pack in runs. Outside of Wander and Rutschman we didn't have any star-like performances on offense, and we actually had some dreadful ones from the likes of Lowe, Kjerstad and as you can see at the bottom, Austin Meadows. (To Meadows' credit, he had a good second half with Milwaukee: 313/388/492). Greckel would have had at least 4-4.5 WAR had he not missed the final third of the season.

The pitching numbers:



No star peformances, but no real bad ones either (save Dennis Santana) hence the pitching was very solid. WAR doesn't like the homers our pitchers allow, but they limited the damage and the bullpen was very good even after trading away Fairbanks and Williams.

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A 3-run homer from Jeff McNeil and a 2-run shot from Pete Alonso in a 6-run 4th propelled the Mets to a Wild Card Game win and a date with Atlanta in the NLDS:

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An impressive outing from Toronto's rookie sensation AJ Smith-Shawyer leads them to an ALDS with the Angels. The Jays had lost their final 5 games going into this game but it didn't matter.

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The 80-win Cardinals pull off the upset as Seth Elledge outduels Walker Buehler and Jason Delay's RBI single in the 15th off Josh Hader puts Atlanta up 1-0.

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A great start...



Tyler Glasnow followed up his 2024 Cy Young campaign with a mediocre 2025 but he was in classic form today, one out away from pitching a complete game shutout as the Rays took Game 1 of the ALDS from Cleveland 7-3. Glasnow fanned 12, a team playoff record, and was on fumes in the 9th when he gave up a 3-run homer to Nolan Jones to lose the shutout. He was helped by a 4-run first as his teammates jumped on Cleveland ace Shane Bieber with a 2-run double from Brandon Lowe and a 2-run homer from Angelo DiSpigna in his first MLB playoff at-bat. Heliot Ramos then added his first career postseason homer, a 2-run shot in the 4th to chase Bieber. Dustin May will try to reverse his poor September in Game 2 tomorrow.

In the other DS games:



Improbably the 80-win Cardinals are one victory away from upsetting the mighty Dodgers while Atlanta is also one win away from the NLCS. And in Anaheim, Mike Trout had another signature playoff moment with a walk-off homer in the bottom of the 9th to give the Angels a leg up on Toronto in the other ALDS.

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One more win to go...



The Rays are one win away from the ALCS after a hard-fought 5-4 win in Cleveland. Like yesterday they scored in the first inning, today on Brandon Lowe's RBI single after a Wander Franco triple, and made it 2-0 on an Adley Rutschman RBI single. Dustin May then coughed up the lead with a rough 3rd, allowing 3 runs on 5 hits, but Tampa Bay immediately answered in the 4th on solo homers from Kody Hoese and Jarren Duran. An insurance run in the 7th on a wild pitch proved huge when May surrendered another homer, but the bullpen got the job done. That included Aaron Fletcher, who made things interesting by putting the first two men he faced on base with one out in the 9th, only for the AI Cleveland manager to inexplicably call for a sac bunt on a 3-1 pitch. Fletcher then got the next man on a grounder to short to end the game. Joe Ryan will look to close out the series at Tropicana Field in two days' time.

And it looks like the Rays could meet the Angels for the umpteenth time in the playoffs after LA took a 2-0 lead on Toronto:

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In one of the all-time playoff upsets, the 80-win St. Louis Cardinals not only took their NLDS from the Dodgers, but swept them. The Mets meanwhile stay alive and force a Game 4:

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A thrilling win to sweep!



The Rays are once again in the ALCS after an improbable 5-4 win over Cleveland at Tropicana Field to pull off the sweep of the Guardians. Tampa Bay looked dead and buried in this one early when Cleveland jumped on Joe Ryan for 4 runs and Guardians starter Aaron Civale was no-hitting the Rays through 4 2/3. But Heston Kjerstad started the comeback with a solo homer off Civale for their first hit in the 5th, and he later got the Rays level with an RBI single in the 8th. While Ryan struggled, Tarik Skubal did yeoman's work out of the pen with 3 scoreless innings to hold Cleveland in the check and the bullpen combined for 6 2/3 scoreless. Finally the breakthrough came in the 12th. Jarren Duran singled to lead off the inning, Wander Franco doubled him to 3rd, but Brandon Lowe grounded to 2nd and Duran was cut down at the plate. Adley Rutschman then came up and grounded another one to 2nd but this time the throw home was dropped by Cleveland catcher Bo Naylor and Franco scored the game and series-winner.

Elsewhere, the two remaning DSes came to an end:




The Rays will face the Angels in the ALCS for the fourth straight season with the Angels beating the Rays in 6 in both 2022 and 2024 while the Rays won in 5 in 2023 on their way to a World Series win. Meanwhile Atlanta will take on surprising St. Louis in the NLCS.

[Art Deco]

Apparently the Cardinals can be beaten in this postseason: