The 2021 (and only 2021) Tampa Bay Rays

[Art Deco]

The Rays were home for the first time this year and they didn't disappoint the locals as they swept the Alamos, with two shutouts sandwiched around a rout of epic proportions.

The opener was a tight, low-scoring affair with the Rays prevailing 2-0 behind a brilliant performance from a guy who wasn't even supposed to be in this year's rotation. That would be Tarik Skubal, who held San Antonio to 1 hit and 3 walks over 6 shutout innings while fanning 11 in his season debut. Jake Miller followed with 2 scoreless and Osvanni Gutierrez had a 1-2-3 9th for his first save of the year. Both Rays runs scored on wild pitches as they only managed 5 hits themselves.

The second game was originally going to be notable for the MLB debut of Slade Cecconi but it turned into quite something else as I can safely say Cecconi will never receive this kind of run support again in his career:



What an outburst! The Rays took a 23-4 win, a club record for runs scored as well as hits (25). Cecconi secured a win in his MLB debut by going 5.2 8 3 3 1 3 with most of the damage done in the 6th. Also making his MLB debut was Blake Hunt, who couldn't get in on the hitting action at 0-5, but he did get an RBI on a fielder's choice.

Transaction: Optioned OF Matt Higgins to AAA Durham, recalled P Guillermo Zuniga from AAA Durham.

There really weren't many at-bats to be had for Higgins, and we needed some bullpen depth.

Tyler Glasnow pitched one of the best games of his life and the Rays shut out the Alamos for the second time in three days 6-0 in the series finale. The 2024 Cy Young winner took a no-hitter into the 8th before Kris Bryant singled off him with one out, and Glasnow finished 8 1 0 0 2 14 showing no ill-effects from the blister which cut his Opening Day start short in the 5th (in which he also didn't allow a run). Guillermo Zuniga handled the 9th to complete the shutout. The usual suspects were at it again on offense, with Victor Robles hitting his 4th homer in 6 games this year, a 2-run shot, Andrew Greckel driving in a pair and Wander Franco doing likewise. Alex Kirilloff was 2-4 and is hitting .462 to start the year.

Team record: 6-0. Toronto is 5-1 and Baltimore 4-2 to start the year behind us. Next up: 3 games in Detroit.

[Art Deco]

The Big Ray Machine keeps rolling on as they swept the Tigers in Detroit and are now a perfect 9-0 to start the season. They needed to win every one of these games to stay in sole possession of first though as Toronto has started 8-1.

It was a tight affair in the opener as the Rays scratched out a 3-2 win over the Tigers. Heston Kjerstad's 1st homer of the year, a 2-run shot in the 4th, put them up 2-0 but Dustin May gave those two right back in the bottom of the frame on a 2-run homer as well. But Carter Kieboom's RBI single in the 6th broke the tie and proved to be the game-winner. May was excellent again, improving to 2-0 by going 6.1 4 2 2 1 6 and with a lefty-heavy lineup for Detroit Christian Chamberlain stayed in for the final 2 2/3 and picked up his 1st save of the year.

The Rays went to 8-0 with a 7-4 win in the second game with Ed Howard and Alex Kirilloff having big games. The rookie second-sacker had his best game as a big-leaguer with an RBI single in the 2nd and a 2-run double in the 4th (along with a steal) while Kirilloff was 3-5 with 3 RBI, including a 2-run double in the 9th. Joe Ryan started and won, and while he wasn't great he was better than in his season debut, going 5 4 3 2 4 5. JT Ginn went the final 2 innings and despite allowing a run recorded his 1st save of the year.

Tarik Skubal was great again and the Rays routed the Tigers 11-1 in the finale. Wander Franco's 3rd-inning grand slam (#2) broke the game open, Carter Kieboom added a 2-run shot (#2) and Kody Hoese had a solo shot (#1) as part of a 3-hit, 3-RBI game to lead the offense. Skubal meanwhile handled his former team by going 6 6 1 1 1 4 and is 2-0, 0.75. Levi Stoudt went the final 3 innings for the cheap save, his 1st.

Team record: 9-0. Next up: We return home to face Oakland for 3 over the weekend.

[Art Deco]

I always forget to post the team photo on Opening Day, so better late than never here it is:

[Art Deco]

The Rays tasted defeat for the first time this year in the opener but took the next two to start the year 11-1. Toronto won its first two to tie the Rays but dropped their finale to the Angels so all 11-1 gets the Rays is a 1-game lead in the AL East.

Oakland handed the Rays their first loss of 2042 in the opener, but it wasn't without a fight (and a blown lead in the 9th) as the A's prevailed 8-7 in 12 innings. Slade Cecconi had a rough 2nd inning in his 2nd MLB start, allowing 4 runs, but was untouchable after that and allowed the bats to come back and tie by the 7th, finishing 6.2 7 4 4 2 4. And although Christian Chamberlain allowed a homer in the 8th to put Oakland back up 5-4, Ed Howard came through with an RBI triple to put the Rays back ahead 6-5. Unfortunately though Osvanni Gutierrez put two men on in the 9th and DL Hall gave up a single scoring them both and Oakland was ahead 7-6. But with two out in the 9th Heliot Ramos had a dramatic RBI double to tie it up and send us to extras. Alas in the 12th JT Ginn gave up a Juan Pablo Martinez solo shot and that turned out to be it.

The Rays bounced back from their first loss by taking a 6-3 win over the A's at Tropicana Field. A 4-run 3rd which featured a Heston Kjerstad RBI triple and a 2-run Taylor Walls homer (#1) propelled them to victory, with Tyler Glasnow not as sharp as previous but good enough to go to 2-0 after a 5 5 2 2 4 7 outing. Osvanni Gutierrez bounced back from yesterday's rough outing to retire the side in the 9th on the minimum 3 pitches for save #2.

Transaction: Heston Kjerstad suffered an intercostal strain in the last game and will be out a week, so to the IL he goes and Nick Schnell is recalled from Durham.

Dustin May was delightful in the finale as the Rays took a 3-1 win over the A's. The righty went 6.2 5 1 1 2 5 to make it 3 wins in 3 starts, lowering his ERA to 1.89. Christian Chamberlain took over in the 8th and stayed in, fanning 4 in 1 2/3 for his 2nd save. Wander Franco and Heliot Ramos were the offense, with Franco's 2-run triple in the 4th and Ramos' 1st homer in the 5th accounting for the scoring.

Team record: 11-1. Next up: An off-day then we head to Texas for 3.

[Art Deco]

Well that was a miserable series as the Rays were swept by the Rangers in Arlington and only managed 3 runs total in the 3 games as they forgot to pack their bats for the trip. The Jays took 2 of 3 from Chicago so they leapfrog us into first, a game ahead.

After starting the year 11-1 with the only loss coming in extra innings, the Rays were due for a clunker and boy did they clunk in an 11-1 loss to the Rangers. Rays pitching gave up 19 hits with Joe Ryan going 4 10 5 5 0 2 to drop to 1-1, 8.49 and Levi Stoudt getting hammered for 6 runs on 7 hits in 2 innings. The bats only managed 4 hits, with Ed Howard getting 2 of them and the lone RBI.

Tarik Skubal turned in another good outing and the Rays were in this one until the 8th when Texas scored twice to take a 4-1 win. Skubal went 5.1 6 2 2 2 5 and took the hard-luck loss to drop to 2-1, 1.56. Once again the bats were silent, only getting 5 hits.

The finale was a repeat of the second game, a 4-1 Texas win, only the bats were even more anemic than the first two games as they were 1-hit through 8 innings before Victor Robles homered leading off the 9th (#5). It was Slade Cecconi's turn to not be supported, and he was also hurt by a Angelo DiSpigna error, finishing 5.2 7 3 1 1 3 in dropping to 1-1, 4.00.

Transaction(s): We signed a couple of veteran OFers to minor league contracts, the most notable of whom is Marcell Ozuna. Ozuna hit 20 homers last year in 123 games and still crushes lefties, so he might be of some help before long. The other signee was Enrique "Kiké" Hernandez, the utilityman who spent last year with Washington and only hit .191. The AI minor league GM made that signing.

Team record: 11-4. Next up: We get an early season showdown with the 12-3 Jays at home vs Toronto and a chance to regain first place or at least a share of it.

[Art Deco]

The Rays came into this series hoping to re-take first place in the AL East and ended it thankful they weren't swept after coming back late to win the finale.The bottom line is that they're now 2 back of the Jays, although in the first wild card position.

After being held to only three runs combined in the three games in Texas, it was a good sign that they scored twice in the first inning of the opener against Toronto and scored five times in all, but the pitching wasn't there and they fell 9-5. Tyler Glasnow held a 3-2 lead going into the 6th, but he was hit hard in the inning and ended 5 9 5 5 1 6 while Jake Miller and Guillermo Zuniga each gave up a couple of runs to let the game get away. Angelo DiSpigna hit his 2nd HR of the year and Andrew Greckel was 2-4 with an RBI to lead the offense.

The second game was a heartbreaker as Dustin May was brilliant once again and the game was 0-0 going into the 8th. May gave up a couple of singles to start the inning, and JT Ginn came in and nearly escaped a bases-loaded situation but walked Rowdy Tellez to force in the go-ahead run. But in the bottom of the inning Ed Howard doubled and scored on Victor Robles' single to tie it back up, only for Osvanni Gutierrez to allow a run in the 9th and Toronto won 2-1. May was 7 4 1 1 2 3 and lowered his ERA to 1.73.

Things looked bleak in the finale when Toronto took a 3-1 lead into the bottom of the 8th at the Trop, but the Rays tied in up in that inning and then got a walk-off Wander Franco RBI single to salvage things 4-3. Joe Ryan wasn't that great once again (5 8 3 3 1 4) but for a change it was the bullpen which kept them in it today and Christian Chamberlain ended up with win #1 thanks to a scoreless 9th. The rally started with an RBI double from Adley Rutschman and an Alex Kirilloff RBI single in the 8th to tie things up, and then in the 9th with 2 out and nobody on Victor Robles singled, stole second, and scored on Franco's single to right to walk it off and end the team's 5-game losing streak.

Team record: 12-6. Next up: 3 games in Boston.

[Art Deco]

A brilliant start has now curdled into a deep funk as the Rays were swept in Boston, scoring only 6 runs in the 3 games and making it eight losses in their last nine.

The opener kind of summed how things have been going for the Rays lately as despite another excellent Tarik Skubal start, they lost 1-0. Skubal was 6.1 3 1 1 2 4 but had to be perfect as the offense only eked out 4 hits. He's now 2-2 despite a 1.52 ERA.

The second game was just bad all around as the Red Sox routed the Rays 14-4. They took a brief 1-0 lead on Wander Franco's 3rd homer of the year but Boston put up a 4-spot on Slade Cecconi in the 4th and the bullpen was brutal with Alex Vesia and Levi Stoudt combining to allow 7 runs. Blake Hunt actually had his best day as a big-leaguer, going 2-3 with a double and an RBI, but it was trivia.

Transaction: Activated OF Heston Kjerstad from the IL, sent OF Nick Schnell to AAA Durham.

The finale was a heartbreaker as the Rays took a 2-0 lead into the bottom of the 9th but saw Boston score 3 times off Christian Chamberlain to lose 3-2. The offense continued anemic with only 2 hits but the second of those was a 2-run Heston Kjerstad homer (#3), and Tyler Glasnow was excellent at 6 3 0 0 1 9 to lower his ERA to 2.20. JT Ginn had 2 scoreless innings to get us to the 9th, and Chamberlain, whom I'm hard-pressed to remember having this bad an outing since joining the team, immediately allowed a homer to fellow lefty Rafael Devers and just got worse from there.

Team record: 12-9. Next up: We'll try to get right back at the Trop for 3 against Seattle.

[Art Deco]

The woes continued with an opening game loss in the series, their 9th in 10 games after winning 11 of their first 12, but a couple of one-run wins to to take the series have righted the ship for now after a little bit of a roster shakeup.

Transaction: We claimed P Jonathan Loaisiga on waivers from the Mets, and optioned P Guillermo Zuniga to AAA Durham. Zuniga has been the human yo-yo over the last couple years but had generally pitched well whenever with the big club; however this year though he has struggled considerably. Loaisiga signed with the Mets after playing out his option with the Yankees and has 65/50/65 ratings as a reliever despite a rough start to the year which saw him waived. We'll use him out of the pen for now but if need be he can make some starts. His $1.8M salary isn't going to set us back much.

The opener against the Mariners at the Trop was more of the recent same: fine starting pitching, lousy bullpen work letting the game get away, and anemic hitting. Dustin May was 6 5 2 2 4 8 in yet another excellent outing, left down 2-1 and then DL Hall, Jake Miller and Levi Kelly combined to allow 3 more runs. That proved costly as a 9th-inning rally saw the Rays score twice but fall short 5-3. The offense only had 2 hits through 8 (a familiar refrain) before getting 3 in the 9th. Andrew Greckel was 2-4 with 2 RBI.

Transactions: 1B Angelo DiSpigna was optioned to AAA Durham, and Heliot Ramos was put on the 10-day IL with a bruised hand suffered in last night's game. The Ramos injury really isn't enough to normally IL him as it was 5 days and "minimal" but I wanted an excuse (and a roster spot) to bring Marcell Ozuna up as we purchased his contract and set ourselves back about $1.5M. Ozuna won't play every day but will be in against lefties. Meanwhile, we also brought up Brett Baty to take DiSpigna's place, and he'll platoon at 1B with Kody Hoese. Baty had 4 HR and 11 RBI at Durham while DiSpigna, a revelation last year, is off to a miserable 162/227/299 start with 2 HR. It's a bit of a knee-jerk move but I was tired of seeing DiSpigna constantly whiff. Baty's rated for 65 power just like DiSpigna but has a better hit tool.

It's too early to say the moves paid off but we'll take correlation if not causation right now as the Rays finally snapped out of their funk with a 6-5 win. The offense came to life with 3 in the first and Victor Robles had an outstanding game, going 3-4 with 3 runs scored and a solo homer in the 6th (#6) which proved to be the game-winner. Kody Hoese also went deep (#2) while Carter Kieboom continued his good start by going 3-4 with an RBI double. Joe Ryan started and wasn't that good once again, allowing runs in each of the first 4 innings, but hung around for the win after going 6 6 4 4 1 5. He's now 2-1 despite a Boeing-like 7.15 ERA. JT Ginn retired all 5 men he faced, 4 via the strikeout, to record his 2nd save. Marcell Ozuna was 0-3 with an RBI on a bases-loaded walk in the 1st in his Rays debut.

Heston Kjerstad led off the bottom of the 8th with a solo homer (#3) to break a 3-3 tie and give the Rays a 4-3 win over Seattle to win their first series in their last four. Kjerstad's blast made a winner of Jonathan Loaisiga in his Rays debut as the righty pitched a scoreless 8th and stayed in to save his own win, finishing with 2 1-hit innings with 3 Ks. Adley Rutschman supplied the first 3 runs with an RBI groundout and a 2-run HR (#2) while Tarik Skubal turned in a quality start at 6 6 3 3 2 5.

Team record: 14-10. Toronto dropped 2 of 3 to Detroit so the Rays actually gained a game, now 3 back in the division and tied with the Angels for the two wild card spots. Next up: An off-day then we host the Yankees for 3, who are coming off a game against the White Sox a couple of days ago in which they hit 9 homers.

[Art Deco]

There's just no middle ground with this team, having won 11 of their first 12 only to lose 8 of their next 9, and now they're on the upswing again after sweeping the Yankees at the Trop to make it 5 straight wins overall. Unfortunately the Jays swept Oakland as well, so the Rays remain 3 off the division lead but they are now 2 games up in the first wild card position.

Slade Cecconi pitched his best game as a big-leaguer in the opener and the Rays held on to win 6-4 after going up 6-2 after 4 innings. The young righty went 7 5 3 2 1 6 to even his record at 2-2, 4.30 and JT Ginn managed his 3rd save despite allowing a run in the 9th. Alex Kirilloff had a big game, going 2-3 with 3 RBI including a 2-run homer (#2) in the 4th. Carter Kieboom also went deep (#4) with a 2nd-inning solo shot and Wander Franco, in a slump which saw his average dip to .238, came out of it today going 3-3 with an RBI triple.

It was a marquee pitching matchup with Tyler Glasnow facing the Yankees' Gerrit Cole in the second game but neither figured into the decision in a 4-3 Rays win. Glasnow pitched better, going 7 4 3 3 1 9, but lost a 3-0 lead in the 7th when Aaron Judge took him deep with a couple of men on in a classic "left him in for one batter too long" situation. However Andrew Greckel tripled for his third hit of the day in the 8th and Heston Kjerstad singled him home for the winner. And picking up the win for the Rays with a scoreless 8th and 9th was none other than former long-time Yankee Jonathan Loaisiga, making it two wins in two scoreless two-inning outings since joining the Rays. Adley Rutschman homered (#3) off Cole in the 1st and Carter Kieboom drove in a pair of runs.

Until the 9th, the finale looked like the classic 2026 Dustin May start of late: pitch brilliantly, get no run support, and see the bullpen expand the deficit. But the most unlikely of rallies in the bottom of the 9th gave the Rays 3-2 walk-off win. May shut the Yankees out through 5 in a scoreless game before allowing a run in the 6th to finish 6 5 1 1 1 8 and Jake Miller allowed a run in the 7th to make it 2-0. This brought us to the bottom of the 9th when Andrew Greckel was hit by a pitch, Heston Kjerstad reached on a Gleyber Torres error, Brett Baty singled to load the bases, and with Ed Howard at bat with one out Yankee closer Pedro Avila balked home Greckel to make it 2-1, then walked Howard to re-load the bases. Up stepped Victor Robles, who hit a fly ball to deep center which new Yankee CF Byron Buxton dropped, allowing Kjerstad and Baty to score to win it for the Rays. Not many 2-run winning rallies with an HBP, balk and 2 errors that I can recall.

Team record: 17-10. Next up: 3 games in Cleveland where the Guardians will likely want some revenge for last year's ALDS sweep.

[Art Deco]

A good series for the Rays as they took 2 of 3 in Cleveland from the Guardians. The bats weren't that great, scoring a total of 8 runs in the 3 games, but they got a couple of outstanding pitching performances. The Jays dropped 2 of 3 to Texas so Tampa Bay is within 2 of the division lead.

Joe Ryan has had a rough start to 2026 but the only ones having a rough time today were Guardians batters as the righty turned in 6 1/3 scoreless innings in a 1-0 Rays win. Ryan was 6.1 4 0 0 1 6 to improve to 3-1, 5.59, Christian Chamberlain got 5 big outs in the 7th and 8th, and JT Ginn had a 1-2-3 9th with 2 whiffs for his fourth save. Tampa Bay managed only 3 hits on the day but one of them was the first MLB homer for Ed Howard in the 3rd, and it turned out to be a big one.

Transaction: Taylor Walls strained his back and it was diagnosed as a moderate injury which will keep him out a week. Normally not a big deal but Wander Franco suffered an ankle sprain a couple of games ago and that was a moderate one-week injury as well, leaving us without a healthy shortstop. I decided to keep Franco on the active roster to use as a pinch-hitter and not have to have him miss 10 days, and another factor was that we didn't have another middle infielder on the 40-man. The Walls injury forced my hand, so we purchased the contract of SS Jelfry Marte from AAA Durham and to make room on the 40-man we DFA'd P Ryan Bergert. Marte will take over for the next several games and he's an OK prospect with blazing speed who can play a decent SS.

Tarik Skubal had a bit of a tough start but kept the Rays in the game down 2-1 through 5 before Cleveland got to the Tampa Bay bullpen and went on to a 7-2 win. Skubal didn't look long for the game after allowing 2 runs in the 2nd yet hung in there to go 5 4 2 2 6 4. But the game got away thanks to Jake Miller (mostly) and Alex Vesia, and it was suddenly 6-1 after 6. The two Rays runs came from two more MLB homer debutants: Blake Hunt, and in his first MLB game Jelfry Marte.

The Rays got a trio of homers and a well-pitched game from Slade Cecconi to take a 5-2 win and the series from Cleveland at Progressive Field. Heston Kjerstad hit his 4th to help give the Rays a 3-1 early lead, and after the Guardians pulled with 3-2 Marcell Ozuna hit his first homer in Rays colors to make it 4-2 in the 6th while Victor Robles launched his 7th in the 9th for extra insurance. These longballs helped make a winner of Cecconi, who was an excellent 6.2 5 2 2 2 6 and is now 3-2, 4.00. The Christian Chamberlain-JT Ginn combo finished off the game again with the latter picking up save #5.

Team record: 19-11. Next up: 3 games at home vs Kansas City.

[Art Deco]

The rollercoaster season continues as the Rays were swept at home by Kansas City, with the first two games following the annoying pattern of a starter pitching great, getting no offensive support, and then watching the bullpen let the game get away. And not to mention our best player so far this season, Victor Robles, had to go on the IL. The only silver lining of the last 3 days was that the Blue Jays were swept as well, meaning we're still only 2 games back in the division. But obviously our wild card position became very precarious.

Stop me if you've heard this before: Tyler Glasnow was brilliant in the opener (6 5 1 1 2 7), but the offense was held to 4 hits and the bullpen turned it into a 5-0 final. All 3 relievers used gave up at least one run but I suppose it didn't matter since the bats couldn't get a run in.

We made a trade:



With the signing of Marcell Ozuna, Ramos became expendable and I managed to turn him into a couple of halfway-decent advanced OF prospects. Jobert is a 4th OF in the making, average tools across the board and he can play a little 1B. Hampton is the more intriguing pickup, a legit CF (60D) who has some pop and excellent speed and was Colorado's first-round pick in 2023. His plate discipline isn't great as he's a 40BB/160K guy if he played every day, though. We bid adieu to Ramos, who was an excellent 4th OF for us the last few years, providing good power and decent defense.

We also claimed P Tylor Megill on waivers from the Mets, he has 75 stuff with 45 movement and 50 control and used Ramos's 40-man spot to add him. Jake Miller was sent to AAA Durham, as he has struggled of late and the scouts gave him a 5-10 point haircut for stuff and control.

It was Groundhog Day in the second game as Dustin May went 6 4 2 2 1 7 but left trailing 2-1 and this time it was Jonathan Loiasiga's turn to fail allowing two runs in the 7th which meant the two runs the Rays scored in the 8th only meant it was a 4-3 loss to the Royals. And to add injury to insult Victor Robles suffered moderate back spasms and had to go on the IL although he should be back when his stint ends. Those two runs in the 8th came courtesy of a 2-run Heston Kjerstad homer (#5) as he's one of the few hitters off to a good start this year. Tylor Megill made his Rays debut in the 9th and threw a scoreless inning with 2 whiffs, although he did give up a hit and a walk.

In the finale it was the starter who was bad for a change, as Joe Ryan went 4.2 6 6 6 2 6 with 3 homers allowed in an 8-6 loss. That still didn't mean the relievers were great though as Levis Kelly and Stoudt each allowed a run, and those proved to be the difference when Marcell Ozuna hit a too-little, too-late 3-run homer (#2) in the 9th. Before that Wander Franco was 3-5 with 2 doubles and an RBI in his return to the lineup and Ed Howard had a nice game going 3-3 with a solo HR (#2) and a pair of steals.

Team record: 19-14. Next up: 3 games in Houston.

[Art Deco]

Another rough series which saw the Rays at least salvage the finale. Toronto swept its series so the deficit in the division has doubled to 4 games, while that finale win managed to get us back into a tie for the 2nd wild card spot.

The opener was a bad game all around as the Rays fell 7-2 to Houston. Tarik Skubal had his worst start of the season (3.2 6 5 3 3 6) although he got no help from either his defense (4 errors) or the offense (2 runs on 6 hits, both coming on Nick Schnell's 1st homer after it was already 7-0).

As bad as the opener was, the second game was even worse as the Rays were clubbed 12-2 by the Astros. Slade Cecconi had his worst start of the year as well, battered to the tune of 3.2 10 4 4 2 1, and then the Levis (Kelly and Stoudt) combined to allow 8 more runs in relief. Once again the offense was meager with Heston Kjerstad's 2-run double in the 3rd (which briefly tied the game at 2) all they could muster.

The Rays actually did some scoring in the finale and took a 6-4 win to snap their latest 5-game losing streak. They scored 3 in the 2nd to take the lead to stay with a 2-run Kody Hoese double the big hit, and added 3 more for insurance in the 8th with a 2-run Heston Kjerstad double the key hit in that inning. They needed that insurance in the 9th when Jose Altuve hit his 2nd homer of the game, a 3-run shot off JT Ginn which made the final score close. Tyler Glasnow was excellent (and unusually efficient), going 7.2 5 1 1 1 3 on 99 pitches to improve to 3-2, 2.19.

Team record: 20-16. Next up: An off-day then 3 at home vs Baltimore.

[Art Deco]

The 2026 Rays continue to be streaky as they swept the Orioles at Tropicana Field to give them a 4-game win streak. Toronto took 2 of 3 in Seattle so the Rays have pulled back within 3 of the division lead and now are tied with Detroit/Cleveland (who are tied atop the AL Central) for the two wild card slots.

The opener was a rare laugher these days for the Rays as they trounced the Orioles 8-1. They put 3 on the board in the 2nd and 4 more in the 4th with Carter Kieboom's 2-run double the big hit. Dustin May coasted to an 8 4 1 1 1 3 performance, improving to 4-2, 1.90 with his ERA leading the AL.

A couple of hitters off to horrible starts this season propelled the Rays to a 6-2 win in the second game against Baltimore. Former Oriole Adley Rutschman was off to a brutal 147/231/275 start but snapped out of it today, homering in the 2nd (#4) to tie the game at 1 and then delivering an RBI double in the 3rd. Andrew Greckel too has been a struggler at 193/273/270 coming in, but his 2-run homer (#2) in the 2nd provided the winning margin. This was more than enough for Joe Ryan, who gave up his obligatory pair of homers but nothing else in a 7 4 2 2 0 8 outing, upping his record to 4-2, 5.75.

It was Carter Kieboom to the rescue in the finale, as the 3B singled in the tying run in the 7th and then brought home the winner with a sac fly in the 9th to walk it off in a 5-4 Rays win. And that was after Kieboom lowered the boom on a Dennis Santana pitch in the 3rd (#4) for a solo homer. Also taking Santana, who was miserable in his brief stint with the Rays last year mainly due to giving up a lot of homers, deep was Alex Kirilloff with his 3rd of the year as he drove in the other two Rays runs. Tarik Skubal (and Jonathan Loaisiga in relief of him) couldn't hold a 3-1 lead and Skubal finished 5 2 3 3 2 7 with the two hits off him home runs. JT Ginn picked up his 1st win of the year with a scoreless 9th.

Team record: 23-16. Next up: 3 games in Anaheim against the Angels.

[Art Deco]

A tough series for the Rays as they dropped 2 of 3 in Anaheim while Toronto swept the hapless (14-28) Yankees. Tampa Bay is now 5 back of the Jays in the division, and tied with Detroit in the two wild card slots, both 1 game ahead of 3 other teams.

The opener was the worst of the lot as the Rays were tattooed 9-3 by Anaheim. They were done in by Jorge Soler, who was 4-4 with 2 homers, the first of which came in the first against Slade Cecconi who wasn't very good at 3 6 6 6 0 2. Carter Kieboom (#5) and Alex Kirilloff (#4) each hit solo homers but well after the outcome was decided.

Another fine outing from Tyler Glasnow and 3 big homers bought the Rays a 6-2 win the second game. Glasnow struggled a bit early but got locked-in and finished 7 4 2 2 1 9 to improve to 4-2, 2.24 and is the runaway leader in AL pitcher WAR at 2.2. With the game 4-2 in the bottom of the 8th, JT Ginn came in and got out of a 2-on, 2-out situation and finished the game for his 6th save. Heston Kjerstad tied the game at 2 with HR #6, Wander Franco broke the tie in the 7th with a 2-run shot (#4) as part of a 3-hit, 3-RBI game, and Blake Hunt gave the Rays insurance with a 2-run blast in the 9th (#2).

Transaction: Taylor Walls was activated off the IL and Jelfry Marte was optioned back to Durham.

The Rays were no-hit by LA's Erik Rivera for 6 innings in the finale before making a late rally which just fell short, 4-3. Kody Hoese homered leading off the 8th (#3) and Wander Franco had a 2-run double to get within one, but they couldn't bring him in and went down 1-2-3 in the 9th. Dustin May started and was decent, but an Ed Howard error with 2 out in the 2nd opened the door for 3 unearned runs to score, although May's allowing 2 hits after the error was just as much to blame. The righty finished 6 7 4 1 1 4 and dropped to 4-3 but lowered his MLB-best ERA to 1.86.

Team record: 24-18. Next up: 3 games at home vs the White Sox.

[Art Deco]

A pretty good series for the Rays as they took 2 out of 3 (and showed some power in the process) while the Jays were swept in Cleveland, allowing Tampa Bay to creep back within 3 of the division lead and keeping us a game ahead of the pack in the first wild card slot.

The opener was a tough loss, and Andrew Vaughn's 3-run homer off Joe Ryan in the 1st inning proved to be an insurmountable lead as the Rays fell 3-2 to the Pale Hose. Heston Kjerstad (#7) and Alex Kirilloff (#5) hit solo homers to get them back in it, but hits with men on base were hard to come by. Ryan took the loss, going 5 6 3 3 2 7 and dropping to 4-3, 5.72. Osvanni Gutierrez had an impressive outing in relief, striking out all 6 men he faced.

A trio of homers backed the outstanding pitching of Tarik Skubal as the Rays evened things up with the White Sox with a 5-0 win. Skubal was dominant, going 5.2 4 0 0 2 9 on 99 pitches to improve to 3-4, 2.76 while Tylor Megill retired all 7 men he faced in an impressive outing. Solo homers from Heston Kjerstad (#8 and his 3rd in 4 games) and Blake Hunt (#3, homering in consecutive starts) gave them a 2-0 lead which held up until the 8th when Brett Baty, whom I was thisclose to sending down and bringing back Angelo DiSpigna, blasted a big 3-run insurance shot, his 1st of the year.

Nick Schnell's 3-run homer (#2) in the 6th broke a 2-2 tie and the Rays went on to wax the White Sox 8-3 in the series finale. Schnell's blast made a winner of Slade Cecconi, who was decent at 6.1 7 3 3 0 5 and upped his record to 4-4, 5.33. Earlier Heston Kjerstad homered for the third straight game (#9) and fourth in five, and later Adley Rutschman, who continues to scuffle hitting about a buck-fifty, went deep with 2 men on for his 5th of the year. Alex Kirilloff was 2-4 with 2 RBI as well.

Team record: 26-19. Next up: The homestand continues with 3 against Minnesota.

[Art Deco]

The series started off nicely with the Rays winning the opener but they dropped the next two while Toronto took 2 of 3 in their series, making the division lead 4 games. The two losses also dropped the Rays into a 4-way tie for the two wild cards with the Twins now being one of those teams.

It was all fun and games in the opener though, as the Rays trounced the Twins 10-2 at the Trop. Taylor Walls got a rare start and took advantage with a 4-RBI day, including a 3-run homer in the 2nd (#2) to put Tampa Bay ahead to stay. Heston Kjerstad drove in a pair and Brett Baty had a 2-run double to support Tyler Glasnow, who went to 5-2, 2.34 after going 5.1 8 2 2 2 8.

The bats couldn't get anything going in the second game and once again Dustin May was starved of run support in a 3-1 loss. Despite a 2.11 ERA, May's record dropped to 4-4 as once again he had little to work with. It was a 0-0 game until the 7th when May ran out of gas and allowed 3 runs, including a 2-run homer to old friend Brandon Lowe as he finished 6 5 3 3 0 9. Yesterday's hero Taylor Walls drove in the lone Rays run.

Transaction: I finally had it with Brett Baty, who could only hit 203/319/399 in 19 games and he was sent back to Durham and brought back was Angelo DiSpigna, who didn't sulk in the minors and hit 284/449/608 with 6 HR and 22 RBI in 25 games.

Joe Ryan has been known to have problems with the longball but today was ridiculous as he allowed 4 solo shots while Levi Kelly gave up 2 more and a furious Tampa Bay rally fell short as they lost 9-7 to Minnesota. 3 of those homers were hit by Joey Gallo, who took Ryan deep twice and Kelly once, while Kyle Tucker hit a pair in the area in which he grew up. Ryan was 6 9 5 5 0 8 and like teammate Dustin May, his record is 4-4 but his ERA is now 5.92 with 13 homers allowed in 51.2 IP. In the end, Kelly's 4 runs (and 2 homers allowed - he's yielded 6 in 18 IP now) hurt them more as after falling behind 9-1 they put 6 on the board in the 8th highlighted by an Ed Howard grand slam (#3). Andrew Greckel also hit his 3rd round-tripper of the season.

Team record: 27-21. Next up: An off-day then we travel to San Antonio for 3 against the Alamos.

[Art Deco]

A series with the Alamos always seems to be a cure for whatever ails the Rays and this time was no exception as Tampa Bay swept San Antonio at Alamo Park to go 6-0 against the Texas club this season. Toronto meanwhile dropped 2 of 3 in Houston so the Rays have halved the division lead to 2, and they're currently in the top wild card slot, 1 game up on 4 other teams.

The opener saw the Rays jump out to an early 5-0 lead before taking a 5-2 win. The struggling Wander Franco had a 2-run HR (#5) in the 3rd and they added 3 more in the 4th on two wild pitches and a Franco sac fly. Tarik Skubal pitched decently but couldn't finish the 5th to qualify for the win as he had men on 2nd and 3rd and was at 99 pitches. Jonathan Loaisiga got him out of the inning and picked up his 3rd Rays win despite allowing the two Alamo runs (one unearned). Skubal finished 4.2 7 0 0 1 6 and lowered his ERA to 2.53. DL Hall took the ball in the 9th for his 2nd save.

The second game couldn't have started off any worse as Slade Cecconi gave up a homer to leadoff man, put another on, and had to leave with back spasms. An unprepared Levi Stoudt came in and promptly gave up 2 more homers to put the Rays behind 4-0 after 1. But Tampa Bay struck back, putting up 3 in the second on a 2-run Heston Kjerstad homer (#10) and a solo shot from Andrew Greckel (#4), tied it in the 5th on a 2-run Alex Kirilloff single, and took the lead in the 6th on an Ed Howard RBI hit. Kjerstad then hit his second of the game (#11), a 3-run shot in the 7th, to give him a 5-RBI day and the team some breathing room. That homer turned out to be necessary when JT Ginn gave up a 3-run blast in the 9th and the Rays held on to prevail 10-8. Levi Kelly picked up his first win of the year despite allowing a run in his two innings of work.

The Rays completed the sweep with a 6-4 win in another comfortable game turned into a nail-biter. Tyler Glasnow was his usual excellent self, going 6 5 1 1 3 6 and improving to 6-2, 2.26 with an MLB-best 2.5 pitcher WAR, but Alex Vesia had a rough 7th allowing 3 runs (2 earned). DL Hall got into some 9th-inning trouble with two on and two out so Osvanni Gutierrez was called upon to get the final out for save #3. The offense was once again led by the red-hot Heston Kjerstad, who blasted HR #12 in the 1st with a man on and went 3-4, while they also got homers from Marcell Ozuna (#3, a 2-run job) and Carter Kieboom (#6, solo).

Team record: 30-21. Next up: 3 at home vs Detroit.

[Art Deco]

A rough series for the Rays against one of their direct competitors for a wild card spot as they dropped two of three after leading early in both of the two they lost with the pitching letting them down instead of the bats for a change. Toronto took 2 of 3 from Baltimore so the division deficit is 3, and they're now in a 3-way tie with Detroit and Texas for the two wild card spots.

Transaction: We activated Victor Robles from the IL and optioned Nick Schnell to Durham.

The opener was jarring as the Rays finally gave Dustin May some run support and he took a 4-1 lead into the 6th. But May ran out of gas, and then Christian Chamberlain loaded the bases and gave up a double to clear them suddenly making it 6-4 Detroit. Andrew Greckel singled in a run to get them back within 6-5, but that was it for the scoring as they took a tough loss. May finished with his worst outing of the year (5.1 8 5 5 1 3) and dropped to 4-5, 2.60. Marcell Ozuna had a bases-clearing triple in the 1st which put them up early.

Game 2 was deja vu as another big Detroit inning wiped out an early Rays lead, and eventually they lost 6-5 once again although this time in 10 innings. A 2-run Alex Kirilloff homer in the 1st (#6) helped them to a 3-1 lead after 3 but Detroit struck 4 times in the 4th off Joe Ryan, with a Wander Franco error proving critical and leading to the runs being unearned. Ryan finished 6 5 4 1 2 5 and the Rays did come back to equalize at 5 on an Angelo DiSpigna homer (#3) and a run-scoring Detroit error. But JT Ginn served up Jake Rogers' 2nd homer of the game in the top of the 10th to send them to defeat.

No heartbreak in the finale as the Rays romped over Detroit 8-0 behind Tarik Skubal and four homers. Skubal was outstanding against his former team (6.2 6 0 0 2 6) and improved to 4-4, 2.25, with Levi Stoudt pitching the final 2 1/3 and allowing 5 hits but no runs to combine with Skubal on an unusual 11-hit shutout. Angelo DiSpigna's time in Durham seems to have done him good as he homered two more times today to give him 5, and Heston Kjerstad had a big 3-run homer (#13) to break the game open with Ed Howard going deep (#4) as well.

Team record: 31-23. Next up: We head to Oakland to play 3.

[Art Deco]

After a frustrating loss in the opener the Rays came back to eke out a pair of one-run wins against Oakland, while Toronto likewise took 2 of 3 in their series so Tampa Bay remains 3 back in the East. Meanwhile the Rays are in a 3-way tie for the 2 wild card spots with Texas/LA and Detroit.

Transaction: Activated P Drew Rasmussen from his rehab assignment, optioned P Levi Kelly to AAA Durham.

Rasmussen looked great at Durham and is ready to make his season debut in the opening game of this series. He'll replace Slade Cecconi in the rotation with the rookie righty moving to long relief, taking Kelly's role. Kelly could never achieve any consistency since being acquired from Washington the winter before last, and he's going to be used as a starter at Durham.

The opening game was a frustrating one as the Rays left 12 runners on base in a 5-3 loss. Drew Rasmussen made his season debut and while his rehab went well the MLB rust showed as he went 3.1 4 3 3 3 3 on 84 pitches. He left with two men on, and unfortunately the first batter to face Jonathan Loaisiga in the 4th took him deep to make it 4-2 A's. While most of his teammates were futile with men on Andrew Greckel had a huge game, going 4-5 and driving in all 3 Rays runs with HR #5 and a double. Otherwise it was a LOB fest with the worst offender Alex Kirilloff, 0-5 with 8 stranded.

In the second game they couldn't get length from Tyler Glasnow but came back to win with 2 runs in the 6th 5-4. It took 100 pitches to get Glasnow through four as he finished 4 6 3 1 3 6 with a Wander Franco error proving costly. Tylor Megill gave up a run in his 2 innings of work but still picked up his first Rays win after Blake Hunt tripled in a run to break a 4-4 tie. Hunt had earlier doubled in a run as he's been way more productive in his limited action than starter Adley Rutschman, still scuffling around .150 after two months. Unfortunately Hunt ruptured his MCL when sliding into 3rd on that go-ahead triple and his season is done. 3 relievers followed Megill with the third, JT Ginn, notching his 7th save.

Transaction: Placed C Blake Hunt on the 60-day IL with a ruptured MCL, recalled C Corey Collins from AAA Durham.

Collins did a decent job as the backup C last season but lost out to Hunt, who was out of options, and now gets the job back.

It was a bit of deja vu as the Rays came back again to take the lead in the middle innings and had to hold onto a 1-run lead for several innings for the second straight night in a 3-2 win. Oakland scored in each of the first two innings off Dustin May, but that would be all he'd allow in a fine 6.1 6 2 1 2 8 outing, improving to 5-5, 2.50. DL Hall struck out the side in a 1-2-3 9th for save #3. Corey Collins started the comeback with a sac fly, Andrew Greckel homered again (#6) in the 4th to tie it, and Victor Robles delivered a 2-out RBI single in the 5th for the winning run.

Team record: 33-24. Next up: Back home for 3 against one of the teams we're tied with for a wild card, the Texas Rangers.

We also made a trade:



We liberated Cartaya, who's languished in the Dodgers farm system for several years, in exchange for Alcantar, a 19-year-old projectable lefty who intrigued Andrew Friedman. Cartaya's an elite defensive C (65 or 70 depending on which scout you ask), and looks to be a .260, 15-HR guy in the bigs based on his 50 or so offensive ratings across the board. Adley Rutschman has one year of team control left after this one, and while I had considered trying to extend him it's going to cost a lot and his hit tool has been downgraded to 45, which has manifested itself in his hitting woes this year. Cartaya will go to AA Montgomery but depending on how Collins fares as the new backup, he could come up to the big club at some point.

[Art Deco]

It was a big series against one of their direct wild card competitors, and it wasn't a very good one for the Rays as they dropped 2 of 3 to the Rangers. The only good news to come out of the three days was that the Jays were swept by the White Sox, enabling the Rays to get back within 2 games of the division lead. They're now in a 3-way tie with the Angels and Astros for the second wild card spot (Texas is now 1st in the West), 2 games behind Detroit.

The opener was emblematic of how things have gone for the Rays this year since their 11-1 start: great pitching and lousy hitting as they lost 1-0 to Texas. Joe Ryan pitched his best game of the year (6 5 0 0 0 9) and had nothing to show for it after Jonathan Loaisiga gave up 3 hits to start off the 8th allowing Texas the lone run of the game. The bats only managed 5 hits with 2 each from Alex Kirilloff and Carter Kieboom and only one from the rest of the squad.

The runs did flow in the second game as the Rays took an 8-4 win over Texas. They only had 2 doubles and 0 homers among their 9 hits but drew 9 walks which aided greatly in scoring. The offense was spread around, but Victor Robles drove in 3 with a bases-loaded HBP and a 2-run single while Adley Rutschman was 2-4 with a double and an RBI in a rare productive 2026 game for him. Tarik Skubal continued his outstanding season going 6 2 2 2 3 8 to improve to 5-4, 2.32 and after Alex Vesia made a mess in the 8th allowing 2 runs, Tylor Megill got him out of it and finished the game for his first Rays save. Megill has been a revelation since being claimed on waivers from the Mets: his combined line since joining is 13.1 5 1 1 6 21 with 0 homers allowed.

Drew Rasmussen was a godsend last season after being acquired from Milwaukee for Austin Meadows and helped turn the season around culminating in a World Series title. But so far this year since coming back from injury he's been a mess in his two starts and the Rays fell 9-5 to Texas in a game that really wasn't even that close. Rasmussen was hit for 5 runs in the 1st including 3 walks and a grand slam and was hit from there to the tune of 3.1 5 8 8 5 3. It was 9-2 going into the bottom of the 9th before they mounted a rally that saw the tying run in the on-deck circle before fizzling. Andrew Greckel homered twice (#7 & 8) and Heston Kjerstad had a solo shot (#14).

Team record: 34-26. Next up: An off-day then another big series as they travel to Toronto for 3 games. At least they'll have their #1-3 starters lined up for this one.

MLB News: On the 4th former Ray Randy Arozarena tied the MLB record for homers in a game with 4 against Cincinnati in a 12-8 Dodgers win. It was a big night for multi-homer games with El Paso's (formerly Pittsburgh) Oneil Cruz and Houston's Francisco Lindor each having 3-homer games as well.