The 2021 (and only 2021) Tampa Bay Rays

[Art Deco]

The series did not start well for the Rays as they were smoked in the first game, but they came back to take the next two in Toronto to pull within 1 game of the Jays for the division lead. Their wild card competitors (Houston and Detroit) swept their series however, so the Rays are also 1 back of the wild card spots which now actually include Cleveland as the Tigers shot past them for the Central lead.

In the opener the Rays took an early lead of 2-1 and fought back within 5-4 before succumbing 11-6 to the Jays. Tyler Glasnow had one of his worst starts of the season going 5 8 5 5 4 4 and Osvanni Gutierrez and Slade Cecconi each gave up 3 runs in relief. Victor Robles was 2-5 with 2 doubles and an RBI and Adley Rutschman drove in a pair.

With Tyler Glasnow up and down over the past season and a half you could say the Rays' real ace is Dustin May, and he came through again today as the Rays avenged yesterday's loss with a 4-3 win. May went 7.2 7 3 3 0 6 as the last run came against him when he gave up a double with 2 out in the 8th and Tylor Megill allowed a hit to score the runner. May improved to 6-5, 2.59 and Megill made up for letting May's runner score by striking out the side in the 9th for his 2nd save. Wander Franco had a 2-run HR in the 3rd (#6) and after Toronto tied it up in the 5th, they scored twice in the 6th on a wild pitch and an Andrew Greckel RBI double.

The Rays won the pivotal final game of the series 5-2 to move within 1 game instead of dropping back 3 behind Joe Ryan's second straight excellent start. Ryan went 6 4 2 2 1 9 and is now 5-4, 4.78 as that ERA slowly lowers back to respectability. DL Hall started the 9th but put two on with two out and with a righty due JT Ginn came in and got a whiff for the final out and save #8. Adley Rutschman is finally showing some signs of life at the plate and he homered (#6) and singled in a big insurance run while Andrew Greckel also went deep for #9.

Team record: 36-27. Next up: 3 at home vs Boston.

[Art Deco]

The Rays pulled off the sweep of Boston, making it 5 straight wins. Unfortunately Toronto swept San Antonio by an aggregate score of 43-7 (including a game in which they hit 9 HR) so no ground was gained in the division and they remain a game back. The wild card race remains fluid with the Rays and Guardians tied in the two spots, a game up on Houston.

Tarik Skubal started and the Rays shut out Boston 2-0, but those two facts were mostly coincidental as Skubal had to leave in the 2nd inning with hamstring tightness. It's not serious and he'll make it his next start but it forced the bullpen into action early and lo and behold who saved the staff today but Levi Stoudt. Stoudt, who's only still up because he's out of options, went 4.1 3 0 0 1 3 and got his 2nd win. Tylor Megill was great again with 2 shutout innings with 4 Ks and JT Ginn got the 9th for save #9. Both Rays runs game in the 4th when Andrew Greckel doubled in a run and Carter Kieboom singled him home.

While they've winning lately the Rays had a rare laugher as they blasted Boston 10-3. Heston Kjerstad had a 3-run HR (#14) to break open a 3-1 game in the 5th while Wander Franco made the rubble bounce with a 3-run shot (#7) in the following inning. Also going deep were Angelo DiSpigna (#6) and Alex Kirilloff (#7). The outburst made a winner of Drew Rasmussen for the first time this year as he put aside the two bad starts he made since coming off the IL by going 5 2 1 1 3 6 and is now 1-2.

The Rays looked like they had the finale sewn up with a 4-3 into the 9th when Tylor Megill faltered for the first time as a Ray, allowing 2 runs to put Boston ahead. But they rallied with 2 in the bottom of the 9th thanks mostly to an Ed Howard triple, which drove in the tying run before he crossed home plate with the walk-off winner after a Victor Robles single. Earlier 2-run homers from Wander Franco and Alex Kirilloff, the 8th for each, gave them that lead and Tyler Glasnow wasn't his best (7 7 3 3 3 6 with 2 homers allowed) but good enough. Megill vultured the win, his 2nd since joining the team.

Team record: 39-27. Next up: 3 games in Seattle.

[Art Deco]

A not-great series salvaged by a win in the final game, while Toronto also dropped 2 of 3 so the Rays remain one game out in the East. They're also a game up on Texas/Houston in the second wild card spot.

The Rays scored 4 times in the 2nd inning to go up 4-0 and give Dustin May some rare run support, but the shock of it must have flustered May as he gave 3 runs right back in the bottom of the frame and couldn't last through the 5th, before Jonathan Loaisiga gave up 4 more in the 6th and the Rays fell 8-6 in Seattle. May went 4.1 8 4 4 0 4 while Loaisiga gave up a big 3-run homer to Taylor Trammell to put the game out of reach, although only 1 run in the inning was earned due to a Carter Kieboom error. Victor Robles had a big game with a bases-clearing triple in that 2nd inning and a solo homer (#8).

The bats kept hitting the snooze button in the second game as Emerson Hancock and the Mariners beat them 4-1. Joe Ryan struggled after a couple of great starts, allowing 2 homers and going 3.1 8 4 4 1 5.

The Rays won the finale 6-2 but lost Tarik Skubal for a couple of weeks as the lefty, enjoying a great season and off to a 4 1 0 0 2 6 start in this game, had to leave with an elbow strain which will keep him out 2 weeks. Christian Chamberlain picked up win #2 in relief when Heston Kjerstad broke a 0-0 tie in the 6th with a 3-run blast, his 16th. Angelo DiSpigna added some insurance in the 8th with his 7th, a 2-run shot, and Ed Howard was 3-5 with an RBI.

Team record: 40-29. Next up: 3 games at Yankee Stadium.

[Art Deco]

It was three tight and tense 1-run games at Yankee Stadium but the Rays prevailed in all of them, and with Toronto dropping one of their three games the Rays are now tied for first in the AL East, while they're 2 up in the wild card race.

The opener saw them matched up against a former Ray in Trevor Richards while Drew Rasmussen took the mound for Tampa Bay. Rasmussen struggled for the third time in four starts, going 4.1 6 3 3 2 6, but the Rays rallied to take a 4-3 win after Richards held them to 1 run in 5 innings. And that rally came courtesy of Marcell Ozuna, who drilled a 3-run homer (#4) in the 6th to put them up 4-3 and then the bullpen did great work holding on. Former Yankee Jonathan Loaisiga picked up win #4 in relief and Tylor Megill pitched a perfect 8th & 9th for save #3. Alex Kirilloff also homered (#9), a solo shot in the 1st.

The marquee outside Yankee Stadium said "Tyler Glasnow vs Gerritt Cole" and the matchup lived up to its billing as the Rays eked out a 1-0 win. Wander Franco's RBI double in the 6th was the game's only run, and Glasnow was outstanding at 8 5 0 0 1 8 to improve to 7-3, 2.55. JT Ginn fanned 2 in a 1-2-3 9th for save #10.

The Rays completed the sweep with another come-from-behind, trailing 6-4 in the 7th before rallying for 3 runs and holding for a 7-6 win. Dustin May got the start and like his last time out he couldn't handle a 4-0 lead given to him, eventually allowing the Yankees to go ahead in the 5th on a 3-run Aaron Judge homer. But Carter Kieboom, after hitting a 2-run shot in the 1st (#7) as part of the 4-run start, singled in the go-ahead run after Andrew Greckel knocked in a pair. Osvanni Gutierrez picked up his 1st win in relief and after Tylor Megill ran out of gas after going the 8th and putting 2 on in the 9th, JT Ginn got the final 2 outs for his 11th save.

Team record: 43-29. Next up: Back home for 3 vs Cleveland.

[Art Deco]

The roll continues as the Rays swept their second straight series and moved to 7 wins in a row overall. Unfortunately Toronto swept their series as well so the teams remain tied atop the AL East but both now have a 4-game lead in the wild card race.

The Rays took a 6-3 win over Cleveland in the opener at Tropicana Field behind Andrew Greckel. The second-year star had a solo homer in the 4th (#10) and a 2-run single for some insurance in the 8th as he seems well past his slow start to the season. Speaking of slow starts, Adley Rutschman had a key 2-run single. He's up to .171 now, still bad but better than .150. Joe Ryan pitched decently (5.2 8 2 2 0 7) to get the win and go to 6-5, 4.92 while Osvanni Gutierrez rescued DL Hall from a mess in the 9th to get the final out for his 4th save.

It was a back-and-forth game until Kody Hoese homered leading off the 5th to break a 3-3 tie and the Rays went on to take an 8-4 win over the Guardians. Hoese had a nice night, also delivering an RBI double in the 8th as part of a 3-hit day while Adley Rutschman (#7) and Wander Franco (#9) had solo shots. Slade Cecconi started and struggled (4.2 8 3 3 2 5 with 3 solo homers allowed), but Alex Vesia notched win #2 in relief and the pen held the rest of the way.

A game the Rays trailed 2-1 in the 5th turned into a laugher when they scored 6 times in the bottom of the frame and ended up romping 11-2 over Cleveland for the series sweep. That fifth saw a solo homer from Carter Kieboom (#8) and a 2-run shot from Adley Rutschman (#8) sandwiched around a bases-clearing double from Wander Franco, who drove in 4 on the day. Victor Robles also knocked in a pair. All that support made a winner of Drew Rasmussen, who turned in a solid start at 6 6 2 2 2 5, and Levi Stoudt went 3 1 0 0 0 3 for his 2nd save.

Team record: 46-29. Next up: The All-Star Break, which always comes as a surprise to me every year with these OOTP-generated schedules. We'll go to Kansas City for 3 when league play resumes.

[Art Deco]

The rosters:





Three Rays made it: Tyler Glasnow and Dustin May deservedly, and Adley Rutschman made it as a backup catcher despite having a largely miserable season so far.

The HR Derby:



And the game itself:



Tyler Glasnow and Dustin May each turned in a 2-whiff scoreless inning while Adley Rutschman was 0-1 as a pinch-hitter.

[Art Deco]

This series featured three shutouts, and unfortunately the Rays were on the wrong end of two of them. Combined with Toronto taking 2 of 3 from Minnesota and the Rays are back to a game behind the Jays in the East, but are still 5 games up in the wild card race in the first spot.

The opener was a pitchers' duel between Joe Ryan and Brady Singer for 5 innings before Ryan left down 1-0 and Levi Stoudt gave up a 2-run homer in a 3-0 loss. Ryan took the hard-luck loss after going 5 4 1 1 2 6 and is now 6-6, 4.73. The Rays did have several chances to score, banging out 9 hits but not getting one when they needed it.

Transaction: Activated P Tarik Skubal from the 10-day IL, optioned P Franklin Dacosta to AAA Durham.

Tarik Skubal was ready to come off the DL but apparently not ready to pitch effectively as he was hit for 7 runs in the 2nd and the Rays were routed 12-0 by the Royals. Another former Gator did them in as Jackson Kowar went 7 scoreless for Kansas City, and today the bats only managed 3 hits.

The Rays did turn the tables on the Royals in the finale, shutting them out for a change and taking their first win against Kansas City in 6 games this season with a 6-0 win. Drew Rasmussen continues to round into form, and he went to 3-2 after going 5 6 0 0 0 3, combining with 4 relievers on the shutout. Alex Kirilloff had a big day at the plate, going 3-4 with 2 of the team's 6 doubles and an RBI with Andrew Greckel also doubling twice and driving in a run among his 3 hits.

Team record: 47-31. Next up: 3 at home vs Houston, which has taken over the top spot in the AL West.

[Art Deco]

Ladies and gentlemen, your first-place Tampa Bay Rays. We swept Houston at home while Toronto dropped 2 of 3 at Fenway, propelling us into first place by a game so no need at the moment to consider the wild card race.

Carter Kieboom lowered the boom on Houston in a 9-3 Rays win to open the series. The 3B had a 3-run homer in the 2nd (#9) and a 2-run single in a 6-run 7th which broke the game open to give him a 3-hit, 5-RBI day. Ed Howard also had a nice game, 2-3 with a walk, two steals and an RBI. Tyler Glasnow was sharp today for the win, going 6 5 2 2 1 9 and improving to 8-3, 2.58 as he might be the AL front-runner to get his 2nd Cy Young in 3 seasons.

The Rays edged the Astros 4-3 in the second game with unlikeliest of heroes Corey Collins delivering the game-winning hit, an RBI single in the 7th and only his 2nd base hit in 6 starts behind the plate this year. The Rays took a 3-0 lead after 2 thanks to a Heston Kjerstad RBI double and Angelo DiSpigna's 8th homer, but Dustin May allowed Houston to equalize by the 5th as he finished 6 6 3 3 2 1 and ended up with a no-decision. Collins' hit made a winner of DL Hall, who pitched two perfect innings, and JT Ginn recorded save #12 despite giving up a couple of hits in the 9th.

Joe Ryan and the bullpen did a great job of pitching out of jams and the Rays eked out a 2-1 win to sweep the series from Houston at Tropicana Field. Ryan wasn't overpowering today at 6 7 1 1 2 3 but made the pitches he needed to and improved to 7-6, 4.52. Tylor Megill fanned 4 in 1 1/3 and for the second straight day JT Ginn gave up a pair of singles in the 9th but pitched around them for the save, his 13th. There wasn't a lot of offense with the two runs scoring on sac flies from Heston Kjerstad and Andrew Greckel.

Team record: 50-31. Next up: We start the second half of the season with 3 in Baltimore.

[Art Deco]

Here's where things stand around MLB:



Inside the Rays:



No secret what our strengths and weaknesses are this year. The hitting really is an enigma as we have pretty good players up and down the lineup. You can see below who the culprits are:



Adley Rutschman is clearly the biggest disappointment here, but a close second is Wander Franco, who has no business hitting 253/318/430. Alex Kirilloff isn't what we thought we were getting either, while Angelo DiSpigna has been awful despite the occasional walks and homers. Andrew Greckel has come around of late after a brutal start, and Heston Kjerstad, who carried us early, has cooled down lately. I expect some positive regression from this offense since the players as a group are too good to be hitting like they've been.

The good news though is the pitching:



Tarik Skubal has been the real surprise this year. Ticketed for the bullpen, he got a break to get back into the rotation when Drew Rasmussen started the year injured and he's made the most of it, 2nd in the AL in pitcher WAR. It also helps that Tyler Glasnow is back in Cy Young form and Dustin May has been his usual dependable self. The bullpen has been fine as well, with Tylor Megill a revelation after being claimed on waivers and the initials guys, DL Hall and JT Ginn, doing fine work.

[Art Deco]

The Rays kept on truckin' with a sweep of the Orioles in Baltimore while Toronto won its first two against Seattle before losing in the finale, giving the Rays a 2-game division lead. Tampa Bay was helped by one of its former players as Brendan McKay got a rare start in the field for Seattle after struggling in the bullpen this year and went 5-5 with a HR and 5 RBI in a 11-3 beatdown of the Jays.

Tampa Bay put 3 on the board in the 1st inning of the opener and never looked back in a 7-3 win at Oriole Park at Camden Yards. Adley Rutschman had an RBI single and Andrew Greckel a 2-run knock to give them the early lead, and Rutschman later hit HR #9 in the 5th as they had their way with the key man Rutschman was traded for a few years back, Nick Bitsko. Tarik Skubal was much better tonight than in his first game off the DL, improving to 6-5 going 5 5 1 1 2 4. Osvanni Gutierrez actually picked up his 5th save when he got Slade Cecconi out of the 8th and finished things out.

The Rays were homer-happy in the second game, blasting four as they beat Baltimore 9-4. Corey Collins, who could barely get a hit since coming up to be the backup catcher, blasted two of them and drove in 3 while Andrew Greckel was 3-4 with HR #11 and 3 RBI. Ed Howard added HR #5 and Heston Kjerstad had a big early 2-run double. Drew Rasmussen continued to round into form with his third straight excellent start, moving to 4-2, 5.06 after going 5 3 1 1 2 5. DL Hall went 2 perfect innings against his old team for save #4.

Tampa Bay had to come from behind in the finale to complete the sweep, overcoming a 3-1 deficit in the 7th to go on and win 5-3. They were up against brief former teammate from last year Dennis Santana, and he showed his homer-proneness by giving up an Alex Kirilloff homer in the 1st (#10), but that was all he allowed until Heston Kjerstad took him deep (#17) with a man on in the 7th to tie it up. In the 8th Angelo DiSpigna led off with a walk and then Taylor Walls pinch-ran for him, stealing second, going to third on the throwing error and scoring on an Ed Howard single for the winner. Kjerstad added insurance in the 9th with his 18th of the year and 2nd of the game. Tyler Glasnow started and was mediocre at 5 6 3 3 1 6 while Christian Chamberlain picked up win #3 despite allowing 3 hits and only retiring one batter (the final out of the 7th). Tylor Megill had a 2-inning, 4-whiff save, his 4th.

Team record: 53-31, winners of 7 straight and 19 of their last 23. Next up: We return home for 3 against the Angels, still a good team but down from previous years.

[Art Deco]

The 7-game win streak came to end but the Rays still took 2 of 3 from the Angels while the Jays took 2 of 3 from the Yankees to stay 2 behind the Rays. Toronto did suffer a more important loss when they lost the reigning AL MVP Bo Bichette for 6 weeks with a knee sprain.

Dustin May was dealing in the opener, and although the July 4 game didn't yield much in the way of fireworks that was just fine as the Rays took a 3-0 win. May went 7 6 0 0 0 7 and went to 7-5, 2.99 and JT Ginn had a 1-2-3 9th for save #14. Adley Rutschman had an RBI single and Heston Kjerstad an RBI double in the 1st to provide all the offense they'd need.

The Rays had a 3-1 lead after 4 in the second game but Jo Adell blasted his 2nd homer of the game off Joe Ryan in the 5th, a 3-run shot, and the Angels went on to snap the Rays' winning streak 6-3. Ryan was 5 4 4 4 2 7, dropping to 7-7, 4.66.

Tarik Skubal let the Angels back into the game after the Rays went up 5-1, but they held on for a 6-5 win to take the series. Skubal gave up a 3-run homer to Jorge Soler in the 6th to make it 5-4, only the third homer he's allowed this year in 83 innings. Given that's he allowed 29 and 25 homers the previous two seasons he's probably due for some regression in that department but so far so good as he improved to 7-5, 3.14 after a 5 6 4 4 1 8 outing. After Tylor Megill had a rare bad outing walking 3 in the 8th and allowing a run, JT Ginn got the final out and pitched through the 9th for save #15. Meanwhile the offense came from a 2-run Ed Howard double, a 2-4 day with an RBI from Kody Hoese, and a solo homer from the suddenly-hot Corey Collins (#3).

Team record: 55-32. Next up: An off-day then we travel to Chicago to play 3 against the Pale Hose.

[Art Deco]

It's no secret that 1B has been a black hole for the Rays this season after Angelo DiSpigna has utterly failed to live up to the productivity of his rookie campaign. He's hitting 173/286/346 and is at -0.6 WAR, Kody Hoese has been OK at 277/387/515 but most of that damage has been against lefties, and Brett Baty was 203/319/339 in his 19-game trial.

Fortunately for us there were quite a few 1B on the market. Oakland's Matt Olson is a free agent at year's end, but looking at his ratings (other than defense) he's a slightly better version of DiSpigna as a three true outcomes guy. Ditto for Texas and Jose Abreu, but his contact tool has diminished (now 45) and he's more of a low-average slugger than the all-around hitter he was 2-3 years ago. So that brought us to this guy, another pending free agent:



Voit is rated 55 contact and 65 power and he was hitting 293/364/492 with 13 HR and 49 RBI for the Yankees. The cost was minimal - Birkholz and Montgomery are marginal starting pitching prospects (the best the scouts could offer up for them was "potential spot starter"), and that "portion of Voit's remaining contract" referenced above is 90% so it's costing us next to nothing in salary as well. Now we just have to hope he doesn't fizzle as recent rentals Alex Bregman and Matt Chapman did at the plate. One other 1B we looked at was old friend Austin Meadows, still another pending free agent. The cost was reasonable but I preferred Voit's righty bat.

We had a 40-man spot open so nobody had to be DFA'd, but DiSpigna will be sent back to Durham to make room on the active roster. I'm not giving up on him, he's got a good shot at the job again next year.

[Art Deco]

Well the acquisition of Luke Voit didn't exactly jump-start the offense as the Rays scored two runs total in the three games in Chicago, both in the first game as they were swept by the White Sox. Voit himself took the collar in the first two games before going 2-4 with a pair of singles in the 3rd. Fortunately Toronto dropped 2 of 3 to Cleveland so the Rays remain in first place, but by only a game.

The opener saw the Rays come back from 2-0 down to tie it in the 6th on a solo shot from Heston Kjerstad (#19) but Osvanni Gutierrez coughed up a 2-run HR to Luis Robert in the 7th and the White Sox took a 4-2 win. Drew Rasmussen pitched well (5 4 2 2 1 5) in a no-decision.

The Rays were held to 2 hits in the second game, a pair of Adley Rutschman singles, as they fell 3-0 to the White Sox as the bats continued to slumber. Tyler Glasnow wasn't great (5.1 7 3 3 1 4 with 2 homers allowed) but he never had a chance to win this one.

The bats remained ice cold in the middle of July as once again the White Sox blanked the Rays 3-0 on 4 hits. It was like a game from this past May when Dustin May pitched brilliantly, left behind 1-0, and then saw the bullpen give up more runs. Today May went 6 3 1 1 1 5 but fell to 7-6 despite a 2.91 ERA. Jonathan Loaisiga gave up 2 in the 7th to put it out of reach, although the way the bats have gone the run off May gave Chicago an insurmountable lead.

Team record: 55-35. Next up: 3 games in Minnesota, where hopefully the hitters will remember how to do their jobs. We also have the Amateur Draft tomorrow.

[Art Deco]

Our top picks:



We had no 3rd round pick due to signing free agent Victor Robles.

Detmers: The younger brother of Angels lefty Reid Detmers, Parker too is a finesse pitcher. The Louisville righty is polished and close to MLB-ready, already rated at 50-50-50 with potential 55 stuff and 70 control. Once we sign him I'll probably aggressively start him at AA Montgomery.

Baggett: A high-school CF from Connecticut who potentially is a real bat-to-ball type who won't walk much but should hit for average, along with some power, with potential ratings of 65 contact, 60 power, and 70 avoid Ks.

Mank: An older (19) HS pitcher from Texas who my scout is high on ("potential #2 starter") even though his ceiling looks like 55 stuff and control. Has 2 plus pitches, needs to work on his changeup.

Cargill: This HS senior from Washington state is listed as a pitcher, but doesn't look like great shakes with 40 potential stuff and 30 control. So why draft him? We're going to make him an outfielder because his potential hitting ratings are outstanding (70 contact, 60 gap, 55 power, 75 avoid Ks). I did something like this in my 2020 Rays save with a listed pitcher and now the guy's a top-50 overall prospect as a 3B, so I'm hoping it'll work again.

Bowen: A high-school 3B who has an intriguing bat (potential 50 contact, 60 power) but is going to need a lot of work to stick at the hot corner.

[Art Deco]

It was a series in which the bullpen let them down, costing them the second game, nearly costing them the first game, and putting the third out of reach as they dropped 2 of 3 in the Twin Cities. The only saving grace is that Toronto lost 2 of 3 as well, so the Rays remain atop the division by a game.

The opener was a wild back-and-forth affair that saw the Rays shake off a toothless performance in Chicago and a late 7-4 Minnesota lead to score 6 times in the 9th inning off former teammate Aaron Fletcher to take a 10-7 win. Remarkably this was a 1-1 game after 5 before Alex Kirilloff hit a 2-run HR (#11) in his old ballpark to make it 3-1. But DL Hall gave up a 3-run homer to Kyle Tucker to put the Twins ahead, and after Taylor Walls tied it up in the 7th with HR #3, Tylor Megill served up a 3-run homer of his own to Royce Lewis to put Minnesota back ahead 7-4. Enter Fletcher and the top of the 9th. The lefty fanned Heston Kjerstad to lead off the inning but after a single Luke Voit delivered his first big hit (and homer) as a Ray, a 2-run shot (#14 overall) to cut it to 7-6 and Ed Howard went back-to-back with Voit with #6 to tie the game. The Rays kept the rally going and loaded the bases before Adley Rutschman cleared them with a double to give him a 4-RBI day and his team the lead. JT Ginn closed it out for save #16 and Alex Vesia picked up his 3rd win.

The second game was another seesaw affair but unfortunately the Rays came out on the losing end 7-6 in 10 despite some early leads. Wander Franco gave the Rays an early lead with a 2-run inside-the-park homer (#10) and Andrew Greckel hit an outside-the-park job (#12) to make it 3-0 Tampa Bay after half an inning. Tarik Skubal was up 4-1 going into the bottom of the 5th when the bottom fell out to allow Minnesota to tie as he finished 4.2 6 4 4 3 4. Carter Kieboom's RBI single and Victor Robles' sac fly restored the Rays lead in the 6th at 6-4 but yesterday's winner Alex Vesia gave up a 2-run shot in the bottom of the frame, and off to extras we went where former Ray Brandon Lowe came off the bench to deliver a walk-off RBI single against Tylor Megill.

After scoring 16 runs in the first two games of this series the Rays' bats decided to take the finale off and they were shut out 5-0. Drew Rasmussen started and pitched quite well again (5.1 3 1 1 3 6) but Osvanni Gutierrez gave up a Kyle Tucker grand slam in the 7th to put the game out of reach. Meanwhile the offense only managed 4 hits.

Team record: 56-37. Next up: Back home for 3 vs San Antonio, normally a tonic for a team which just lost 5 of 6 on its road trip. We'll see though.

[Art Deco]

Not sure anyone since Santa Anna has had their way with Alamos like the Rays have as Tampa Bay swept San Antonio yet again, and at the same time the Jays were getting swept at home by Houston so the division lead has ballooned to four games.

In the opener Tyler Glasnow was excellent and the Rays took a 4-1 win over the Alamos. Glasnow gave up a homer to former Ray Whit Merrifield to lead off the game and allowed nothing else the rest of the way, finishing 7 5 1 1 1 5 to improve to 9-4, 2.74. Heston Kjerstad answered the Merrifield homer with one of his own (#20) in the 2nd and the Rays won the game in the 6th with 3 runs. Adley Rutschman's RBI double broke the tie and Kjerstad drove in another with a sac fly before a third run scored on a wild pitch. The initial guys took over in the 8th and 9th with DL Hall and JT Ginn pitching scoreless innings and Ginn picking up save #17.

The Rays laid the lumber to the Alamos in a 10-3 rout in the second game. Victor Robles had a massive day, doubling, tripling and homering (#9) with 5 RBI, Carter Kieboom was 2-4 with HR #10 and 2 RBI, and Ed Howard added a 3-run shot (#7) in the 8th for the icing on the cake. Dustin May found himself the beneficiary of run support for a change and got the win after going 6.1 5 3 3 1 7, allowing two runs in the 7th when he ran out of gas. He's now 8-6, 2.98.

Tampa Bay completed the sweep with a 7-4 win that really wasn't that close until Slade Cecconi let 3 runs score with 2 out in the 9th. Heston Kjerstad homered twice (#s 21 & 22) and drove in four to lead the attack while Alex Kirilloff went deep as well for his 12th. Joe Ryan had a solid start at 6.2 8 1 1 0 10 to go to 8-7, 4.47 and after Cecconi made his mess in the 9th, JT Ginn whiffed Whit Merrifield for the final out of the game and picked up save #18.

Team record: 59-37. Next up: A tough assignment as we travel to Comerica Field to play 3 against 58-38 Detroit.

[Art Deco]

Not a great series for the Rays, who dropped 2 of 3 in the Motor City. But having an even worse series were the Jays, who were swept by Baltimore of all teams and are now in total free fall, having lost 8 straight. As a result our division lead has expanded to 5 games.

The Rays did take the opener from Detroit behind a former Tiger, Tarik Skubal, as they won 5-3. Skubal was excellent once again at 5.1 4 1 1 1 8 and improved to 8-5, 3.29. DL Hall gave up a couple of runs but it didn't matter, and JT Ginn had a 1-2-3 9th for save #19. Andrew Greckel drove in a pair against the club that drafted him, and late homers from Ed Howard (#8) and Luke Voit (#2 as a Ray, #15 overall) proved to be the difference. Heston Kjerstad had to leave the game with back stiffness, a moderate injury for a week so he'll be ILed.

Transaction: Placed OF Heston Kjerstad on the 10-day IL with back stiffness, recalled OF Jhon Diaz from AA Montgomery.

Ordinarily our go-to guy here would be Nick Schnell, but he's out 2 months with a torn abdominal muscle. Our other 40-man choices were Matt Higgins (not really hitting at Durham), Jose Aguilar (too good a prospect to burn service time on and not truly ready yet), and Diaz, who got the call having been in the system since 2019 since signing as a 17-year-old international. Diaz was hitting 314/390/476 at Montgomery and is a decent defender, so it's time to reward him.

Tampa Bay really wasn't in the second game as they fell 5-1 at Comerica. Drew Rasmussen gave up 3 in the 3rd and finished 5 4 3 3 3 5 and then Alex Vesia gave up a 2-run homer in the 6th. The bats were held to four hits with Adley Rutschman's solo homer (#10) averting a shutout. Jhon Diaz had a forgettable debut, going 0-3 with a pair of strikeouts.

The finale was an extraordinarily frustrating game for the Rays as they lost 3-2 and left 13 men on base in the process. The biggest culprit was Wander Franco, who has apparently forgotten how to hit (2 for his last 25, 0-5 today with 6 LOB and 243/307/399 for the year). It's a testament to how good our pitching has been this year that we're 5 games up in the East with this kind of season from the guy who's supposed to be our best player. Corey Collins was 2-2 with a double, walk and RBI as one of the few Rays who did come through when it counted today. Tyler Glasnow wasn't sharp (4 6 3 3 2 6 with 2 homers allowed to drop to 9-5, 2.87) but the bullpen kept them in the game to no avail.

Team record: 60-39. Next up: An off-day then we return home for 3 against Oakland.

[Art Deco]

Who says you can't go home again?



Welcome back, Diego Castillo! A Ray for 6 seasons before being traded to the Nationals in the deal which brought us Carter Kieboom, Castillo is back to help out the bullpen with his 70 stuff and 70 movement. He had a great season last year with the Mets with a 3.25 ERA, 0 HR allowed and 1.6 WAR, and was doing OK this year with a 3.48 ERA in 41 IP. He takes the place of Levi Stoudt, headed the other way in this deal, who has never been effective as a Ray. Contreras, the other player involved, has pedestrian stuff and is more a control artist who's a long shot to make the bigs. Castillo is under contract for one more season at $3.2M but the Mets are picking up almost $1M of that so he'll be a good value at that reduced number next year. Ironically, two of the three players we sent to Washington in that 2023 deal for Kieboom are now back with us, Blake Hunt being the other. Somebody named Davis Agle was other we player we sent over and he's now toiling in the Astros' system after being released by the Nats.

[Art Deco]

An excellent series for the Rays as they swept Oakland by an aggregate score of 18-3, but we did suffer an injury of note. Meanwhile Toronto needed a 9th-inning homer from Vlad Guerrero Jr in its series finale against the Angels to snap their 11-game losing streak, so our lead in the division is now a healthy 7 games. It's amazing how we went from a real race (and at one point earlier 5 behind the Jays) to a comfortable lead in the space of a week.

It was looking like the typical Dustin May start as we were 0-0 through 5 in the opener and he gave up a run to allow Oakland to take the lead. Following that script from earlier in the season would have meant the bullpen gave up a couple more and the Rays would have ended up losing 4-1 or something. But they exploded for 5 runs over the next two innings to take a 5-1 win. The bad news though: May had to leave with 2 out in the 6th with shoulder inflammation. Thankfully it's not terribly serious but factoring in a rehab start he'll miss about a month. He finished 5.2 4 1 1 3 5 and his record will sit at 8-6, 2.92 for a while. Jonathan Loaisiga got the final out of the 6th for his 5th win. The rally came courtesy of the recently much-maligned Wander Franco whose RBI single in the 6th tied it and whose 2-run double in the 7th broke it open. Marcell Ozuna's RBI single in the 6th proved to be the game-winner.

Transaction: Placed Dustin May on the 10-day IL with shoulder inflammation, recalled P Levi Kelly from AAA Durham.

With Slade Cecconi set to take May's place in the rotation and Levi Stoudt traded away I needed someone who could serve as a long reliever. Like his fellow Levi (Stoudt), Kelly hadn't pitched well with the Rays (ERAs of 5.51 and 5.40 the last two years) but did a good job at Durham after being demoted: in 10 starts he was 5-2, 3.67 with a 21/64 BB/K ratio in 54 innings.

Joe Ryan was sharp and Wander Franco continued to snap out of it in a 6-2 win in the second game. Ryan went 7 6 2 2 0 9 to improve to 9-7, 4.36 and Franco delivered a 3-run homer (#11) to cap a 6-run 2nd inning. Carter Kieboom's 2-run triple and Ed Howard's RBI double preceded the Franco blast as the Rays did all their scoring in the inning.

Another slumping Ray came through big as Adley Rutschman had a monster game while Tarik Skubal was about as dominant as I've seen him in a Rays uniform in a 7-0 shellacking of Oakland. Rutschman had a 2-run homer in the first (#11), an RBI double in the 5th and added an RBI single while Skubal made A's hitters look foolish in going 6.1 2 0 0 2 11. He's now 9-5, 3.08 and leads the AL in pitcher WAR at 3.1. I keep waiting for the homer regression to kick in with him (he's still rated 45 movement) but he's only allowed 4 in 99.1 IP so far. It'll probably come in the playoffs. Marcell Ozuna also homered (#5) and and Andrew Greckel was 2-4 with an RBI triple.

Team record: 63-39, tied with Detroit for tops in the AL. Arizona is an MLB-best 66-36. Next up: we head to Texas for 3.

MLB News: Rough news for Houston, fighting the Angels for the AL West lead. First they lost Jacob deGrom for the season with a ruptured disc, and then they lost slugging superstar 1B Yordan Alvarez for 5-6 weeks with plantar fascitis.

[Art Deco]

A good series for the Rays, who took 2 of 3 in Arlington while Toronto continued its skid by dropping 2 of 3 to the White Sox as the division lead grew to 8.

Slade Cecconi's return to the rotation was a success as the Rays beat the Rangers 6-2 in the series opener. Cecconi went 6.1 8 2 2 0 2, not a Picasso but a reasonable facsimile of Dustin May, and improved to 5-4, 4.95. Adley Rutschman had the game's big hit, a 3-run homer (#12) in the 5th which broke a 2-2 tie. Wander Franco continued his bounceback with a 3-3 day which included a solo homer, his 12th as well.

The Rays dropped the middle game to Texas 6-4 and you knew it wasn't going to be their day when Tyler Glasnow had to leave in the first inning with neck stiffness. It won't force him to miss his next start but it did force Levi Kelly into action and he remained the same Levi Kelly we remembered from earlier this season as he was hit for 3 runs on 6 hits in 3 innings. Jonathan Loaisiga wasn't much better in relief, allowing 3 more on 6 hits himself over 2 innings. Luke Voit had a solo homer (#3/#16) and Corey Collins delivered a 2-run single which brought them within 2 in the 8th but Victor Robles couldn't get the tying hit.

Tampa Bay took the rubber game of the series with a tight 3-2 win. Drew Rasmussen was effective, going 5.2 4 1 1 3 3 to improve to 5-4, 4.25 and the bullpen was pretty good except for JT Ginn in the 9th, who put the tying runs in scoring position and allowed one to score. DL Hall had to come in to get the final out against a lefty and did for save #5. Marcell Ozuna broke up a scoreless game in the 5th with HR #6, Carter Kieboom had an RBI single and Victor Robles' RBI double in the 6th proved to be the difference.

Team record: 65-40. Next up: Back home for 3 vs those cratering Blue Jays, who pretty much have to sweep us to make it a division race again.