The 2020 (and beyond) Tampa Bay Rays

[Art Deco]

July 25: Activated OF Jasson Dominguez from the 10-day IL, optioned OF Alex Buitrago to AAA Durham.

Game 1: Danny Ceja had another disastrous start, dooming the Rays to an 8-5 loss to Baltimore. After retiring the first batter of the game it all went wrong for the righty, who is known to pitch to contact but pitching to hard contact is another thing. He went an atrocious 1.1 9 6 6 2 1 with one of the four outs he recorded a runner thrown out on the bases. This makes two straight terrible starts for him after an impressive season debut in Kansas City. He'll get a couple of more starts but if there isn't improvement someone like Malachi Benford or Jon Sorrano could get the call. Or maybe Nate Thompson should be a candidate as he was brilliant cleaning up Ceja's mess, going 4.2 2 0 0 0 4 in long relief. Brad Ballmann was once again not brilliant, giving up a 2-run homer in his 3 innings of mop-up work. The offense had numerous men on base against former Ray Steve Givens, who issued 6 walks in his 6 innings but only Nate Clark's 28th HR had them on the board. They rallied for four runs in the 7th, including an RBI single from the just-activated Jasson Dominguez as part of a 3-hit day, and brought the tying run to the plate in that inning and in the 8th, but couldn't score any more runs.

Game 2: Jon Hayes was masterful yet again and the Rays took a 3-1 win over the Orioles. Hayes took a 5-hitter into the 8th before giving up a couple of hits and finished 7.1 7 1 1 0 9 to win his 11th straight start and 13th straight decision, becoming MLB's first 15-game winner this season and lowering his ERA to 3.31. Jordan Diaz came in with men on 1st and 3rd and got a strike 'em out-throw 'em out double play to get out of that jam before the ageless Jose Alvarado took over in the 9th and struck out the side 1-2-3 to nail down save #16. The bats didn't do a lot, but Nate Clark had an RBI single and Ricky Widmar a sac fly in the first two innings before they added a 3rd run on a Baltimore error. They loaded the bases in the 8th with nobody out but couldn't score after two forces at the plate and a fly out. Bobby Witt Jr was 3-4 with a run scored.

Game 3: The Rays continue to play some bad baseball, losing 7-2 to Baltimore today to make them 4-5 since the All-Star break and dropping their second series in three. Christian Little wasn't sharp at all and was profoundly lucky to be up 2-1 after 5 innings despite allowing a bunch of hits. His luck ran out in the 6th when he gave up a couple more hits, and the previously-reliable Jon Whiteleather had his worst outing of the year, giving up a few more hits of his own to allow Little's men to score and then allowing a 3-run homer in the 7th. Little finished 5 9 4 3 2 6 with his own throwing error causing some problems in the 6th as well. Evan Godwin was the only pitcher to do well today, throwing a pair of scoreless innings. And the bats were just as mediocre, only tallying 4 hits off Roaldo Carvajal who pitched into the 9th against them. Dane Ayers' RBI double and Bobby Witt Jr's 10th HR of the year accounted for their only runs. Rodolfo Rivas was 0-4 and is now in an 0-25 slump, so he'll sit tomorrow to clear his head and spend it in the bullpen as we might need him to pitch.

Team record: 80-20. Next up: Detroit visits for 3 games.

[Art Deco]

Game 1: Quite often ballyhooed pitching matchups don't quite materialize as expected but tonight's slate of longtime Detroit ace Kumar Rocker vs the Rays' Andy Aparicio did live up to billing and Aparicio and the Rays prevailed 2-1. The righty was magnificent again, going 7.2 5 1 1 1 9 on 111 pitches with his only blemish a Phil Arias homer in the 6th which cut the lead to 2-1. After AA allowed a 2-out double in the 8th to put the tying run in scoring position, Jose Alvarado did his thing with a whiff to end the threat and stayed on to strike out two more in the 9th and get save #17. Aparicio meanwhile goes to 14-1, 1.41 for all the numerologists out there as he continues to be the AL Cy Young front-runner. Rocker wasn't bad himself, holding the Rays to 6.2 7 2 2 1 6 in his time on the mound but solo homers from Connor Kirkley (#19) in the 2nd to dead center and Jasson Dominguez (#17) in the 4th were enough to get the Rays in front to stay.

Game 2: A rare 9th-inning meltdown from Jordan Diaz sent the Rays to a 6-4 defeat by the Tigers at Publix Park. The Rays took a 4-3 lead into the 9th and Diaz came in to close it out. He got a strikeout, walked a pair, then got another strikeout, but the 3rd out proved elusive as light-hitting Detroit SS Mike Harper (batting .223 coming into today) lined a 2-run double down the RF line to make it 5-4, and scored himself on a single. The blown save was the first for Diaz since he blew saves in his first two outings of the year in early April. The Rays nearly came back in the 9th, loading the bases with one out, but Tiger closer Eddie Pelton whiffed Jasson Dominguez and Victor de Jesus to end the game. The Rays fell behind 3-1 on a 2-run homer from old friend Spencer Torkelson off Alec Sachais in the 3rd, but Sachais settled down from there and finished 6 6 3 3 2 6. de Jesus tied it in the 4th on a 2-run shot, his 19th, and Mike Mooney and Tim Siqueiros combined for 2 perfect innings which allowed the Rays to take the lead in the 8th on Bobby Witt's RBI single. Dayle Jenkins had an RBI single in the 1st for the other Rays run as the loss drops them below .800 since May 2 as they're now 5-6 since the break.

Game 3: A couple of lesser contributors stole the show today as the Rays routed Detroit 12-0. Danny Ceja bounced back from two disastrous starts to turn in the best start of his MLB career, and one of the best of his professional career, going 7 2 0 0 1 9 on 96 pitches to even his record at 2-2, allowing only a pair of singles to Spencer Torkelson. Brad Ballmann finished up the final two innings. Also having a career day was Mike Lammers, who went 4-4 with 5 RBI including the extremely rare feat of hitting an inside-the-park grand slam homer to cap a 6-run first inning. His deep drive to the LCF gap hit the wall and bounced strangely away from Torkelson, and Lammers was able to just beat the throw at home. He later had an RBI double and ended up missing the cycle by a triple. Dayle Jenkins had a 2-run single and Detroit pitchers issued three bases-loaded walks in the game.

Team record: 82-21. Next up: An off-day followed by a road trip beginning with 3 this weekend at Fenway.

[Art Deco]

It's funny how the trade announcements never highlight the biggest player of the trade, which here is Eloy Jimenez. Made this trade for two reasons: 1) Owner Stuart Sternberg has been on my butt for two seasons now about trading for a power hitter, even though we don't need one, and 2) YOLO (and 3: the price wasn't terribly high). Eloy is on pace for 68 HR and 168 RBI this year and is a free agent at season's end, hence the modest price for him. Of course with our history of acquiring power hitters only to see them fizzle, he'll probably hit something like 8-10 more the rest of the way instead of the 25 he's projected to. Those numbers are inflated by his playing in Coors, but hopefully he's not another Renato Nunez/Lewin Diaz/Anthony Rizzo/Adley Rustchman or even Yordan Alvarez, who consistently hit 40-50 before getting only 30 in each of his two seasons here.

As for the traded, well Mike Lammers sure picked a helluva way to go out as a Ray with his game earlier today noted above, but he was out of options so it was either keep him forever or trade him and well, he can hit for power but not average and he's a 45 3B. He'll certainly pile up the dingers if he gets to play regularly in Coors, though - watch him hit as many homers as Eloy does the rest of the way if that happens. Valdenegro was a moderately interesting prospect who has power potential but hasn't really hit in A+ ball, and Mahon was a 12th-round pick last year who is a longshot to have an MLB impact.

As for the lineup, Eloy of course takes Lammers' place on the roster but will be an everyday player unlike Lammers. What this means is that the Rodolfo Rivas/Victor de Jesus combo, which held down at least one lineup spot, is going to lose a serious number of at-bats. Eloy is a 50 LF, so he's going to spend most of his time DHing which means Joe Barker and his 35 D are going to play a lot more 1B with Rivas probably coming in as a defensive replacement when we're leading late. Rivas might also pitch more if he's on the bench. It also leaves us a little thin at 3B with Bobby Witt Jr "wrecked" and subject to getting hurt at any time although Dane Ayers is a capable replacement if need be and Dayle Jenkins can fake the position (40) if we really need him to.

[Art Deco]

This is becoming a regular thing:



Game 1: Andy Aparicio might have been pitcher of the month, but Jon Hayes (who won the award for June) had to be a close second and he got a leg up on August by continuing on his roll, shutting out the Sox for 8 1/3 in a 3-0 win. Hayes was 8.1 7 0 0 0 9 to improve to 16-2, 3.12, a Cy Young-worthy season if not for his teammate. He has now won 12 straight starts and 14 straight decisions, and nearly had the shutout but gave up a couple of hits in the 9th so Jose Alvarado slammed the door as usual, getting save #18. The bats struggled against Boston starter Erick Barraud but after he had to leave in the 5th with a back injury they took advantage of the Boston pen. Dayle Jenkins hit #8 over the Monster to put them on the board in the 6th, and Luis Corpus' RBI double and Joe Barker's infield RBI single in the 7th got them the runs they needed. Eloy Jimenez made his Rays debut and it was forgettable - he struck out the first two times up and went 0-4 as our "acquire big name power hitters and watch them struggle" jinx is off to another strong start.

Game 2: They weren't very good today in a 6-3 loss to Boston. Christian Little continues to give out home runs like candy, as Bob Kelly's 2-run 1st-inning shot off him sent the Red Sox on their way, and then he allowed a barrage of hits which translated to 3 runs in the 5th as he finished 6 7 5 5 2 8. It was his third straight loss in his third straight start and once the ace of the staff, these days he's probably our fourth best starter behind Aparicio, Hayes and Sachais. Jon Whiteleather gave up another in the 7th before Evan Godwin went 1 2/3 scoreless. Offensively there wasn't a lot to write home about, although Eloy Jimenez got his first hit as a Ray in the 3rd, singling in a run (he ended 1-4 for the day with a walk). Dayle Jenkins doubled home a run in the 4th to briefly tie the game, and Connor Kirkley bent HR #20 around the Pesky Pole in the 8th for their 3rd run. The post-break malaise (or more likely, regression) continues as they're now 7-7 in that timeframe.

MLB Note: Apparently the Rockies weren't very interested in Mike Lammers since they've waived him and he was claimed by the Giants.

Game 3: The Rays snapped back from yesterday's subpar performance, jumping on old friend Shane Baz for 8 runs in the first 2 innings on the way to a 9-2 win. Jasson Dominguez was in the middle of 4-run rallies in the 1st and 2nd, hitting a 2-run double in the 1st and homering (#18) with a man on in the 2nd. His first-inning double was followed by a 2-run Rodolfo Rivas HR (#13) as the big first sacker tries to earn more playing time in the wake of the Eloy Jimenez acquisition. Speaking of Eloy, he had a nice day with a single in the 1st, a sac fly in the 2nd, and his first Rays homer in the 7th (#44 overall) as part of a 3-hit game. Nate Clark also picked up RBI #100 with a 2nd inning sac fly. The four runs they scored in the first are almost always more than enough for Andy Aparicio, and today was no exception. He didn't have his best stuff at first, not striking out anyone until the 5th but took a shutout into the 9th inning before giving up a pair of doubles leading off to lose it. Brad Ballmann came on and gave up a double of his own to allow Aparicio's runner to score, so AA ended up 8 7 2 2 2 5 and his ERA actually rose to 1.46 as he went to 15-1 on the season.

Team record: 84-22. Next up: We swing over to Chicago for three games with the White Sox.

[Art Deco]

Game 1: Nate Clark had a monster night at the plate and Alec Sachais threw 7 shutout innings as the Rays bombed the White Sox 13-5 in a game that really wasn't even that close. Clark was 4-6 with a 2-run double in the 4th to make it 5-0 and then a majestic 3-run homer in the 8th which may still be in orbit. Jasson Dominguez hit #19 in the 5th, Eloy Jimenez homered for the second straight day and hit his 45th overall, and Victor de Jesus came off the bench to swat #20 in the 8th. While the hitters were circling the bases, Sachais overcame a bunch of runners in the early innings (including one whom Dominguez threw out at the plate) to settle in and mow down White Sox hitters to the tune of 7 6 0 0 1 8 and improved to 11-6, 3.50. With the big lead Nate Thompson took over in the 8th and retired the first four men he faced - and then couldn't get anyone out, giving up 5 runs on 7 straight hits including a pair of homers (unlike him with 70 movement). Mike Mooney had to finally come in and got a double play grounder on his 3rd pitch to end the game.

Game 2: The Rays continue their win one, lose one post-ASB pattern after falling 3-2 to the White Sox. Danny Ceja started, and while he wasn't as bad as he was recently, he wasn't as good as he was last time out and was fortunate to leave the game with a 2-0 lead after giving up a leadoff single in the 6th and despite allowing a parade of baserunners. Jon Whiteleather took over and coughed up a 2-run homer to Justin Ellison to tie the game, leaving Ceja 5 6 1 1 3 4. Whiteleather stayed on for the 7th and he was probably pushed too far, as after getting 2 quick outs he served up another homer to Amed Rosario and that turned out to be the game-winner. The rookie reliever seems to have a bit of a wall after pitching to a 1.86 ERA before allowing 6 runs over his last 3 appearances covering 4 innings. Evan Godwin went the final 1 1/3 as he's trending in the opposite direction, only allowing 1 run in his last 13 innings. Of course limiting the opposition to 3 runs is usually a recipe for victory with this offense but that wasn't the case tonight as their only runs came on solo shots from Jasson Dominguez, on a HR binge of late (4 in his last 3 games) and up to 21 for the season. Otherwise they got some hits (10 in total, 3 from Ricky Widmar) but couldn't get one when it counted, including in the 9th when they had 1st and 2nd with 2 out only for Dayle Jenkins to ground out to end the game.

Game 3: Jon Hayes got the start today, so you know what that means: the Rays won. The final was 8-4, and Hayes was excellent as usual in winning his 13th straight start and 15th straight decision, going 7 4 1 1 1 3 to improve to 17-2, 3.03. That looks like an efficient line but it actually took Hayes 112 pitches as he ran a fair number of deep counts. As excellent as Hayes was though, the big star today was Joe Barker who ripped a pair of 2-run homers and drove in another to give him a 5-RBI day. Barker had an RBI single in the first, a 2-run homer in the 3rd to make it 3-0, and then delivered a big 2-run homer in the 9th (#21) after Chicago had pulled to within 6-4. Also homering for the third time in four days and for the 46th time overall was Eloy Jimenez in his old stomping grounds as his solo shot in the 6th made it 4-0. Jasson Dominguez's RBI groundout and Bobby Witt Jr's sac fly scored the other two runs. Hayes left with a healthy 6-1 lead but Mike Mooney imploded taking over for him in the 8th, giving up two hits and then a 3-run homer to Zac Veen to suddenly make it 6-4. Jordan Diaz immediately entered and got the Rays out of the 8th, and even though the save situation was gone after Barker's second homer, Jose Alvarado had a 2-strikeout scoreless 9th to end the game.

Team record: 86-23. Next up: An off-day, then the Mets make their first-ever visit to Publix Park for the weekend. The New Yorkers have MLB's worst record at 36-72 but they do boast one of the young rising stars of the game in Vince Giangrasso, the #2 overall pick in 2028. The second-year CF leads the NL with 5.6 WAR and is hitting 306/372/587 with 25 HR.

[Art Deco]

Game 1: The best team in MLB hosted MLB's worst team, and it went about as expected with the team now 50 1/2 games better than the other taking a 4-0 win. Christian Little started for the Rays and was excellent, breaking a personal 3-game losing streak with a 6.2 3 0 0 2 11 outing, improving to 14-5, 3.54 and going over the 200-strikeout plateau once again. Evan Godwin got him out of a 2-out jam in the 7th with the lead only 1-0, and Tim Siqueiros got Godwin out of a 2-on jam in the 8th to finish out the game and pick up save #2. Offensively they were held in check for 6 innings by Mets starter Seth Nordlin, with Connor Kirkley's 4th-inning RBI single the Rays' only run off him. But once Edwin Diaz (back with the Mets after all these years) came on in the 7th, the bats feasted with Luis Corpus ripping an RBI double and Dayle Jenkins hitting a 2-run double to make things more comfortable. Eloy Jimenez was 1-4 with 3 whiffs in his Publix Park debut as a Ray.

Game 2: Eloy Jimenez, true Ray. I've repurposed the old "True Yankee" joke here as Eloy blasted a 2-run HR in the bottom of the 13th inning today to give the Rays a 3-2 win over the Mets after Brad Ballmann had yielded a Lupe Manelli homer in the top of the inning to put the Rays behind. The homer was his 47th of the year overall and his 4th in 8 games with the Rays, as many as the ballyhooed Adley Rustchman had for us last year in 2 months + 3 rounds of playoffs, so it looks like we've finally acquired a power hitter who's going to keep doing what he's been doing. Before all of the 13th inning fireworks the game was an outstanding pitchers' duel between Andy Aparicio and the Mets' Jim Bennett with the game scoreless until the bottom of the 7th. That's when Connor Kirkley led off with a double (he had to leave on the play with knee soreness and was replaced by Dane Ayers, more on that in a minute) and Luis Corpus followed suit with a two-bagger of his own to make it 1-0 Rays. That should have been enough to win as Aparicio was unbelievable again, going 8 4 0 0 0 12 on 109 pitches. With a couple of tough lefties due including MVP candidate Vince Giangrasso, who already had 2 hits off AA, I went to the normally-reliable Jose Alvarado but in a man-bites-dog story he gave up a hit and a walk, got two outs and then one strike away he gave up a single to Francisco Alvarez to tie the game. Jordan Diaz pitched two scoreless innings and Ballmann held the Mets in the 12th but gave up the two-out homer to Manelli in the 13th. But with one out in the bottom of the inning Braxton Garrett walked Joe Barker, and that brought up Jimenez who got his first clutch hit as a Ray to win it, with Ballmann somewhat undeservedly going to 5-0. Kirkley's injury isn't serious but he will probably be rested for a week.

Game 3: Alec Sachais was outstanding again as the Rays bested the Mets 7-1 to sweep their interleague series. The righty took a shutout into the 9th but on 112 pitches it was probably a mistake to bring him out for the inning as he immediately gave up a homer to Vince Giangrasso. He then departed, finishing 8 4 1 1 2 5 to go to 12-6, 3.37. Jon Whiteleather came on and bounced back from his recent struggles by striking out the three Mets he faced to end the game. Offensively they didn't homer but pounded out the extra-base hits as Ricky Widmar was 3-3 with a pair of triples and an RBI, Dayle Jenkins had a pair of RBI doubles, Rodolfo Rivas had a 2-run double, and Jakob Runnels doubled in a run. Nate Clark was 0-4 and 0-13 for the series as his bid for a triple crown continues to slip away.

Team record: 89-23. Next up: An off-day then more interleague action as Atlanta comes to town for a pair.

[Art Deco]

Game 1: The Rays did something tonight for the first time in their history, and something that had only been done 19 times in MLB history prior to this save (I can't rule out it happening in another game over our now 12 seasons):



Yes, they scored in every inning of the game. Of course as the winning home team they only batted in 8 innings but most of the 19 in MLB history were 8-inning accomplishments, only twice has it been done in 9 innings and both of those were in the NL. The Rays belted four homers, including a 2-run shot from Eloy Jimenez in the first, his 5th in 9 games as a Ray and 48th overall, a solo shot from Dane Ayers (#12) in the 2nd, a Joe Barker solo shot (#22) in the 3rd, and a 2-run blast from Nate Clark (#30) as he broke out of his mini-slump. Clark, Ayers and Dayle Jenkins each had 3 hits, with the latter driving in a pair and Jasson Dominguez drove in 3 runs with 2 hits. The beneficiary of this offensive orgy was a guy who usually doesn't need more than a few runs, Jon Hayes. That's 14 straight starts won by Hayes, 16 straight decisions as he now goes to 18-2 after a 7 3 0 0 1 7 performance which saw his ERA plummet below 3 to 2.89. There's no hotter pitcher in baseball, except maybe teammate Andy Aparicio. Mike Mooney and Nate Thompson each had a scoreless inning to combine for the team shutout.

Game 2: Eloy, Eloy, Eloy. After all those flop big-name acquisitions perhaps the OOTP gods are smiling upon us in that department for a change. (Yes I know with 6 World Series wins we don't really need any gods smiling upon us, but it's all relative.) Tonight Jimenez smacked 2 more homers (one of which the CF didn't even move a muscle on) to lead the Rays to a 7-4 win over Atlanta. His 2-run shot in the 1st put the Rays up 3-1 and his 2-run shot in the 5th broke it open (at the time) to make it 6-1. The pair of dingers bring his total on the season to 50, including now a whopping 7 in 10 games and 45 at-bats since joining the Rays. He's on pace right now for a 70-HR season (across 3 teams) so look out Bonds and McGwire. Also homering for team's final run tonight was Victor de Jesus (#21), who gave Joe Barker a night off. Nate Clark drove in the other two runs with a triple and a fielder's choice. Danny Ceja started and was pretty good through 5 innings, allowing only 1 run, but he suffered a barrage of hits in the 6th leading to 3 runs and cutting the lead to 6-4. Having only thrown 77 pitches he came back out for the 7th but gave up a leadoff single and was pulled for Evan Godwin, who went the next 1 2/3 scoreless but left with a man on for Tim Siqueiros to get the final out of the 8th. Jordan Diaz then had 1-2-3 9th for save #16. Ceja did improve to 3-2 despite a mediocre 6 7 4 4 2 4 line as the jury remains out on his status as the 5th starter.

Team record: 91-23. Next up: An off-day then we start a lengthy road trip in Arlington with 3 against Texas.

[Art Deco]

Game 1: Tonight's game featured a matchup of two hot teams with the Rays having won 6 straight and Texas 9 in a row. Only one could keep streaking and it turned out to be the Rangers, who downed the Rays 5-2. It was a matchup of Cy Young winners, with the AL holder Victor Presas starting for Texas and Christian Little for the Rays, and Presas looked more award-worthy tonight, going 7 5 2 1 1 7 while Little came undone in the 6th allowing 3 runs and ending 5.1 5 5 4 3 7. The Rays got a run in the 3rd on an error and a wild pitch, and Luis Corpus singled in a run in the 7th for their only offense. Nate Thompson looked impressive in relief of Little, going the final 2 2/3, allowing only one hit and whiffing four to keep the final score respectable.

Game 2: A disastrous day for the Rays as they suffered a couple of injuries in the 1st inning and went down to a 7-1 defeat by the red-hot Rangers. Alec Sachais started and only lasted 2 batters before having to leave with a herniated disc, an injury which will keep him out a couple of weeks. One of those batters reached and scored off him, so he took a tough-luck loss as it turned out. Tim Siqueiros took over and went 2 2/3 scoreless innings to keep them in the game, but my gambit to use Rodolfo Rivas in relief backfired as the Rangers were all over him, getting 4 runs in 1 1/3 innings, a total inflated by the oft-ineffective Brad Ballmann. Ballmann gave up a 2-run double and then a couple of runs of his own but at least he gave us length, pitching the final 3 2/3 on 66 pitches. Meanwhile, the offense lost Victor de Jesus in the 1st as well as he suffered a mild hamstring strain in the field, and he too will have that injury for a couple of weeks. It's considered "minimal" but I'm not going to chance him with a hamstring so he's IL-bound as well. The offense for the second day straight couldn't get anything going against a Texas ace with their other Cy Young winner, Wil Diaz, pitching a complete game against them allowing 8 hits, but only Dayle Jenkins' 9th homer in the 6th saw a Ray cross home plate.

August 17: Placed OF Victor de Jesus on the 10-day IL with a hamstring strain, placed P Alec Sachais on the 15-day IL with a herniated disc; recalled P Eric Carter and OF D'Andre Hodges from AAA Durham.

Carter is up to give us a fresh arm in the pen the next few days but I plan to turn to Jon Sorrano, the key piece in the deal which sent Jack Leiter to Cincinnati last winter, to take Sachais' spot in the rotation in 4 days. This means Danny Ceja's spot is safe for now, but he could lose it to Sorrano if he impresses more over the next few turns.

Game 3: You just knew the Rays weren't going to go down meekly three games in a row and they didn't, bouncing back to rout Texas 11-2 to snap the Rangers' 11-game winning streak. Of course it helped the Rays had the more favorable pitching matchup with Andy Aparicio going against reliever-turned-starter Blaine Knight, and AA did his usual thing. He went 7 7 2 2 1 7 against a tough Texas lineup and is now 16-1, 1.44. His consistency has been nothing short of amazing, having never allowed more than 3 runs in a start this year and only doing that twice, so in his other 21 it's been 2 runs or fewer. The just-recalled Eric Carter pitched the final two innings scoreless, looking good with 3 whiffs. After scoring three runs combined in the previous two games they had that many by the 2nd inning and then blew the game open with 7 in the 3rd. Nate Clark and Rodolfo Rivas had RBI singles in the 1st, supersub Dane Ayers went deep for #13 in the 2nd, and then the 7-run 3rd featured 2-run homers from Jasson Dominguez (#22) and Bobby Witt Jr (#11) and a 2-run double from Clark. Eloy Jimenez couldn't go the weekend without a homer, hitting #51 overall in the 9th and his 8th in 13 games as a Ray.

Team record: 92-25. Next up: We remain in the Lone Star State to play Houston the next four days.

[Art Deco]

Game 1: The Jon Hayes train keeps on rollin' as the Rays edged Houston 2-1. The lefty is now 19-2, 2.76 and I know recounting this is getting old, but that's his 15th straight start won and his 17th win in a row. He got the win and pitched 7 shutout innings despite not being that sharp, allowing 7 hits and walking 4 Astros. Three double plays helped, as well as a few clutch whiffs although he only had four in total. Jose Alvarado had a dominant 8th, striking out all 3 men he faced and lowering his ERA back below 1, while Jordan Diaz got into a little trouble in the 9th, giving up a pair of hits and a run before finally closing the deal for save #17. Both teams left numerous men on base but the Rays finally broke through in the 5th on Nate Clark's 2-out, 2-run double, which now gives him 114 RBI on the season.

Game 2: It was a 1-1 game heading into the 6th inning that turned into a 12-1 Rays rout of Houston tonight. Connor Kirkley and Austin Hays exchanged RBI singles as it appeared we had another low-scoring affair like last night on our hands. Danny Ceja was pitching well, albeit against a rather punchless Astros lineup, and ended up with his longest MLB outing going 7.2 5 1 1 1 7 to improve to 4-2 and get his ERA down to a less unsightly 4.62. Tim Siqueiros kept Ceja's ERA down by getting the 3rd out after Ceja allowed a 2-out triple in the 8th, and Mike Mooney had a 1-2-3 9th. And now back to the 6th inning. The tie was broken by none other than Eloy Jimenez, who started the season with Houston before being dealt to Colorado, with a 2-run HR into the Crawford boxes in left. That's #52 on the season, #9 as a Ray in 15 games, and he added a 2-run single in a 6-run 9th inning. Kirkley capped the 6th with a 3-run HR of his own (#21), and in that 6-run 9th D'Andre Hodges and Jasson Dominguez each had 2-run doubles as the team finished with 15 hits, with at least one for everyone except Dane Ayers.

Game 3: The Rays broke through for three runs in the 9th inning to take a 4-2 win over Houston, their fourth in a row. It was a matchup of the 2027 and 2028 Cy Young winners with former Ray Shane McClanahan against Christian Little and it played out as the pitchers' duel it looked to be on paper. Mac left with the game 1-1 after going 6 7 1 1 0 4, keeping the Rays off-balance and getting out of a bases-loaded, nobody-out jam in the 5th. Nate Clark's sac fly in the 3rd brought home the only run against him. Meanwhile Little was pretty good, giving up his obligatory homer (to the light-hitting Everson Pereira who had only 1 longball to his name in 133 AB coming in) and nothing else until the 7th, when he loaded the bases with one out. Jon Whiteleather was summoned from the pen to get a strikeout, but he gave up a fly ball instead which allowed Houston to take the lead. He struck out the next batter and got a 1-2-3 8th while Little finished 6.1 4 2 2 2 9. Eloy Jimenez led off the 9th for the Rays with a chance to tie the game against his old mates, but he hit a popup for out #1. So Jasson Dominguez took care of matters, drilling HR #23 into the RCF seats to tie the game, and Houston closer Joldanny Genao came unglued after that going walk, whiff, single, walk, wild pitch to score the go-ahead run, and then an RBI single from Dayle Jenkins (his 4th hit of the game). Jordan Diaz came on in the bottom of the 9th and retired the Astros in order for save #18 while Whiteleather celebrated his first MLB win.

August 21: Optioned P Eric Carter to AAA Durham, recalled P Jon Soranno from AAA Durham.

Let the Six-Pack Era begin. That's Soranno's nickname which I'll attribute to him being fairly chiseled rather than an excessive beer drinker. The lefty, who was the #1 overall pick in the 2027 draft and a top 10 prospect when we acquired him from Cincinnati in the Jack Leiter deal, will make his Rays debut tonight starting against Houston. Not his MLB debut as he pitched 29 games in relief for the Reds last year, going 4-1 with a 2.22 ERA and 45 Ks in 44 innings. He's been in the Durham rotation all season and has impressed, going 8-3 with a 3.27 ERA and a 48/138 BB/K ratio in 140 innings with only 10 HR allowed. He's a 70 movement guy so he'll keep the ball in the park and his stuff is 55 present/65 potential. His only Achilles heel is control where he's 40/45. If he can keep it closer to 3.1 BB/9 he had at Durham rather than the 4.4 he had with the Reds last year, we'll be golden.

Game 4: Jon Soranno was dynamite in his Rays debut (and his first MLB start) as the Rays took a 7-3 win over Houston to sweep all seven games of the season series. Soranno was a bit wild with three walks in the first four innings but settled in from there going 7 2 1 1 4 6 with the only run coming on an Everson Pereira triple. He threw 99 pitches and was never really in trouble, getting a strikeout after that 2-out triple in the 4th. Tim Siqueiros pitched a scoreless 8th but Brad Ballmann stunk again in the 9th, giving up 2 runs on 3 hits and a walk and Jose Alvarado had to come in and get the final out, which he did on a harmless ground ball to pick up save #19. After the Rays scored in the 1st on a Joe Barker RBI single, Jakob Runnels delivered the biggest hit of the game (and perhaps his biggest as a Ray during a season in which he's struggled big-time with the bat), a bases-clearing double in the 2nd to make it 4-0 and give Soranno plenty of breathing room. Rodolfo Rivas and Connor Kirkley also drove in runs and Eloy Jimenez had a pair of doubles.

Team record: 96-25. Next up: The road trip continues as we head west to Oakland for the weekend.

[Art Deco]

Game 1: It was a typical low-scoring affair in Oakland as Andy Aparicio turned in yet another sterling performance and the Rays outlasted the A's in 12 innings 3-2. AA went 8 6 2 2 1 9 on 119 pitches with his ERA ticking up slightly to 1.47 as Connor Walsh's 2-run homer off him in the 4th was the only damage done. The Rays had gotten on the board first in the 2nd on Bobby Witt Jr's RBI single and tied it up in the 6th on Ricky Widmar's 16th HR of the season. But they couldn't get much else going, especially against Oakland closer Joe Hanley, who blanked them for 3 innings, whiffing 5. Meanwhile Jose Alvarado pitched a 1-2-3 2K 9th, Jon Whiteleather got through the 10th and picked up the first out of the 11th, and Evan Godwin got the final two outs of that inning. They finally broke through in the 12th on Connor Kirkley's RBI single, and Godwin stayed in to save his own 6th win of the season.

Game 2: Jon Hayes was going for win #20 and trying to win consecutive start #16 but it all went wrong for him tonight as he was hit hard and the starts & win streaks came to an end in a 5-3 loss to Oakland. The A's were finding all the holes between infielders and in the outfield as Hayes was hit to the tune of 4.1 11 4 4 0 2 and it could have been worse had Nate Thompson not induced a couple of popups after Hayes left the bases loaded with one out in the 5th. He was also victimized by a Miguel Soto inside-the-park home run in the 4th. Thompson allowed a run of his own in his 2 2/3 innings of relief and the Rays were down 5-0 through 7 as Oakland's Keider Montero had shut them down on 4 hits. They did mount a rally in the 8th with the help of an Oakland error as Ricky Widmar doubled in a run, Dayle Jenkins doubled him home and scored on Eloy Jimenez's sac fly to cut it to 5-3 off a former Ray they've had a lot of success against, Jack Filby. But after Jasson Dominguez hit a double the rally ended when another former Ray, Jhon Diaz, threw Joe Barker out at the plate for the 3rd out. After Rodolfo Rivas came in to pitch a 1-2-3 8th, they managed a walk in the 9th to bring the tying run to the plate but couldn't get it done and Hayes's streaks were over.

Game 3: Danny Ceja was dazzling and the bats gradually built a lead until it became a blowout in an 8-1 win over Oakland. Ceja looked to be on track to pitch a shutout, getting the first two men in the 8th and sitting on only 82 pitches. But he gave up a walk and a pair of singles to allow the A's to score to make it 5-1, so Evan Godwin came in and got the final out of the inning. 3 more runs in the top of the 9th gave them a Brad Ballmann-proof lead, so he came on in the 9th and got the final 3 outs while only allowing a single. With the 7.2 6 1 1 1 5 outing Ceja improves to 5-2 and has his ERA down to 4.03. On offense the charge was led by Ricky Widmar who banged out two doubles and a triple, scoring twice and driving in three, while Rodolfo Rivas belted a pair of solo homers to give him 15 and Connor Kirkley hit #22. Jasson Dominguez also drove in a pair with a sac fly and a double.

Team record: 98-26. Next up: An off-day to fly back home where the Minnesota Twins await us for three games.

[Art Deco]

Game 1: The Rays dropped a frustrating game to Minnesota 5-3, frustrating because they outhit the Twins 12-5 but couldn't get the big one when they needed it while the Twins took advantage of their opportunities. More pointedly the Twins had a pair of 2-run homers that made the difference, with Julio Rodriguez's 2-run shot in the 8th off Jon Whiteleather the game-winner. Christian Little started for the Rays and was pretty sharp until the 6th when he gave up his obligatory longball to Manny Baque which made it 3-0 Minnesota. He finished 7 4 3 3 2 11 and Whiteleather was given a high-leverage opportunity in the 8th and blew it. Tim Siqueiros had a 2K 1-2-3 9th. The offense meanwhile, in addition to the 12 hits received 4 walks from Twins starter Jordan Wicks but Luis Corpus twice hit into key double plays, including one with the bases loaded and one out. They finally broke through for three in the 6th to tie it thanks in large part to Rodriguez dropping a fly ball. Bobby Witt Jr ripped a 2-run triple to take advantage and Ricky Widmar brought him home with a single. But despite four more hits in the final 3 innings they couldn't get another runner home, leaving a total of 13 on base.

Game 2: The Rays bounced back tonight for win #99 in an 8-1 thrashing of Minnesota at Publix Park behind a balanced offense and another fantastic start from Jon Soranno. The rookie righty made his home debut and while he wasn't as overpowering as he was in his first start he also wasn't as wild, going 6 4 1 1 2 2 and getting some weak contact. As a result he's 2-0, 1.38 while Mike Mooney (2) and Brad Ballmann (1) pitched the final three innings without allowing a run. The scoring came early and often. After Eloy Jimenez had an RBI single to put them on the board in the 1st, a 4-run 3rd busted it open. Dayle Jenkins (as part of yet another 4-hit night) and Nate Clark hit back-to-back triples, Joe Barker homered (#23) to bring Clark home, and Connor Kirkley had an RBI single to make it 5-0. Jasson Dominguez (low-key having a great year now hitting .325) had a 2-run HR (#25) in the 5th and Kirkley went deep for a solo shot (#23) in the 7th. Ricky Widmar had to leave in the 4th with a dreaded "injured, diagnosis pending" sending me into a panic for the rest of the game but it turns out it's just hip soreness, a 3-day injury so we'll rest him for a few.

Game 3: The bats came to play again and Andy Aparicio turned in a solid if not spectacular outing as the Rays topped the Twins 8-4. Aparicio improved to 17-1 with a 7 8 3 2 0 5 outing where he gave up more than his usual share of hard-hit balls but many of them were right at Rays fielders. His ERA ticked up to 1.52 in the process, and Tim Siqueiros pitched the rest of the 8th after Aparicio gave up a leadoff double while Jordan Diaz saw his first work in 8 days in the 9th and the rust showed a little as he allowed a run. The offense gave them a quick 4-0 lead in the 1st on a Nate Clark RBI single, Eloy Jimenez's 10th HR as a Ray, a 2-run shot which was #53 overall, and a Connor Kirkley RBI single. Clark later added two more RBI singles while Dane Ayers and Jakob Runnels each had RBI doubles to round out the scoring for win #100.

Team record: 100-28. Next up: Kansas City comes to town to close out the month of August with three this weekend.

[Art Deco]

Game 1: Jon Hayes became MLB's first 20-game winner in 2031 as the Rays cruised past Kansas City 6-2. The veteran lefty gave up a first-inning run and an unearned run in the 3rd but coasted from there, going 8 7 2 1 2 10 on the night to go to 20-3, 2.83. He picked up some early run support when the Rays got to Marvin Santana for 3 runs in the 1st on RBI singles from Dayle Jenkins, Eloy Jimenez and Bobby Witt Jr. It remained a close 3-2 game until the Rays hit solo homers in the 6th (Witt #12), 7th (Nate Clark #31) and 8th (Connor Kirkley #24). Witt and Kirkley each had 3-hit games, while Jose Alvarado pitched a 2K 1-2-3 9th to secure Hayes' milestone win. And with the Yankees losing later in the evening, the Rays clinched the AL East before the calendar turns to September. That's 10 straight division titles if you're counting at home.

Game 2: A 4-0 deficit was no problem as usual for the Rays, who rode the home run ball to a 7-4 comeback win over Kansas City. Danny Ceja pitched well overall except for the 3rd inning when he surrendered a pair of 2-run homers to the Royals which put the Rays in a sizable hole. But he hung in there long enough to pick up a win, going 7 6 4 4 0 9 and improving to 6-2, 4.18. The comeback started in the bottom of the inning when Dayle Jenkins hit #10 with the bases empty, and then in the 5th Eloy Jimenez cut it to 4-3 with a 2-run shot, #11 as a Ray and #54 overall, by far the best in the majors. Then the big blow came in the bottom of the 7th when with two men aboard Jasson Dominguez launched a 3-run homer (#25) to put the Rays ahead 6-4. They added a run in the 8th on Ricky Widmar's sac fly, and Jose Alvarado and Jordan Diaz had scoreless innings for the hold and the save, respectively, Diaz's 19th.

Game 3: The Rays cruised to a sweep of Kansas City with a 7-1 win behind Christian Little and some production from the bench. Little was in vintage form, going 6 3 1 1 1 9 and moving to 15-6, 3.55. Jon Whiteleather, Nate Thompson and Tim Siqueiros each threw a scoreless inning in relief. The offense primarily came from Rodolfo Rivas (a 2-run HR, #16, in the 2nd) and D'Andre Hodges (a 3-run blast, his 2nd, in the 5th). Dayle Jenkins added an RBI double.

Team record: 103-27. Next up: We start a road trip with 3 in Baltimore.

[Art Deco]

Before I get into the games, some other business to report:

September 1: Activated OF Victor de Jesus and P Alec Sachais from the IL.

Activating these two is our September roster expansion as Jon Soranno and D'Andre Hodges stay up instead of being sent down.

And now for some monthly awards:



Hayes and Andy Aparicio have been alternating this award, with AA winning it in May and July and Hayes in June and now August.



Congrats to Ceja, who has filled in well for the injured Marc Wagner.

And down on the farm:



BNN has Bo Angeac as a top 10 prospect. That seems too high, but he definitely has MLB power, the problem is his hit tool as you can see from the low batting averages above. If he can get that to .250 he could be a useful player in the future.

Game 1: Although Alec Sachais was activated off the IL today, we gave the guy who took his place in the rotation, Jon Soranno, another start to see how he'd do in a tougher ballpark. He was adequate, and so were the Rays in hanging on for a 6-5 win over the Orioles at Camden Yards. Soranno got into early trouble, putting a couple of men on and giving up a 3-run homer to put them down 3-1. But he settled in from there to an extent and got big-time help from his infield which turned 5(!) double plays behind him. Soranno is an extreme groundball pitcher and it paid off for him today as he went 6 5 3 3 5 3 with all those walks being not great. He's now 3-0, 2.37 but with a lousy 11/11 BB/K ratio in 19 innings. Jon Whiteleather had a scoreless 7th but Tim Siqueiros ran into trouble in the 8th, giving up a run and leaving with men on 2nd and 3rd and one out. But Jose Alvarado predictably got him out of it, and Alvarado got the first out in the 9th before giving way to Jordan Diaz, who allowed a Druw Jones homer to make it 6-5 but held on for save #20. Offensively the big hit of the game was a 3-run homer from Joe Barker (#24) in the 3rd which put them back ahead 4-3. Barker also singled in a run and Dayle Jenkins had a big 2-RBI single in the 6th as part of his 3-hit day as he stays blazing hot with a 20-game hitting streak during which he's 36 for 87.

Game 2: Alec Sachais made a triumphant return from the injured list and a game that was 2-0 Rays through 7 innings turned into a late slugfest as Tampa Bay prevailed 11-4. Sachais was excellent after missing a couple of weeks, going 7.1 2 1 1 3 6 and probably not allowing that run had the lead not been Brad Ballmann-proof as the lefty came in and allowed his runner to score, along with three of his own in going the final 1 2/3. Ballmann has an option left, I'm just saying. Sachais is now 13-7, 3.32. Jasson Dominguez's 1st-inning 2-run HR (#26) stood up for the longest time before the Rays went crazy in the 8th, scoring 6 times. First, Connor Kirkley hit a 3-run HR to make it 5-0, then Ricky Widmar tripled in a run to extend the lead to 6-0. This brought up Dayle Jenkins, whose 20-game hitting streak was in jeopardy with an 0-fer. He empathically extended the streak with a 2-run HR to left (#11) and the rout was truly on. They tacked on 3 more in the 9th when Joe Barker hit #25 and then Kirkley went deep for the second straight inning with a man on, giving him a career-high 26 homers. With the big game Kirkley now is up to 5.0 WAR, giving the Rays 5 hitters with at least that amount (Widmar, Jenkins, Nate Clark, and Dominguez being the others). They also have two pitchers with 5+ WAR, Andy Aparicio and Jon Hayes, while Christian Little is just behind at 4.9.

Game 3: It was a game of surprises as the Orioles beat the Rays for the 6th time this season 4-3 in the series closer. Surprise as to whenever the Rays lose these days and surprise in that Baltimore beat Andy Aparicio, becoming the first team to score four times against him in a game this season. AA pitched well, and threw a complete game in the loss, going 8 5 4 4 2 10. But the O's got the sequencing just right, scoring 2 in the 3rd with 2 out on a 2-run single after a couple of hits and a stolen base, and getting 2 more in the 6th on a triple and a double as they packed all 5 of their hits into those two rallies. Meanwhile Jorge Cadena, who came in with an ugly 5-14 record that belied how well he's pitched this year, held the Rays to 7 6 3 3 1 6 and now sports a 3.56 ERA. Ricky Widmar tripled in a run in the 3rd and scored on Dayle Jenkins' single, which enabled Jenkins to extend his hitting streak to 22, for the first two Rays runs and Nate Clark hit #32 in the 4th for the other one as the offense was stifled otherwise. They did try to mount a two-out rally in the 9th with a couple of singles but Bobby Witt Jr grounded out to end the game. Aparicio falls to 17-2 and his ERA jumps to 1.65.

Team record: 105-28. Next up: An off-day then we head up I-95 to play the Yankees for a weekend set.

[Art Deco]

Game 1: The Rays took a hard-fought 2-1 win over the Yankees at the Stadium today with Bobby Witt Jr's 13th HR of the year in the 9th off Durbin Feltman the game-winner. It was quite the pitchers' duel between Jon Hayes and Yankee ace Eric Peterson, and the Yankees jumped out ahead first in the 6th on Matt Thaiss' RBI triple. But the Rays answered back in the top of the 7th with Victor de Jesus delivering an RBI single in an inning the Rays should have scored more as de Jesus was caught stealing and then the next three hitters singled, but they couldn't get anyone home. Hayes was solid throughout, going 7.2 7 1 1 0 4 before giving way to Jose Alvarado, who got Vlad Jr to get out of the 8th and picked up his 2nd win of the season when Witt homered. Alvarado stayed on and struck out the side in the 9th to preserve his own win as he's now at 2.9 WAR, a ridiculous number for a relief pitcher.

Game 2: Connor Kirkley had a monster game and Christian Little was his usual dominant self as the Rays routed the Yankees 7-1, further burying New York's fading playoff hopes. Having once looked a lock for a wild card, the Yankees have lost 5 straight now, falling to .500 and are 2 1/2 out of the second wild card and 1/2 game behind Detroit. Today they can thank Kirkley for their predicament as the Rays second sacker blasted a pair of homers and drove in 5 runs. His first longball came in the 2nd with a man on off Yankee starter Dave Falco, he added an RBI single in the 4th and then took onetime Ray farmhand Hunter Barco deep for a 2-run shot (#28) in the 9th. The other two runs scored off a Rodolfo Rivas sac fly and a wild pitch. Little was excellent again in facing the high-powered Yankee lineup going 6 3 1 0 2 9, improving to 16-6, 3.43 and moving past the 5 WAR mark for the season. Jon Whiteleather, Evan Godwin and Nate Thompson each pitched a scoreless inning in relief.

Game 3: The Rays completed the sweep of the Yankees with a 5-3 win and they remain poised to break their own MLB single-season win record of 122 wins set in 2028, needing to go only 15-11 over their final 26 games to do so. Jon Soranno got the start and he continued his perfect 4-for-4 record with a 7 4 1 1 2 3 outing to lower his ERA to 2.08. Soranno had to survive some shaky bullpen work from both Mike Mooney, who gave up a leadoff homer and put two more on in the 8th, and Jordan Diaz, who allowed 2 hits and 2 walks to score a run and left the bases loaded to still pick up save #21. The offense wasn't very efficient today as it took 14 hits and 7 walks to generate 5 runs with 14 men left on base. It was still enough and the runs started with HR #14 for Bobby Witt Jr and Dane Ayers' RBI single in the 2nd to make it 2-0, and Joe Barker's RBI single in the 7th made it 3-1 before they added a pair in the 8th on Victor de Jesus's RBI double and a Barker sac fly. Jasson Dominguez was 4-4 and Ayers had a 3-hit day off the bench.

Team record: 108-28. Next up: The road trip heads west to Detroit for 3 games. The Tigers, winners of the AL Central the last 3 years, had a bad first half but are making a outside-shot run at a wild card at the moment.

[Art Deco]

Some love for Connor Kirkley:



Game 1: An ugly, ugly loss that would have qualified as a heartbreaker if it actually meant something to the Rays as they fell 8-7 in 12 innings to Detroit in a game which keeps the Tigers' wild card hopes alive. The Rays blew a 5-1 lead in the middle innings, and then took a 7-6 lead into the bottom of the 10th and blew it on consecutive misplayed ground balls, each of which would have been the final out of the game. They made four errors in total, all of which contributed to Detroit runs, in perhaps their sloppiest game of the season. They had built a 5-1 lead in bizarre fashion with five solo homers off Tigers starter Alek Manoah. Ricky Widmar (#17) and Dayle Jenkins went back-to-back to lead off the game, and Jenkins (#13) and Nate Clark (#33) did likewise in the 3rd. Luis Corpus added #14 and Danny Ceja had a nice cushion to work with. But he squandered it all in the 5th, giving up his own back-to-back jacks, a 3-run homer with a man on who reached via error, and a solo shot by old friend Spencer Torkelson. And after the Rays re-took the lead in the 6th on a Jasson Dominguez sac fly, Ceja put two on with one of those reaching via a Joe Barker error, and while Nate Thompson did a good job getting out of the jam, the run still scored to tie it. Ceja finished 5 8 6 4 1 4 while Thompson went 3 1/3 scoreless with Evan Godwin getting the final two out of the 9th. The Rays thought they had won it in the 10th on back-to-back doubles from Dominguez and Bobby Witt Jr, but Jose Alvarado in the bottom of the inning had a man on 2nd with 2 out and got a grounder to Widmar, who booted it for his 2nd error of the game to put men on 1st and 3rd. And then the next batter hit a squibber in front of the plate which Corpus bobbled, allowing the tying run to score. Jon Whiteleather admirably got Alvarado out of an 11th-inning jam, but left with a man on 2nd and two out in the 12th, and Mike Mooney came in to face the lefty Phil Arias (who earlier hit the 3-run homer off Ceja) and gave up a single to score the winning run.

Game 2: The Rays lost their second in a row to Detroit as they were dominated by longtime Tiger ace Kumar Rocker in a 3-0 loss. Rocker shut them down like few pitchers have this season, going 7.1 3 0 0 3 10. The only real threat they had was in the 9th when they put two on with two out and Eloy Jimenez at the plate, but Eloy grounded out to 1st to end the game. Alec Sachais started and gave up a homer to Enrique Bradfield (a Rays-killer) to lead off the game and struggled some, going 6 7 3 3 3 7. Brad Ballmann pitched two scoreless innings (!), allowing only a hit, in his best outing in ages. With the Angels losing the win has Detroit within one game of the second wild card.

Game 3: The Rays salvaged the third game of the series and a split of the season series with Detroit thanks to a 5-2 win behind Andy Aparicio. The righty bounced back from a 4-runs allowed loss in his previous start to go 8 4 2 2 0 9 and improve to 18-2, 1.67. Jordan Diaz had a scoreless 9th to nail down save #22. The star on offense once again was Connor Kirkley, 3-3 today with a solo HR (#29) to make it 2-0 in the 5th. Jakob Runnels got things going by singling in Kirkley in the 3rd, and Ricky Widmar's sac fly and Dayle Jenkins' RBI double after the Kirkley homer made it 4-0 in the 5th. Nate Clark added an RBI single in the 9th after Detroit had closed within 4-2.

Team record: 109-30. Next up: An off-day the finally back home again to face the Red Sox in a weekend series.

Durham Playoff Update: Playoff time for the Bulls again, who went 87-53 and ran away with their division. Their opponent for the opening series is Lehigh Valley, the Phillies' AAA affiliate and they took Game 1 from the IronPigs tonight 5-4 in Durham. They rallied from deficits of 2-0 and 4-2 to pick up the win on Angelo Romo's 7th-inning sac fly after Omar Rodriguez doubled Melvin Gutierrez to 3rd. Omar had a 2-run double in the 5th to tie it up at 4. Malachi Benford started and was fair at 6 6 4 4 1 6, but the Durham bullpen was outstanding with Chris Hicks whiffing all 4 men he faced to get the win and Danny Medina retiring the final 5 IronPigs in order for the save. Gil Wayne starts Game 2 tomorrow.

[Art Deco]

Durham Playoff Update (from 9/11): The Bulls took a commanding 2-0 lead in their opening round IL series with Lehigh Valley thanks to a commanding 14-3 blowout of the IronPigs. Brandon Applebee had a 1st inning grand slam and drove in 5 while Jaiden Hardaway was 3-3 with 3 RBI, 4 runs scored and 2 walks. Mike Harms (who had a .350-23-102 regular season) and Osmy Gregorio also drove in a pair. Gil Wayne got the win going 7 8 3 3 0 8, and Tim Sandstrom will look to close it out Saturday.

Game 1: Jon Hayes was dominant and the Rays took a 4-1 win over Boston in their series opener. Hayes was in his rocking chair, going 8 3 1 1 1 6 on 107 pitches to pick up win #21 against 3 losses and lower his ERA to 2.69. That ties the single season Rays wins record set by Blakes Snell (2018) and Money (2028), and with three or four more starts left Hayes is likely to break it. Jordan Diaz preserved the win with a scoreless 2K 9th, good for save #23. Connor Kirkley brought home the first Rays run with an infield single in the 2nd but strained a rib cage muscle and will be rested for the next 3 games. The big blows came in the 4th when Joe Barker (#26) and Jasson Dominguez (#27) each hit solo homers to make it 3-1. Nate Clark added a sac fly in the 5th for the 4th run.

Game 2: The Rays scored all 7 of their runs in the 3rd and 4th innings and coasted to a 7-2 win over Boston to go to 12-2 in the season series against the Red Sox. Boston starter Mario Candelaria retired the first 10 Rays but very few after that as Dayle Jenkins broke the ice with a solo homer in the 4th, two more reached and Jasson Dominguez drove in the go-ahead run with a sac fly, and then Bobby Witt Jr doubled in two more to make it 4-1. In the 5th, Luis Corpus hit #15 and after Ricky Widmar doubled, Jenkins homered for the second consecutive inning (#15) to up the lead to 7-1. That was way more than enough as usual for Christian Little, who went 6 3 1 1 3 11 with lone run against a Bob Kelly homer. He's now 17-6, 3.36 with an outside shot to win 20. Danny Ceja, dropped from the rotation with Alec Sachais back, picked up his first MLB save by going the final 3 innings, allowing a run and whiffing 4.

MLB Notes: It was milestone homer night as Bo Bichette hit #300, former Ray Gavin Lux blasted #400 and Juan Soto launched #500. Soto had 2 homers tonight and they were his first of the season as he's missed almost all of the season after suffering post-concussion syndrome from getting beaned in mid-April.

Durham Playoff Update: The Bulls completed the sweep of Lehigh Valley with a 3-1 win tonight in Pennsylvania. Tim Sandstrom went 5 innings and the Bulls-pen was outstanding from there with Chris Hicks throwing a pair of shutout innings and Eric Carter nailing down the save. Brandon Applebee was 3-4 with an RBI and was named Series MVP while Jaiden Hardaway was 2-4 with a double and 2 runs scored. They'll either play Columbus or Buffalo in the finals.

Game 3: The Rays came out on the short end of a low-scoring affair with Boston which saw each team only manage 5 hits, losing 3-1. Nate Clark and Joe Barker were rested today, but that doesn't completely explain it as Clark's replacement D'Andre Hodges accounted for the only Rays run with a solo homer (#3) in the 5th. Alex Santos and the Red Sox pen did a masterful job of limiting Tampa Bay today, with the key moments a couple of times they got Ricky Widmar to ground into double plays. Jon Soranno started for the Rays and was very good, and after getting a strikeout to lead off the 7th in a 1-1 game, he walked a man and his pitch count was in the mid-90s. I should have pulled them him then but let him pitch to the righty Gabriel Arias, who blasted a 2-run homer to win the game for Boston. He finished 6.1 4 3 3 3 8, with the 8 whiffs a career high. Tim Siqueiros finished the 7th, Mike Mooney had a 1-2-3 8th and Jon Whiteleather a scoreless 9th to keep it close but there would be no Rays rally today.

Team record: 111-31. Next up: The fading Yankees come to town for 3. Despite a win today they've dropped 4 games out of the 2nd wild card and BNN has their playoff chances down to 6%.

[Art Deco]

Game 1: He did it again: Andy Aparicio twirled his third shutout and fourth complete game of the season in a 5-0 win over the Yankees. Aparicio, who moved to 19-2 and lowered his ERA to 1.60, went 9 5 0 0 2 7 on 126 pitches in the gem. His injury proneness is listed as "Iron Man" and he has 70 stamina so he's one pitcher I have no problem riding as long and hard as possible. And with the shutout he's now up to 8.3 WAR, which leads all of MLB including hitters, so the case can be made he's not only the AL Cy Young frontrunner, but a legit MVP candidate as well. All 5 Rays runs scored on homers, as Nate Clark wreaked havoc against his old organization by going deep twice with a 2-run shot in the 1st and a solo blast in the 6th, giving him 35 HR to go with 127 RBI. Bobby Witt Jr hit #15 in the 4th and Victor de Jesus launched #22 in the 7th.

Meanwhile, I'll never understanding scouting in this game:



News: Former Ray Heston Kjerstad has retired, last seen playing for Detroit's AA team. While Kjerstad made limited contributions to the Rays as a player, playing in 45 games over parts of 3 seasons, he's had a major impact on the franchise as it currently stands. If you've followed along all these years, you'll recall he was traded in 2026 to Texas for then-propsect Ricky Widmar along with pitcher Hayden Johns. We all know how Widmar's turned out but Johns brought us Rodolfo Rivas in trade from Philadelphia a couple of years ago as well. And Kjerstad himself was acquired for veteran Mike Minor back in 2022, as his trade tree has been the OOTP version of the guy who traded a paper clip for a house. Also retiring was veteran reliever Kevin Ginkel, best known to us as Toronto's closer who helped eliminate us in 2021 and 2022 and whom we could never seem to beat in his time with the Jays. Finally, one-time Rays phenom Joe Ryan retired. Ryan came up and was a sensation in 2021, with his MLB debut against Toronto (scroll down to the end of the post) legendary in this save. He was a regular in the 2022 rotation but gave up 50 HR(!) in 172 IP and suffered a torn UCL 9 starts into the 2023 season, which would be the last time he'd pitch in the majors. He spent the last 6 years in the Washington organization before finally hanging it up.

Game 2: The Yankees got to Alec Sachais for four runs and took a 4-0 lead in the 5th, but as has been so often the case a 4-run deficit proved to be little more than a speed bump for the Rays as they went on to drub New York 9-4. In the bottom of the 5th the Rays batted around and scored six runs with the big blows a 3-run homer from Dayle Jenkins (#16) and a bases-clearing 3-run double from Rodolfo Rivas. And they added 3 more for good measure in the 7th on an Eloy Jimenez sac fly (he continues to hit, but has gone the month of September without homering so Bonds and McGwire are safe) and a 2-run shot from Rivas (#17) to cap a 5-RBI day for him. Sachais hung in there and went 7 6 4 4 1 8 to go to 14-8, 3.44 while Evan Godwin and Nate Thompson closed out the game with scoreless innings.

Game 3: For the second straight night a Rays starter struggled and put them in a 4-0 hole, but unlike last night the bats couldn't quite complete the comeback in a 4-3 loss. In his first bid to set the Rays' single-season wins record, Jon Hayes didn't have his best stuff (or his best concentration as he balked in a first-inning run, can't remember the last time a Rays pitcher did that), giving up an early homer and although he hung in there for 5 innings with only 2 runs allowed, he yielded a 2-run homer to light-hitting Yankee 2B Pat Todd in the 6th and finished 6 8 4 4 3 2 and dropped to 21-4, seeing his ERA rise for the first time in a long time (to 2.79). Tim Siqueiros, Jon Whiteleather and Nate Thompson did their jobs keeping the Yankees off the board the rest of the game, and it looked like we might have a replay of last night when Joe Barker hit a 2-run HR (#27) in the bottom of the 6th to halve the lead and Jasson Dominguez doubled in a run in the 7th to make it 4-3. But a 1-2-3 8th doomed them as well as the failure to bring Dayle Jenkins home in the 9th when he reached 2nd with one out.

Team record: 113-32. Next up: Baltimore arrives in town for four games.

[Art Deco]

Game 1: For the third straight game a Rays starter allowed four runs early, and for the second time in those games the Rays came back to win, taking a 7-4 decision over the Orioles. Christian Little had a nightmarish 3rd inning, giving up a 2-run HR, seeing another run score on a 2-out passed ball on a strikeout and then allowing a triple to score that runner. Outside of that inning he was pretty good, if a bit wild, finishing 6 5 4 2 4 10. The 4-run Baltimore 3rd erased a brief Rays lead when Connor Kirkley singled in a run in the 2nd, but later the Rays' boomsticks went to work in consecutive innings. Rodolfo Rivas started the comeback in the 6th with a 2-run shot (#18) off former Ray Steve Givens, Eloy Jimenez homered for the first time since August 30 with a man on in the 7th to give the Rays the lead, his 12th with the team and 55th of the season, and Luis Corpus added some insurance with a 2-run shot of his own in the 8th (#16). Mike Mooney picked up win #3 with a scoreless 7th and Jordan Diaz and Jose Alvarado each struck out 3 in their respective innings of work with Alvarado nabbing save #20, giving the Rays a pair of 20-save relievers. Alvarado is having a reliever season for the ages, now at 3.1 WAR thanks to a season line of 45 20 4 4 8 61 and without a home run allowed. Pretty impressive considering the man is now 36.

Durham Playoff Update: The Bulls opened play in their International League Championship Series at home with an 8-2 win over the Columbus Clippers. Omar Rodriguez, ranked as the #6 prospect in baseball by BNN, had a career game as he went 4-5 with 3 doubles, a homer and 5 RBI to lead the way. He led off the game for Durham with a home run, had RBI doubles in the 5th and 7th, and a 2-RBI double in the 8th to break open a 5-2 game. Malachi Benford started and didn't allow a hit until the 4th, going 7.1 3 2 2 4 9. Ian Haley got him out of the 8th and stayed on to pitch the 9th after the game was blown open to pick up the save. They'll look to go up 2-0 in the best-of-5 tomorrow behind Gil Wayne.

Game 2: This really is getting to be Groundhog Day as for the fourth consecutive game a Rays starter gave up 4 early runs. Today it was Jon Soranno, and today they all came in the first inning as he was getting doubled to death and also gave up an unfortunate 2-out infield single for the 4th run. But he settled down from there, and yes the offense kept chipping away until they took the lead. The difference today is that Baltimore came back and tied it at 5 before the Rays scored again to win 6-5. Soranno didn't look like he'd last very long but was almost unhittable after that first inning until he gave up a leadoff homer to Gunnar Henderson in the 7th. He got an out, then after a Connor Kirkley error he left, going 6.1 7 5 5 0 5. Tim Siqueiros was the beneficiary of that runner being caught stealing and got a whiff to get out of the 7th, and then the Rays got an Eloy Jimenez sac fly in the 7th to take the lead. Siqueiros stayed on to get 2 outs in the 8th and pick up his first win of the year while Evan Godwin got the lefty out to end the inning. Jordan Diaz then nailed down the save with a 1-2-3 2K 9th, #24 for him. The comeback started in the 2nd with RBI singles from Kirkley and Luis Corpus, then Jasson Dominguez hit HR #28 to make it 4-3. Nate Clark's 5th-inning RBI single tied the game, and Kirkley's RBI double gave them the lead at 5-4 in the 6th.

Durham Playoff Update: Gil Wayne was rocked for 5 runs in the first inning by Columbus and although the Bulls valiantly tried to come back it was too much to overcome in a 9-7 loss which evens the IL Championship Series at a game apiece. Jaiden Hardaway was ridiculous again for the Bulls, going 3 for 3 with 2 walks, a triple and 2 RBI while Devon Tuley and Osmy Gregorio each had 3 hits. The Bulls loaded the bases with 2 out in the bottom of the 9th but Angelo Romo was caught looking at a third strike. Tim Sandstrom will start Game 3 in a couple of days in Columbus.

Game 3: History was made at Publix Park as Andy Aparicio and the Rays beat Baltimore 7-4, a final score that couldn't be more misleading. Aparicio was his usual brilliant self and picked up win #20, giving the Rays a pair of 20-game winners in the same season for the first time in franchise history with Jon Hayes currently on 21. The pair become the first teammates to win 20 since Justin Verlander and Gerrit Cole for Houston in 2019. AA was dealing and took a shutout into the 9th before loading the bases with nobody out. Jon Whiteleather came on and nearly preserved the shutout, getting a whiff and a short fly ball but Luis Basabe drilled a 2-out grand slam to tag Aparicio with 3 runs, making his final line 8 5 3 3 2 10 and inflating his ERA to 1.66. WAR didn't care, though, as Aparicio now sits at an MLB-best 8.7. On offense they slowly built the lead a run at a time before scoring 3 times in the 7th. Connor Kirkley was the star on offense, going 3-4 with a solo HR, his 30th. After a tremendous first half Kirkley had slowed down considerably but has really picked it up again over the last month and leads the AL in OPS and is at 6.0 WAR. The thought was he maybe gets traded this winter to make way for #1 overall prospect Jaiden Hardaway but perhaps one can DH next year. Victor de Jesus and Jasson Dominguez were also each 2-4 with an RBI.

Game 4: The Rays completed the 4-game sweep of Baltimore with a 5-1 win behind some excellent pitching from Alec Sachais. The veteran righty went 7.1 5 1 1 0 8 and is now 15-8, 3.34, with Brad Ballmann finishing up over the last 1 2/3. Jasson Dominguez had a 3-RBI day with a sac fly in the 3rd and a 2-run double in the 5th while Eloy Jimenez drove in the other two runs with RBI singles in the 3rd and 5th.

Team record: 117-32. Next up: We head to Fenway for four games.

Durham Playoff Update: 9th-inning homers from Jaiden Hardaway and Angelo Romo broke a 2-2 tie and the Bulls held on for a 4-3 win over Columbus to take the pivotal 3rd game of the series and a 2-1 lead. Hardaway's homer capped a 3-4 day and he's now hitting an absurd .650 (13-20) in the playoffs. Tim Sandstrom was impressive, going 6.1 8 1 1 2 5 with 4 of the hits off him of the infield variety. Chris Hicks blew the 2-0 lead he inherited but vultured the win, and Eric Carter allowed a homer in the 9th but hung on for the save. Mike Champagne will hope he's an appropriately-named pitcher for what could be a celebration if the Bulls can close it out behind him in Game 4.

[Art Deco]

Game 1: Jon Hayes tried once again for a Rays single-season record 22nd win, and once again he was unable to get it thanks to a key error and some surprising ineffectiveness from Jose Alvarado in a 6-4 loss. Hayes went 7 5 2 2 2 7 and after the Rays rallied for 3 runs in the 7th (with help from Boston's own key error), he had a 4-2 lead and was in line for the win. But after getting the first man out in the 8th Alvarado gave up a single and then Nate Clark dropped Eric Knatz's fly ball putting men on 2nd and 3rd. After a strikeout for out #2, Alvarado then gave up a 2-run double to Gabriel Arias to tie it and a single from Yoan Moncada to put Boston ahead. Tim Siqueiros then gave up a double to one-time Ray Ryan Jeffers to score Moncada and that was that. All the runs against Alvarado were unearned but he still suffered his first loss of the season. The Rays were up against old friend Shane Baz who pitched well, allowing only a Joe Barker RBI single in the 1st until they scored three times in the 7th on a Victor de Jesus RBI triple after a Boston error and RBI singles from Bobby Witt Jr and Luis Corpus.

Durham Playoff Update: Durham are champions for the first time in four years! After winning the IL four times in six seasons from 2022-27, the Bulls have had a bit of a title drought but that was ended tonight. Here's the commemorative box score:



Jaiden Hardaway had one of the more ridiculous playoffs I've seen, going 16-25 (.640) with 7 doubles, an homer and 9 RBI in 7 games. He's not the #1 prospect in baseball for nothing.

Game 2: Christian Little had a shot at giving the Rays 3 20-game winners if he won tonight's start and the two he has remaining, but that pipe dream is over as Little was rocked for 6 runs in a 9-5 loss to Boston, the team's second straight. Things looked good for a brief instant after the Rays scored 3 times in the 3rd on a Nate Clark sac fly and RBI singles from Jasson Dominguez and Rodolfo Rivas, but the Sox struck for 6 in the bottom of the inning off Little, as a Bob Kelly 2-run double, a Ryan Mountcastle 2-run single and Pierson Gibis's 2-run homer turned out to be all Boston would need tonight. Little pitched the 4th and left 4 8 6 6 2 4. You know you've had a rough pitching night when Brad Ballmann is your best hurler and after he threw a pair of perfect innings, Nate Thompson (1) and Mike Mooney (2) gave up runs in their innings of work. Bobby Witt Jr hit HR #16 and Clark had an RBI single to get the Rays as close as 6-5 in the 7th before the pen let the Sox expand the lead.

Notable retirements: Alec Bohm, the Rays' 1B during the first run of titles in the mid-2020s, and who was a big-time postseason performer for us including a walk-off HR to win the ALCS in 2023 on the way to our first World Series, and then a monster postseason in 2025 which saw him drive in 26 runs in 16 games and hit .393, retired today from the Yankees' AAA team. Other Rays-related retirements: Carlos Correa, who played in a bench role for Durham late in the season, hung up the cleats, former mid-2010s Ray Jake Bauers retired, as did Diego Castillo, a reliable reliever for the first couple years of this save, and Randy Arozarena (a real-life Rays postseason hero but a dud in this save). Former All-Star catcher JT Realmuto retired as well.

Game 3: The Rays made sure their losing streak wouldn't reach 3 as they downed the Red Sox 8-3. It was a close 3-2 game through 6 before the Rays broke it open with 5 runs in the 7th, capped by a 3-run Jasson Dominguez HR (#29). Bobby Witt Jr was 2-4 with a couple of RBI and Nate Clark was 3-5 with a ribbie. Jon Soranno started and picked up his 5th win in 7 starts since his recall, going 5 5 2 2 3 5. He walked the leadoff man in the 6th and Evan Godwin took over, walking a man himself but pitching out of that jam. Once the Rays made it a 6-run game, Danny Ceja came in and he picked up save #2 by going the final 3 innings, allowing a run on 4 hits.

Game 4: Once again it was the Andy Aparicio show as the Rays righty owned the opposition again, this time going 8 5 1 1 2 10 against Boston in a 7-1 thumping of the Sox. It's getting almost boring repeating the superlatives about him, but he's now 21-2, 1.64 and far and away the MLB WAR leader at 9.1. I've never had a pitcher so dominant in that category in this save, so it will be interesting to see how he does in the MVP voting. He's got my vote. They jumped out to a quick 2-0 lead in the first on back-to-back homers from Nate Clark (#36) and Joe Barker (#28). Clark had a big day, also doubling twice, and speaking of WAR he's moved into 3rd among AL hitters with 6.5, trailing only the Yankee duo of Ivan Vega and Vlad Guerrero Jr. Jasson Dominguez is right behind him at 6.4 and was 2-4 with an RBI today and Dane Ayers had a 2-RBI double. Mike Mooney pitched the 9th and struck out the side.

Team record: 119-34, meaning they only need to go 4-5 the rest of the way to break their own MLB wins record of 122 set in 2028. Next up: a weekend in Toronto.

[Art Deco]

Game 1: The Rays inch closer to the all-time single-season wins record with #120 today in a 9-1 rout of Toronto. Alec Sachais was excellent once again against Toronto, going 7 4 1 1 1 10 with the only run against naturally a homer. He's now 16-8, 3.26. The big middle-of-the-order bats were productive today with Nate Clark driving in 3 on a sac fly and a 2-run single to give him 136 RBI, and Joe Barker had a 3-run HR (#29). Jon Whiteleather had a rough 8th, giving up 3 runs on a double and a homer, but Rodolfo Rivas was great in a rare pitching appearance, getting Toronto 1-2-3 in the 9th with a whiff.

Game 2: The third time was the charm as Jon Hayes finally picked up win #22, setting the Rays' single-season record for pitching wins originally held by Blake Snell and Blake Money. But it wasn't easy as the Rays just barely hung on to win 4-3 and it took some managing like it was Game 7 of the World Series to get there. Hayes got off to a bit of a rough start, failing to retired the first four batters of the 2nd inning as Toronto scored twice. But he settled in from there and Dayle Jenkins' 17th HR with a man on tied it up and then Bobby Witt Jr's RBI double in the 4th gave them the lead (more on Witt shortly) and a Nate Clark RBI single in the 5th made it 4-2. Hayes had settled in, but in the 7th inning he ran into trouble again, giving up a pair of doubles to cut the lead to 4-3. Tim Siqueiros came on, wild-pitched the man to 3rd with nobody out, so we brought the infield in. Siqueiros struck out the next two but then walked the next two to load the bases before Evan Godwin came in and struck out the lefty Dan Phipps to end that threat. Jordan Diaz came in for the 8th and got a 1-2-3 inning plus the first man in the 9th before giving way to Jose Alvarado. Alvarado, who blew the game and the last time Hayes pitched, got the 2nd out but gave up a triple to make things tense again. But he whiffed Riley Greene to end the game and Hayes finally had the record. Hayes was 6 8 3 3 0 5 for the day and is now 22-4, 2.83 while Alvarado gets save #21. Now about Bobby Witt Jr. His injury proneness is "wrecked" and I've been trying to sub in Dane Ayers as much as I can to avoid the inevitable injury. But it happened today on that RBI double as he suffered a quadriceps strain which will keep him out 6 weeks or in other words throughout the playoffs. Ayers will be a capable replacement at 3B but now we have no real infield backup for the playoffs (although Jenkins can play a very mediocre 2B or 3B). The likely callup is 3B Bo Angeac, who has MLB power but real contact issues despite being BNN's #7 overall prospect, since he's on the 40-man and playoff-eligible. The other 40-man option on merit would be to call up Jaiden Hardaway, but he's a 2B only as is Connor Kirkley so he's of less use right now.

September 28: Placed 3B Bobby Witt on the 10-day IL with a quadriceps strain, purchased the contract of IF Rylan Bannon from AAA Durham.

I decided to not to start Angeac's service time clock, and I'm hoping that OOTP follows the MLB rule of service time not counting for the playoffs so I would bring Angeac up then. Instead say hello again to Rylan Bannon, our backup IF and part-time DH on our first World Series winner back in 2023. He didn't do much at Durham but he's a live body who can play 2B and 3B over this final week while we rest regulars.

Game 3: The Rays equaled their MLB single-season wins record of 122 with a come-from-behind 6-4 win over Toronto today, scoring 3 times in the 9th to pull out the victory. They loaded the bases with nobody out off Toronto closer Eric Woodliff, then pinch-hitter Ricky Widmar hit a sac fly to tie it and after Luis Corpus struck out, Dane Ayers and Dayle Jenkins came through with RBI singles to give them the lead and the win. Earlier Corpus had hit a 3-run HR (#17) to put them up 3-0 but Christian Little allowed a pair of solo homers (including one to his catcher from last year, Gabriel Moreno) to allow the Jays within 3-2. Little finished 6 4 2 2 1 11 and gave way to Mike Mooney in the 7th who was flat-out terrible, allowing 2 runs on 3 hits and a walk and only getting two outs. Nate Thompson got him out of the 7th and ended up finishing the game as I decided to give Jordan Diaz and Jose Alvarado a rest after yesterday. Thompson picked up his 4th win and went 2 1/3 allowing only one hit and whiffing 4. He's really been great this year with a 2.97 ERA and an 11/86 BB/K ratio in 66 2/3 innings. He really belongs in an MLB rotation but he'll have to bide his time to break this one like Shane McClanahan and Andy Aparicio before him.

Team record: 122-34. Next up: An off-day then Columbus comes to town for 3 games. When we last saw the Lightning it was the second week of the season and we helped them to an 0-11 start. Since then, they've played much more like the team that made the World Series last year and amazingly have a shot at winning their division, only 1 1/2 games behind Washington (although 2 back in the loss column). Playing us doesn't help their chances, though.

MLB News: Another wave of retirements. Former Rays hanging it up: Brett Honeywell Jr, Jacob Nix, Nick Solak. Notable MLB players: Christian Yelich (Milwaukee has retired his #22), Jose Ramirez (the former Cleveland star), Nick Madrigal, Franklin Barreto.