The 2022 (and beyond) Tampa Bay Rays

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Transaction: Placed Taj Bradley on the 60-day IL with his torn meniscus, recalled 2B Victor Mesa from Durham.

Game 1: 7-0 W. WP-Buckman (2-1). Starter-Eldridge (2.1 2 0 0 3 1). HR-Haro (16), Mesa (4), Franco (9). Eldridge had to leave with an oblique strain which will keep him from his next start but he and 4 relievers combined on a 4-hit shutout while Mesa and Franco dominated on offense, combining to go 7-10 with 2 HR and 6 RBI.

Game 2: 6-7 L. LP-Okuda (7-2). Starter-Acosta (5 6 5 5 1 4, 3 HR). HR-Solano (14). A frustrating loss for the Rays as they scored 4 in the 6th go ahead 6-5 after Acosta had allowed 3 homers in a rare poor start, only for the bullpen to give up 2 right away in the 7th and despite putting men on in the final innings they couldn't get them home.

Game 3: 2-1 W. WP-Evans (7-5, 6.1 2 1 1 1 11). S-R.Rodriguez (25). HR-Franco (10). The two teams combined for only five hits, with Wander collecting 2 of them including a 2-run homer in the 4th which stood up as the winning hit to back a truly dominant outing from Donye.

Team record: 71-56. The Jays lost 2 of 3 at home to the Cubs so the Rays' division lead grows to 1 1/2 games. Next up: A day off to travel cross-country as we head to Oakland for 3.

Transactions: Claimed reliever Colby Holcombe on waivers from the Cubs, he's rated 60/65/50 and served as the Chicago closer for awhile with 13 saves but had a rough 5.24 ERA. With the Bradley injury we needed another pitcher and Victor Mesa was returned to Durham despite a big game (he'll be back in a few days when rosters expand).

Also this big news:



From last year's bemoaned reliever who always seemed to give up the big hit to this year's all-star starter it's been quite a ride for Acosta, and we're going to keep him around for a few more years.

MLB News: Philly's Alex Bregman, who spent time with the Rays in 2023-24, hit his 400th career homer.

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Game 1: 8-7 W. WP-Ogando (3-4). Starter-Khattak (1.1 7 5 5 1 1). HR-Alvarez (13), E.Green (11), Franco (11). Rays overcame another brutal start from Khattak and Ogando blowing an 8th-inning lead thanks to Wander's tiebreaking homer in the 9th. Elijah Green's 3-run shot in the 6th brought them back into the game.

Game 2: 5-7 L. LP-German (9-5, 3.2 7 4 4 2 5). HR-Caminero (17). More bad pitching, from German and Cody Holcombe in his Rays debut (2 runs on 3 hits in an inning of work). Usually we play low-scoring games in Oakland but not this series.

Game 3: 4-12 L. LP-Acosta (4-3, 2 7 6 4 4 3). HR-Alvarez (14). Our pitching, which has been stellar most of the year, completely deserted us in this series against a bad Oakland team. Acosta has been garbage in the two starts since getting the big contract extension.

Team record: 72-58. Toronto took 2 of 3 to move back within 1/2 game of us. Next up: Home for a pair against Miami.

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Transaction: Recalled 2B Victor Mesa and P Jaheim Lennon from AAA Durham. Mesa was sent down last week to make room for Cody Holcombe and returns while the big news is the recall of Lennon, our top pitching prospect and 1st-round pick last season. He was a pretty good 9-4, 3.32 with the Bulls but is rated 45/75/40 right now so he's mainly up for depth and to mop up some innings.

Game 1: 9-2 W. WP-Evans (8-5, 5.1 4 2 2 2 10). HR-Solano (15). Solano and Wander (who had 3 hits) each drove in 3 to pace the offense while Evans was Donye-mating again.

Game 2: 12-3 W. WP-Eldridge (7-8, 6 7 3 3 1 6). HR-E.Green (12). The Rays sweep the 2-game mini-series from Miami scoring 21 runs. Today's rout was led by Junior Caminero, 3-5 with 2 doubles and 5 RBI while Elijah Green knocked in 3 including a 2-run homer.

Team record: 74-58. Toronto split its two games so we're back up by 1 1/2. Next up: Two more with the Marlins but this time in South Florida.

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Game 1: 3-4 L. LP-Armenta (4-5). Starter-Khattak (5.1 4 3 2 3 1). HR-Haro (17), E.Green (13). Rays squandered leads of 2-0 and 3-2 in this one before Armenta surrendered an 8th-inning homer to lose it.

Game 2: 6-10 L. LP-German (9-6, 4.1 4 4 3 2 7). HR-Albies (15), Solano (16). Thought German would step in for the injured Taj in the rotation and not miss a beat but he put up his second bad start in three and the pen really let it get away. Jaheim Lennon made his MLB debut and gave up a run in his one inning of relief.

Team record: 74-60. The lead is down to 1/2 on the Jays and the Yankees have gotten hot and pulled to within 2 games themselves so we now have a 3-team race for the AL East lead. Next up: 3 games in Texas against the 63-71 Rangers.

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Game 1: 5-2 W. WP-Okuda (8-2). S-R.Rodriguez (27). Starter-Acosta (4 6 2 2 2 4). HR-Hardy (24). Hardy's 2-run homer in the 6th put Tampa Bay ahead to stay and the bullpen hurled 5 scoreless in the win.

Game 2: 4-5 L (12). LP-Holcombe (0-1). Starter-Evans (3.2 6 3 3 4 7). HR-Franco (12), Haro (18). 2-run homers from Wander and Haro gave them a 4-0 lead which they squandered, especially as they had numerous chances to add on to it (13 LOB). Ryan Fernandez made his Ray debut in a tough spot, relieving Holcombe with the bases loaded and nobody out in the 12th, and issued a walk-off walk.

Game 3: 3-4 L. LP-Fernandez (0-1). Starter-Eldridge (6 8 3 3 1 4). HR-Alvarez (15). Another early lead disappeared as Yordan's 3-run shot in the 1st ended up all the offense they'd must (4 hits total) and Fernandez's second Rays outing didn't go so hot either when he allowed another walk-off, this time on a leadoff homer (despite his 70 movement) in the 9th.

Team record: 75-62. Remarkably they're still in first, by 1/2 game over Toronto and 2 over the Yankees. Next up: Back to the friendly confines of the Trop for 3 against the team with the best record in baseball, the 82-55 White Sox.

MLB News: San Diego's Will Bednar pitched a no-hitter against San Antonio, walking 3 and fanning 8 on 110 pitches.

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Game 1: 4-3 W (10). WP-Okuda (9-2). Starter-Khattak (6 6 1 1 1 6). HR-E.Green (14). Ogando blew a 3-1 lead in the 9th but Albies doubled in the 10th, went to third on a wild pitch and scored on Wander's sac fly to walk it off anyway. Caminero was 2-4 with 2 RBI.

Game 2: 3-0 W. WP-German (10-6, 7 3 0 0 2 9). S-R.Rodriguez (28). HR-Albies (16), Franco (13). German was dazzling and back-to-back jacks from Albies and Franco in the 4th was all the offense he needed.

Game 3: 8-5 W. WP-Acosta (5-3, 6 5 2 2 2 7). S-Ogando (9). HR-Caminero (18), Hardy (25). Junior Caminero had a massive 5-RBI game, going 3-4 with a solo homer (Hardy went back-to-back with him) and a double and it looked like they'd coast in this one with a 7-1 lead but the bullpen made it way too interesting but not fatal. As a result they pulled off an impressive sweep of the team that had the best record in MLB coming in.

Team record: 78-62. We did gain a game on Toronto to move 1 1/2 up in the division while the Yankees dropped 4 back. Next up: An off-day then the 70-70 Royals come to town for 3.

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Transaction: .300-hitting Nelson Haro is done for the regular season with a sprained ankle. He should be available in the second week of October, assuming we're playing then, but it's a blow to a team that struggles to score runs at times. Isaac Cedillos, our SS of the future who was out since April with a broken kneecap, is back up after some rehab at Durham.

Game 1: 1-5 L. LP-Eldridge (7-9, 6 5 3 3 2 2). HR-Albies (17). Bats only managed four hits on a dismal night at the Trop.

Game 2: 7-5 W. WP-Ogando (4-4). S-R.Rodriguez (29). Starter-Evans (3 5 3 3 3 3). HR-Hardy (26), Solano (17). A thrilling win that saw the Rays complete a comeback from 5-1 down with Solano's 3-run pinch-homer in the 8th. Hardy was 2-3 with 3 runs scored, a double, homer, walk and 2 RBI.

Game 3: 2-4 L. LP-Khattak (12-9, 5 7 3 3 1 4). HR-Solano (18). This one always seemed just out of their grasp as they dropped a key September series at home. Solano brought in both runs with a solo homer and bases-loaded walk but opportunities were squandered.

Team record: 79-64. Luckily Toronto also lost 2 of 3 so the Rays remain 1 1/2 games up as three more days come off the calendar. Next up: 3 games in Cleveland.

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Game 1: 3-6 L. LP-Ogando (4-5). Starter-Acosta (4 3 2 2 3 4). HR-Solano (19). It was a 3-3 game in the 8th before Ogando couldn't find the plate, walking three including one with the bases loaded and an error figured in suddenly making it 6-3 Cleveland.

Game 2: 1-10 L. LP-German (10-7, 5 4 4 4 4 6). The Rays stunk at the plate (4 hits) and on the mound as well (Ben Onyshko almost single-handedly turned a 2-1 game into a 9-1 game in the 5th).

Game 3: 3-4 L. LP-Eldridge (7-10, 4 6 4 4 2 8). HR-Hardy (27), Cedillos (3). A miserable three days in Cleveland concluded with the Rays unable to recover from Eldridge allowing 3 runs in the first, although they had their chances to tie or go ahead including a man on 3rd in the 9th.

Team record: 79-67. The losing finally caught up with them as Toronto moved into 1st place by 1/2 game, and they're only 1 up on the Yankees now as well which may decide who gets to host a wild card series (they're likely playing one either way as the East leader is 3-4 games back of the other two). Next up: 3 games at home vs Boston, and these are the final home games on the schedule as they'll play the final 13 on the road, which doesn't bode well given they're a .692 team at the Trop and a .367 squad on the road (ouch!). They might be lucky just to make the playoffs (currently 4 1/2 up in the wild card).

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Game 1: 4-3 W. WP-Evans (9-5, 7 2 2 2 0 15). S-R.Rodriguez (30). HR-Caminero (19). Another dominating outing from Donye, with a team season-high 15 whiffs and Junior Caminero supplied the offense with an RBI and a 2-run homer in the 4th to put them ahead to stay.

Game 2: 6-5 W. WP-Ogando (5-5). S-R.Rodriguez (31). Starter-Acosta (3 8 5 5 1 2). HR-Alvarez 2 (17). With 15 HR and 60 RBI coming into today Yordan Alvarez has been a massive disappointment this season but today he came up huge in a critical game, blasting a 3-run homer in the first to wipe out a 2-0 Boston lead and then a game-winning 2-run shot in the 7th to erase a 5-4 deficit. The Rays overcame another poor start from Acosta, who continues to be horrible since being given the 3-year contract extension.

Game 3: See for yourself:



There have been many no-hitters in my various saves but only a scant few have come from Rays hurlers. I can think of 3 offhand in my long-running 2020 save but this is the only one outside that one I can recall at the moment. Walt Khattak wasn't overpowering (4 walks, 4 Ks) but got the plays made behind him and allowed mostly soft contact in pitching the club's first no-hitter since Matt Garza in 2009 in this save. And it came in the team's final regular season home game and in an extremely tight 3-way division race. They needed to win these last 3 home games and they did before they embark on a 13-game road odyssey to finish out the regular season. (The Yordan injury listed at the bottom was minor, he'll be back in the next game).

Team record: 82-67. The Yankees and Jays beat up on each other with the New Yorkers taking 2 of 3. Toronto is now 1 1/2 back and the Yankees 2 but the schedule is not our friend. And that starts right away as we play 3 in St. Louis against the 86-63 Cardinals, themselves in a tight race 1/2 game behind the Cubs.

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Game 1: 7-6 W. WP-Buckman (2-2). S-R.Rodriguez (32). Starter-Eldridge (4.1 5 2 2 3 3). HR-Alvarez (18). A weird one as the Rays jumped out to a 6-0 lead, Eldridge couldn't get through the 5th on 97 pitches, then the pen let the Cards get from 7-2 down to within a run before Ogando fanned the side in the 8th and R-Rod whiffed 2 in the 9th. Carson Williams' 2-run single in a 5-run 2nd was the big hit of the game.

Game 2: 5-2 W. WP-Evans (10-5, 7 2 1 1 0 13). S-R.Rodriguez (33). HR-Alvarez (19). Alvarez homered yet again and the Rays took a 2-0 lead into the 8th thanks to another ridiculous outing from Donye Evans, who has walked 1 and fanned 28 in 14 IP over his last two starts. Cards halved the lead in the 8th before the Rays tacked on 3 runs in the 9th but still need R-Rod to come in for the last out after Cody Holcombe made a mess, preserving their 5th straight victory.

Game 3: 0-1 L. LP-Acosta (5-4, 6 7 1 1 0 7). Acosta's best game since signing his extension went to waste when the bats only managed four hits and the Rays couldn't complete the sweep.

Team record: 84-68. An impressive 2 wins in 3 against a really good Cardinal team was only good for dropping a game in the standings thanks to the Jays sweeping hapless Milwaukee and pulling within 1/2 game of Tampa Bay. The Yankees did drop a pair to the Cubs to fall 3 back. Next up: the road takes us to San Antonio for 3 against the Seagulls (the former Pirates for those who forgot).

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Game 1: 8-4 W (10). WP-Ogando (6-5). Starter-Khattak (4.1 7 4 4 3 2). HR-Caminero (20). Khattak's lousy start put them in a 4-1 hole but they chipped away, tying it on Victor Mesa's pinch-single in the 8th and winning it on Rodolfo Solano's bases-clearing double in the 10th.

Game 2: 4-2 W (10). WP-R.Rodriguez (1-5). Starter-German (5 3 1 1 1 8). HR-Franco (14). Alistair Hardy's RBI single gave the Rays another 10-inning win as German was excellent and so was then pen except for Ogando, who gave up a tying HR in the 8th.

Game 3: 4-6 L. LP-Eldridge (7-11, 3 5 5 4 4 3). HR-Franco (15). Eldridge was awful and this time there was no extra-inning comeback.

Team record: 86-69. Fortunately winning 2 of 3 didn't result in them losing ground this go-round as the Jays finally lost a game to stay 1/2 back. Next up: 4 games in Baltimore as we head into the week's final season.

MLB Playoff Race Update: The White Sox and Mariners have already clinched the Central and West, leaving the Rays-Jays battle for the East the only one at the top. The loser and the Yankees should claim the top 2 wild cards with a 3-way race between Minnesota and Kansas City (tied) and Cleveland (1 1/2 back of both) for the third. In the NL Washington and San Diego are division winners with the Cubs 1 1/2 up on the Cards in the Central. The Central loser, Philly and Atlanta (the latter 3 up on the Mets) should be the wild cards.

MLB News: Milestone time for Atlanta's Matt Olsen (HR #400) and Houston's Anthony Rendon (hit #2500).

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Game 1: 8-2 W. WP-Evans (11-5, 6 2 1 1 3 8). HR-Caminero (21), Rivera (8), Hardy (28). Rays were up 4-0 by the 2nd on 2-run homers from Caminero and Rivera and rolled from there behind the red-hot Evans, whose combined line over his past three starts is 20 6 3 3 4 36 (not a typo).

Game 2: 7-4 W (12). WP-R.Rodriguez (2-5). S-Armstrong (2). Starter-Acosta (5 6 4 4 1 7). HR-Albies (18), Caminero (22), Solano (21). Rays scored single runs in the 7th & 8th to tie it and then won it in the 12th on a 3-run shot from Rodolfo Solano, who is a 20-30 guy at 21 HR and 35 SB in his first season with Tampa Bay.

Game 3: 5-3 W. WP-Khattak (14-9, 6 6 1 1 1 3). S-Okuda (1). Rays made it three straight over the O's thanks to a 4-run 5th and some good pitching from Khattak and Okuda, the latter retiring the final 7 men of the game with 5 via the whiff for his first save with the pen tired from last night's extra-inning tilt. Yordan Alvarez had the big hit with a 2-run double in that 5th.

Game 4: 3-0 W. WP-German (11-7, 6 4 0 0 0 9). S-R.Rodriguez (34). HR-Rivera (9). Ladies and gentlemen, your 2031 AL East Champion Tampa Bay Rays! With Toronto losing a pair in San Diego the Rays opened up a 3-game lead with only 3 games left and thanks to beating the Jays in the season series 8-6 they are division winners. In fact they're also now tied with the White Sox for the all-important #2 seed and a bye through the wild card round. (They split their season series but Chicago has a better intradivisional record so they'll have to finish ahead of them). Today's game saw a gem from German and another big 2-run double from Yordan for the win.

Team record: 90-69. Next up: We'll close out the regular season with 3 in Fenway against the Sox. Before this marathon 13-game road trip to conclude the season began, I feared for this team given their poor away record but they've gone 8-2 so far on it and won the division with 3 games to spare. Now to play for a bye.

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Game 1: 1-6 L. LP-Eldridge (7-12, 5.2 6 3 3 1 5). HR-Mesa (5). A tight game into the 6th that saw the Rays squander a pair of bases-loaded chances before Boston broke it open off the bullpen. Fortunately the White Sox lost so we remained even with them for the #2 seed bye, albeit behind on the tiebreaker.

Game 2: 6-1 W. WP-Evans (12-5, 5 3 0 0 1 10). HR-Franco (16), Hardy (29). Evans did it again, now a combined 25 9 3 3 5 46 on his four-start roll and combined with a Chicago loss we're in pole position for the #2 seed, needing only a win in the finale (or Chicago loss). Solano had a pair of RBI doubles and Hardy a 2-run homer to lead the offense.

Game 3: 7-5 W. WP-Acosta (6-4, 6 6 3 3 0 5). S-R.Rodriguez (35). HR-E.Green (15). Mission accomplished as we secured the #2 seed and now don't have to play a best-of-3 wild card series. Solano's RBI single in the 6th broke a 2-2 tie and Elijah Green's 3-run homer put it away, even though with another Chicago loss we would have clinched the bye anyway.

Final Regular Season Record: 92-70. Next up: the ALDS against the winner of the White Sox and Minnesota with Game 1 at the Trop, where we'll be home for the first time in about 3 weeks.

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The Jays move on to face Seattle in the ALDS.



And the Rays will be facing the Twins in the other ALDS, this worked out by going 3 games as Minnesota will to have to use its 4th starter in Game 1 and a Game 5 if necessary.



The Cubs are moving on to play Washington in NLDS thanks to a massive performance from Stephon McNeil, who homered 4 times in the 3 games of the series.



And Atlanta won two games in Busch Stadium to earn a date with San Diego in the NLDS.

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A nice start...



Welcome back, Nelson Haro! The Rays' DH, out since September 10, returned to action with 2 doubles and a 2-run homer as Tampa Bay laid the lumber to Minnesota in their ALDS opener. Also coming through big was Elijah Green, who wasn't even in the starting lineup. Yordan Alvarez was hit in the face (only a bruised cheekbone) in the 4th with the game 1-0 and Green pinch-ran for him, stole second and scored on an Alistar Hardy double and then broke the game open with a 3-run homer to cap a 5-run 5th. Donye Evans meanwhile wasn't quite as Donye-mating as he'd been recently but was more than good enough to get the win. Luis German will try to keep the good times going in Game 2 tomorrow.

Elsewhere:

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What a difference 24 hours makes...



Well that wasn't great. Luis German didn't have it today, giving up 3 solo homers in the first and two more runs in the 2nd as the Twins evened up the ALDS with a 6-3 win. The offense was fairly quiet after yesterday's explosion and now we head back to Minnesota with Aldry Acosta starting Game 3.

It's also tied up in the other ALDS:

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Atlanta and the Cubs both stave off elimination.

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One win closer, but just barely...



The Rays jumped out to a quick 4-0 lead while Aldry Acosta no-hit the Twins through 5 and it looked like a comfortable Game 3 win was in the offing. It didn't quite turn out that way though as the offense dried up and the Twins made a game of it, especially against Gerald Ogando in the 8th. But Randy Rodriguez got out of that jam and breezed through the 9th to preserve a 4-3 win and put the Rays up 2-1 in the ALDS. Walt Khattak will hope to clinch things tomorrow.

In other DS action:



The Nats become the first team to book a spot in the LCS round as they await the winner of Game 5 between San Diego and Atlanta, while the Jays are angling for another shot at the Rays at the moment.

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Going the distance...



After the teams traded comfortable wins in St. Pete they've split a pair of nailbiters in Minneapolis so we're headed back to the Trop for an all-or-nothing Game 5. Walt Khattak pitched his best game in a while but it didn't matter as the offense was quiet outside of Nelson Haro, who has hit like a maniac after his month off. Donye Evans will try to do it again in two days.

Watching with rapt interest will be the Jays as they polished off Seattle in a thrilling Game 4: