The 2021 (and only 2021) Tampa Bay Rays - Page 41

Art Deco · 08-14-2022, 06:52 PM

January 3: CF Kyle Lewis signed with the Rockies for 3/39.

January 9: The Hall of Fame voting is in:

Congrats to Greinke and Cano, it took a while for them but they made it with room to spare. Ichiro's inability to get over the hump is kind of confounding. The top first-year vote-getter was Freddie Freeman at a mere 7.9%, so it doesn't look like the class of 2029 is going to yield any HOFers.

January 11: A couple of interesting trades. The Jays sent 3B Jordan Groshans to the Padres for a couple of prospects and the Padres dealt CJ Abrams to the Reds for Nick Senzel. Also the Orioles signed starter Emerson Hancock to a 2/15 pact.

January 16: Devin Williams isn't quite as dominant as he was in the early-mid 20s but he's still a pretty good reliever and he went for 2/7.5 to the Cubs.

January 17: Our primary setup man from last year Tommy Doyle has signed with St. Louis on a 2/11.6 deal, coming down from his ridiculous eight-figure demands.

January 21: SS Andres Gimenez got the Spirit, signing for 5/36 with Memphis.

January 26: OF Brayden Jobert, who was up with us in 2028 and hit 346/364/523 and earned the nickname "Mr. 2 for 4" for the numerous times he did that after being recalled, signed a minor league deal with the Angels.

January 31: Bad news from the scouts: Jackson Baumeister, who missed the second half of 2029 with shoulder inflammation, has now had his stuff downgraded from 75 to 60 and his control from 50 to 40, turning him from our projected #2 starter to maybe our 5th. We don't have a lot invested in him monetarily ($1.6M for this year only as he's a 2031 free agent), but we might want to explore other options.

February 5: The biggest-name free agent still out there finally signed as Bo Bichette is now a San Francisco Giant on a 5/117 deal. Bichette is listed as "fragile" though, so good luck there. As a result the Giants shipped their incumbent SS Aeverson Arteaga to San Antonio for a reliever and a minor leaguer.

February 8: Houston, which may have exceeded their unlimited budget this winter, has now signed former Ray Austin Meadows to a 2/21 deal. Somehow they're still only 5th in payroll at $239M.

February 9: Talk about turning your career around. OF Ryan McKenna, who was with us in 2028 on a minor league deal, got a chance to play every day in Miami last year and hit 300/366/428 with stellar defense to earn 3.8 WAR, signed with Minnesota for 2/22.

March 5: Heston Kjerstad, a staple of our teams in the mid-to-late 2020s before he was deal to El Paso last year, had to settle for a minor league deal with Miami despite 32 HR and 85 RBI last year (albeit with a .238 BA and 1.4 WAR).

We made it through Spring Training without any serious injuries, except for relief prospect Cody Adcock who will miss 4-5 months with a shoulder impingement.

Art Deco · 08-14-2022, 07:15 PM

A pretty quiet Spring Training with the only move being made to put Diego Cartaya on waivers since he was out of options, and he ended up clearing and was assigned to Durham. If we either don't sign JT Realmuto or he turns into a pumpkin at 40 we're going to need a catcher next season; Corey Collins is a good backup but not suited to starting and Cartaya hasn't been able to hit at the MLB level. We did sign Keibert Ruiz to a minor league contract (which he can opt out of after 30 days) but he's likely not the 2031 catcher either.

Here's the OD roster:

C-Realmuto, Collins
1B-Crumpton
2B-Howard
SS-W.Franco
3B-Seise
IF-Reiner (the Rule 5 guy)
LF-Kim
CF-C.Gutierrez
RF-J.Baez
OF-Kelley, Aguilar
DH-Greckel

No surprises here with the only change from last year's team this year's Rule 5 guy (Reiner) instead of last year's (Manross)

SP-Hays, Baumeister, Prosecky, R.Ortiz, Panzini
LR-Cecconi, K.Williams
MR-Bruni, E.Garcia, Romero
SU-Fulton, Knack, Megill
CL-Dettmer

The only surprise here is that Elvis Garcia made the team due to him being out of options, over the more-talented Kevin DiCostanzo. I figure there will be an injury soon enough which will allow DiCostanzo to be called up. Also relief prospect Mike Moore had his stuff upgraded to 75/55/50 and he's more than MLB-ready as well, but he doesn't even need to be on the 40-man yet.

The preseason picks:

Looks like we'll be battling the Yankees again; I'm not put off by the 91-71 prediction since the PPs always underestimate us.

We'll open the season with 3 games in Chicago against the White Sox starting April 1.

Art Deco · 08-15-2022, 01:36 PM

Game 1: I present the traditional opening day box:

An excellent Opening Day that provided everything we could have wanted - except for a major injury. Yes, newly-acquired closer Nathan Dettmer was injured on the second batter he faced as a Ray and will miss the next 5 months with a shoulder impingement. He should be back for September but in the meantime we're going to have to come up with a closer. We have several quality candidates so it shouldn't be a grievous blow but seeing that Dettmer was the only significant new acquisition of the offseason for now it feels like a continuation of the 2029 season. As for the game it was good to see that Kelly Crumpton didn't carry over his homerless postseason into the new season as he went deep and James Hays has a leg up for his 4th straight Cy Young.

Transaction: Dettmer goes on the 60-day IL (we now have 3 40-man spots open), and Kevin DiCostanzo, who deserved a roster spot on merit to start the year, is back where he belongs.

Game 2: Jackson Baumeister came into the new season a question mark given his shoulder inflammation of last season and the downgrading of his stuff by the scouts but he pitched well today to lead the Rays to a 4-3 win over Chicago. The righty picked up the win with a 6 5 1 1 1 4 outing and probably shouldn't have started the 7th when he allowed a homer and was then pulled. Landon Knack then allowed a 2-run homer to get the Sox within one before Kevin DiCostanzo got the call in the 9th and pitched around a single to nail down save #1. Ed Howard was the offense with a solo homer and a 2-run single.

Game 3: The Rays completed a season-opening sweep of the White Sox with a not-as-close-as-it-looked 11-7 win in the finale. It was a 10-3 game in the 8th before Elvis Garcia, on the roster only because he's out of options, gave up 4 runs in the bottom of the frame to get Chicago within 3. He may be out of options with me if he has many more outings like this. Anyway the bats ruled the day with Wander Franco going deep twice and driving in four while JT Realmuto added a solo shot in the 9th for some insurance to go with a 2-run double he hit earlier. Chris Seise also had a nice 3-5 day with a steal and a ribbie. Meanwhile Michael Prosecky was solid in his 2030 debut, going 6 6 3 1 1 4 for the win.

Team record: 3-0. Next up: 4 games at Fenway against the Sawx.

Art Deco · 08-16-2022, 04:38 PM

The Rays took 3 of 4 from Boston, not losing until the finale, but despite their excellent 6-1 start they're a game behind the 7-0 Yankees while Detroit has also started the new season 7-0.

They outslugged the Sox in the opener at Fenway 11-7 with a 5-run 3rd putting them ahead to stay. Everyone in the lineup except Chris Seise had a hit, and they received 2-run doubles from Jose Aguilar, Wander Franco and Andrew Greckel. Robinson Ortiz wasn't terribly impressive but managed to eke out a win by going 5 5 5 4 3 2 while allowing three homers in the process.

Shane Panzini had an impressive 2030 debut and the Rays scored early and often to down Boston 7-1 in the second game. Panzini was 6 2 0 0 2 7 as he dominated, and Kendall Williams went the final 3 innings for the save in his first appearance of the season. The offense got a 2nd inning homer from Chris Gutierrez (#1) and a 2-run 3rd-inning shot from JT Realmuto (#2). Wander Franco also had a pair of RBI doubles.

The Rays had to work overtime to make it 6 wins in 6 games for 2030 by topping the Sox 3-1 in 12 innings. Jamie Reiner, who came in the game in the 10th, delivered an RBI single to break the tie before Wander Franco hit his second RBI double for the second straight game to bring Reiner home. Franco now has 10 RBI on the young season. James Hays was excellent at 6 4 1 1 0 8 but didn't get the support so the win eventually went to Gavin Bruni (1-0) with Landon Knack earning his 1st save.

Jackson Baumeister may have passed his first test of 2030 in Chicago but this time around he wasn't very good and neither were a couple of relievers as the Rays tasted defeat for the first time this year in an 11-2 thrashing by Boston. Baumeister (1-1) had major control problems and finished 3.2 6 4 2 5 2 while Slade Cecconi allowed 4 runs in relief and Wennington Romero 3 in his first appearance of the season. Joshua Baez's 1st homer of the year in the 4th was the team's lone highlight.

Team record: 6-1. Next up: Time to open things up at home with 4 against Baltimore.

Art Deco · 08-17-2022, 06:40 PM

The Rays opened their 2030 home schedule with a 4-game set against Baltimore and swept it to go to 10-1. That still doesn't buy them first place though as the Yankees swept their 3-game series and have started the year 10-0 (Detroit has also started 10-0).

Perhaps it's the presence of Jamie Reiner, who's a potential threat to his job, but whatever the reason Ed Howard is determined to make up for his subpar 2029 and is off to a scorching start this season as he was 3-4 with 2 homers and 4 RBI to lead the Rays to a 10-1 bombing of Baltimore in the home opener. The team were presented their 2029 World Series rings in a ceremony before the game and Howard kicked things off with a leadoff homer and then added a 3-run shot to give him 3 on the young season. Andrew Greckel (#2) and Chris Seise (#1) also went yard with a man on, and they backed the excellent pitching of Michael Prosecky (2-0), who went 6 4 0 0 1 4.

Last year's playoff hero and regular-season revelation Joshua Baez had the big game tonight, leading the Rays to a 7-3 win over the Orioles, going 3-4 with a 2-run homer (#2) while Kelly Crumpton went deep with one of his own (#2). Jamie Reiner was 2-3 with an RBI triple and Robinson Ortiz (2-0) improved vastly on his first start by going 6.2 4 1 0 0 7. Kevin DiCostanzo notched the final two outs for save #2.

The Rays had to work a little harder to win the third game, trailing 2-0 into the 5th and not pulling it out until scoring twice in the 8th on back-to-back jacks from Joshua Baez and Kelly Crumpton, the 3rd for each. Shane Panzini had another nice start (5 6 2 2 2 5), Wennington Romero picked up the win after a scoreless 8th and Kevin DiCostanzo saved for the second straight day (#3).

Tampa Bay completed the 4-game sweep with a 6-3 win in the finale behind James Hays who's now 2-0. The righty was 6 6 2 2 1 9 and it was Landon Knack's turn to pick up the save, his 2nd. JT Realmuto was the hitting hero with three hits, including a 3-run homer (#2) in the 2nd inning to put them up to stay, Kelly Crumpton homered for the third straight game (#4) and Wander Franco was 2-3 with an RBI.

Team record: 10-1. Next up: 3 games in Toronto while we wait for the Yankees to actually lose once.

Art Deco · 08-18-2022, 07:33 PM

After looking they'd hardly ever lose, the Rays played a couple of games where it looked like they'd never win again before snapping back in the finale to keep from being swept. The hitherto unbeaten Yankees also dropped two of three so the Rays remain 1/2 back of New York in the early going.

Jackson Baumeister was as bad as feared when we saw his ratings downgraded after last season's injury and the Rays fell to Toronto 7-2 in the opener at Rogers Centre. The righty was 3 6 6 6 2 1 with a pair of homers allowed, falling to 1-2, and after a 2-run Andrew Greckel homer (#3) in the first the bats went cold.

It was more of the same in the second game as the Rays were held to only 2 hits and Michael Prosecky got roughed up in a 5-1 loss. JT Realmuto's 2nd-inning homer (#4) was the alpha and omega of today's offense and Prosecky (2-1), after two brilliant starts to open the season, ran into a buzzsaw today going 4.2 9 5 5 1 4.

The Rays turned the tables on Toronto in the finale, blasting them 9-2 behind a two-man offense comprised of Kelly Crumpton and Dong-hwan Kim. Crumpton drove in 4 with a 2-run homer (#5), double and sac fly, and Kim, who was off to a gruesome start at 132/175/158 coming into today, was 3-4 with a 3-run homer (#1) and RBI single. Robinson Ortiz struggled today and was unable to make it through the 5th to qualify for a win (4.1 8 2 2 3 2), so it went instead to Kendall Williams (1-0), who retired all 5 men he faced with 3 via the whiff, and Gavin Bruni pitched three one-hit innings for his first MLB save.

Team record: 11-3. Next up: We head out west for 3 in Anaheim against the Angels.

With some concerns about the starting pitching we swung a deal to finally bring some new blood to this team:

We gave up one our top pitching prospects in 2026 first-round pick Detmers, brother of Reid, but acquired a potential ace in Marlette:

80 stuff with 70 movement as a starter is James Hays territory, and it's possible I took advantage of a scouting difference between my scout (those numbers above) and OSA's, which had him with 65 stuff as a starter (interestingly right after the trade OSA updated their scouting on him and gave him 80 stuff as well). But while these ratings are drool-worthy, Marlette's performance to date is still unproven. He's coming off an 8.1 2 0 0 3 11 gem against the Dodgers, but that's only his 3rd major league start and in the previous two he walked 7 in one and gave up 7 runs (6 earned) in 2 innings in the other. Before that he had a 5.14 ERA in 21 innings, all in relief, last season after a late-year callup by Memphis. And he was used almost exclusively in relief in the minors although he has 55 stamina. Nevertheless I'm hoping I'm buying at the right time just as I did with Hays three years ago.

As far as where Marlette slots in, I'm think of moving Baumeister to relief where his 60 stuff becomes 70 stuff and finding a home for Elvis Garcia, who's out of options and whom I only trust in blowouts right now.

Art Deco · 08-19-2022, 05:11 PM

It's been a long time since we were swept in a series but that's what happened as the Rays finished their brief road trip 1-5 after losing three straight in Anaheim. The only bright spot was that the Yankees were swept as well by Boston, so miraculously Tampa Bay remains 1/2 game behind them before the teams meet at the Trop this weekend.

Shane Panzini looked great in his first two starts of the season but as we've seen from him the last two seasons inconsistency is thy name as he was hit for 5 runs in the first two innings and the Rays lost the opener 6-2. He dropped to 1-1 after a 3.1 10 6 6 2 6 shellacking but at least he got the whiffs. Elvis Garcia might have saved his job with 3 2/3 innings of 1-hit, 4-K relief, while Andrew Greckel's solo homer (#4) was the lone Tampa Bay highlight.

Hopes were high of getting a win as they usually are when James Hays takes the mound, but no such luck tonight as Hays (2-1) surrendered a pair of homers in a 6-3 loss. Hays was 5.2 7 3 3 2 8, not terrible, but the bullpen gave up 3 more runs keeping comeback hopes at bay. Andy Kelley's 2-run double gave them an early 2-1 lead, but that was as good as it got.

The Angels completed the sweep by shelling Jackson Baumeister and the Rays 14-3, effectively ending his Rays career as I decided to DFA him after the game to make room for Joe Marlette. Baumeister was hit to the tune of 1.1 7 9 9 3 0 and it was painful even to type that out, and he ends his 2030 stint with the Rays at 1-3, 11.57. Andy Kelley had the singular Rays highlight once again, a 2-run homer (#1).

Team record: 11-6. Next up: An off-day then as mentioned the Yankees visit for a big early 3-game series with Marlette making his Rays debut starting the opener.

Art Deco · 08-20-2022, 04:25 PM

The first big series of the season went the Rays' way as they swept the Yankees at Tropicana Field to open up a 2 1/2-game lead in the division over New York (which has now lost 6 straight) and Boston (which has won 8 in a row), but they suffered a key injury in the finale.

The opener saw Joe Marlette make his Rays debut and it was a winning one as Tampa Bay held on to win 6-5. Marlette (1-0) gave up 3 runs on 5 hits in a rough 2nd inning but was untouchable outside of that, finishing 5 6 3 3 2 8 and flashing his overpowering stuff at times. That 2nd put the Rays behind 3-1 but they immediately responded in the bottom of the frame with a Kelly Crumpton grand slam (#6). JT Realmuto added an insurance solo shot (#5) in the 6th and it proved to be huge as Kevin DiCostanzo gave up a run in the 9th but still notched his 4th save.

A 2-2 game in the 6th inning turned into an 11-2 laugher for the Rays as they beat the Yankees again. The Chrises (Gutierrez and Seise) had back-to-back RBI singles to put Tampa Bay ahead to stay and by the time it was over the Rays had 17 hits (including one from everyone in the lineup). Dong-hwan Kim homered (#2), Seise was 3-4 with 2 RBI and JT Realmuto doubled in a pair. Michael Prosecky meanwhile shut New York down with the exception of a 2-run Austin Riley homer as he went 8 6 2 2 0 5 to improve to 3-0, 2.91.

The Rays shook off a poor Shane Panzini start and came back to beat the Yankees 7-4 to complete the sweep. Panzini now has alternated two good starts with two bad ones as he was 3.1 7 4 4 3 2 and Tampa Bay found itself behind 4-2 early. But the bullpen was brilliant, combining for a 5.2 1 0 0 1 8 line the rest of the way with the win going to human good-luck charm Gavin Bruni (2-0 already, 7 wins in 23 relief appearances last year) and Kevin DiCostanzo saved again, #5. Wander Franco was the star on offense, launching a 2-run homer (#3) in the first and adding a 2-run single in the 6th which proved to be the game-winner. Jose Aguilar gave the Rays some breathing room with a 2-run shot (#1) in the 8th. The news wasn't all good though: Aguilar was only in because after Franco's homer in the 1st Andrew Greckel was hit on the arm with a pitch and suffered a bone marrow edema which will sideline him for six weeks. We called out Yankee pitcher Yoendrys Gomez for the plunking and suggested to the league he be suspended, but nothing is likely to come of it. Aguilar and Andy Kelley will get the bulk of Greckel's playing time.

Team record: 14-6. Next up: An off-day then Kansas City comes to town for 3.

Art Deco · 08-21-2022, 03:06 PM

The Rays' fine start to 2030 continued with a series win over Kansas City, taking 2 of 3 from the Royals. The Yankees took 2 of 3 from Toronto to stay 2 1/2 back while Boston fell off the pace.

It was an utterly dominant performance from James Hays in the opener as Hays and the Rays blanked the Royals 4-0. The righty went to 3-1, 1.59 with an 8 5 0 0 1 11 outing on 113 pitches. Tylor Megill completed the shutout with 3 more whiffs in the 9th. Hays got all the offense he needed in the 1st when Dong-hwan Kim blasted a 2-run homer (#3) against his former team and Kelly Crumpton went back-to-back (#7) with him.

After last night's shutout it was an 180-degree turn as Rays pitching was hit for 9 runs in a 9-4 loss to the Royals. Robinson Ortiz (2-1) wasn't very good, allowing 5 runs in the first two innings and finishing 5 7 5 5 1 6 with 3 homers allowed, but neither was the bullpen as three relievers each gave up at least a run, short-circuiting a comeback which saw the Rays get within 6-4. Dong-hwan Kim had a 2-run homer for the second straight day (#4) while Chris Gutierrez and Wander Franco each had 2 hits and a ribbie.

Joe Marlette was dominant in his second Rays start and Tampa Bay took the series from Kansas City with a 4-2 win. The lefty (2-0) was 6 4 1 1 1 10 but wasn't in line for the win until the Rays scored three times in the bottom of the 6th to break open a 1-1 game. Joshua Baez's RBI infield single broke the tie and Corey Collins provided the difference with a 2-run single. Kevin DiCostanzo had an uneventful 9th for his 6th save.

Team record: 16-7. Next up: We conclude the homestand with 3 against Seattle.

Art Deco · 08-22-2022, 04:47 PM

A tough series for the Rays which saw them within 3 innings of being swept before rallying in the finale to salvage a game. The Yankees swept Minnesota so they've pulled back within 1/2 game of the Rays as the opening month draws to a close.

Seattle lefty Brandon Williamson shackled the Rays' bats as Seattle took the opener 3-0. He went 8 innings holding Tampa Bay bats to only 3 hits. Michael Prosecky (3-2) was the tough-luck loser, going 7 5 3 3 1 3 with a couple of homers allowed.

The Rays were pounded in the second game 13-2 by the Mariners with Shane Panzini having a brutal start. Panzini (1-2) went 3 7 7 7 1 2 as his early season ERA balloons to 8.27 while Elvis Garcia gave up 6 more runs in relief.

James Hays was in dominant form yet again but left in the 7th trailing 2-1 as the Rays stared in the face of a sweep. But a 7-run rally in the bottom of the inning turned the game on its head and they pulled out an 8-2 win. Hays was 6.2 5 2 2 0 13 and sits at 3-1, 1.77 with 55 whiffs in 40.2 IP on the young season but gave way to Landon Knack after allowing the go-ahead run in the 7th. Knack (1-0) got the win after Chris Gutierrez's 2-run single put the Rays ahead. Ed Howard then cleared the bases with a double and Dong-hwan Kim capped the 7-run inning with a 2-run homer (#5).

Team record: 17-9. Next up: An off-day then up to Detroit for 3 games.

Art Deco · 08-23-2022, 07:17 PM

The Rays headed to Detroit in a battle of teams with 17-9 records, and one team ended up 20-9 and the other 17-12. Fortunately for Tampa Bay they were the former instead of the latter and with the Yankees dropping one of their matchups with Oakland, the division lead is up to 1 1/2 games.

The opener was a memorable affair as the Rays scored 9 times in the first inning on a pair of grand slams and went on to trounce the Tigers 13-3. The first of the slams came from an unsurprising source as Kelly Crumpton hit his 8th homer of the year and they prolonged the inning enough to reload the bases for Ed Howard (#4), who's off to a great start this year. Crumpton later unloaded a 3-run shot to give him 9 HR and 25 RBI in the season's first 27 games. Robinson Ortiz (3-1) cruised to the win going 6 3 3 3 2 3.

The Rays made it two in a row with a 3-1 win behind some excellent pitching. 3-1 was the score after 4 and Joe Marlette and 3 relievers made it stand up. The lefty made it 3 wins in 3 starts since coming over from Memphis thanks to a tidy 6 5 1 1 0 5 outing, and Kevin DiCostanzo breezed through the 9th for save #7. Dong-hwan Kim's RBI double was the highlight on offense.

Tampa Bay completed the sweep with a taut 4-2 win thanks to 5 scoreless from the pen and Ed Howard's tiebreaking 2-run homer in the 7th (#5). Shane Panzini started and had his usual struggles at 4 7 2 2 1 3 (on 94 pitches) but Kendall Williams (2-0) turned in two scoreless innings for the win, Dax Fulton handled the 7th and 8th, and Kevin DiCostanzo saved again (#8) with an uneventful 9th.

Team record: 20-9. Next up: Back to the Trop for 3 games against Houston.

Art Deco · 08-24-2022, 08:04 PM

The Rays entertained the Astros at Tropicana Field, a team which spent lavishly in the offseason bringing in the likes of Marcelo Mayer, Ozzie Albies (currently injured), Matt Chapman, Drew Romo and former Ray Austin Meadows among others. It turned out to be a successful series with Tampa Bay taking 2 of 3, something the Yankees did as well while Boston swept its series (and has won 8 straight), so the division lead is now 1 1/2 over both New York and Boston.

The opener was a wild affair which saw the Rays come back from 6-3 down in the 7th to score 4 times and go up 7-6 before Landon Knack blew the game in the 9th and Houston ended up prevailing 10-8. Things got weird when Michael Prosecky left after going 4 5 2 2 1 5 with a mild hamstring strain (a single-day injury) and the Rays middle relief struggled with Gavin Bruni having a rare bad day (3 runs allowed) and Tylor Megill allowing a run. But a 4-run rally which featured a 2-run Dong-hwan Kim homer (#7) and a 2-run JT Realmuto double (as part of a 3-RBI day) brought them ahead. With Kevin DiCostanzo unavailable the 9th inning went to Knack (1-1), and he didn't have the knack as Houston scored 4 times off him to go up 10-7. The Rays mounted a furious rally in the 9th, scoring a run and loading the bases, but pinch-hitter Jamie Reiner grounded into a game-ending double play.

James Hays was dominant again (I have that ready to paste as a macro) but it took some 9th-inning drama for the Rays to even up the series with a 5-2 walk-off win thanks to a 3-run JT Realmuto homer (#6). Hays was rolling and the Rays had a 2-0 lead on solo shots from Ed Howard (#6, leading off the game) and Kelly Crumpton (#10) but in the 8th a Crumpton error prolonged the inning and gave former Ray Victor Robles a chance to equalize the game with a 2-run shot off Hays, who finished 8 6 2 0 0 9. Dax Fulton pitched the 9th and won his first decision of the year when the Rays got two singles to lead off the bottom of the inning before Realmuto unloaded.

Robinson Ortiz was fabulous and he and two relievers combined on a one-hitter as the Rays took the series from Houston with a 5-1 win. Ortiz gave up a run before he gave up a hit as the Astros scored in the second on a walk, error and sac fly and Marcelo Mayer's single in the 6th was the only hit they managed. Ortiz (4-1) finished 6.1 1 1 0 3 5 in the gem while Gavin Bruni went 1 2/3 and Kevin DiCostanzo the 9th to finish it off. The offense got all the runs they needed in the first when Joshua Baez singled in a run ahead of Kelly Crumpton's 2-run homer (#11). Baez added another RBI single and Corey Collins contributed an RBI double.

Team record: 22-10. Next up: The homestand continues with Minnesota visiting for 3.

Art Deco · 08-25-2022, 08:24 PM

It was a rematch of last year's ALCS and it pretty much went the same way as the Rays swept the Twins in three close, low-scoring games. Meanwhile Boston has now moved into second place and sits 2 1/2 behind Tampa Bay.

Joe Marlette was terrific once again and the Rays may have found themselves a 1B to James Hays' 1A in the rotation as held them to a 3-1 win over Minnesota in the opener at Tropicana Field. Marlette was 5.2 5 1 1 1 6 to improve to 4-0, 2.38 as a Ray with a 4/29 BB/K ratio in 22.2 IP. Kevin DiCostanzo made it 9-for-9 in saves with a clean 9th. All the offense came via the longball with Kelly Crumpton bashing a 2-run shot (#12) in the 1st and Wander Franco (#4) going solo in the 5th.

I've grumbled at length about Shane Panzini in this thread but tonight was a reminder why he's still in the rotation - when he's on he combines control with powerful stuff and tonight he was on in a 4-2 win. Panzini went to 2-2 after a dominating 6.2 5 0 0 2 8 performance and although his ERA is still an unsightly 6.03 this year's it's due more to bad BABIP luck than his usual bugaboo the gopher ball as he's only allowed 2 so far in 31 IP - the problem is his .438 BABIP. After Slade Cecconi couldn't protect a 4-0 lead Dax Fulton had to come in and save the day, his 1st. JT Realmuto supplied all the offense with a first-inning grand slam (#7).

The Rays had to win the finale twice as they blew a 3-2 lead in the 8th but pulled it out on Jose Aguilar's walk-off homer (#2) in the bottom of the 9th to prevail 4-3. Aguilar had earlier gotten the Rays on the board with an RBI single to start a 3-run rally in the 7th after they trailed 2-0 from the first inning on. Michael Prosecky was an excellent 7 6 2 2 1 6 and looked like he'd go from hard-luck loser to winner but Landon Knack saddled him with a no-decision when he gave up a Kyle Tucker homer in the 8th, setting the stage for Aguilar's heroics which made a winner of Kevin DiCostanzo (1-0).

Team record: 25-10. Next up: An off-day then we travel to Cleveland for 3.

Art Deco · 08-26-2022, 08:52 PM

The Rays' winning streak has now reached 8 games after a sweep of Cleveland at Progressive Field by almost identical scores in a trio of well-pitched games. But there's no shaking Boston, and they in fact gained ground by sweeping their series and then winning on our Monday off-day so the lead is down to 2 games. But before we get into the recaps it's time to note a transaction that sounds bigger than it is:

It's Sho-time in Tampa Bay as we claimed 2-way legend Shohei Ohtani on waivers from Texas. At this stage of his career the 35-year-old Ohtani is no longer the star performer he was (or he wouldn't have been on waivers) but he still has 55 power and we claimed him as we were need of a lefty bat. He'll platoon with Jose Aguilar at DH and probably won't pitch for us unless it's an emergency. To make room on the active roster we demoted Mo Hampton Jr. to Durham (whom I don't believe even got into a game with us).

James Hays did his usual thing and Joshua Baez's 3-run homer (#4) in the 9th broke open a close game as the Rays took the opener 5-1. Hays (4-1) was 7 4 1 1 0 9 and lowered his already-miniscule ERA to 1.46. Landon Knack stayed on through the 9th after the lead grew to 4 and picked up his 3rd save while JT Realmuto contributed a solo homer (#8). In his Rays debut Shohei Ohtani was 2-5 with an infield single, steal, run scored and a double.

Robinson Ortiz got the job done and the Rays took their second straight 5-1 win over the Guardians in Cleveland. Ortiz went to 5-1, tying for the league lead in wins, with a 5.2 6 1 0 1 4 outing and unlike yesterday the Rays put their runs on the board early with Jose Aguilar drilling a 2-run first-inning homer (#3) and Wander Franco lacing a pair of doubles and driving in a run.

The Rays completed the sweep, missing out by one run on doing with identical scorelines as they had to settle for a 4-1 win in the finale. Joe Marlette (5-0) did it again, going 6.1 4 1 1 1 5 to remain perfect as a Ray and Kevin DiCostanzo stayed perfect as well with his 10th save in as many opportunities. Ed Howard bookended the offense with an RBI double in the 5th for the game's first run and then after Chris Gutierrez doubled in a pair in the 7th Howard singled him home.

Team record: 28-10. Next up: An off-day then some interleague action as we return home to play 3 against the Phillies.

Art Deco · 08-27-2022, 04:15 PM

The Rays keep on keepin' on as they swept the Phillies at Tropicana Field to extend their win streak to 11 and their division lead to 3 1/2 on Boston.

Shane Panzini turned in another excellent start and the bats banged out 15 hits in a 7-2 win over Philadelphia in the opener. Panzini (3-2) was 6 4 1 1 2 4 and took a shutout into the 7th while Dong-hwan Kim homered (#7) and singled in a run. Joshua Baez also went deep (#5) and JT Realmuto contributed a 2-run double.

The Rays built a big lead and had to hold on to take the second game, getting by the Phillies 7-6. Wander Franco's RBI double in the 6th put them up 2-1 and then his bases-clearing double after Chris Seise's 2-run double capped a 5-run 7th that made it 7-1. Michael Prosecky started and turned in his usual quality start at 5.2 4 1 1 4 1, giving way to Gavin Bruni (3-0) who got the win and is now 10-1 in 36 relief appearances dating back to last season. Kendall Williams made a mess in the 8th giving up 5 runs (he was allowed to because I jumped the half-inning) so Kevin DiCostanzo was called on in the 9th for save #11.

Philly's Hogan Harris no-hit the Rays into the 7th inning but they wouldn't be denied, scoring twice in the 8th to take a 2-1 win and a series sweep. Kelly Crumpton's 1-out double in the 7th was their first hit against Harris before they strung together 4 consecutive singles in the 8th to score the two run with Ed Howard and Wander Franco delivering the RBIs. James Hays gave up a homer to the first man he faced and dominated from there, finishing 7 2 1 1 1 12 but ended up with a no-decision. Instead the win went to Dax Fulton (2-0) who handled the 8th and the ever-reliable Kevin DiCostanzo made it 12-for-12 in save opps.

Team record: 31-10. Next up: More interleague action as we get a rematch of the 2029 World Series when Washington visits for 3.

Art Deco · 08-28-2022, 06:56 PM

It was a rematch of the 2029 World Series although this time the Nationals came out on top. But while the Rays had to be a bit disappointed to lose 2 of 3 they'll still take last year's title over a regular-season series every day of the week and twice on Sunday. Boston did take 2 of 3 in the meantime so they've shaved the division lead to 2 1/2 games.

The bullpen let them down in the opener after leads of 5-3 through 6 and 5-4 through 7 were erased and Washington took an 8-5 win, snapping the Rays' 11-game win streak. Robinson Ortiz started and was hit for 3 runs in the 4th but in the bottom of the inning the Rays hit a team cycle when four consecutive batters homered (Dong-hwan Kim, #8), singled, tripled and doubled with Joshua Baez's 3-bagger and Shohei Ohtani's 2-bagger bringing home runs. A Kim RBI double in the 5th made it 5-3 but Slade Cecconi, who took over for Ortiz who went 4 5 3 3 2 4, gave up a run in the 7th and then Gavin Bruni (3-1), normally quite effective, didn't have it today and allowed 2 runs for Washington to go ahead and Kendall Williams gave up 2 more in the 9th.

Joe Marlette took the mound in the second game and that meant a win for the Rays as the lefty made it six wins in six starts since joining the team as they swatted the Nats 12-4. Marlette overcame a 3-run 3rd in which a pair of errors behind him led to all the scoring being unearned and finished 6 6 4 1 0 3. Wennington Romero went the final 3 innings, allowing only two hits and fanning four for his 1st save. Meanwhile the bats had their way with Wander Franco leading the charge. Franco reached base all 5 times up with 3 hits and 2 walks, homering (#5), doubling twice and driving in 3. Postseason hero Joshua Baez triggered bad Washington memories of last year's World Series by blasting a 3-run homer (#6) and Shohei Ohtani hit his first Rays round-tripper, a 2-run shot in the 7th. Ed Howard also drove in 3 with a pair of doubles.

While the bullpen was to blame for the opening loss the bats were the culprits in the finale as Jairo Solis and three relievers combined on a 3-0 shutout of Tampa Bay. Shane Panzini (3-3) was the hard-luck loser, finishing 7 5 3 3 2 11 in an at-times dominating performance, especially considering he allowed all 3 runs in the 1st. Perhaps the Rays should have known it wouldn't be their day offensively when Ed Howard tripled to lead off the game and they couldn't bring him home.

Team record: 32-12. Next up: The Yankees visit for a quick 2-game set.

Art Deco · 08-29-2022, 07:17 PM

The Rays took a pair of well-pitched games from the Yankees at Tropicana Field to kick off the week.

Michael Prosecky was solid and Shohei Ohtani had the big hit as the Rays got by the Yankees 4-2 in the first game. The lefty improved to 4-2, 2.96 on the strength of a 6.1 4 2 2 0 8 outing with both runs coming on solo homers. Dax Fulton did good work in relief and Kevin DiCostanzo stayed perfect with his 13th save. Ohtani's 2-run single in the 5th broke a 1-1 tie while Wander Franco was 3-4 with an RBI double.

It was the James Hays show once again in the second game as the Rays' ace lowered his ERA to 1.29 with 7 more shutout innings in a 3-0 Tampa Bay win. Hays wasn't quite as overpowering as normal but was sharp enough to go 7 6 0 0 0 5 and improve to 5-1. The Dax Fulton-Kevin DiCostanzo combo closed it out again with DiCostanzo pitching around a couple of hits to nail down save #14. All of the offense came on one swing of the bat when Ed Howard drilled a 2-out, 3-run homer (#7) in the 7th to break open a scoreless game.

Team record: 34-12. Boston split its pair of games so the lead is back up to 3 1/2. Next up: Another two-game quickie series as the Blue Jays fly south to St. Petersburg.

Art Deco · 08-30-2022, 01:48 PM

Not a great series for the Rays as it took them 16 innings to even score a run as they dropped both games at home to Toronto, which came in with a 17-29 record. Boston split their two with the Yankees, moving them within 2 1/2 games of us.

The Rays were dominated by Toronto's Alec Grossman in the opener, losing 5-0. Grossman allowed Rays batters only 3 hits while fanning 10 over 6 innings, and Robinson Ortiz (5-2) took the loss after going 6 5 5 2 2 4 with a key Chris Seise error opening the door for a 3-run Rowdy Tellez homer.

Joe Marlette finally tasted defeat as a Ray as he didn't have it today in a 9-5 loss to the Jays. The lefty went 4.1 7 6 6 3 4 and wasn't helped when Slade Cecconi let a couple of his men score as he dropped to 6-1 as a Ray. The bats finally broke through for 4 runs in the 7th to pull within 6-4 on a 2-run Andy Kelley homer (#2) and a 2-run Jamie Reiner single, but the pen faltered again as Gavin Bruni and Tylor Megill conspired to allow 3 more runs on another Tellez homer. Corey Collins had a consolation solo shot in the 9th (#1).

Team record: 34-14. Next up: We're off to New York to play the Yankees again, this time in a traditional 3-game series.

Art Deco · 08-31-2022, 09:31 PM

Another good series for the Rays as they took 2 of 3 in Yankee Stadium. They actually lost ground to Boston though as the Red Sox also won 2 of 3 against the Angels and then won again on our Monday off-day to pull within 2 games of the division lead (3 in the loss column).

The Rays did suffer a tough loss in the opener as the Yankees edged them 4-3 in 15 innings after Tampa Bay lost a 3-0 lead they held in the 7th. Shane Panzini was excellent, shutting out New York through 6 before giving up a 2-run homer two batters into the 7th and finishing 6 4 2 2 1 7 and then Landon Knack allowed the Yankees to tie it in the 8th. We then slogged on for 7 more innings before Kendall Williams (2-1) was charged with the losing run which Elvis Garcia allowed to score as we were scraping the bottom of the bullpen barrel. Earlier in regulation Corey Collins' 2-run single was the big hit of the night for Tampa Bay.

It was a rout turned close one for the Rays in the second game as they went up 10-3 on New York before Elvis Garcia was hit for 4 runs in the 8th and they held on to a 10-7 win. Joshua Baez had a first-inning homer (#7) and drove in two while Shohei Ohtani, Jose Aguilar and JT Realmuto each also plated a pair. Michael Prosecky started but had an unusual lack of command leading to his exit in the 4th inning having thrown 95 pitches and finishing 3.1 5 3 3 4 3. Slade Cecconi (1-0) took over and got the win while Landon Knack finished up for his 4th save.

James Hays had an off-day allowing 4 runs on 3 homers but it didn't matter as the Rays took the series with a 7-4 win over the Yankees. He limited the damage to solo shots and improved to 6-1 after a 6 7 4 4 0 11 outing. Kevin DiCostanzo made it 15 of 15 in the save department after a scoreless 9th. On the offensive side JT Realmuto had a huge game, going 4-5 with a 2-run homer (#9) in the 5th which broke a 3-3 tie while five other Rays each drove in a run including Ed Howard who had a 3-hit day.

Team record: 36-15. Next up: An off-day then down I-95 to Baltimore for 3 games.

Art Deco · 09-01-2022, 06:32 PM

The Rays' brilliant start to 2030 continued as they swept Baltimore at Oriole Park, and combined with Boston splitting a pair the division lead is back up to 3 1/2 games.

Kelly Crumpton went deep twice and Robinson Ortiz had a decent start as the Rays took the opener from Baltimore 6-2. The slugging 3B had solo shots in the 2nd and 7th to give him 14 for the year and Wander Franco and Shohei Ohtani had 3-hit games to back him up while Dong-hwan Kim contributed a pair of RBI singles. Ortiz (6-2) went 5 7 1 1 1 4 for the win.

Joe Marlette returned to winning ways after suffering his first loss his previous time out and the Rays beat Baltimore again 5-1. Marlette was sharp in improving to 7-1 by going 6.2 4 1 1 0 5 and JT Realmuto had the big hit, a 2-run HR (#10) which made the game 4-1.

The Rays completed the sweep with an impressive comeback to edge Baltimore 8-7 in 10 innings. Down 7-4 after 7 Wander Franco started it with a 2-run HR (#6), down to their last out in the 9th Ed Howard singled in the tying run with his third hit of the day and Kelly Crumpton's RBI double in the 10th won it. They overcame a rough Shane Panzini start (5.1 6 7 6 0 3) and the win went to Wennington Romero (2-0) while Kevin DiCostanzo earned an impressive 16th save by getting through three tough lefty Oriole hitters.

Team record: 39-15. Next up: The road trip continues with 3 in San Antonio.

08-14-2022, 06:52 PM	#801
Art Deco Hall Of Famer Join Date: May 2020 Posts: 7,109	2029-30 Offseason, Part 2 January 3: CF Kyle Lewis signed with the Rockies for 3/39. January 9: The Hall of Fame voting is in: Congrats to Greinke and Cano, it took a while for them but they made it with room to spare. Ichiro's inability to get over the hump is kind of confounding. The top first-year vote-getter was Freddie Freeman at a mere 7.9%, so it doesn't look like the class of 2029 is going to yield any HOFers. January 11: A couple of interesting trades. The Jays sent 3B Jordan Groshans to the Padres for a couple of prospects and the Padres dealt CJ Abrams to the Reds for Nick Senzel. Also the Orioles signed starter Emerson Hancock to a 2/15 pact. January 16: Devin Williams isn't quite as dominant as he was in the early-mid 20s but he's still a pretty good reliever and he went for 2/7.5 to the Cubs. January 17: Our primary setup man from last year Tommy Doyle has signed with St. Louis on a 2/11.6 deal, coming down from his ridiculous eight-figure demands. January 21: SS Andres Gimenez got the Spirit, signing for 5/36 with Memphis. January 26: OF Brayden Jobert, who was up with us in 2028 and hit 346/364/523 and earned the nickname "Mr. 2 for 4" for the numerous times he did that after being recalled, signed a minor league deal with the Angels. January 31: Bad news from the scouts: Jackson Baumeister, who missed the second half of 2029 with shoulder inflammation, has now had his stuff downgraded from 75 to 60 and his control from 50 to 40, turning him from our projected #2 starter to maybe our 5th. We don't have a lot invested in him monetarily ($1.6M for this year only as he's a 2031 free agent), but we might want to explore other options. February 5: The biggest-name free agent still out there finally signed as Bo Bichette is now a San Francisco Giant on a 5/117 deal. Bichette is listed as "fragile" though, so good luck there. As a result the Giants shipped their incumbent SS Aeverson Arteaga to San Antonio for a reliever and a minor leaguer. February 8: Houston, which may have exceeded their unlimited budget this winter, has now signed former Ray Austin Meadows to a 2/21 deal. Somehow they're still only 5th in payroll at $239M. February 9: Talk about turning your career around. OF Ryan McKenna, who was with us in 2028 on a minor league deal, got a chance to play every day in Miami last year and hit 300/366/428 with stellar defense to earn 3.8 WAR, signed with Minnesota for 2/22. March 5: Heston Kjerstad, a staple of our teams in the mid-to-late 2020s before he was deal to El Paso last year, had to settle for a minor league deal with Miami despite 32 HR and 85 RBI last year (albeit with a .238 BA and 1.4 WAR). We made it through Spring Training without any serious injuries, except for relief prospect Cody Adcock who will miss 4-5 months with a shoulder impingement.

08-14-2022, 07:15 PM	#802
Art Deco Hall Of Famer Join Date: May 2020 Posts: 7,109	2030 Opening Day Roster & Preseason Predictions A pretty quiet Spring Training with the only move being made to put Diego Cartaya on waivers since he was out of options, and he ended up clearing and was assigned to Durham. If we either don't sign JT Realmuto or he turns into a pumpkin at 40 we're going to need a catcher next season; Corey Collins is a good backup but not suited to starting and Cartaya hasn't been able to hit at the MLB level. We did sign Keibert Ruiz to a minor league contract (which he can opt out of after 30 days) but he's likely not the 2031 catcher either. Here's the OD roster: C-Realmuto, Collins 1B-Crumpton 2B-Howard SS-W.Franco 3B-Seise IF-Reiner (the Rule 5 guy) LF-Kim CF-C.Gutierrez RF-J.Baez OF-Kelley, Aguilar DH-Greckel No surprises here with the only change from last year's team this year's Rule 5 guy (Reiner) instead of last year's (Manross) SP-Hays, Baumeister, Prosecky, R.Ortiz, Panzini LR-Cecconi, K.Williams MR-Bruni, E.Garcia, Romero SU-Fulton, Knack, Megill CL-Dettmer The only surprise here is that Elvis Garcia made the team due to him being out of options, over the more-talented Kevin DiCostanzo. I figure there will be an injury soon enough which will allow DiCostanzo to be called up. Also relief prospect Mike Moore had his stuff upgraded to 75/55/50 and he's more than MLB-ready as well, but he doesn't even need to be on the 40-man yet. The preseason picks: Looks like we'll be battling the Yankees again; I'm not put off by the 91-71 prediction since the PPs always underestimate us. We'll open the season with 3 games in Chicago against the White Sox starting April 1.

08-15-2022, 01:36 PM	#803
Art Deco Hall Of Famer Join Date: May 2020 Posts: 7,109	April 1-3, 2030: at Chicago White Sox (3) Game 1: I present the traditional opening day box: An excellent Opening Day that provided everything we could have wanted - except for a major injury. Yes, newly-acquired closer Nathan Dettmer was injured on the second batter he faced as a Ray and will miss the next 5 months with a shoulder impingement. He should be back for September but in the meantime we're going to have to come up with a closer. We have several quality candidates so it shouldn't be a grievous blow but seeing that Dettmer was the only significant new acquisition of the offseason for now it feels like a continuation of the 2029 season. As for the game it was good to see that Kelly Crumpton didn't carry over his homerless postseason into the new season as he went deep and James Hays has a leg up for his 4th straight Cy Young. Transaction: Dettmer goes on the 60-day IL (we now have 3 40-man spots open), and Kevin DiCostanzo, who deserved a roster spot on merit to start the year, is back where he belongs. Game 2: Jackson Baumeister came into the new season a question mark given his shoulder inflammation of last season and the downgrading of his stuff by the scouts but he pitched well today to lead the Rays to a 4-3 win over Chicago. The righty picked up the win with a 6 5 1 1 1 4 outing and probably shouldn't have started the 7th when he allowed a homer and was then pulled. Landon Knack then allowed a 2-run homer to get the Sox within one before Kevin DiCostanzo got the call in the 9th and pitched around a single to nail down save #1. Ed Howard was the offense with a solo homer and a 2-run single. Game 3: The Rays completed a season-opening sweep of the White Sox with a not-as-close-as-it-looked 11-7 win in the finale. It was a 10-3 game in the 8th before Elvis Garcia, on the roster only because he's out of options, gave up 4 runs in the bottom of the frame to get Chicago within 3. He may be out of options with me if he has many more outings like this. Anyway the bats ruled the day with Wander Franco going deep twice and driving in four while JT Realmuto added a solo shot in the 9th for some insurance to go with a 2-run double he hit earlier. Chris Seise also had a nice 3-5 day with a steal and a ribbie. Meanwhile Michael Prosecky was solid in his 2030 debut, going 6 6 3 1 1 4 for the win. Team record: 3-0. Next up: 4 games at Fenway against the Sawx.

08-16-2022, 04:38 PM	#804
Art Deco Hall Of Famer Join Date: May 2020 Posts: 7,109	April 4-7, 2030: at Boston (4) The Rays took 3 of 4 from Boston, not losing until the finale, but despite their excellent 6-1 start they're a game behind the 7-0 Yankees while Detroit has also started the new season 7-0. They outslugged the Sox in the opener at Fenway 11-7 with a 5-run 3rd putting them ahead to stay. Everyone in the lineup except Chris Seise had a hit, and they received 2-run doubles from Jose Aguilar, Wander Franco and Andrew Greckel. Robinson Ortiz wasn't terribly impressive but managed to eke out a win by going 5 5 5 4 3 2 while allowing three homers in the process. Shane Panzini had an impressive 2030 debut and the Rays scored early and often to down Boston 7-1 in the second game. Panzini was 6 2 0 0 2 7 as he dominated, and Kendall Williams went the final 3 innings for the save in his first appearance of the season. The offense got a 2nd inning homer from Chris Gutierrez (#1) and a 2-run 3rd-inning shot from JT Realmuto (#2). Wander Franco also had a pair of RBI doubles. The Rays had to work overtime to make it 6 wins in 6 games for 2030 by topping the Sox 3-1 in 12 innings. Jamie Reiner, who came in the game in the 10th, delivered an RBI single to break the tie before Wander Franco hit his second RBI double for the second straight game to bring Reiner home. Franco now has 10 RBI on the young season. James Hays was excellent at 6 4 1 1 0 8 but didn't get the support so the win eventually went to Gavin Bruni (1-0) with Landon Knack earning his 1st save. Jackson Baumeister may have passed his first test of 2030 in Chicago but this time around he wasn't very good and neither were a couple of relievers as the Rays tasted defeat for the first time this year in an 11-2 thrashing by Boston. Baumeister (1-1) had major control problems and finished 3.2 6 4 2 5 2 while Slade Cecconi allowed 4 runs in relief and Wennington Romero 3 in his first appearance of the season. Joshua Baez's 1st homer of the year in the 4th was the team's lone highlight. Team record: 6-1. Next up: Time to open things up at home with 4 against Baltimore.

08-17-2022, 06:40 PM	#805
Art Deco Hall Of Famer Join Date: May 2020 Posts: 7,109	April 8-11, 2030: vs Baltimore (4) The Rays opened their 2030 home schedule with a 4-game set against Baltimore and swept it to go to 10-1. That still doesn't buy them first place though as the Yankees swept their 3-game series and have started the year 10-0 (Detroit has also started 10-0). Perhaps it's the presence of Jamie Reiner, who's a potential threat to his job, but whatever the reason Ed Howard is determined to make up for his subpar 2029 and is off to a scorching start this season as he was 3-4 with 2 homers and 4 RBI to lead the Rays to a 10-1 bombing of Baltimore in the home opener. The team were presented their 2029 World Series rings in a ceremony before the game and Howard kicked things off with a leadoff homer and then added a 3-run shot to give him 3 on the young season. Andrew Greckel (#2) and Chris Seise (#1) also went yard with a man on, and they backed the excellent pitching of Michael Prosecky (2-0), who went 6 4 0 0 1 4. Last year's playoff hero and regular-season revelation Joshua Baez had the big game tonight, leading the Rays to a 7-3 win over the Orioles, going 3-4 with a 2-run homer (#2) while Kelly Crumpton went deep with one of his own (#2). Jamie Reiner was 2-3 with an RBI triple and Robinson Ortiz (2-0) improved vastly on his first start by going 6.2 4 1 0 0 7. Kevin DiCostanzo notched the final two outs for save #2. The Rays had to work a little harder to win the third game, trailing 2-0 into the 5th and not pulling it out until scoring twice in the 8th on back-to-back jacks from Joshua Baez and Kelly Crumpton, the 3rd for each. Shane Panzini had another nice start (5 6 2 2 2 5), Wennington Romero picked up the win after a scoreless 8th and Kevin DiCostanzo saved for the second straight day (#3). Tampa Bay completed the 4-game sweep with a 6-3 win in the finale behind James Hays who's now 2-0. The righty was 6 6 2 2 1 9 and it was Landon Knack's turn to pick up the save, his 2nd. JT Realmuto was the hitting hero with three hits, including a 3-run homer (#2) in the 2nd inning to put them up to stay, Kelly Crumpton homered for the third straight game (#4) and Wander Franco was 2-3 with an RBI. Team record: 10-1. Next up: 3 games in Toronto while we wait for the Yankees to actually lose once.

08-18-2022, 07:33 PM	#806
Art Deco Hall Of Famer Join Date: May 2020 Posts: 7,109	April 12-14, 2030: at Toronto (3) After looking they'd hardly ever lose, the Rays played a couple of games where it looked like they'd never win again before snapping back in the finale to keep from being swept. The hitherto unbeaten Yankees also dropped two of three so the Rays remain 1/2 back of New York in the early going. Jackson Baumeister was as bad as feared when we saw his ratings downgraded after last season's injury and the Rays fell to Toronto 7-2 in the opener at Rogers Centre. The righty was 3 6 6 6 2 1 with a pair of homers allowed, falling to 1-2, and after a 2-run Andrew Greckel homer (#3) in the first the bats went cold. It was more of the same in the second game as the Rays were held to only 2 hits and Michael Prosecky got roughed up in a 5-1 loss. JT Realmuto's 2nd-inning homer (#4) was the alpha and omega of today's offense and Prosecky (2-1), after two brilliant starts to open the season, ran into a buzzsaw today going 4.2 9 5 5 1 4. The Rays turned the tables on Toronto in the finale, blasting them 9-2 behind a two-man offense comprised of Kelly Crumpton and Dong-hwan Kim. Crumpton drove in 4 with a 2-run homer (#5), double and sac fly, and Kim, who was off to a gruesome start at 132/175/158 coming into today, was 3-4 with a 3-run homer (#1) and RBI single. Robinson Ortiz struggled today and was unable to make it through the 5th to qualify for a win (4.1 8 2 2 3 2), so it went instead to Kendall Williams (1-0), who retired all 5 men he faced with 3 via the whiff, and Gavin Bruni pitched three one-hit innings for his first MLB save. Team record: 11-3. Next up: We head out west for 3 in Anaheim against the Angels. With some concerns about the starting pitching we swung a deal to finally bring some new blood to this team: We gave up one our top pitching prospects in 2026 first-round pick Detmers, brother of Reid, but acquired a potential ace in Marlette: 80 stuff with 70 movement as a starter is James Hays territory, and it's possible I took advantage of a scouting difference between my scout (those numbers above) and OSA's, which had him with 65 stuff as a starter (interestingly right after the trade OSA updated their scouting on him and gave him 80 stuff as well). But while these ratings are drool-worthy, Marlette's performance to date is still unproven. He's coming off an 8.1 2 0 0 3 11 gem against the Dodgers, but that's only his 3rd major league start and in the previous two he walked 7 in one and gave up 7 runs (6 earned) in 2 innings in the other. Before that he had a 5.14 ERA in 21 innings, all in relief, last season after a late-year callup by Memphis. And he was used almost exclusively in relief in the minors although he has 55 stamina. Nevertheless I'm hoping I'm buying at the right time just as I did with Hays three years ago. As far as where Marlette slots in, I'm think of moving Baumeister to relief where his 60 stuff becomes 70 stuff and finding a home for Elvis Garcia, who's out of options and whom I only trust in blowouts right now.

08-19-2022, 05:11 PM	#807
Art Deco Hall Of Famer Join Date: May 2020 Posts: 7,109	April 15-17, 2030: at LA Angels (3) It's been a long time since we were swept in a series but that's what happened as the Rays finished their brief road trip 1-5 after losing three straight in Anaheim. The only bright spot was that the Yankees were swept as well by Boston, so miraculously Tampa Bay remains 1/2 game behind them before the teams meet at the Trop this weekend. Shane Panzini looked great in his first two starts of the season but as we've seen from him the last two seasons inconsistency is thy name as he was hit for 5 runs in the first two innings and the Rays lost the opener 6-2. He dropped to 1-1 after a 3.1 10 6 6 2 6 shellacking but at least he got the whiffs. Elvis Garcia might have saved his job with 3 2/3 innings of 1-hit, 4-K relief, while Andrew Greckel's solo homer (#4) was the lone Tampa Bay highlight. Hopes were high of getting a win as they usually are when James Hays takes the mound, but no such luck tonight as Hays (2-1) surrendered a pair of homers in a 6-3 loss. Hays was 5.2 7 3 3 2 8, not terrible, but the bullpen gave up 3 more runs keeping comeback hopes at bay. Andy Kelley's 2-run double gave them an early 2-1 lead, but that was as good as it got. The Angels completed the sweep by shelling Jackson Baumeister and the Rays 14-3, effectively ending his Rays career as I decided to DFA him after the game to make room for Joe Marlette. Baumeister was hit to the tune of 1.1 7 9 9 3 0 and it was painful even to type that out, and he ends his 2030 stint with the Rays at 1-3, 11.57. Andy Kelley had the singular Rays highlight once again, a 2-run homer (#1). Team record: 11-6. Next up: An off-day then as mentioned the Yankees visit for a big early 3-game series with Marlette making his Rays debut starting the opener.

08-20-2022, 04:25 PM	#808
Art Deco Hall Of Famer Join Date: May 2020 Posts: 7,109	April 19-21, 2030: vs NY Yankees (3) The first big series of the season went the Rays' way as they swept the Yankees at Tropicana Field to open up a 2 1/2-game lead in the division over New York (which has now lost 6 straight) and Boston (which has won 8 in a row), but they suffered a key injury in the finale. The opener saw Joe Marlette make his Rays debut and it was a winning one as Tampa Bay held on to win 6-5. Marlette (1-0) gave up 3 runs on 5 hits in a rough 2nd inning but was untouchable outside of that, finishing 5 6 3 3 2 8 and flashing his overpowering stuff at times. That 2nd put the Rays behind 3-1 but they immediately responded in the bottom of the frame with a Kelly Crumpton grand slam (#6). JT Realmuto added an insurance solo shot (#5) in the 6th and it proved to be huge as Kevin DiCostanzo gave up a run in the 9th but still notched his 4th save. A 2-2 game in the 6th inning turned into an 11-2 laugher for the Rays as they beat the Yankees again. The Chrises (Gutierrez and Seise) had back-to-back RBI singles to put Tampa Bay ahead to stay and by the time it was over the Rays had 17 hits (including one from everyone in the lineup). Dong-hwan Kim homered (#2), Seise was 3-4 with 2 RBI and JT Realmuto doubled in a pair. Michael Prosecky meanwhile shut New York down with the exception of a 2-run Austin Riley homer as he went 8 6 2 2 0 5 to improve to 3-0, 2.91. The Rays shook off a poor Shane Panzini start and came back to beat the Yankees 7-4 to complete the sweep. Panzini now has alternated two good starts with two bad ones as he was 3.1 7 4 4 3 2 and Tampa Bay found itself behind 4-2 early. But the bullpen was brilliant, combining for a 5.2 1 0 0 1 8 line the rest of the way with the win going to human good-luck charm Gavin Bruni (2-0 already, 7 wins in 23 relief appearances last year) and Kevin DiCostanzo saved again, #5. Wander Franco was the star on offense, launching a 2-run homer (#3) in the first and adding a 2-run single in the 6th which proved to be the game-winner. Jose Aguilar gave the Rays some breathing room with a 2-run shot (#1) in the 8th. The news wasn't all good though: Aguilar was only in because after Franco's homer in the 1st Andrew Greckel was hit on the arm with a pitch and suffered a bone marrow edema which will sideline him for six weeks. We called out Yankee pitcher Yoendrys Gomez for the plunking and suggested to the league he be suspended, but nothing is likely to come of it. Aguilar and Andy Kelley will get the bulk of Greckel's playing time. Team record: 14-6. Next up: An off-day then Kansas City comes to town for 3. Last edited by Art Deco; 08-20-2022 at 04:27 PM.

08-21-2022, 03:06 PM	#809
Art Deco Hall Of Famer Join Date: May 2020 Posts: 7,109	April 23-25, 2030: vs Kansas City (3) The Rays' fine start to 2030 continued with a series win over Kansas City, taking 2 of 3 from the Royals. The Yankees took 2 of 3 from Toronto to stay 2 1/2 back while Boston fell off the pace. It was an utterly dominant performance from James Hays in the opener as Hays and the Rays blanked the Royals 4-0. The righty went to 3-1, 1.59 with an 8 5 0 0 1 11 outing on 113 pitches. Tylor Megill completed the shutout with 3 more whiffs in the 9th. Hays got all the offense he needed in the 1st when Dong-hwan Kim blasted a 2-run homer (#3) against his former team and Kelly Crumpton went back-to-back (#7) with him. After last night's shutout it was an 180-degree turn as Rays pitching was hit for 9 runs in a 9-4 loss to the Royals. Robinson Ortiz (2-1) wasn't very good, allowing 5 runs in the first two innings and finishing 5 7 5 5 1 6 with 3 homers allowed, but neither was the bullpen as three relievers each gave up at least a run, short-circuiting a comeback which saw the Rays get within 6-4. Dong-hwan Kim had a 2-run homer for the second straight day (#4) while Chris Gutierrez and Wander Franco each had 2 hits and a ribbie. Joe Marlette was dominant in his second Rays start and Tampa Bay took the series from Kansas City with a 4-2 win. The lefty (2-0) was 6 4 1 1 1 10 but wasn't in line for the win until the Rays scored three times in the bottom of the 6th to break open a 1-1 game. Joshua Baez's RBI infield single broke the tie and Corey Collins provided the difference with a 2-run single. Kevin DiCostanzo had an uneventful 9th for his 6th save. Team record: 16-7. Next up: We conclude the homestand with 3 against Seattle.

08-22-2022, 04:47 PM	#810
Art Deco Hall Of Famer Join Date: May 2020 Posts: 7,109	April 26-28, 2030: vs Seattle (3) A tough series for the Rays which saw them within 3 innings of being swept before rallying in the finale to salvage a game. The Yankees swept Minnesota so they've pulled back within 1/2 game of the Rays as the opening month draws to a close. Seattle lefty Brandon Williamson shackled the Rays' bats as Seattle took the opener 3-0. He went 8 innings holding Tampa Bay bats to only 3 hits. Michael Prosecky (3-2) was the tough-luck loser, going 7 5 3 3 1 3 with a couple of homers allowed. The Rays were pounded in the second game 13-2 by the Mariners with Shane Panzini having a brutal start. Panzini (1-2) went 3 7 7 7 1 2 as his early season ERA balloons to 8.27 while Elvis Garcia gave up 6 more runs in relief. James Hays was in dominant form yet again but left in the 7th trailing 2-1 as the Rays stared in the face of a sweep. But a 7-run rally in the bottom of the inning turned the game on its head and they pulled out an 8-2 win. Hays was 6.2 5 2 2 0 13 and sits at 3-1, 1.77 with 55 whiffs in 40.2 IP on the young season but gave way to Landon Knack after allowing the go-ahead run in the 7th. Knack (1-0) got the win after Chris Gutierrez's 2-run single put the Rays ahead. Ed Howard then cleared the bases with a double and Dong-hwan Kim capped the 7-run inning with a 2-run homer (#5). Team record: 17-9. Next up: An off-day then up to Detroit for 3 games.

08-23-2022, 07:17 PM	#811
Art Deco Hall Of Famer Join Date: May 2020 Posts: 7,109	April 30-May 2, 2030: at Detroit (3) The Rays headed to Detroit in a battle of teams with 17-9 records, and one team ended up 20-9 and the other 17-12. Fortunately for Tampa Bay they were the former instead of the latter and with the Yankees dropping one of their matchups with Oakland, the division lead is up to 1 1/2 games. The opener was a memorable affair as the Rays scored 9 times in the first inning on a pair of grand slams and went on to trounce the Tigers 13-3. The first of the slams came from an unsurprising source as Kelly Crumpton hit his 8th homer of the year and they prolonged the inning enough to reload the bases for Ed Howard (#4), who's off to a great start this year. Crumpton later unloaded a 3-run shot to give him 9 HR and 25 RBI in the season's first 27 games. Robinson Ortiz (3-1) cruised to the win going 6 3 3 3 2 3. The Rays made it two in a row with a 3-1 win behind some excellent pitching. 3-1 was the score after 4 and Joe Marlette and 3 relievers made it stand up. The lefty made it 3 wins in 3 starts since coming over from Memphis thanks to a tidy 6 5 1 1 0 5 outing, and Kevin DiCostanzo breezed through the 9th for save #7. Dong-hwan Kim's RBI double was the highlight on offense. Tampa Bay completed the sweep with a taut 4-2 win thanks to 5 scoreless from the pen and Ed Howard's tiebreaking 2-run homer in the 7th (#5). Shane Panzini started and had his usual struggles at 4 7 2 2 1 3 (on 94 pitches) but Kendall Williams (2-0) turned in two scoreless innings for the win, Dax Fulton handled the 7th and 8th, and Kevin DiCostanzo saved again (#8) with an uneventful 9th. Team record: 20-9. Next up: Back to the Trop for 3 games against Houston.

08-24-2022, 08:04 PM	#812
Art Deco Hall Of Famer Join Date: May 2020 Posts: 7,109	May 3-5, 2030: vs Houston (3) The Rays entertained the Astros at Tropicana Field, a team which spent lavishly in the offseason bringing in the likes of Marcelo Mayer, Ozzie Albies (currently injured), Matt Chapman, Drew Romo and former Ray Austin Meadows among others. It turned out to be a successful series with Tampa Bay taking 2 of 3, something the Yankees did as well while Boston swept its series (and has won 8 straight), so the division lead is now 1 1/2 over both New York and Boston. The opener was a wild affair which saw the Rays come back from 6-3 down in the 7th to score 4 times and go up 7-6 before Landon Knack blew the game in the 9th and Houston ended up prevailing 10-8. Things got weird when Michael Prosecky left after going 4 5 2 2 1 5 with a mild hamstring strain (a single-day injury) and the Rays middle relief struggled with Gavin Bruni having a rare bad day (3 runs allowed) and Tylor Megill allowing a run. But a 4-run rally which featured a 2-run Dong-hwan Kim homer (#7) and a 2-run JT Realmuto double (as part of a 3-RBI day) brought them ahead. With Kevin DiCostanzo unavailable the 9th inning went to Knack (1-1), and he didn't have the knack as Houston scored 4 times off him to go up 10-7. The Rays mounted a furious rally in the 9th, scoring a run and loading the bases, but pinch-hitter Jamie Reiner grounded into a game-ending double play. James Hays was dominant again (I have that ready to paste as a macro) but it took some 9th-inning drama for the Rays to even up the series with a 5-2 walk-off win thanks to a 3-run JT Realmuto homer (#6). Hays was rolling and the Rays had a 2-0 lead on solo shots from Ed Howard (#6, leading off the game) and Kelly Crumpton (#10) but in the 8th a Crumpton error prolonged the inning and gave former Ray Victor Robles a chance to equalize the game with a 2-run shot off Hays, who finished 8 6 2 0 0 9. Dax Fulton pitched the 9th and won his first decision of the year when the Rays got two singles to lead off the bottom of the inning before Realmuto unloaded. Robinson Ortiz was fabulous and he and two relievers combined on a one-hitter as the Rays took the series from Houston with a 5-1 win. Ortiz gave up a run before he gave up a hit as the Astros scored in the second on a walk, error and sac fly and Marcelo Mayer's single in the 6th was the only hit they managed. Ortiz (4-1) finished 6.1 1 1 0 3 5 in the gem while Gavin Bruni went 1 2/3 and Kevin DiCostanzo the 9th to finish it off. The offense got all the runs they needed in the first when Joshua Baez singled in a run ahead of Kelly Crumpton's 2-run homer (#11). Baez added another RBI single and Corey Collins contributed an RBI double. Team record: 22-10. Next up: The homestand continues with Minnesota visiting for 3.

08-25-2022, 08:24 PM	#813
Art Deco Hall Of Famer Join Date: May 2020 Posts: 7,109	May 6-8, 2030: vs Minnesota (3) It was a rematch of last year's ALCS and it pretty much went the same way as the Rays swept the Twins in three close, low-scoring games. Meanwhile Boston has now moved into second place and sits 2 1/2 behind Tampa Bay. Joe Marlette was terrific once again and the Rays may have found themselves a 1B to James Hays' 1A in the rotation as held them to a 3-1 win over Minnesota in the opener at Tropicana Field. Marlette was 5.2 5 1 1 1 6 to improve to 4-0, 2.38 as a Ray with a 4/29 BB/K ratio in 22.2 IP. Kevin DiCostanzo made it 9-for-9 in saves with a clean 9th. All the offense came via the longball with Kelly Crumpton bashing a 2-run shot (#12) in the 1st and Wander Franco (#4) going solo in the 5th. I've grumbled at length about Shane Panzini in this thread but tonight was a reminder why he's still in the rotation - when he's on he combines control with powerful stuff and tonight he was on in a 4-2 win. Panzini went to 2-2 after a dominating 6.2 5 0 0 2 8 performance and although his ERA is still an unsightly 6.03 this year's it's due more to bad BABIP luck than his usual bugaboo the gopher ball as he's only allowed 2 so far in 31 IP - the problem is his .438 BABIP. After Slade Cecconi couldn't protect a 4-0 lead Dax Fulton had to come in and save the day, his 1st. JT Realmuto supplied all the offense with a first-inning grand slam (#7). The Rays had to win the finale twice as they blew a 3-2 lead in the 8th but pulled it out on Jose Aguilar's walk-off homer (#2) in the bottom of the 9th to prevail 4-3. Aguilar had earlier gotten the Rays on the board with an RBI single to start a 3-run rally in the 7th after they trailed 2-0 from the first inning on. Michael Prosecky was an excellent 7 6 2 2 1 6 and looked like he'd go from hard-luck loser to winner but Landon Knack saddled him with a no-decision when he gave up a Kyle Tucker homer in the 8th, setting the stage for Aguilar's heroics which made a winner of Kevin DiCostanzo (1-0). Team record: 25-10. Next up: An off-day then we travel to Cleveland for 3.

08-26-2022, 08:52 PM	#814
Art Deco Hall Of Famer Join Date: May 2020 Posts: 7,109	May 10-12, 2030: at Cleveland (3) The Rays' winning streak has now reached 8 games after a sweep of Cleveland at Progressive Field by almost identical scores in a trio of well-pitched games. But there's no shaking Boston, and they in fact gained ground by sweeping their series and then winning on our Monday off-day so the lead is down to 2 games. But before we get into the recaps it's time to note a transaction that sounds bigger than it is: It's Sho-time in Tampa Bay as we claimed 2-way legend Shohei Ohtani on waivers from Texas. At this stage of his career the 35-year-old Ohtani is no longer the star performer he was (or he wouldn't have been on waivers) but he still has 55 power and we claimed him as we were need of a lefty bat. He'll platoon with Jose Aguilar at DH and probably won't pitch for us unless it's an emergency. To make room on the active roster we demoted Mo Hampton Jr. to Durham (whom I don't believe even got into a game with us). James Hays did his usual thing and Joshua Baez's 3-run homer (#4) in the 9th broke open a close game as the Rays took the opener 5-1. Hays (4-1) was 7 4 1 1 0 9 and lowered his already-miniscule ERA to 1.46. Landon Knack stayed on through the 9th after the lead grew to 4 and picked up his 3rd save while JT Realmuto contributed a solo homer (#8). In his Rays debut Shohei Ohtani was 2-5 with an infield single, steal, run scored and a double. Robinson Ortiz got the job done and the Rays took their second straight 5-1 win over the Guardians in Cleveland. Ortiz went to 5-1, tying for the league lead in wins, with a 5.2 6 1 0 1 4 outing and unlike yesterday the Rays put their runs on the board early with Jose Aguilar drilling a 2-run first-inning homer (#3) and Wander Franco lacing a pair of doubles and driving in a run. The Rays completed the sweep, missing out by one run on doing with identical scorelines as they had to settle for a 4-1 win in the finale. Joe Marlette (5-0) did it again, going 6.1 4 1 1 1 5 to remain perfect as a Ray and Kevin DiCostanzo stayed perfect as well with his 10th save in as many opportunities. Ed Howard bookended the offense with an RBI double in the 5th for the game's first run and then after Chris Gutierrez doubled in a pair in the 7th Howard singled him home. Team record: 28-10. Next up: An off-day then some interleague action as we return home to play 3 against the Phillies.

08-27-2022, 04:15 PM	#815
Art Deco Hall Of Famer Join Date: May 2020 Posts: 7,109	May 14-16, 2030: vs Philadelphia (3) The Rays keep on keepin' on as they swept the Phillies at Tropicana Field to extend their win streak to 11 and their division lead to 3 1/2 on Boston. Shane Panzini turned in another excellent start and the bats banged out 15 hits in a 7-2 win over Philadelphia in the opener. Panzini (3-2) was 6 4 1 1 2 4 and took a shutout into the 7th while Dong-hwan Kim homered (#7) and singled in a run. Joshua Baez also went deep (#5) and JT Realmuto contributed a 2-run double. The Rays built a big lead and had to hold on to take the second game, getting by the Phillies 7-6. Wander Franco's RBI double in the 6th put them up 2-1 and then his bases-clearing double after Chris Seise's 2-run double capped a 5-run 7th that made it 7-1. Michael Prosecky started and turned in his usual quality start at 5.2 4 1 1 4 1, giving way to Gavin Bruni (3-0) who got the win and is now 10-1 in 36 relief appearances dating back to last season. Kendall Williams made a mess in the 8th giving up 5 runs (he was allowed to because I jumped the half-inning) so Kevin DiCostanzo was called on in the 9th for save #11. Philly's Hogan Harris no-hit the Rays into the 7th inning but they wouldn't be denied, scoring twice in the 8th to take a 2-1 win and a series sweep. Kelly Crumpton's 1-out double in the 7th was their first hit against Harris before they strung together 4 consecutive singles in the 8th to score the two run with Ed Howard and Wander Franco delivering the RBIs. James Hays gave up a homer to the first man he faced and dominated from there, finishing 7 2 1 1 1 12 but ended up with a no-decision. Instead the win went to Dax Fulton (2-0) who handled the 8th and the ever-reliable Kevin DiCostanzo made it 12-for-12 in save opps. Team record: 31-10. Next up: More interleague action as we get a rematch of the 2029 World Series when Washington visits for 3.

08-28-2022, 06:56 PM	#816
Art Deco Hall Of Famer Join Date: May 2020 Posts: 7,109	May 17-19, 2030: vs Washington (3) It was a rematch of the 2029 World Series although this time the Nationals came out on top. But while the Rays had to be a bit disappointed to lose 2 of 3 they'll still take last year's title over a regular-season series every day of the week and twice on Sunday. Boston did take 2 of 3 in the meantime so they've shaved the division lead to 2 1/2 games. The bullpen let them down in the opener after leads of 5-3 through 6 and 5-4 through 7 were erased and Washington took an 8-5 win, snapping the Rays' 11-game win streak. Robinson Ortiz started and was hit for 3 runs in the 4th but in the bottom of the inning the Rays hit a team cycle when four consecutive batters homered (Dong-hwan Kim, #8), singled, tripled and doubled with Joshua Baez's 3-bagger and Shohei Ohtani's 2-bagger bringing home runs. A Kim RBI double in the 5th made it 5-3 but Slade Cecconi, who took over for Ortiz who went 4 5 3 3 2 4, gave up a run in the 7th and then Gavin Bruni (3-1), normally quite effective, didn't have it today and allowed 2 runs for Washington to go ahead and Kendall Williams gave up 2 more in the 9th. Joe Marlette took the mound in the second game and that meant a win for the Rays as the lefty made it six wins in six starts since joining the team as they swatted the Nats 12-4. Marlette overcame a 3-run 3rd in which a pair of errors behind him led to all the scoring being unearned and finished 6 6 4 1 0 3. Wennington Romero went the final 3 innings, allowing only two hits and fanning four for his 1st save. Meanwhile the bats had their way with Wander Franco leading the charge. Franco reached base all 5 times up with 3 hits and 2 walks, homering (#5), doubling twice and driving in 3. Postseason hero Joshua Baez triggered bad Washington memories of last year's World Series by blasting a 3-run homer (#6) and Shohei Ohtani hit his first Rays round-tripper, a 2-run shot in the 7th. Ed Howard also drove in 3 with a pair of doubles. While the bullpen was to blame for the opening loss the bats were the culprits in the finale as Jairo Solis and three relievers combined on a 3-0 shutout of Tampa Bay. Shane Panzini (3-3) was the hard-luck loser, finishing 7 5 3 3 2 11 in an at-times dominating performance, especially considering he allowed all 3 runs in the 1st. Perhaps the Rays should have known it wouldn't be their day offensively when Ed Howard tripled to lead off the game and they couldn't bring him home. Team record: 32-12. Next up: The Yankees visit for a quick 2-game set. Last edited by Art Deco; 08-28-2022 at 06:57 PM.

08-29-2022, 07:17 PM	#817
Art Deco Hall Of Famer Join Date: May 2020 Posts: 7,109	May 20-21, 2030: vs NY Yankees (2) The Rays took a pair of well-pitched games from the Yankees at Tropicana Field to kick off the week. Michael Prosecky was solid and Shohei Ohtani had the big hit as the Rays got by the Yankees 4-2 in the first game. The lefty improved to 4-2, 2.96 on the strength of a 6.1 4 2 2 0 8 outing with both runs coming on solo homers. Dax Fulton did good work in relief and Kevin DiCostanzo stayed perfect with his 13th save. Ohtani's 2-run single in the 5th broke a 1-1 tie while Wander Franco was 3-4 with an RBI double. It was the James Hays show once again in the second game as the Rays' ace lowered his ERA to 1.29 with 7 more shutout innings in a 3-0 Tampa Bay win. Hays wasn't quite as overpowering as normal but was sharp enough to go 7 6 0 0 0 5 and improve to 5-1. The Dax Fulton-Kevin DiCostanzo combo closed it out again with DiCostanzo pitching around a couple of hits to nail down save #14. All of the offense came on one swing of the bat when Ed Howard drilled a 2-out, 3-run homer (#7) in the 7th to break open a scoreless game. Team record: 34-12. Boston split its pair of games so the lead is back up to 3 1/2. Next up: Another two-game quickie series as the Blue Jays fly south to St. Petersburg.

08-30-2022, 01:48 PM	#818
Art Deco Hall Of Famer Join Date: May 2020 Posts: 7,109	May 22-23, 2030: vs Toronto (2) Not a great series for the Rays as it took them 16 innings to even score a run as they dropped both games at home to Toronto, which came in with a 17-29 record. Boston split their two with the Yankees, moving them within 2 1/2 games of us. The Rays were dominated by Toronto's Alec Grossman in the opener, losing 5-0. Grossman allowed Rays batters only 3 hits while fanning 10 over 6 innings, and Robinson Ortiz (5-2) took the loss after going 6 5 5 2 2 4 with a key Chris Seise error opening the door for a 3-run Rowdy Tellez homer. Joe Marlette finally tasted defeat as a Ray as he didn't have it today in a 9-5 loss to the Jays. The lefty went 4.1 7 6 6 3 4 and wasn't helped when Slade Cecconi let a couple of his men score as he dropped to 6-1 as a Ray. The bats finally broke through for 4 runs in the 7th to pull within 6-4 on a 2-run Andy Kelley homer (#2) and a 2-run Jamie Reiner single, but the pen faltered again as Gavin Bruni and Tylor Megill conspired to allow 3 more runs on another Tellez homer. Corey Collins had a consolation solo shot in the 9th (#1). Team record: 34-14. Next up: We're off to New York to play the Yankees again, this time in a traditional 3-game series.

08-31-2022, 09:31 PM	#819
Art Deco Hall Of Famer Join Date: May 2020 Posts: 7,109	May 24-26, 2030: at NY Yankees (3) Another good series for the Rays as they took 2 of 3 in Yankee Stadium. They actually lost ground to Boston though as the Red Sox also won 2 of 3 against the Angels and then won again on our Monday off-day to pull within 2 games of the division lead (3 in the loss column). The Rays did suffer a tough loss in the opener as the Yankees edged them 4-3 in 15 innings after Tampa Bay lost a 3-0 lead they held in the 7th. Shane Panzini was excellent, shutting out New York through 6 before giving up a 2-run homer two batters into the 7th and finishing 6 4 2 2 1 7 and then Landon Knack allowed the Yankees to tie it in the 8th. We then slogged on for 7 more innings before Kendall Williams (2-1) was charged with the losing run which Elvis Garcia allowed to score as we were scraping the bottom of the bullpen barrel. Earlier in regulation Corey Collins' 2-run single was the big hit of the night for Tampa Bay. It was a rout turned close one for the Rays in the second game as they went up 10-3 on New York before Elvis Garcia was hit for 4 runs in the 8th and they held on to a 10-7 win. Joshua Baez had a first-inning homer (#7) and drove in two while Shohei Ohtani, Jose Aguilar and JT Realmuto each also plated a pair. Michael Prosecky started but had an unusual lack of command leading to his exit in the 4th inning having thrown 95 pitches and finishing 3.1 5 3 3 4 3. Slade Cecconi (1-0) took over and got the win while Landon Knack finished up for his 4th save. James Hays had an off-day allowing 4 runs on 3 homers but it didn't matter as the Rays took the series with a 7-4 win over the Yankees. He limited the damage to solo shots and improved to 6-1 after a 6 7 4 4 0 11 outing. Kevin DiCostanzo made it 15 of 15 in the save department after a scoreless 9th. On the offensive side JT Realmuto had a huge game, going 4-5 with a 2-run homer (#9) in the 5th which broke a 3-3 tie while five other Rays each drove in a run including Ed Howard who had a 3-hit day. Team record: 36-15. Next up: An off-day then down I-95 to Baltimore for 3 games.

09-01-2022, 06:32 PM	#820
Art Deco Hall Of Famer Join Date: May 2020 Posts: 7,109	May 28-30, 2030: at Baltimore (3) The Rays' brilliant start to 2030 continued as they swept Baltimore at Oriole Park, and combined with Boston splitting a pair the division lead is back up to 3 1/2 games. Kelly Crumpton went deep twice and Robinson Ortiz had a decent start as the Rays took the opener from Baltimore 6-2. The slugging 3B had solo shots in the 2nd and 7th to give him 14 for the year and Wander Franco and Shohei Ohtani had 3-hit games to back him up while Dong-hwan Kim contributed a pair of RBI singles. Ortiz (6-2) went 5 7 1 1 1 4 for the win. Joe Marlette returned to winning ways after suffering his first loss his previous time out and the Rays beat Baltimore again 5-1. Marlette was sharp in improving to 7-1 by going 6.2 4 1 1 0 5 and JT Realmuto had the big hit, a 2-run HR (#10) which made the game 4-1. The Rays completed the sweep with an impressive comeback to edge Baltimore 8-7 in 10 innings. Down 7-4 after 7 Wander Franco started it with a 2-run HR (#6), down to their last out in the 9th Ed Howard singled in the tying run with his third hit of the day and Kelly Crumpton's RBI double in the 10th won it. They overcame a rough Shane Panzini start (5.1 6 7 6 0 3) and the win went to Wennington Romero (2-0) while Kevin DiCostanzo earned an impressive 16th save by getting through three tough lefty Oriole hitters. Team record: 39-15. Next up: The road trip continues with 3 in San Antonio.