The 2021 (and only 2021) Tampa Bay Rays

[Art Deco]

The Rays had completely dominated the Alamos since they join the AL as an expansion team in 2022 but this weekend it was San Antonio's turn as they swept the Rays at Alamo Park. To make matters worse, Boston swept its series and won on the Monday off-day to pull into a tie with Tampa Bay atop the AL East although the Rays technically remain first on percentage points. The Rays still have the best record in baseball but unfortunately the team with the 2nd best record resides in their division. And to add injury to insult, JT Realmuto sprained his ankle in the finale and will be out three weeks.

The opener saw the Rays held to only 4 hits in a 4-0 loss to San Antonio. Michael Prosecky (4-3) was 6 7 4 4 1 3 in the defeat.

James Hays was on the bump for the second game but he gave up a couple of key homers and the Alamos edged the Rays 4-3 as Tampa Bay's comeback attempt fell short. Hays (6-2) went 6 7 4 4 2 9 and the 2-run homer he allowed to Joey Gallo in the 6th was his undoing. Dong-hwan Kim (#9) and Joshua Baez (#8) had solo homers, with Baez's coming in the 9th to make it interesting but nothing more.

The finale was toughest loss of them all as the Rays had a dramatic 9th-inning rally to tie it, went ahead in the top of the 12th on a Kelly Crumpton solo homer (his AL-leading 15th) but gave up two runs in the bottom of the frame to lose it 5-4. Robinson Ortiz started and was 6 6 3 3 3 6 with a pair of homers allowed but they inched back from 3-0 down as Wander Franco homered (#7) and Jose Aguilar came off the bench with two out in the 9th to deliver a game-tying double. But Wennington Romero (2-1), who cruised through the 11th, put men on second and third with nobody out and Tylor Megill gave up a sac fly and a double to score both the runners as the Alamos walked it off. And of course as mentioned earlier JT Realmuto suffered a sprained ankle and will miss 3 weeks, so just a miserable all-around weekend in San Antonio.

Team record: 39-18. Next up: An off-day as we fly west to Oakland for 3.

[Art Deco]

The Rays responded to being swept in San Antonio by going into Oakland and sweeping the A's in three well-pitched, low-scoring affairs. Combined with Boston splitting their two games the Rays are now 1 1/2 up on the Red Sox.

Transactions: Welcome news as Andrew Greckel returns after a month on the shelf. To make room Shohei Ohtani accepted a demotion to Durham even though he had the right not to. Ohtani hit 282/307/366 with 1 HR in 71 AB, so nothing special but not bad either. Also JT Realmuto went on the IL with his sprained ankle and Diego Cartaya is back up for the first time since 2028. The once highly-regarded catching prospect was having a good year at Durham hitting 321/374/478.

Joe Marlette was brilliant again in the opener as the Rays shut out Oakland 5-0 in the opener. He improved to 8-1, 2.55 after going 7 4 0 0 1 7 and Wennington Romero went the final two innings to preserve the whitewash. Chris Gutierrez was 2-4 with his 2nd homer of the year and he and Wander Franco each drove in a pair.

The second game was a nail-biter but the Rays prevailed 2-1 thanks to a wonderful outing from Shane Panzini. The righty was a little more pitch-to-contact than usual but still excellent at 7 2 0 0 2 2 to get on the winning side of the ledger at 4-3. Dax Fulton got the call in the 9th with a couple of lefties due and gave up a homer to get Oakland within one, but closed the door after that for his 2nd save. Chris Seise brought home both runs with a sac fly and a double.

The Rays completed the sweep behind a fine Michael Prosecky performance in a 4-2 win over the A's. Prosecky (5-3) went 6 5 2 2 2 4 for the win and in his best JT Realmuto impression Corey Collins was 3-4 with a homer (#2). Collins was one of four Rays to hit solo shots with the others being Wander Franco (#8), Dong-hwan Kim (#10) and Ed Howard (#8). Kevin DiCostanzo finished for save #17 and lowered his ERA to an electron-microscopic 0.34.

Team record: 42-18. Next up: We're back home for 3 vs Baltimore.

Forgot to report this in the previous post, but Mr. DiCostanzo got some love from the league:



Not only was he named AL Pitcher of the Month, but he took the league's Rookie of the Month honors as well.

[Art Deco]

Another well-pitched sweep for the Rays as they extend their lead over Boston to 3 1/2 games as the Red Sox dropped 2 of 3 to the rival Yankees.

James Hays was mowin' them down at Tropicana Field in the opener as the Rays beat Baltimore 5-2. Hays (7-2) went 6 6 2 2 1 12 in another dominating outing, and Kevin DiCostanzo made it 18-for-18 in saves despite allowing a couple of hits to start the 9th. Joshua Baez' 2-run homer in the 3rd (#9) put Tampa Bay ahead to stay and Kelly Crumpton contributed an RBI triple.

Things looked bleak for the Rays in the second game when Gavin Bruni was hit for 2 runs in the top of the 10th, but the Rays tied it up on a balk and a sac fly in the bottom of the frame and then Wander Franco's RBI double in the 11th walked it off to give Tampa Bay a 5-4 win. Robinson Ortiz was an adequate 5.1 4 2 2 3 2 but the offense struggled and we went 2-2 into extras. Dong-hwan Kim's sac fly brought home the tying run and gave him a 3-4, 2-RBI day before Franco's heroics. Bruni (4-1) pitched the 11th as well and went from loser to winner.

For the second straight day the Rays and Orioles went 2-2 into the 9th but this time Tampa Bay didn't let it go to extras as Joshua Baez's bases-loaded RBI single gave the Rays a 3-2 walk-off win in the finale. Joe Marlette was his usual excellent self at 6 4 2 2 1 6 but the offense was quiet apart from Diego Cartaya, who was 3-3 with an RBI double. Wennington Romero, having a great season so far, picked up his 3rd win with a perfect 2-whiff top of the 9th.

Team record: 45-18. Next up: We head back up to New York but not to face the Yankees; instead we open our interleague schedule with 3 against the Mets who sit at a so-so 32-32.

[Art Deco]

A difficult series for the Rays, who forgot to pack their bats for the trip and scored only 6 times in the 3-game series, losing two of them and seeing some former Tampa Bay players give them the business. Boston took 2 of 3 in its series so the division lead is back down to 2 1/2.

Shane Panzini supplied a good start but he didn't get the support as the Rays fell 2-1 to the Mets in the opener at CitiField. The righty (4-4) was a solid 6 5 2 2 2 7 and it was a double from former Ray Hunter Bishop that decided the game in the 6th. Dong-hwan Kim brought home the lone Rays run with a single, one of only 5 hits they mustered on the night.

Different night, same result as the Rays dropped another 2-1 decision to the Mets in the second game although this one was decided in the bottom of the 9th. Michael Prosecky was today's unsupported starter, going 6 3 1 0 3 4 with a Chris Seise error proving costly. Landon Knack (1-2) gave up a walk-off homer to New York's Alex Arauz and the win went to the Rays' closer of the past few years, Yasunari Uehara who held them to 1 hit in 1 2/3 and fanned 4.

The Rays salvaged the finale 4-3 in 11 innings thanks to a big game from Chris Gutierrez. Gutierrez first gave them a 3-1 lead in the 6th with a 2-run double but James Hays gave those runs right back in the bottom of the inning when he allowed a 2-run homer to yet another former Ray, Adley Rutschman. And Gutierrez's hit came an inning after still another former Ray Levi Stoudt held them to 1 run on 3 hits through 5 before departing. Guiterrez then delivered an RBI single in the 11th after Jose Aguilar led off the inning with a single and stole second. Hays finished 6.1 7 3 3 1 7, the win went to Kevin DiCostanzo (2-0) with two scoreless innings and to even the ledger a bit a former Met got the save as Tylor Megill recorded his first of the year.

Team record: 46-20. Next up: An off-day then we continue our sojourn through the NL East with 3 in Atlanta.

[Art Deco]

Apparently the bats which weren't shipped to New York for the Mets series were diverted ahead to Atlanta, as the Rays scored 25 runs over the weekend in sweeping the then 42-22 Braves. They can't shake the Red Sox though as they took advantage of playing the 22-44 Phillies and swept them as well, staying 2 1/2 back of Tampa Bay.

The opener was a far cry from all the 3-2 and 4-2 games the Rays have played of late as they outslugged Atlanta 13-6. Wander Franco had the first 3-homer game of his career, driving in 7 and giving him 11 dingers on the season. They also got a 2-run shot from Corey Collins (#3) to get them on the board in the first while Joshua Baez had 4 hits including an RBI double. Robinson Ortiz couldn't make it into the 5th going 4 10 4 4 1 5 and the win went to Slade Cecconi (2-0) who wasn't any more impressive with 2 runs allowed on 3 hits and 2 walks in 2 innings. Elvis Garcia was impressive though, pitching for the first time in 3 weeks and going the final 3, allowing only 2 hits and fanning 6 for his 1st save.

Tampa Bay took the second game in more typical fashion, edging Atlanta 5-3. Joe Marlette went to 9-1 after a 5 5 2 2 2 5 outing and four relievers went an inning apiece to hold the fort culminating in Kevin DiCostanzo's 19th save. Dong-hwan Kim swung the big bat, hitting a 3-run homer (#11) in the first to put the Rays ahead to stay and he added a sac fly to bring home an insurance run in the 9th. Kelly Crumpton was 2-4 and drove in the other Tampa Bay tally.

The finale was a wild affair that saw the Rays fall behind 3-0, go ahead 6-3, blow that lead, and then win it in the 10th 7-6 on an Andrew Greckel solo homer (#5), his first since April 15 (thanks largely to missing about a month and a half). Kelly Crumpton's solo shot in the 5th (his AL-best 16th, his first in two weeks and only his 4th since May 6) put the Rays ahead and Jamie Reiner's first MLB longball made it 6-3 Rays. But Wennington Romero had a rare bad outing this season and was charged with the 5th and 6th Atlanta runs and onto extras we went. Gavin Bruni (5-1) got through the 9th and then Kevin DiCostanzo came on for his 20th and most difficult save as he loaded the bases with nobody out before getting a whiff, a force at the plate and another whiff to escape with his perfect save season intact. Shane Panzini had a weird start, going 4.1 7 3 0 4 7.

Team record: 49-20. Next up: The road trip continues in the Pacific northwest as we play 3 in Seattle.

[Art Deco]

Rays had their pitching woes in this series, allowing 22 runs, but still managed to win a game and should have won two. Boston meanwhile shows no signs of falling off, taking 2 of 3 and moving back within 1 1/2 games of the division lead.

A close game got out of hand late in the opener as the Rays saw Seattle score 5 in the 8th to make a 5-4 game a 10-4 loss. Kelly Crumpton (#17, solo) and Andrew Greckel (#6, a 2-run shot) homered to keep them in it but Michael Prosecky (5-4) struggled at 5 8 5 5 2 1 and then a key Ed Howard error in the 8th enabled Seattle to get 4 unearned runs off Elvis Garcia.

After Joshua Baez's bases-clearing double in the 7th made it 4-0 Rays, it looked like they'd be on their way to a win but the bullpen coughed up the lead and then some in a 5-4 loss. James Hays started and nursed a 1-0 lead, running a high pitch count and having to leave after going 5.2 7 0 0 0 6 (110 pitches). Tylor Megill got him out of a mini-jam in the 6th but went bad in the 7th, giving up a 3-run homer, then Dax Fulton came in against a lefty and gave up a game-tying solo shot. Seattle then scored the winner against Landon Knack (1-3) in the 8th when with two out he struck out former Ray Vidal Brujan but Corey Collins' passed ball on the pitch allowed the man on third to score while Brujan reached.

Tampa Bay batters decided to put poor starting pitching and/or bullpen shenanigans out of consideration in the finale as they bludgeoned the Mariners 16-7, banging out 20 hits. First they had to overcome another poor start from Robinson Ortiz, who gave up a 3-run homer in the first and couldn't get through the 5th after blowing a 6-3 lead, finishing 4.2 7 6 6 1 5. Wennington Romero (4-1) took over and got the win when the Rays scored 3 in the 6th and never stopped scoring after that, putting up 10 runs over the final 4 innings. Joshua Baez had a massive day, tying a team record with 5 runs scored as he was 2-3 with 3 walks and a 3-run homer (#10). Also coming through big were Jose Aguilar (2-5 with 2 HR, his 4th & 5th, and 4 RBI) and Kelly Crumpton (3-6 with a double, HR #18 and 4 RBI). Diego Cartaya had 3 more hits including a double and is hitting .611 (13 for 18) since being called up.

Team record: 50-22. Next up: A day off to travel back home, where we'll face Detroit for 3.

[Art Deco]

Rays pitching was dominant in this series as they allowed only one Tiger run in three games while pulling off the sweep. Boston keeps hanging in there, taking 2 of 3 to fall only 2 1/2 back.

The Rays and Tigers combined for only five hits in the opener with Tampa Bay eking out a 2-1 win in the bottom of the 9th on Dong hwan-Kim's walk-off sac fly. Joe Marlette was excellent (5 2 1 1 2 8) and Andrew Greckel's 4th-inning sac fly tied it at 1. Kevin DiCostanzo (3-0) pitched a perfect 9th and got the win when Wander Franco led off the bottom of hte 9th with a walk, stole second, went to third on the throwing error and was brought hom by Kim's fly ball.

Shane Panzini took a no-hitter into the 8th inning and the Rays walloped Detroit 8-0 in the second game. The righty was a bit wild (5 walks) but kept the Tigers hitless until Cadyn Grenier singled with one out in the 8th. That marked the end of Panzini's night as the hit came on pitch #109 and he finished 7.1 1 0 0 5 9 to improve to 5-4. Chris Gutierrez and Joshua Baez each knocked in a couple while Kelly Crumpton extended his AL HR lead with #19. Dong-hwan Kim added 3 doubles and an RBI.

The Rays completed the sweep with more excellent pitching in a 3-0 win. Michael Prosecky (6-4) snapped out of a recent funk by going 6 3 0 0 3 7, Gavin Bruni went two scoreless and Kevin DiCostanzo remained untouchable with save #21. Andrew Greckel's 2-run homer in the first (#7) was all the offense they needed today.

Team record: 53-22. Next up: A quick road trip to Toronto for 3 games before returning home.

[Art Deco]

This turned out to be a 2-game series not a 3-game one, which might have been a good thing for the Rays as they dropped both games north of the border. Boston split their two games to creep back within 1 1/2 games once again.

The opener was a tough one as they went ahead in the top of the 12th on Jose Aguilar's 6th homer of the year only to see Kevin DiCostanzo finally lose his perfect save record by yielding a 3-run homer to Rowdy Tellez as the Rays fell 5-3 to the Jays. It was 2-2 through regulation as James Hays went 5.2 4 2 2 4 3 on 97 pitches and the Rays received solo homers from Ed Howard (#9) and Joshua Baez (#11).

Toronto took the second game from the Rays 7-3 as poor pitching doomed them. Robinson Ortiz cruised through the first three innings then was hit for 3 in the 4th and finished 4.1 5 3 3 2 4 with the Rays down 3-1. Dong-hwan Kim tied it up in the 6th with a 2-run homer (#12) but Tylor Megill (0-1) was terrible, hit for 3 runs in the 7th on a pair of RBI triples.

Team record: 53-24. Next up: 2 at home vs Baltimore.

[Art Deco]

The Rays split their two games with the Orioles at the Trop while Boston took both games in Toronto, meaning the Red Sox are now within one-half game of the division lead (one back in the loss column).

Baltimore took the opener 5-3 with 2 runs in the 10th inning after Andrew Greckel dramatically tied the game with a solo shot (#8) in the 8th inning. Kevin DiCostanzo had his second straight bad outing in the 10th, allowing a Dax Fulton (2-1) runner to score the go-ahead run and giving up one of his own. The Orioles had gone up 3-0 on a 3-run homer from former Ray Kody Hoese in the 1st off Joe Marlette, who had an abbreviated outing of 4.1 4 3 2 3 4 on 94 pitches but the Rays fought back to tie before losing in the end.

A pair of Orioles errors in the 9th inning enabled the Rays to salvage the second game 5-4. Trailing 4-3 entering the inning, Joshua Baez reached on a 2-base error, and after Andrew Greckel singled Baez home to tie it, another 2-base error from Gunnar Henderson allowed Greckel to score after he moved up to second. This made a winner of Gavin Bruni (6-1), the Rays' third reliever after Shane Panzini had a shaky start of 3.2 5 2 2 4 3. Kelly Crumpton was 3-5 with an RBI single.

Team record: 54-25. Next up: The series we've been waiting for as the Red Sox invade the Trop for 3 games, which will give the Rays a chance to open up a bigger division lead or lose it altogether.

[Art Deco]

It was the biggest series of the year as the showdown for first place with Boston took place at the Trop, and the Rays did not disappoint their fans as they swept the Red Sox and opened up a 3 1/2-game lead in the AL East. Two of the games were nail-biters and the other was a blowout and now the Rays have their largest lead in some time.

The opener could have gone very badly as Kevin DiCostanzo's mini-slump continued and he blew a 2-run lead in the 9th. But Ed Howard doubled with 2 out in the bottom of the inning and Jamie Reiner singled him home to give the Rays a 5-4 walk-off win over Boston. Tampa Bay erupted for 4 runs in the 5th including a 3-run Kelly Crumpton shot (#20), and Michael Prosecky pitched well at 5.1 2 2 2 1 5 despite giving a couple of those runs back in the 6th. This brought us to the 9th when DiCostanzo gave up 2 runs on 3 hits and blew his second straight save after converting his first 21. He ended up with the win though to improve to 4-1.

The second game turned out to be a laugher as the Rays routed the Red Sox 10-4. With the score 2-2 in the bottom of the 3rd, Andrew Greckel put the Rays ahead to stay with a mammoth (460 feet) 2-run blast (#9) and they piled on from there. Wander Franco was on base 4 times, scored 3 times and drove one in, and Dong-hwan Kim was 3-5 with a double and 2 RBI. James Hays (8-2) wasn't his most dominating self, but pitched well enough at 7 6 3 3 0 6 for the win.

The Rays completed the sweep by eking out a 3-2 win in the finale with a strong outing from Robinson Ortiz and some timely hitting doing the trick. Ortiz went 5.2 7 2 2 0 8 for his best start in a while and Ed Howard's 3rd hit and 2nd RBI single of the day scored the winning run in the bottom of the 6th. JT Realmuto added an RBI double and the bullpen was excellent including a bounce-back outing from Kevin DiCostanzo who not only snapped out of his three-game funk by saving in the 9th (#22), but struck out the side. Tylor Megill (1-1) picked up the win in relief.

Team record: 57-25. Next up: The homestand continues with 4 against Toronto. I'll also have the midseason review up next.

[Art Deco]

First order of business: Kevin DiCostanzo was named AL Rookie of the Month for the second straight month despite a rough 3-game stretch in which he allowed six runs.



Finally a bit of separation thanks to the sweep of Boston as the Sox have been worthy opponents this year. Expansion San Antonio (OK, it's been 8 years), is having its best season so far.



This is the most by which the actual record has exceeded the Pythagorean record (6 games) that I can remember in this save with out 15-6 record in one-run games the largest contributor. The bullpen has been very good this year and our run prevention is excellent. The offense is decent but a bit spotty, especially as we have two lineup spots (Gutierrez in CF and Seise at 3B with sub-.600 OPSes) that are black holes.



Wander continues to do Wander things, Ed Howard has had a brilliant comeback season, and JT Realmuto has been productive despite missing 30+ games. But after breakout seasons last year, Joshua Baez and Kelly Crumpton have been a bit disappointing and Dong-hwan Kim has been a bit down as well. I'm hoping for some second-half positive regression but I may seek a bat late in the month if things don't pick up.



Few complaints about the pitching as Joe Marlette has given us a 1B starter to go with Hays (who albeit has been a bit homer-prone) and Shane Panzini has taken a step forward this year. Robinson Ortiz has been kind of lousy this year although he did come through with a fine start against Boston. I have veteran Seth Elledge at Durham and if Ortiz continues to struggle I could make a switch.

Still we're on a 112/113-win pace here so it's been a great first half and if not for those pesky Red Sox we'd be running away with the division.

[Art Deco]

After sweeping Boston in the big showdown series the Rays had a natural letdown when last-place Toronto came to town but losing the first game should have been enough of a wake-up call. Instead they dropped the first three of the series before salvaging the finale as the offense struggled throughout. Luckily for them Boston dropped 2 of 3 in Texas so the division lead still sits at 3 games.

Transaction: JT Realmuto was activated from the IL and Diego Cartaya was DFA'd. He later cleared waivers and was assigned to Durham.

Joe Marlette had a rare subpar outing as the Jays took the opener 6-2 from Tampa Bay. The lefty dropped to 9-2 as a Ray after going 5 5 4 2 1 6 with a Chris Seise error proving costly in a 4-run 5th. Ed Howard led off the game with HR #10 but the offense only managed two hits after that.

Another big inning for Toronto doomed the Rays in the second game when the Jays put 5 on the board in the 4th and held on for a 6-5 win over Tampa Bay. Shane Panzini (5-5) had a bad sequence in the inning including a 3-run homer and RBI double and although he pitched well outside that inning to finish 6.2 9 5 5 1 7 the damage was done. Chris Gutierrez hit a 3-run homer (#3) in the bottom of the 8th to get the Rays back in it but they couldn't get the tying run home.

The Jays scored twice in the 9th off Kevin DiCostanzo to take a 4-2 win in the third game. Another Chris Seise error proved costly, making both runs unearned, but DiCostanzo (4-2) also gave up 3 hits to score the runs. JT Realmuto had a solo homer (#11) and the Rays held an early 2-0 lead but Toronto equalized with a pair in the 6th off Michael Prosecky, who went 6.2 6 2 2 0 3 in a fine outing.

A very strong outing from James Hays and just enough offense allowed the Rays to claim a 4-2 win in the finale and stopped the rot. Hays (9-2) was dominant at 7 3 0 0 2 9 and Landon Knack earned save #5 despite allowing a run in the 9th. Kelly Crumpton's 4th-inning solo shot (#21) and a 3-run rally in the 7th helped by a key Toronto error got them the necessary runs. The recently-maligned Chris Seise had an RBI double and Jose Aguilar added a 2-run single for the 7th-inning runs.

Team record: 58-28. Next up: The homestand continues as the Angels visit for 3 games before we hit the All-Star break.

We made our July 2 signing:



Our first choice spurned us for another team despite "liking our organization" so we ended up with Moreno who projects to be a bat-first catcher.

[Art Deco]

The Rays head into the All-Star break having taken 2 of 3 from the Angels, while it seems that their sweep of Boston last week has sent the Red Sox into a tailspin as they were swept again by Cleveland with the net result being the Tampa Bay lead in the east has grown to 5 games.

The Rays jumped out to leads to 5-2 and 7-4 but had to hang on in the end for a 7-6 win over the Angels in the opener at Tropicana Field. Kelly Crumpton's 2-run homer (#22) in the 1st and a 2-run Joshua Baez triple in the 3rd got them going early and Andrew Greckel's RBI double in the 6th proved to be the difference. Robinson Ortiz's struggles continued as he went 4 8 4 4 3 5 with 3 homers allowed, and he's now surrendered 19 dingers in only 88 IP with his ERA up to 4.50. Gavin Bruni (7-1) went three scoreless for the win and speaking of struggling Kevin DiCostanzo did notch his 23rd save but gave up 2 runs on 4 hits in the 9th and has now allowed 10 runs (8 earned) in his last six outings covering 5 1/3 IP after allowing only 1 ER over his first 33.

Tampa Bay bats were held in check in the second game as LA took a 5-2 win. The loss really wasn't Joe Marlette's fault as he dropped to 9-3 despite a fine 6 5 2 2 3 8 outing before Wennington Romero gave up 3 runs in the 8th to put it out of reach. JT Realmuto had a pair of doubles, including one which drove in a run.

Shane Panzini's breakout season continues apace as he was dominant in a 2-1 Rays win in the rubber game of the series. The righty didn't get the win but went 6 4 1 1 2 10. Instead it went to Tylor Megill (2-1) when Dong-hwan Kim singled in the winning run in the bottom of the 7th after Joshua Baez had homered in the 2nd (#12) for the Rays' first run. Dax Fulton earned his 5th save by going the final 2 innings, staying on with two lefties due in the 9th and Kevin DiCostanzo struggling.

Team record: 60-29. Next up: The All-Star break followed by a trip to Minnesota for 3 games.

[Art Deco]

Rosters:





Only four Rays made it - C JT Realmuto (his 8th appearance), SS Wander Franco (4th), SP James Hays (4th) and rookie RP Kevin DiCostanzo (1st), despite a recent slump.

Kelly Crumpton wasn't selected to the game, but he was chosen to participate in the Home Run Derby, and here's how it went:



He won! For the first time in all the seasons of all my saves, a Rays player won the Derby!

The game itself:



Rays pitchers acquitted themselves well with Hays and DiCostanzo each pitching a scoreless inning. Hays started and left with a 3-0 lead which the AL never relinquished so he should have gotten the win (I guess OOTP requires the starter to go 5 here). Wander had a triple while Realmuto was 0-2.

[Art Deco]

Yes, I took 3 high-school catchers in my first 4 picks. Not the combination with the best track record of success in coming through but my thought is we should have at least one star catching prospect within five years. It also worked out that way as far as best player available went.

Ozuna:



Should be "an elite starting catcher", my head scout says.

Bing:



"Productive regular on a contending team" says my scout for Bing. Maybe if all these guys pan out, one can DH, one can play 1B and the other can catch.

McNeil:



We interrupt this drafting of catchers to bring you a high-school lefty starting pitcher, who could be a #2 (OSA) or mid-rotation guy (my scout).

Ramos:



OK, back to the catchers. The scouts also say he could be a "productive regular on a contending team". Not sure how all these guys are going to develop since you can only play one catcher at a time.

Miller:



Not a high-schooler! Not a catcher! What's going on here? Miller is a JuCo 3B who looks like he has decent tools, although last year's 1st-round pick was 3B Adrian Harris.

Marin:



One of my classic "OOTP market inefficiency" picks, Marin was listed as a half-star starting pitcher prospect but is secretly an OF with tremendous hitting potential.

I stopped making picks here and let my AI AGM take over and he took another catcher in the 8th round, this one out of college who's nowhere near as a good a prospect.

[Art Deco]

The Rays returned from the All-Star break and dropped the first two games to Minnesota before salvaging the finale. Boston resumed on Thursday and split their four games so they shaved a 1/2 game off the lead to 4 1/2.

The opener was an interesting affair as Minnesota's Alejandro Rosario no-hit the Rays for 7 2/3 but only led 1-0, and he lost the no-hitter and the shutout when Ed Howard's single scored Chris Seise, who had walked and stolen second. Landon Knack gave up a homer in the bottom of the 8th to put Minnesota back on top, but in the 9th the Rays tied it on a wild pitch and had the bases loaded with nobody out, but couldn't push across the go-ahead run. And that bit them in the bottom of the inning when Tylor Megill (2-2) gave up 3 hits in the 9th which plated the winner for the Twins. Wasted tonight was a brilliant Joe Marlette start (7 3 1 1 0 7).

Minnesota knocked around Shane Panzini and the Rays' bullpen in a 9-3 rout in the second game. Panzini (5-6), who seems to be either brilliant or awful lately, was hit for 4 runs in the 3rd and two more in the 5th as he finished 4 7 6 6 2 4. Andrew Greckel (#10) and Dong-hwan Kim (#13) homered in the losing effort.

The Rays were on the other side of a rout in the finale as they mauled Minnesota 11-4. They scored 6 in the first and were up 8-0 after 2 in a romp at Target Field. Andy Kelley got a rare start and took advantage, going 3-4 with a 2-run single, solo homer (#3) and another RBI single while JT Realmuto was 3-5 with a 2-run triple and solo homer (#12) and Andrew Greckel was also 3-5 with a homer (#11). Michael Prosecky (7-4) wasn't his best at 6 9 4 4 1 3 but didn't have to be, and Kendall Williams went the final three scoreless for his 2nd save.

Team record: 61-31. Next up: The road trip continues with 2 in Boston as the Sox need them both to get back in the division race.

[Art Deco]

The Rays played a 2-game set in Boston with the Red Sox looking to take both and pull back within 2 1/2 games of Tampa Bay. But instead it was the Rays who took both games (by a combined score of 15-1) and have now opened up a 6 1/2-game lead, making it far less of a race.

James Hays was on the bump in the opener and he did his usual thing (which this year includes allowing a homer or two) as he held Boston in check in a 5-1 win. Hays (10-2) was 7 3 1 1 1 7 and lowered his ERA to 2.07 with the solo Red Sox run coming on a homer. Joshua Baez took care of business on the offensive end, clubbing a pair of homers and driving in 3 against former Ray Dustin May, giving Baez 14 longballs on the season. Dong-hwan Kim also took May deep for #14 with a man on for the other two runs.

The Rays played home run derby in the second game and got a turnaround performance from Robinson Ortiz in a 10-0 beatdown of Boston to sweep the mini-series. Joshua Baez kicked things off with his third homer in the two games (#15), a 2-run shot, Chris Gutierrez hit #4, JT Realmuto blasted a 3-run dinger (#13) to really break it open, and Ed Howard added #11 for good measure. Meanwhile Ortiz, whose rotation spot is on thin ice, responded with an excellent 5 4 0 0 1 7 outing to improve to 7-2 and lower his ERA to 4.26. Wennington Romero and Elvis Garcia each pitched 2 innings to complete the shutout.

Team record: 63-31. Next up: Another 2-game set down I-95 against the Yankees at the Stadium.

[Art Deco]

The Rays split their two games at Yankee Stadium while the Red Sox did likewise in Baltimore, so it's status quo ante in the AL East with Tampa Bay up 6 1/2.

The bullpen let them down in the opener, twice blowing leads and ultimately allowing the Yankees to prevail 5-3. Andrew Greckel blasted a pair of solo homers (#12 & 13) to give the Rays a 2-1 lead but Dax Fulton gave up the tying run in the 7th. And after Wander Franco's RBI single made it 3-2 Rays in the top of the 8th, the recent struggles of Landon Knack (1-4) continued as he put two on in the bottom of the inning and then gave up a 3-run homer, making it four straight outings with at least one run allowed. As a result a solid Joe Marlette start (5.1 5 1 1 3 5) was wasted.

The Rays launched a barrage of homers in the second game and blew out New York 13-4. Kelly Crumpton started things with a 3-run shot in the first, his AL-best 23rd, Joshua Baez added #16 in the 3rd, Chris Seise hit his 2nd in the 4th, JT Realmuto blasted a 3-run homer (#14) in the 5th and Dong-hwan Kim capped things off with a 2-run round-tripper in the 9th (#15). Shane Panzini was in line for a win, but couldn't handle prosperity. After being given every chance to get through the 5th, he failed to do so and finished 4.2 5 4 4 5 6 on 99 pitches. Instead the win went to Wennington Romero (5-1), who pitched a perfect 3 1/3 in relief.

Team record: 64-32. Next up: Our Acela road trip concludes with 3 games in Baltimore.

[Art Deco]

Been a while since I made a decent-sized trade with this club (or in any of my saves recently), so here goes one:



With all due respect to Chris Seise, who's manned 3B for us the last season and a half, we needed an upgrade at the position as Seise was only hitting 223/279/296 and despite a fine glove was only worth 0.5 WAR this year as a result. So we went out and got a pretty darn good one in Hernandez, who was hitting 289/334/537 with 19 HR, 67 RBI and 3.7 WAR so far this year. He's not as good a defensive 3B as Seise but more than makes up for it with the bat. And the price wasn't terribly high: Aguilar can hit and should be someone's (now Atlanta's) full-time DH but was blocked by Andrew Greckel, and Michael Chavis was a veteran depth guy at Durham who we won't miss. Seise isn't completely bench-bound; he'll still play 3B against lefties with Hernandez DHing in place of Aguilar. With 10 days left until the trading deadline, we might still be in the market for a starter and although I usually like adding a reliever, Mike Moore and his 75 stuff at Durham is more than ready for the big leagues.

As far as the actual baseball being played went, we kept our .667 winning percentage intact by taking 2 of 3 in Baltimore, and with Boston continuing its tailspin the division lead is now a whopping 8 1/2 games.

The Rays dropped the opener to Baltimore 3-2 as after Chris Gutierrez tied it at 2 in the top of the 7th with an RBI single, Kendall Williams (2-2) surrendered a leadoff homer to Jeremy Pena in the bottom of the frame. Michael Prosecky started and dodged runners all day, going 5.1 9 2 2 3 2 but limited the damage. Cristian Hernandez made his Rays debut and had a key single in the 7th inning rally but struck out his other three times up.

James Hays lost a 3-0 lead in the 7th when he gave up a 3-run homer, but back-to-back blasts from Andrew Greckel (his 2nd of the game and 15th overall) and Kelly Crumpton (#24) propelled the Rays to a 7-3 win over the Orioles. Hays (11-2) finished the 7th to qualify for the win and went 7 6 3 3 1 4. Greckel drove in 3 total and Ed Howard added a solo shot (#11).

The Rays took the rubber game of the series in convincing fashion, blasting Baltimore 13-4 and ripping 20 hits off Oriole pitching. Wander Franco kicked things off with a first-inning homer (#12), Kelly Crumpton added a 2-run shot (#25) with he and four other Rays driving in a pair of runs while everyone who had an official at-bat had a hit. I stress "official" here because Joshua Baez was hit with a pitch after Franco's homer and started a bench-clearing brawl, earning a 4-game suspension. New Ray Cristian Hernandez was 3-4 with 3 runs scored and an RBI. Robinson Ortiz (8-2) was the beneficiary of this offensive outburst and pitched one of his best games of the year at 6 5 2 2 2 8 without allowing a homer.

Team record: 66-33. Next up: A day off then we're home for 3 vs San Antonio, who swept us in their park earlier this season.

[Art Deco]

The San Antonio Alamos have traditionally been the Rays' punching bag since they joined the AL in 2022 but this year the tables have been turned after an Alamos sweep in Texas earlier this season and now this series, which saw San Antonio shut the Rays out twice before Tampa Bay salvaged the finale in walk-off fashion. Of course the Alamos are actually a very good team this year, coming into the series with a 61-38 record and neck-and-neck with the Angels for first place in the AL West.

The opener was an ugly affair for the Rays as the Alamos blanked them 6-0 as Tampa Bay was held to 4 hits, 2 of them coming from newly-acquired Cristian Hernandez in his Tropicana Field debut for the team. Joe Marlette pitched well and was only down 1-0 going into the 6th before he put the first two men on, departed, and then saw those runners score thanks to Wennington Romero. Marlette dropped to 9-4 and finished 5 7 3 3 0 7.

Deja vu all over again at the Trop as San Antonio once again prevailed 6-0 with the Rays offense continuing to slumber with only five hits. Shane Panzini (5-7) was mediocre at 5 7 3 3 2 4 and then Gavin Bruni really let the game get away by allowing a 3-run Joey Gallo homer.

The Rays salvaged the finale thanks to Cristian Hernandez's first big hit with the club, a walk-off double in the bottom of the 9th to score Wander Franco and give the Rays a 4-3 win. The Rays had numerous chances to score big early but left 11 men on and only scored their first two runs thanks to an error and a wild pitch. After the Alamos went ahead 3-2 in the 5th Andrew Greckel tied it up with HR #16 and that's where things stayed until Franco walked in the 9th and with two out Hernandez brought him home. Michael Prosecky was 6 4 3 3 3 0 with the start and Kevin DiCostanzo (5-2) earned the win with a scoreless 9th.

Team record: 67-35, 7 1/2 up on the now-second place Yankees who swept the reeling Red Sox. Boston is now 4-16 in the month of July and has never recovered from being swept by us a few weeks ago after they were right up there for the division lead. Next up: Toronto visits for 3.