The 2020 (and beyond) Tampa Bay Rays

[Art Deco]

Game 1: The Rays took a 4-3 decision over Detroit in a game they should have won by a larger margin, but a win nonetheless. They had 19 baserunners (15 hits, 3 walks, a HBP) but left 11 on base and had 3 runners thrown out on the bases so only 4 crossed the plate. Most of that inefficiency came after the 1st when they scored 3 times against Tiger knuckleballer Derek DeGolyer. Rodolfo Rivas, Jaiden Hardaway and Bo Angeac had RBI singles to key the rally and Hardaway later singled in a big insurance run in the 7th. Jon Soranno got the start and was pretty good (6 7 2 2 1 7) in going to 2-0, 4.02, another Rays starter working his ERA down from a rough first start. The bullpen did its job with Tim Siqueiros pitching a 1-2-3 7th and Jordan Diaz lights-out in the 9th for his 2nd save by striking out the side, but in the 8th Jim Connors gave up a homer for the second straight game, letting Spencer Torkelson take him deep to cut the lead to 4-3. Normally we'd have seen Kikuo Kawase but he needed rest today.

Game 2: An extremely similar game to yesterday's as the Rays pounded out 11 hits, drew 4 walks and had one batter hit with a pitch but could only score 2 runs. And like yesterday it was fortunately enough to win as Detroit had their own issues with stranding runners as the Rays took a 2-1 win. 2 more caught stealing and hitting into 3 double plays were the main explanation for the Rays' profligacy today but the pair they scored in the 2nd held up. Melvin Gutierrez reached on a fielder's choice, stole second, and scored on Jaiden Hardaway's single. Hardaway (who was 4-4) then stole second and went to third on a bad throw, scoring on Dayle Jenkins' single. Meanwhile Andy Aparicio was scattering hits, three of which were infield dribblers, as he pitched into the 7th before Detroit scored off him. AA improved to 3-1 on the back of today's 6.2 8 1 1 1 5 outing and was relieved by Kikuo Kawase, who gave up a single but got a groundout before striking out 3 in the 8th around another single. And Jordan Diaz seems to be fine now as he turned in another 1-2-3 9th inning for his 3rd save.

Game 3: Kevin Kerstetter made his Rays debut replacing the injured Alec Sachais and while he started off well, things soured in the middle innings as he allowed a trio of 2-run homers and the Rays lost 6-5 to Detroit. He looked good in the first 3 innings, allowing only 1 hit and striking out 5, but he walked Spencer Torkelson ahead of Blaze Jordan in the 4th and the Detroit slugger took him deep to tie the game. Then he allowed a single in front of Sam Huff and the veteran catcher went yard to make it 4-2 Tigers. Kersetter came back out for the 5th, walked Torkelson again and maybe I should have pulled him there but with 2 out I gave him another chance against Jordan, and it was deja vu all over again with Jordan's 2nd blast of the game. Kerstetter's final line was 5 5 6 6 3 7, and while the whiffs were nice he's not so overpowering he can walk people and it cost him today. Danny Medina took over and said "Hey, I should have gotten the start" by going 3 hitless innings with 5 whiffs and Chris Hicks pitched a 1-2-3 2K 9th. The offense grabbed an early 2-0 lead on solo homers from Victor de Jesus (#4) in the 1st and Bo Angeac (#2) in the 2nd, then got 2 back in the 5th on a Dayle Jenkins RBI double and a bases-loaded walk to Mike Harms but the rally was cut short as Torkelson threw out Jenkins trying to score on a sac fly. Angeac added an RBI single in the 7th to make it 6-5, and they got the first two men on against Detroit closer Eddie Pelton in the 9th but Harms grounded into a double play and Angeac whiffed to end the game.

Team record: 13-4. Next up: 3 at home vs Houston, off to a surprising 11-5 start.

Interesting stat note: Danny Medina has thrown 13 innings in 5 long relief outings this year, and after today now has 24 strikeouts which is 3rd in the AL.

[Art Deco]

Game 1: The Rays took a hard-fought 5-4 win over the much-improved Astros and it took the bullpen to pitch out of several jams to get it done. Leo Ortega (now 3-0) started and he was whiffing everyone in sight, except when he was giving up hits and homers as he ended 5 6 3 3 0 11. He gave up a solo homer to Isaac Paredes in the 4th and probably shouldn't have come back out for the 6th on 91 pitches but he did and gave up a solo shot to Shohei Ohtani which made it 5-3. Bob Sirna came on and loaded the bases but got out of it with a double play, and Mike Wherry took over in the 6th, loading the bases himself with 2 out requiring Kikuo Kawase to come in. Kawase walked the first man he faced to force in a run at 5-4, but whiffed Bo Naylor to end the inning. He gave up a hit in the 8th but struck out the side around it so he now has 23 Ks in 10 IP. Finally Jim Connors came in for the 9th and hit a man but got a double play grounder of his own to end the game and nab his 5th save. Phew! On offense they jumped on David Villegas for 3 in the 1st on a 2-run shot from Omar Rodriguez (#4) and a back-to-back jack from Nate Clark (an AL-best #8). Clark added an RBI single in the 2nd and a sac fly in the 4th but the Rays bats were silenced from there, held hitless over the final 4 1/3 by the Houston bullpen.

Game 2: The Rays took a 4-0 lead and ending up scoring 9 runs, which about 98% of the time is a prescription for a win but not today as they fell to Houston 12-9. The normally reliable bullpen was anything but, and Nate Schultz didn't help matters by giving away that 4-0 lead immediately in the 2nd. Schultz confined the damage to the 2nd and left with a 5-4 lead, but his 5 4 4 4 5 5 line wasn't anything to be happy about as he had only walked 2 in his first 3 starts total. Bob Sirna gave up the tying run in the 6th and then all hell broke loose in the 7th against the usually solid Tim Siqueiros, who gave up a pair of runs before allowing a 3-run homer for 5 runs against in the inning. And although Chris Hicks got through the 8th and allowed the Rays to creep back within 10-8, he too was tagged for a couple of runs in the 9th, walking 3 in total as Rays pitchers issued 10 free passes today (and hit a man). The offensive stars for the Rays were Dayle Jenkins (4-5 with an RBI and a steal), Victor de Jesus (on base 4 times, 2-2 with HR #5 and 2 RBI), and Rodolfo Rivas (2-4 with HR #4 in the 9th). Alex Buitrago had a 2-run single to give him 20 RBI in 15 games. With the ball a bit more juiced this year, Publix Park is playing like Coors Field at times.

Game 3: The Rays took the rubber match of their series with Houston thanks to a 10-3 blowout. Like yesterday they scored 4 in the first to take a big early lead, but unlike yesterday they didn't squander it as Jon Soranno recovered from allowing runs in each of the first 2 innings to shut down the Astros from there, going an impressive 7 7 2 2 0 7 and improving to 3-0, 3.57. Dayle Jenkins turned in his second straight 4-hit game to pace the offense as they banged out 17 hits, all of which stayed in the park. Ricky Widmar was 3-5 with a 2-run triple, Nate Clark 2-4 with a 2-run double, and Jaiden Hardaway was 2-5 with 2 RBI. Melvin Gutierrez, giving a tired Bo Angeac a rest, was the only Ray not to get a hit although he did walk, steal a base and score a run. And to give the beleaguered bullpen a blow, Rodolfo Rivas pitched the final two innings, and showed off his 95-97 mph gas by whiffing 4 although he did give up a solo homer.

Team record: 15-5. Next up: We hit the road to visit Charm City, taking on the Orioles for 3.

[Art Deco]

Game 1: I'll let this strange line score speak for itself:



The Rays were out-hit by a 2-1 ratio but won by 4. That's in large part because 5 of the Rays' 8 hits left the yard and Oriole pitchers handed out 6 walks but it was a weird game in which the Rays kept thinking they were pulling away but Baltimore kept coming back. The early hero was Luis Corpus, who hit a grand slam in the 2nd and then belted a 3-run homer in the 4th which put the Rays up 8-1, doubling his season HR total to 4. But Baltimore scored 5 times in the 4th with only two of the runs earned thanks to a dropped fly ball from Nate Clark and Ricky Widmar dropping a popup. Andy Aparicio had a bizarre line as he gave up his share of hits but had his strikeout pitch going, finishing 5 7 6 2 2 11 to go to 4-1, 4.08. Nate Clark hit #9 in the 5th, Ricky Widmar hit a 2-run shot in the 6th (#2) and Bo Angeac hit a 2-run blast in the 7th (#3) but it never seemed like enough, especially after Chris Hicks had a terrible 6th, giving up 3 runs in 2/3 of an inning. Tim Siqueiros bailed him out and got through the 7th, as did Jim Connors in the 8th. Connors stayed on for the 9th but put two men on for the tough lefty hitter Tim Steele, so Mike Wherry came in. Baltimore decided to pinch-hit for him with a righty and decided to send the runner from first, so Wherry managed a strike 'em out-throw 'em out double play to end the game and nab his 2nd save. I guess it was fitting for Corpus's throw to end the game after he did so much with the bat.

Game 2: The Rays wasted a fine performance from Kevin Kerstetter in a 4-2 loss at Baltimore tonight. The young lefty was much more impressive in his second start but received no favors from his teammates, both in the field and at the plate. Victor de Jesus' misplay of a grounder directly led to a Baltimore run against him in the 1st, but he settled in from there and ended up going 6 5 2 1 2 6. The problem of course was that the offense wasn't doing much against Oriole ace Zack Farese, who lowered his ERA to 2.91 after a 7.1 4 2 1 1 5 performance. Jaiden Hardaway had a 4th-inning RBI double and Ricky Widmar homered (#3) leading off the 8th, but that was the extent of the run-scoring. They did load the bases in the 9th with 1 out but Luis Corpus hit into a force at the plate and Widmar grounded out to end the game. Not helping matters was Danny Medina, who allowed 2 runs in the 7th which proved to be the difference in the game.

Game 3: The Rays took an 8-2 win over Baltimore behind the strong pitching of Leo Ortega and a balanced hitting attack. Ortega was dealing and whiffed 10 Orioles in 5 1/3, the only drawback being he ran up his pitch count with all the whiffs to 102, allowing 2 runs on 5 hits. It was still more than good enough to go 4-0 and get his ERA down a little to 4.18. Tim Siqueiros got through the 6th and the first out of the 7th before Bob Sirna finished the inning. Kikuo Kawase then struck out the side in a perfect 8th to give him a ridiculous 26 whiffs in 11 innings or 21.3 K/9. Mike Wherry had a perfect 9th with 2 whiffs of his own. They took advantage of a Freudis Nova error to score 3 times in the 2nd on a Bo Angeac sac fly, an Omar Rodriguez double and a Will Quintana single. Nate Clark hit a 2-run shot (#10) in the 5th, Angeac added a solo blast in the 6th (#4) and Mike Harms completed the scoring with a 2-run double in the 9th.

Team record: 17-6. Next up: An off-day then 3 games over the weekend in Toronto.

MLB News: Former Ray Jack Leiter, who won the 2031 NL Cy Young after we traded him to Cincinnati but had kind of a down year last season, is having an even worse season this year as he tore his UCL and will undergo Tommy John surgery. It's adding injury to insult to the Reds as the 2031 NL Champions are now off to a brutal 7-15 start which without Leiter probably isn't going to get much better.

[Art Deco]

Game 1: Nate Schultz turned in an outstanding effort and the Rays hit 4 longballs to take a closer-than-it-should-have-been 6-3 win over the Blue Jays at Rogers Centre. Schultz took a shutout into the 9th but gave up a couple of hits, so Jim Connors came in and he ended up making a mess. He gave up a hit to score a run and walked two more to force in a 2nd run. With lefties due Mike Wherry came in and he walked a man to force in another run but whiffed Riley Greene to end the game and get his 3rd save. Schultz finished 8 5 2 2 2 10 and now is 4-0 in his first 5 starts as a Ray, lowering his ERA to 3.69. Like fellow acquisition Leo Ortega, Schultz has pitched much better on the road than in Publix Park. Before all that in the 9th it looked like a cakewalk thanks to the usual suspects hitting homers. Nate Clark banged out the first two to give the Rays a 3-0 lead and give him 12 for the young season, and Luis Corpus, fresh off a recent 2-homer game, hit a 2-run shot in the 6th (#5) to make it 5-0 before Dayle Jenkins added a solo blast (#2) in the 7th.

Game 2: Picking up where Nate Schultz left off yesterday and going him one better, Jon Soranno dominated Toronto in a 6-1 Rays win. The second-year lefty retired the first 14 Jays before Gabriel Moreno singled, and he took a 4-hit shutout into the 8th before he gave up a couple of hits and the lead runner scored on a sac fly. Soranno finished 7.2 6 1 1 0 9 and like Schultz yesterday went to 4-0 (but with a niftier 2.97 ERA). Tim Siqueiros went the final 1 1/3, retiring all 4 batters he faced. The Rays got a 2-0 lead on a 1st inning RBI single from Rodolfo Rivas and 4th inning Skyler Messinger error which allowed Victor de Jesus to score before they went into homer mode with Nate Clark going yard again with a man on in the 5th for #13 (his 4th in 3 games and 5 in 5) and Rivas going back-to-back with him for #5. Ricky Widmar then added #4 in the 6th for their final run.

In news that shocked nobody:



Game 3: Instead of "can you top this?" Rays starting pitchers have been playing a game of "can you repeat this?" this weekend in Toronto. After Jon Soranno retired the first 14 Jays yesterday, Andy Aparicio did the same thing and ended with the same result in a 6-3 win. Skyler Messinger was today's spoilsport for Toronto, hitting a bloop single over the infield in the 5th to break up AA's perfect game. He lost the shutout in the 6th and ran out of gas in the 7th, finishing 6.2 6 2 2 1 9 but getting his MLB-best 5th win of the year and lowering his ERA below 4 to 3.82. Mike Wherry got the final out of the 7th and two more in the 8th before Kikuo Kawase came in and - you guessed it - struck out a man for the final out. Kawase stayed on when the Rays made it 6-2 in the top of the 9th but gave up his 2nd homer of the year to that man Messinger (who also doubled and scored for the 2nd Jays run) around striking out the side as he now has an absurd 2/30 BB/K ratio in 12 1/3 innings and earned his 2nd save. On offense they surprisingly didn't homer today with Ricky Widmar the fulcrum of the attack with a double and triple among his 3 hits. Rodolfo Rivas started the scoring with a 1st-inning RBI single then they put up 4 in the 4th with Luis Corpus' RBI single and Widmar's RBI double the big hits there.

Team record: 20-6. Next up: Our annual 4-game home-and-home series with Columbus as we head there for the first two.

[Art Deco]

May 2: Sent P Alec Sachais to AAA Durham for a rehab assignment.

Sachais was only out 3 weeks so he should just need one rehab start before rejoining the rotation.

Game 1: Kevin Kerstetter had more trouble with the longball and put the Rays in a 6-2 hole in the 5th, but they fought back to tie it in the 9th and beat Columbus 8-6 in 12 innings today at Nationwide Stadium. The young lefty once again had his issues keeping the ball in the park, giving up a solo homer to Eloy Jimenez in the 1st, an RBI double to Jimenez in the 3rd, and then after giving up an RBI double in the 5th - and intentionally walking Jimenez - gave up a 3-run shot to lefty Cristhian Rodriguez in the 5th and the Rays were down 4 runs. But they got three back in the 7th when Jaiden Hardaway hit a 2-run shot (#3) and Bo Angeac (#5) went back-to-back with him. And then in the 9th Rodolfo Rivas got a leadoff walk, pinch-runner Melvin Gutierrez stole second, and pinch-hitter Alex Buitrago doubled him home and they could have had the lead but Hardaway was thrown out at the plate. In the 12th Marlin reliever Chris Connolly struggled with his control, loading the bases and walking Nate Clark to force in a run before Mike Harms singled in another. Danny Medina once again did great work in long relief to buy time for a comeback, going 3 hitless. Mike Wherry got himself into a 9th inning jam allowing an infield hit, a stolen base, an intentional walk, and another stolen base which put runners at 2nd & 3rd with nobody out, but he whiffed Victor Mesa Jr and then Kikuo Kawase did this thing, whiffing Jimenez and getting a ground out to escape the jam and he struck out the side in the 10th. Tim Siqueiros did likewise in the 11th, getting win #2, and Jordan Diaz shut the door in the 12th for his 4th save.

Alec Sachais Rehab Update: He went 5.2 2 0 0 0 7 on 90 pitches so I'd say he's ready to rejoin the rotation and take Kerstetter's place. The game was against the Phillies' affiliate Lehigh Valley and Sachais got to catch up with a couple of old friends as Hunter Bishop is the IronPigs lineup and Mike Mooney pitched in the game as part of his own rehab assignment.

Game 2: Talk about your 180-degree turns. The Rays were up 3-0 on Victor de Jesus' 6th HR of the year and a 2-run Jaiden Hardaway double and with Leo Ortega on the mound they were looking good into the 5th inning. Then suddenly the Lightning started striking with hits off Ortega, the last couple with two out, and with a run in and two on Columbus slugger Cristhian Rodriguez took Ortega deep and it was 4-3 Bolts. Ortega came back out for the 6th, walked a man, and was relieved by Chris Hicks who put two more men on and gave up a grand slam to that man Eloy Jimenez, who probably has more homers against us than anyone in the history of this save. Hicks has really hit a bad patch, allowing 8 runs over his last 3 appearances covering 3 2/3 innings. Bob Sirna was brilliant in two innings of mop-up work, retiring all 6 batters with 5 coming via strikeout but that was a real "How was the play, Mrs. Lincoln?" consideration. The offense was obviously stymied the rest of the way, so the scenario I was thinking where they come back to cut it to 8-6 or something and bring the tying run to the plate in the 9th as they so often do in these situations didn't even materialize.

Team record: 21-7. Next up: Two more with this team but at Publix Park.

[Art Deco]

Game 1: What a game, what a comeback as the Rays trailed 5-3 going into the bottom of the 8th, tied it up, and then won it in the bottom of the 9th inning on a walk-off 3-run homer from Omar Rodriguez to take an 8-5 victory. The game started off in bizarre fashion as neither starter had much success finding the plate. Nate Schultz walked 5 in the first 4 innings and allowed 2 runs while the Lightning's Josh Doyle walked 6 and couldn't finish the 5th inning, although he too had only allowed 2 runs. Schultz however ran into big-time trouble in the 5th by perhaps getting too much of the plate as he gave up a pair of singles and then Cristhian Rodriguez took him into the LF seats to make it 5-2 Columbus. He finished a bizarre 5.2 5 5 5 5 9. Meanwhile Rays hitters were getting frustrated at failing to cash in on all the walks, they had the bases loaded in the 2nd, 5th and 6th and managed only one run when reliever Chris Connelly walked Dayle Jenkins to force in a run and make it 5-3. That's where we stayed thanks to another 2 1/3 innings of brilliance from Danny Medina (0 runs, 4 Ks) until another walk bit Columbus when in the 8th Will Quintana reached via a free pass ahead of Ricky Widmar, who drilled HR #5 to tie it up. And after Jim Connors looked his best as a Ray, whiffing a pair in a 1-2-3 9th, the Rays got a leadoff walk to Rodolfo Rivas, pinch-runner Melvin Gutierrez went to 2nd on a wild pitch, and after Jaiden Hardaway had an infield single, two batters later Rodriguez stepped up and took Frandy Cuevas out to center field (#5) to send Publix Park into a frenzy. Connors picked up his first Rays win. One Ray who had to be relieved by the win was Bo Angeac, who had the platinum sombrero today whiffing all 5 times up, often in key situations including just before Omar hit his game-winner.

May 5: Optioned P Kevin Kerstetter to AAA Durham, recalled P David Sanchez from AAA Durham.

Sanchez will give us another lefty in the pen for a few days until we activate Alec Sachais to make his scheduled start. Kerstetter was a bit of a disappointment in his three starts (I should say two of three, the second was very good) but could be back at some point later in the season. With the way Danny Medina has pitched, he may get next crack at a rotation opening though.

Game 2: The Rays finally got a well-pitched game at Publix Park as Jon Soranno and 3 relievers combined on a 5-hit shutout of the Lightning in a 5-0 win. Soranno was sharp from the outset and went 6 4 0 0 1 9 on 102 pitches. He's now 5-0 having won his last 5 starts after a rough opener, and sports a 5/38 BB/K ratio in 36 innings with a 2.48 ERA as he's been our most consistent starter so far. Tim Siqueiros, Jim Connors and Jordan Diaz each contributed a scoreless inning. Victor de Jesus paced the offense with a bases-loaded walk in the 3rd and an RBI single in the 5th as part of a 2-3 day with a walk, 2 RBI and a steal. Ricky Widmar and Dayle Jenkins had RBI singles and Nate Clark hit his MLB-leading 14th homer in the 7th. The Rays end up taking 3 of 4 from Columbus in their home-and-home series.

Team record: 23-7. Next up: Toronto, again. We've already played them in two series this season and they come to visit for the second time this weekend.

[Art Deco]

Game 1: It was a struggle but the Rays prevailed in 10 innings over Toronto 4-3. Victor de Jesus led off the bottom of the 10th with a triple, and Rodolfo Rivas "doubled" him home (technically a single, but OOTP doesn't handle that well) for the second walk-off win at Publix Park in three days. All of the regulation scoring came in the first four innings, with the Rays opening a 3-1 lead on a Melvin Gutierrez (!) RBI single in the 2nd and a 2-run homer from de Jesus (#7) in the 3rd. But Toronto got 2 back against Andy Aparicio in the 4th and AA finished 6 5 3 3 2 7. Mike Wherry pitched the 7th, and then Kikuo Kawase went the 8th and 9th, allowing only a hit and striking out 5 more (2 walks, 39 Ks in 16 innings, video game numbers although I suppose this actually is a video game). Tim Siqueiros took the 10th and ended up with his 3rd win of the season. Lost in the numbers Kawase is putting up Siqueiros himself has a 4/32 BB/K ratio in 17 innings.

May 7: Activated P Alec Sachais from his rehab assignment at AAA Durham, optioned P David Sanchez to AAA Durham.

Game 2: It was kind of an unremarkable win for the Rays as they took down Toronto 6-2, but the big news was the return of Alec Sachais to the rotation and how well he pitched. The veteran righty did not look that good in his first 3 outings before going down with a torn fingernail but was on his game today and might have had a shutout going if not for Nestor Ramirez. The Jays CF homered off him 4th for the first Toronto run and tripled in the 6th for the 2nd but with all that Sachais went 6 5 2 2 1 7 in what looked like one of his vintage starts. He went home a winner today thanks to Jaiden Hardaway, who homered leading off the bottom of the 6th (#4) and broke a 2-2 tie. Hardaway was 3-3 with a walk and 3 runs scored to go with his homer and is now batting .361 with a .450 OBP. The other offensive hero today was an unlikely one, backup C Will Quintana who had a career game going 3-3 with 4 RBI including an RBI single to put them up 1-0, a sac fly which made it 2-1 and then a big 2-run double in the 7th which made a tight 4-2 game a more comfortable 6-2 one. The other run came on Nate Clark's 15th homer, a solo shot in the 7th. After Sachais departed, Mike Wherry went 1 2/3 scoreless and Jim Connors finished up the final 1 1/3 without incident.

Game 3: Leo Ortega finally proved he can pitch well at Publix Park while the bats reiterated they can hit here in an 11-0 thrashing of the Jays to sweep the series and make it 5 straight wins. Ortega was dazzling, taking a perfect game into 6th before losing it with two out on an Ignacio Aguilar infield single. Ortega then gave up another single and that was it for Toronto baserunners today as he went 8 2 0 0 0 8 to improve to 5-1, 3.95. Chris Hicks bounced back from 3 straight terrible outings to pitch a perfect 9th inning. On offense the star was Rodolfo Rivas 3-5 with a HR (#6) and 4 RBI while Luis Corpus and Bo Angeac were each 2-5 with HR #6 and 2 RBI as every starter in the lineup had at least one hit.

Team record: 26-7. Next up: The Royals invade Publix Park for 4 games.

MLB News: Congratulations to former Ray Wander Franco, who hit career HR #300 for Texas today. Also Mike Trout hit one last night and is now 7 behind Babe Ruth at 707.

[Art Deco]

Game 1: The Rays took a 6-4 win over Kansas City but it unfolded in a strange fashion. First of all the Rays scored all 6 of their runs in the 2nd inning and it looked like a rout would be on. Bo Angeac started the scoring with an RBI single, Alex Buitrago drilled a 3-run homer (#7), and Nate Clark later delivered a 2-run double. But Nate Schultz continues to struggle pitching in Publix Park, and gave up three solo homers to let the Royals back within 6-3, and then allowed an unearned run when he walked a man who stole second, went to third on a bad throw and scored on a sac fly. Schultz ended 7 6 4 3 1 12 and still got the win, going to 5-0 but with a 4.26 ERA. Bob Sirna put two men on in the 8th, but Kikuo Kawase to the rescue once again, whiffing two to finish the 8th and then striking out two of three men he faced and retired in the 9th for his 3rd save. That's now a 2/43 BB/K ratio in 17.2 innings for the Japanese sensation.

Game 2: The Rays scored early and often to take a 10-5 win over the Royals for their 7th straight win. Nate Clark (#16) and Bo Angeac (#7) each hit 3-run homers in the first inning to put the game away, and Dayle Jenkins added a 2-run shot (#3) in the 3rd. Jon Soranno pitched the typical Publix Park game this season by a Rays starter: get a huge early lead and start pitching to the score, and give up several runs to let the other team back in it. Tonight he allowed 4 in the first 3 innings but turned it around from there with the help of 3 double play balls and finished 6 9 4 3 2 7 to improve to 6-0, 2.76. Chris Hicks went 2 innings and gave up a run while Danny Medina had a scoreless 9th.

Game 3: Were we in Publix Park or transported back in time to Tropicana Field? Not sure as the Rays and Royals combined for 4 runs and 7 hits today. Fortunately the Rays had 3/4 of those runs in a 3-1 win over Kansas City but it was weird to see the almost complete lack of offense on display. It didn't look like it'd be a low-scoring game early as each team scored in the first inning. The Royals picked up an unearned run on a throwing error by Luis Corpus on an attempted steal of 3rd, while the Rays struck for a pair against KC opener Hayden Durke on Rodolfo Rivas' sac fly and Mike Harms' RBI single. And then the bats went silent. Aparicio pitched his best game of the year, going 8 2 1 0 2 8 and going to 6-1, 3.28 with Jordan Diaz getting save #5 courtesy of a 2-whiff 1-2-3 9th. But all credit to Royals' bulk man Chris Daniels who shut the Rays down like no other pitcher I've seen this year with a 6.2 2 0 0 1 8 line. He deserved a better fate, and of course as soon as he left Victor de Jesus drilled HR #8 in the 8th to give the Rays a little breathing room.

Game 4: The Rays saw their 8-game winning streak snapped today as Alec Sachais turned in another poor start in a 9-5 loss. The veteran righty, who hadn't pitched that well before going out for a few weeks with a torn fingernail but looked great in his rehab start, was hit hard to the tune of 3 8 7 7 1 3 and now sports an unsightly 9.28 ERA in 21 1/3 innings. Former Ray Triston Casas did most of the damage today with a HR and 4 RBI. It's been well-advertised that Sachais' stuff is diminished since his arthritic elbow last year, and the hitters are now letting him know. If he becomes a problem we could turn to Danny Medina or another pitcher coming off a significant 2032 injury, Nate Thompson who should be ready to start a rehab assignment in a few weeks. Medina took over in long relief and wasn't his usual sharp self, walking 3 and giving up a pair of runs in his 2 2/3 while Chris Hicks continues to snap back with 5 whiffs in 2 1/3 scoreless. On the offensive side, Nate Clark continued his homer binge, hitting #17 in the first, putting him on pace for 77, and Victor de Jesus went yard for the second straight game with #9.

Team record: 29-8. Next up: A weekend in Beantown.

[Art Deco]

Game 1: The Rays came out on the wrong end of a pitchers' duel tonight as Mario Candelaria, one of the league's better starters with 4.3 WAR last year, held the Rays to 1 hit in his 6 innings of work in a 3-2 Boston win. The lone hit was a 4th-inning solo shot from Rodolfo Rivas (#7) that gave them a brief 1-0 lead, but Leo Ortega coughed up that lead in the bottom of the inning and then surrendered back-to-back jacks in the 6th to put Boston ahead. He finished 6 7 3 3 1 6 with Tim Siqueiros and Mike Wherry combining for 2 scoreless. The Rays didn't manage another hit again until the 8th when Ricky Widmar and Dayle Jenkins hit back-to-back doubles to plate the 2nd Tampa Bay run but that was all they'd get in terms of hits as well as runs.

Durham News: Kevin Kerstetter pitched a 2-hit shutout tonight against Scranton WB, walking 3 and whiffing 11. The Bulls are off to a Rays-like 21-7 start themselves.

Game 2: It was a struggle for Nate Schultz but the bullpen picked him up and the Rays went on a fairly comfortable 7-2 win over Boston. Schultz was battling all day, taking him 37 pitches to get out of the first but allowing only one run, and that was the template for the rest of his start as he couldn't make it through 5, going 4.1 9 2 2 3 6 on 112 pitches and at least limiting the damage. He left with two on in the 5th and Tim Siqueiros got him out of that with a pair of whiffs and added a scoreless 6th to pick up his 4th relief win of the year already. As the Rays expanded their lead, Bob Sirna came on in the 7th and ended up finishing the game with a 56-pitch 3-inning save, his first as a Ray which saw him hold Boston hitless but walk 3 and whiff 4. The offense got two big hits from Bo Angeac early: a second-inning RBI single and a 2-run double in the 4th to put them ahead to stay. Jaiden Hardaway had a pair of doubles and an RBI in the early innings as well with Victor de Jesus hitting HR #10 in the 6th to cap the scoring.

Game 3: The Rays won another pitchers' duel today, taking a 3-1 decision over the Red Sox behind the ultra-efficient pitching of Jon Soranno. It looked like it might be a long day for the Rays lefty after Luisangel Acuna homered to lead the game off against him but that would turn out to be all he'd allow and he was pitching so effectively that he entered the 9th inning on a nice 69 pitches with a 4-hitter going. But he put two men on with one out, and if the game hadn't been so close I'd have left him in at 80 pitches but it wasn't so Kikuo Kawase came in and struck out the two men he faced to nobody's surprise. Soranno finished 8.1 5 1 1 1 4 and is now 7-0, 2.49 as he remains our most consistent starter while Kawase notched save #4. The bats were held silent for a long time by Boston's Beau Hullinger, who retired the first 11 Rays before Nate Clark singled. The offensive breakthrough came in the 5th when Victor de Jesus continued on his homer binge by hitting #11 and his 4th in 5 games to tie it, and then they put a couple of more men whom Ricky Widmar doubled home to make it 3-1. Still they only managed 5 hits for the game.

Team record: 31-9. Next up: We head to Cleveland for 3 games.

[Art Deco]

May 16: Sent IF/OF Dane Ayers to AAA Durham on a rehab assignment.

Ayers is finally over the concussion he suffered from getting beaned early in the season, so we'll give him a few games at Durham to get back in the swing and then welcome him back. Melvin Gutierrez has a great glove, but can't hit worth a damn.

Our scheduled game for Monday night in Cleveland was rained out, so we're playing a doubleheader on Tuesday.

Game 1: In several of our recent games we've had trouble hitting, and the first game of today's doubleheader was another example as the Rays managed only 3 hits in a 3-1 loss to Cleveland. Alvaro Seijas, who had an ERA of 5 coming in, largely shut the offense down and a pair of relievers threw 3 perfect innings. A brief rally in the 5th which saw Bo Angeac single and then come home on a Dayle Jenkins single was all the offense for the game. Andy Aparicio therefore had no margin for error, and it turned out the 1st inning 2-run single he allowed to former Ray farmhand Jordan Evangelista would be all Cleveland would need. AA was OK, going 7.1 10 3 3 1 7 and at least preserving the bullpen for Game 2, although Tim Siqueiros came on and got two quick outs in the 8th.

Game 2: The bats bounced back while the pitching was shaky, but the Rays managed a split of the doubleheader with an 11-8 win in the nightcap. Victor de Jesus continued his tear, hitting 2 more homers and going 3-3 with 3 RBI, 4 runs scored and 2 walks. He now has 13 homers and 6 in his last 7. Mike Harms had a big 3-run homer (#4), turning a 6-5 game into a 9-5 game, and Dayle Jenkins got the offense going with a first inning homer (#4) and an RBI single. They needed almost all of the runs they scored because Alec Sachais remains ineffective, going 4.2 10 5 5 3 3 and now has a 9.35 ERA on the season. We tried to get him through the 5th to qualify for the win but he gave up a 3-run homer with two out, so Danny Medina came in and ended up with it, his first of the season. Medina went 3 solid innings although he walked 3, and then after Mike Wherry got him out of the 8th, he loaded the bases with nobody out in the 9th and then we had a 36-minute rain delay. Jim Connors took over when we resumed, and he walked a man to force in a run, gave up a double to score 2 to make it 11-8, and then hit a man to reload the bases. I then brought in Kikuo Kawase to put an end to the nonsense and that he did, getting a strikeout and a double play ball to end the game and to pick up his 5th save.

Game 3: The Rays took a solid, workman-like 5-2 win over Cleveland today behind a quality outing from Leo Ortega and the still-scorching bat of Victor de Jesus. Ortega was in command most of the game, save for a pair of homers he allowed to Jose Escobar, the Rule 5 guy Cleveland took from us last winter and former Rays property Jordan Evangelista. The homers allowed (10 now in 54 IP) are bit concerning but otherwise Ortega was great, going 7 7 2 2 0 8 and leaving after giving up a leadoff single in the 8th. Ortega's now 6-2, 3.83 with a 7/61 BB/K ratio in 54 innings so if he can just keep the ball in the park he'll be great. Kikuo Kawase was brought on in the 8th after that leadoff single to keep Cleveland from even thinking about rallying and he got 3 outs on 9 pitches with a mere one whiff. Jordan Diaz pitched around a single and struck out a pair for save #6. The offense didn't exactly hit the cover off the ball, but that man de Jesus stayed toasty with a 2-run homer in the 4th, his 14th and 7th in his last 8 games. Luis Corpus broke a 2-2 tie with an RBI single in the 5th, Rodolfo Rivas hit #8 with the bases empty in the 6th, and later in the inning Bo Angeac singled in a run.

Team record: 33-10. Next up: An off-day after 3 games in 2 days then the Yankees come to town for the weekend.

Injury Update: Dane Ayers was hit by a pitch tonight on rehab with Durham and broke his wrist, so now he'll be out 5 more weeks. Melvin Gutierrez's voodoo doll must be working overtime.

[Art Deco]

Game 1: Nate Schultz was outstanding and the Rays got some late-game magic to beat the Yankees 4-2 at Publix Park. The Rays righty held the Yankees largely in check, going 7 4 2 1 0 9, although a Sal Mota homer in the 7th tied the game at 2 and cost him a shot at a win. Instead the decision went to Kikuo Kawase, who pitched a scoreless 8th but somehow only struck out one batter and notched his first MLB win. With the Yankees' tough lefty run of Mario Aguilar, Ivan Vega and Mota due up in the 9th, Mike Wherry got the call and retired them in order to pick up his 4th save. The Rays had built an early 2-0 lead on 2nd inning homers from (who else?) Victor de Jesus, homering (#15) for the 8th time in 9 games and Bo Angeac (#8). And in the 8th Ricky Widmar hit an RBI triple to break a 2-2 tie and scored on Dayle Jenkins' sac fly. Widmar's triple was only their 4th hit of the game, which is how many the Yankees had as well in a rare low-offense game at the Pub.

So this happened for the first time in the 14 seasons of this save (and by definition, only the 19th time in MLB history):



This is the first time it's happened since JD Martinez did it with Arizona in 2017 and the first time in the AL since Josh Hamilton in 2012. Waters isn't without power, but maybe about the 150th guy I would have guessed would do it.

Game 2: Through 7 innings the Rays held a 5-0 lead and Jon Soranno was cruising with a 2-hit shutout. By the time the top of the 9th was over it was a 5-5 game, but Nate Clark hit HR #18 leading off the 9th to give the Rays a 6-5 win after all. Soranno got the first out in the 8th and then gave up a single and a walk. He was starting to give up some loud outs but his pitch count was still in the 80s so the lefty was left in to face lefty hitter Tyree Reed, and that backfired as Reed drilled a 3-run HR into the RF bullpen. Soranno ended 7.1 4 3 3 2 5 and Tim Siqueiros got the final two outs of the 8th. And in the 9th Jordan Diaz, who despite an opening day hiccup hadn't given up an earned run this season, had his first real meltdown as he gave up a single and a double to put the tying runs in scoring position and Andrew Benintendi hit a 2-run single to tie the game. Diaz finished the inning and vultured his 2nd win when Clark hit his walk-off blast. Earlier they had built a 5-0 lead on a 2-run Dayle Jenkins shot (#5) in the 1st and a 3-run dinger from Luis Corpus (#7) in the 4th. Omar Rodriguez was on base all 4 times today, going 3-3 with a walk.

Game 3: The Rays battered Yankee pitching for 10 runs and 17 hits in a 10-4 rout of New York to sweep the series and make it 5 straight wins. The boiling lava-hot Victor de Jesus led the attack, and although he didn't go yard for a change he was 3-3 with 2 doubles, 2 walks and 2 RBI, while Rodolfo Rivas and Dayle Jenkins each had 4-hit games with the former driving in 2 and the latter 1 (on his 6th HR). Bo Angeac also added a solo shot (#9). Andy Aparicio started and was solid enough to go 6 8 2 2 1 5 and improve to 7-2, 3.30 although he gave up a pair of solo homers. Also giving up a pair of solo homers was Chris Hicks but his came in 2/3 of an inning as he continues to find it difficult to replicate his great 2032. Bob Sirna went the final 2 1/3, walking 3 and whiffing 3.

Team record: 36-10. Next up: The Angels come to visit for 4 games and we'll see Jon Hayes in the first game. We won't see Christian Little though as he pitched today and had to leave in the 1st inning with biceps tendinitis which will set him back for a couple of weeks.

[Art Deco]

Congrats to Victor:



Game 1: The Rays welcomed back Jon Hayes, who won 60 games for them the previous 3 seasons and now wears the colors of the Los Angeles Angels, while Alec Sachais took the mound for Tampa Bay, barely clinging on to his rotation spot. It looked like Sachais' days were numbered when he gave up a leadoff single then a 2-run homer to Mookie Betts, but he settled down after that and turned in his best start of the season, going 6 8 2 2 1 5 and matching Hayes pitch-for-pitch. That's because the Rays got a couple of early runs off Hayes on Jaiden Hardaway's solo HR (#5) and a Rodolfo Rivas RBI single. But like Sachais, Hayes found his groove and it was 2-2 going into the 7th. Mike Wherry took over and got through the top of the inning and then Hayes left a batter in at 106 pitches. LA brought on another former Rays property, Chris Youngpeter, and the bats took advantage with Rivas drilling a 3-run HR (#9) to make it 5-2. Kikuo Kawase whiffed a pair in a scoreless 8th and then Bo Angeac hit a 2-run shot (#10) to expand the lead to 7-2, which was the final score after Chris Hicks pitched around a couple of men he put on to get through the 9th as Wherry nabbed his first Rays win. Hardaway was named star of the game after getting on all 4 times with 3 hits and a walk, including his homer.

MAJOR INJURY UPDATE: Ricky Widmar had to leave the game with a shoulder injury and it turns out he has a torn labrum which will put him out 4 1/2 months, ending his regular season with perhaps a return for the playoffs. A major blow especially with Dane Ayers on the IL through next month. Melvin Gutierrez becomes the full-time SS, and while he's a 75 defender he's a lousy hitter. We have enough offense to carry him but I'll be on the prowl for some help, although Ayers will take over the job once he's healthy. Jeff Baez, our top SS prospect, is hurt as well and is out a few more weeks.

May 24: Placed SS Ricky Widmar on the 60-day IL with a torn labrum, purchased the contract of IF Erik Batchelder from AAA Durham.

Batchelder was our 1st round pick back in 2026 and he's toiled 7 long years in the minors. He was excellent in last year's playoffs for Durham and has carried that over into the regular season, hitting 326/368/571 in 132 AB, and he's a 65 defender at 2B and SS. These numbers are way over his head based on his ratings, and he's considered a .250 hitter with doubles power. But he'll do for now.

Game 2: Things did not start off at well for the Rays today as Leo Ortega gave the Angels single runs in the 1st, 2nd and 3rd on a homer and a couple of extra-base hits while Danny DeJesus retired the first 9 Rays batters. But the bats took over from there, clubbing 5 homers in a 10-4 rout of Los Angeles. Jaiden Hardaway broke the ice with #6 leading off the 4th, a few batters later Bo Angeac hit a 3-run shot (#11), and then Alex Buitrago went back-to-back with Rivas for #8 and it was suddenly 5-3 Rays. LA answered back with an unearned run in the 5th off Ortega, which just made the Rays mad so they tacked on 4 more runs in the bottom of the inning including a 3-run blast from Rodolfo Rivas (#10), and Luis Corpus added #8 in the 6th. Everyone in the lineup ended up with a least one hit, and everyone except Dayle Jenkins and Victor de Jesus had an RBI. Ortega went 6 6 4 3 0 4 in a mediocre outing to improve to 7-2, 3.90 while Danny Medina pitched a pair of scoreless innings and Jim Connors got some work in pitching the 9th.

Game 3: Nate Schultz had a no-hitter for 7 2/3 innings and Jaiden Hardaway hit a pair of homers to lead the Rays to a 6-2 win over the Angels, their third straight in the series and 8th straight overall. Schultz had his best stuff today and overpowered LA, striking out 13 in his 7 2/3 innings. His pitch count had reached the 110s in the 8th and he walked Angels C Alan Arcangeli for the third time today (of 4 walks total) and then Rich Gil drilled a 2-run homer into the RF bullpen to cost Schultz the no-hitter and the shutout, but not the win. He's now 6-0, 3.69 and has 85 whiffs in 63 1/3 innings this year. Tim Siqueiros got the final out of the 8th and Mike Wherry had a 1-2-3 9th. Hardaway paced the offense with solo homers in the 5th and the 7th as well as a sac fly, and Nate Clark hit #19 with the bases empty in the 3rd. Erik Batchelder got his first MLB start and manufactured the first Rays run by singling, stealing second, advancing to 3rd on the bad throw and scoring on Hardaway's sac fly. It wasn't all wine and roses though as he did make an error in the 8th after Schultz lost the no-hitter.

Game 4: The Angels came into this series with one of the better records in AL at 28-18 and the Rays just tossed them aside, sweeping the series and extending their win streak to 9 with a 13-5 victory today. LA actually took a 5-2 lead in the 4th and chased Jon Soranno from the game but the Rays lefty kept his perfect 7-0 record intact anyway after the Rays scored 10 times in the 4th and 5th innings combined. Soranno left with a rough 3.2 7 5 5 1 5 line and saw his ERA rise to 3.21 but Danny Medina took over and was brilliant going 3 1/3 with only one hit allowed and 3 whiffs to get his 2nd win of the year. Bob Sirna went the final two scoreless. On offense it was a team effort, with 4 players homering, 5 driving in 2 runs apiece, and everyone in the lineup getting at least one hit. Today's HR parade saw #20 from Nate Clark, #12 from Bo Angeac, #4 from Mike Harms (back-to-back with Angeac) and #9 from Jaiden Hardaway (his 5th in the last 4 games). Victor de Jesus was 3-4 with a double and an RBI, and they even got 3 RBI combined from Will Quintana and Melvin Gutierrez.

Team record: 40-10. Next up: A road trip begins with a weekend in Minnesota.

[Art Deco]

Game 1: The Rays picked up where they left off in the Angels series, knocking the cover off the ball and building an 8-0 lead after 2 and a 10-2 lead into the 7th before the bullpen had its issues and they had to hold on to a 10-7 win, their 10th straight. The Rays scored 5 times in the 1st after the first two batters were retired, including 2-run doubles from Alex Buitrago and Luis Corpus. Back-to-back homers from Nate Clark (#21, with a man on) and Rodolfo Rivas (#11) made it 8-0 in the 2nd. Andy Aparicio gave up a 2-run homer in the 2nd and until he gave up a solo HR in the 7th that was the only hit he allowed. He gave up a leadoff double in the 8th and was relieved by Chris Hicks, who continues to struggle allowing AA's runner to score as well as one of his own and it was now 10-5. Aparicio finished 7 3 4 4 1 9 to improve to 8-2, and Jim Connors had to get Hicks out of the 8th before he ran into further trouble in the 9th, allowing 2 more runs to score. Kikuo Kawase was finally summoned to get the final out although in a surprise it was on a fly ball rather than a whiff, but still good enough for his 6th save.

Game 2: Ho hum, the Rays hit 4 more homers and scored 8 more runs and won to extend their winning streak to 11. The real news today was the extremely impressive outing from Alec Sachais, who pitched decently last time out after spending most of this season as a human batting practice machine. This afternoon Sachais looked like guy who's gone 75-20 over the last 4 1/2 seasons as he turned in a 7 2 1 1 1 7 performance. Overall for the season he's been somewhat the victim of bad BABIP luck in combination with some so-so pitching and although his ERA is a still-unsightly 6.92 his FIP is two runs lower at 4.89. Not great, but not horrendous. Bob Sirna gave up the 2nd Minnesota run in the 8th and Chris Hicks had a scoreless 9th with 3 whiffs in the 8-2 win. Victor de Jesus was the hitting star, blasting a pair of homers (#16 and 17) in the 2nd and 5th and driving in 3, while Will Quintana hit #2 and Jaiden Hardaway can't stop hitting them either as he launched #10, his 6th in 6 games as part of his 3-RBI day.

Game 3: The Rays completed the sweep of Minnesota with their winning streak now reaching 12, but it was the toughest game they've had to play recently as it took a 2-out, 3-run rally in the 9th inning to bring them a 5-2 win. It was a pretty good pitchers' duel between a couple of aces, the Rays' Leo Ortega and Minnesota's Jordan Wicks and it was 2-2 into the 6th when both had to leave after a 1-hour rain delay. The Rays had managed a pair of solo homers against Wicks, Rodolfo Rivas' 12th in the 2nd and Dayle Jenkins' 7th in the 5th. Tim Siqueiros took over after the delay and went an inning after Ortega finished 5.2 4 2 2 1 2, Mike Wherry got the final out of the 7th and the first one in the 8th, and Kikuo Kawase got the final two outs of the 8th. This brought us to the 9th Mike Harms was hit by a pitch and Erik Batchelder walked, but Melvin Gutierrez whiffed for the 2nd out so it was up to Omar Rodriguez and he came through with a 2-run double to break the tie. Jenkins singled him home for some insurance and Kawase struck out 3 Twins in the 9th around a double to pick up his 2nd win. He now has 54 whiffs in 24 1/3 innings with a 1.48 ERA but for some reason was not listed on the All-Star ballot among relievers. Unfortunately OOTP doesn't allow write-ins.

Team record: 43-10. Next up: 3 games in Texas.

[Art Deco]

Game 1: The Rays saw their 12-game winning streak snapped in dramatic fashion tonight, right after it looked like they'd pull out consecutive win #13 as Wander Franco took revenge against his old club with a 2-run walk-off homer in the bottom of the 9th to give the Rangers a 3-2 win. For 8 innings the only run either team put on the board was a first inning solo shot from the Rangers' Adrian Ramos off Nate Schultz, who otherwise pitched another absolute gem. Coming off a near no-hitter, Schultz went 8 3 1 1 0 9 and was in line for the win when the Rays mounted a miracle 2-out rally off another former teammate, Alexander Beltre. Omar Rodriguez singled and stole second, but Bo Angeac and Luis Corpus went down, so the game was in the hands of Erik Batchelder, who walked to keep the game alive. Then Jaiden Hardaway ripped a double into the LF corner, scoring Omar and Batchelder and giving the Rays a 2-1 lead. But Jordan Diaz couldn't get it done for the second straight time in the bottom of the 9th, hitting Rodolfo Fernandez to lead off the inning. Although Diaz retired the next two batters, Franco stepped up and drilled a 2-1 fastball into the RF seats to walk it off for Texas and end the Rays' win streak.

Game 2: The Rays bounced back from last night's tough loss to take a 6-1 win over the Rangers in a game that started off quite similar to yesterday's. It was 1-0 Texas through 5 as Victor Presas held the Rays in check while Jon Soranno, like Nate Schultz yesterday, gave up a first-inning run (a minor miracle it wasn't more considering Texas loaded the bases with nobody out to start the game) but nothing else afterwards. The Rays finally tied it up in the 6th when Rodolfo Rivas doubled, went to third on a fly ball and scored on a wild pitch, and in the 7th the Rays made the breakthrough with Rivas delivering a bases-clearing double to make it 4-1. Omar Rodriguez singled in Rivas to extend the lead to 5-1 and Soranno ended up the winner, going to 8-0 after an outstanding 6 4 1 1 3 6 effort which lowered his ERA to 3.06. Tim Siqueiros had a 2K 1-2-3 7th, Omar singled in another run to make it 6-1 to cap a 3-hit day, and Jim Connors went up against his old mates and finished the game out with two scoreless innings.

Congrats to Victor!



And to Kikuo:



June 1: Sent P Nate Thompson to AAA Durham for a rehab assignment.

Thompson is back from his torn labrum suffered last July, and we'll see how his stuff held up. If he's 90% of what he was he'll still be valuable and will probably take Chris Hicks' place on the active roster when healthy.

Game 3: The Rays hit 6 solo homers to account for all of their runs in a 6-3 win over Texas as Andy Aparicio pitched perhaps his best game of the season. Jaiden Hardaway set the tone by leading off the game with a longball, the first of five homers they hit off Texas starter Edwin Harty who had surrendered only four all season coming in. The blast was Hardaway's 11th of the year and seventh in his last nine games. Bo Angeac went deep in the 2nd to double the lead, and then they hit three more in the third: Nate Clark's 22nd, Rodolfo Rivas (back-to-back with Clark) and Angeac's 2nd in as many innings and 14th of the year. Rivas finished the scoring by hitting his second of the game and 14th of the year off Bryan Mata in the 5th. Meanwhile Aparicio was mowing down Ranger after Ranger and finished with a brilliant 7 5 1 1 0 10 line and upped his record to 9-2, 3.29. Chris Hicks crapped the bed again as he was entrusted with the 5-run lead in the 8th and gave up a 2-run homer to Edgar Medina with one out. It was then Kikuo Kawase time and the Japanese sensation walked the first man he faced but immediately erased him on a double play and then whiffed a pair of Rangers in a 1-2-3 9th for save #7 on 19 pitches.

Team record: 45-11. Next up: An off-day then the road trip continues in the Pacific Northwest with 3 against the Mariners over the weekend.

Nate Thompson rehab update: Thompson was hit hard in his return to game action after almost a year out, giving up 5 runs in 2 1/3 innings, walking 2 and whiffing none over 51 pitches. Nevertheless, our head scout Rob Metzler was there and returned this report:



So not only did his stuff not diminish, it's better along with his control. I see the stamina was reduced but that's understandable given the circumstances. Great news!

[Art Deco]

Game 1: Another day, another decisive win for the Rays as they took it to Seattle 8-1. But the win was costly as reigning AL MVP Dayle Jenkins suffered a fractured cheekbone in a collision at second base in the 1st inning and will be lost for 5-6 weeks. This will mean more playing time for Omar Rodriguez and Mike Harms, as Victor de Jesus can cover RF as well. They scored in that first inning on a Nate Clark fielder's choice and then broke it open in the 2nd on an RBI double from Luis Corpus, Erik Batchelder's first MLB RBI on a groundout, and then a 2-run HR from (who else?) Jaiden Hardaway, now with 12 on the year and 8 in his last 10 games. Rodolfo Rivas added a solo shot in the 5th (#15), Corpus drove in another with a single and Clark got his second RBI grounder of the game to round out the scoring. Alec Sachais started and while he wasn't as great as he was in Minnesota, he was good enough going 5 4 1 1 2 2 to improve to 4-2 and bring his ERA further down the long road to respectability at 6.34. Danny Medina took over and ended up pitching the final 4 innings for his 1st save as a Ray, allowing only 1 hit, walking 0 and striking out 4 as he lowered his ERA to 1.24 in 36.1 innings.

June 4: Placed OF Dayle Jenkins on the 10-day IL with a fractured cheekbone, recalled OF Nate Boesel from AAA Durham.

Boesel was once a shiny young prospect ranked as high as #30 by OSA and in the top 100 as late as last winter. But the shine has come off a bit and he's ranked #199 right now at age 26 despite a solid season at AA Montgomery last year (271/338/560 with 29 HR). He's been playing at Durham this year and is a pedestrian 237/272/439 with 8 HR and 32 RBI in 43 games and he gets the call if for no other reason he's the only other OF on the 40-man. He'll get a few starts but Mike Harms should be the main beneficiary of Jenkins' absence.

Game 2: The Rays looked like they were on their way to another easy win as they took a 6-2 lead into the bottom of the 7th, but a bullpen meltdown aided by a key error allowed Seattle to come back and tie it up, and on to extra innings we went before Alex Buitrago ended the madness with a homer in the top of the 12th to lead the Rays to a 7-6 win. Early on it looked like more of the same as Bo Angeac drilled a 2-run homer in the 2nd (#15) to get them on the board, and Buitrago had a big 2-run double in the 5th to make it 6-2. Leo Ortega was solid if unspectacular at 6 7 2 2 0 5 and Tim Siqueiros took over for the 7th and had a rare bad outing. He walked a man, gave up two hits, and with a key Angeac error in the mix it was 6-4 with two out and two on and Mike Wherry came in to face the lefty Stan Collier, a one-time Rays 1st-round draft pick. Collier got revenge on his former team with a 2-run double to tie it up. Wherry got the leadoff man in the 8th and Jim Connors came in and finished the inning and pitched through the 9th. Kikuo Kawase then came in and went two innings, walking a pair (one intentionally) and whiffing a pair and getting a big double play ball in the 10th. Then Buitrago capped his 4-hit night with the solo homer in the 12th, making Kawase a winner for the 3rd time this year and Jordan Diaz bounced back from some recent struggles with a 1-2-3 12th to notch save #7, matching Kawase for the team lead.

Game 3: Among the starting 9 today the Rays had 5 guys who were regulars for Durham last year and one who was a regular for AA Montgomery, and still scored 10 runs today in a 10-4 thrashing of the Mariners. Nate Schultz actually put Tampa Bay in a 4-2 hole after 3 innings, surrendering a pair of homers. But he was lights-out over the next 3 innings and finished 6 5 4 4 2 9 and went to 7-0, 3.61 while the offense clawed its way back and took the lead. A pair of homers against a one-time Rays farmhand were the difference as Bo Angeac took Austin Vernon deep for #16 (his 4th in 4 games) to tie it at 4 in the 5th and then Victor de Jesus sent a Vernon offering into the LF seats with a man on in the 6th to make it 6-4. An Erik Batchelder RBI single in the 7th gave them some insurance at 7-4, and then you can't spell home run without Jaiden Hardaway or something like that as he continued his ridiculous binge with a 3-run shot in the 9th to blow it open. It was the 2B's 13th of the year and 9th in his last 12 games. He now is up to 3.7 WAR, far and away the MLB leader in that category and is on pace for a rare 10-WAR season. Meanwhile Nate Boesel made his MLB debut and drew 3 of the 12 walks Seattle pitchers issued in his 5 trips to the plate, flying out in one, and doubling in the other. On the mound, unlike yesterday the bullpen was untouchable as Tim Siqueiros, Mike Wherry and Chris Hicks each pitched a perfect inning and combined for 7 strikeouts with Wherry whiffing the side in his. Despite all the injuries (Widmar, Jenkins, Ayers) this might be our best team yet, which is really saying something. Of course none of this is a guarantee for a 5-game series in early October as we've learned the past two years.

Team record: 48-11. Next up: An off-day to travel across the country then Connor Kirkley returns to Publix Park with his new teammates the White Sox for 3 games.

MLB News: The Yankees' ace Eric Peterson threw a no-hitter against Toronto today. He went 9 0 0 0 3 5 on 103 pitches. He has a 3-4, 3.39 record which reflects the mediocre start the Yankees have gotten off to (25-29) and the lack of runs they've scored (still shaking my head at their trading off Vlad Jr). Also Mike Trout hit career HR #711 today as he pulls within 3 of Babe Ruth for 3rd on the all-time list.

[Art Deco]

Another week, another player of:



Game 1: The Rays kicked off their latest homestand in impressive fashion with a 14-1 clubbing of the White Sox. Bo Angeac's first-inning grand slam (HR #17) off Chicago ace Andrew Dalquist (who came in with a 2.94 ERA and left with one much higher) was the key blow in a 7-run opening frame, and Jon Soranno cruised to a 9-0 record and a 2.93 ERA with a 6 3 1 1 3 8 outing. Bob Sirna came on for the 7th, walked the bases loaded with one out and was replaced by Chris Hicks, who went the final 2 2/3 scoreless. Rodolfo Rivas also had another big game, going 3-4 with 3 RBI including a first-inning RBI single that put them on the board. Having a career day was Melvin Gutierrez, 3-5 with 3 RBI, Alex Buitrago was 3-4 with a pair of doubles and Victor de Jesus bumped his OBP up to .425 by reaching ball all 5 times today on two hits and three walks. One dark cloud though: our injury woes continue with Luis Corpus straining a hamstring. It's considered day-to-day, but it will ail him for 3 weeks so we're just going to go ahead and IL him.

June 8: Placed C Luis Corpus on the 10-day IL with a hamstring strain, recalled C Mike McKee from AAA Durham.

The future is now for our catcher of the future, Mike McKee. McKee is ranked the #49 prospect in baseball by BNN/OSA and was hitting 307/374/493 at Durham with 5 HR. He's only rated a 45 defensively though, which is a bit of a flaw. He'll likely split time with Will Quintana while Corpus recovers.

Game 2: Another day, another comfortable win, this time 7-2 over the White Sox. Andy Aparicio was excellent, not allowing a hit until the 4th and finishing 7 4 2 2 1 8 after sitting through a 26-minute rain delay to improve to 10-2, 3.23, becoming MLB's first 10-game winner. Bob Sirna went the final 2 innings and put some men on but didn't let any of 'em score. The offense got underway in the 2nd with a 2-run homer from Alex Buitrago (#10), and they added 4 more in the 3rd with the big hits a Rodolfo Rivas RBI single and a 2-run knock from Will Quintana. Rivas added a sac fly in the 3rd for run #7 while Jaiden Hardaway was 3-4 with a walk and two runs scored.

Game 3: The Rays kept on keepin' on with a 6-4 win over the White Sox, but this one was more hard-earned than the last two. Part of the reason is that Alec Sachais started and was not very effective, giving up 3 runs on a pair of homers including a 2-run shot from old friend Connor Kirkley in the 3rd. Shortly afterwards Sachais had to leave the game with a herniated disc and will be out a month as the baseball gods seemed determined to see how much we can keep winning with one injury after another. Chicago's 3-1 lead (after a first inning solo blast from Victor de Jesus, his 19th) evaporated in the bottom of the 3rd when Melvin Gutierrez of all people went deep with his first MLB homer and Mike Harms drilled an RBI double. The Rays then took the lead in the 6th on a solo homer from Harms (#6) and after Danny Medina and Tim Siqueiros combined for 4 1/3 scoreless, Mike Wherry got the ball in the 8th. He retired the first two but gave up a game-tying homer to same-handed lefty hitter Omar Rivas to tie the game. Again, Chicago's prosperity did not last long as our Rivas, Rodolfo, hit #16 off brief ex-Ray Mike Tudor to restore the lead. A rally ensued, and rookie Mike McKee in his MLB debut had an RBI single for an insurance run. Kikuo Kawase took over and got the final out of the 8th to pick up his 4th win, and he stayed on for the 9th whiffing a pair but giving up a couple of hits which he pitched around.

Team record: 51-11. Next up: Oakland comes into town for the weekend for 4 games, including a doubleheader on Saturday.

[Art Deco]

The draft was a few days ago, this is what we got:



Varela: College lefty from Missouri, potential for 55S,50M,65C, Metzler says "mid-rotation starter", OSA says "ceiling of an ace"

Waterman: College righty from Oklahoma St, 50/55/50 potential, also talked about as mid-rotation guy

Rappaport: High school RF from Michigan, potential 60 gap, 70 HR power, typical raw HS OF

Morales: High school CF from S.Carolina, projected 50-60 among all the tools

Soto: Power-hitting bat-first C from Ohio State, good eye, probably a .240 hitter, might need work behind the plate

Masek: C from University of Arizona, very similar profile to Soto

Toombs: College lefty from Long Beach State, OSA says mid-rotation, Metzler says spot starter

Garrett: High school SS from New York with some HR pop in his bat, and scouts think he will stick at his position

[Art Deco]

June 10: Placed P Alec Sachais on the 15-day IL with a herniated disc, recalled P Kevin Kerstetter from AAA Durham.

Kerstetter gets another shot after pitching well at Durham (4-0, 2.58 in 7 starts with a 16/58 BB/K ratio in 45 1/3 innings) and will pitch one of the games of tomorrow's doubleheader.

Game 1: 9 straight for the Rays after an 8-2 whupping of Oakland. Leo Ortega had one of his better starts as a Ray, 7 6 1 1 0 10 to go to 8-2, 3.55. Mike Wherry gave up a run in the 8th and Chris Hicks had a 1-2-3 9th. On offense the big blow came early as Victor de Jesus delivered a 3rd-inning grand slam, HR #20, and he drove in a run later to give him a 5-RBI day. Omar Rodriguez drove in a pair with a triple and an RBI groundout, and Jaiden Hardaway was on base four times in five trips on two hits and two walks, driving in a run and upping his season numbers to 372/453/624, good for 4.1 WAR already and the clear frontrunner for AL MVP.

Game 2: The Rays' 9-game winning streak came to an end in the first game of the doubleheader as they suffered only their 12th loss of the season, 2-0 to Oakland. Fabrian Petrovich and three relievers (including former Ray Luke Little) combined on a 4-hit shutout with Jaiden Hardaway getting 2 of them and extending his hitting streak to 18 games. Kevin Kerstetter started and had a nightmare first inning, walking the first two men, giving up an RBI single and another RBI hit which could have been 3 if Alex Buitrago hadn't thrown out the trailing runner at the plate. The lefty did settle down after that and finished a pretty good 6 5 2 2 3 6. Chris Hicks had to leave after one batter with back stiffness (a minimal injury) so Jim Connors in order to save the rest of the pen for Game 2 went the final 2 2/3 scoreless.

Game 3: The Rays' bats woke up in the nightcap as they bounced back with a 12-5 win. Jaiden Hardaway led off the game with HR #14 to make it 19 straight with a hit, Rodolfo Rivas hit a 2-run shot later in the 1st for #17, Bo Angeac ripped a 3-run blast (#18) in the 2nd, Nate Clark snapped out of his recent funk to hit #23, and Melvin Gutierrez hit his 2nd HR of the week (and the season) in the 3rd as the Rays raced out to a 10-0 lead after 3. Nate Schultz struggled in the middle innings after getting the big lead, but lasted long enough to get the win and go to 8-0 despite a 5 9 3 3 4 7 line. Bob Sirna gave up 2 runs in the 6th and because I accidentally clicked "quick play" and didn't manage this game myself, the AI had Kikuo Kawase go the final 3 innings and throw 37 pitches. They were 3 perfect innings in which he whiffed 7, and he qualified for save #8. He now has an insane 6/67 BB/K ratio in 32.1 innings.

June 12: Optioned P Chris Hicks to AAA Durham, recalled P Eric Carter from AAA Durham.

This is our "27th man" move we didn't make for yesterday's doubleheader, so Hicks will be eligible for recall right away.

Game 4: Jon Soranno, bidding to go 10-0, couldn't hold on to a 3-0 lead but it didn't matter because the Rays roared right back and ended up beating Oakland 11-4. Soranno had shut Oakland out through 4, gave up an unearned run in the 5th but ran into big trouble in the 6th as Oakland scored twice to tie it up. He was able to finish the inning and became the pitcher of record when the Rays scored 4 times in the bottom of the 6th and they never looked back. Soranno finished 6 5 3 2 3 6 and joined teammate Andy Aparicio on 10 wins for a share of the MLB lead. Tim Siqueiros ran into trouble in the 7th, loading the bases and allowing a run, but Danny Medina did his Kikuo Kawase impression, whiffing 2 to end the inning and 2 more in the 8th. Eric Carter pitched a 1-2-3 9th. On offense, Mike Harms broke the deadlock in the 6th with an RBI double, Nate Boesel singled in a run and then Will Quintana unloaded for HR #3 with a man on to spark the rally. Earlier Bo Angeac hit HR #19, a 2-run shot, to put the Rays on the board and in the bottom of the 8th, down to his last at-bat to try and extend his hitting streak to 20, Jaiden Hardaway hit a bases-clearing double.

Team record: 54-12. Next up: An off-day which the bullpen will appreciate before we head to Toronto for a quick 2-game series.

[Art Deco]

Game 1: The Rays ran into a tough customer in Toronto starter Jimmy Shaffer, who's been one of the league's best the last couple of seasons, and dropped a 2-1 decision at Rogers Centre. Shaffer held the Rays to 7.2 4 1 1 2 8 with their only rally coming in the 8th when they loaded the bases with 2 out and Omar Rodriguez was walked to force in a run before Nate Clark flew to right to end the threat. Jays closer Jose Romero struck out the side in the 9th (Rivas, de Jesus, Angeac). The lack of offense wasted a good outing from Andy Aparicio (6 5 2 2 3 7) as he fell to 10-3 while Jim Connors went two scoreless to keep it close. Fortunately one of the four Rays hits came off the bat of Jaiden Hardaway, so his hitting streak remains alive at 21.

Nate Thompson Rehab Update: In his third start at Durham Thompson went 7 2 0 0 0 10 on 85 pitches. Going to go out on a limb and say he's ready to come back. He'll likely be called up in 5 days and either take the Kersetter/Sachais rotation spot or pitch long relief.

Game 2: Another low-scoring game, another Rays loss as they fell 2-1 in 11 innings. They should have won the game, having scored in the top of the 10th on an Omar Rodriguez RBI single but Jordan Diaz continued his unreliability by giving up a homer to Dan Phipps to lead off the bottom of the inning and then walking the first two men in the 11th as an Austin Beck single off Mike Wherry scored the first of those runners for a walk-off Toronto win. The lack of offense for the second straight night wasted Leo Ortega's best outing as a Ray and certainly one of the best of his career as he went 7 2 0 0 0 13 in a remarkable display of domination. Speaking of domination, Kikuo Kawase pitched the 8th and 9th, whiffing 3 more batters. The only Ray to do any hitting today (aside from Rodriguez) was Jaiden Hardaway, who led off the game with a single to extend his hitting streak to 22, and was on four of his five times up including a single to lead off the 10th with a stolen base ahead of Omar's RBI single. But perhaps the loss of Widmar, Jenkins, Corpus et al is finally catching up to them as they've lost 3 of their last 5 and in those three losses they've scored a combined total of three runs.

Team record: 54-14. Next up: 4 games in Detroit, where they have a pretty good pitching staff too.

[Art Deco]

Game 1: The Rays' offensive woes (there's a phrase I never thought I'd be typing this season) continued as they dropped three straight games for the first time this year, losing 4-1 to the Tigers. It looked like it might be back to business as usual for Tampa Bay when Jaiden Hardaway led off the game with HR #15 (extending his hitting streak to 23 games), but that would turn out to be the only time a Ray would cross home plate tonight as they managed only 5 hits. Victor de Jesus in particular had a rough night, getting the golden sombrero with 4 strikeouts. Kevin Kerstetter started and fell to 0-4, but he pitched well and was largely the victim of bad sequencing as he put two on in the 3rd before Tyler Freeman tripled, and Freeman scored on a sac fly. He finished 6 5 3 3 2 8 and deserved a better fate. Eric Carter gave up a run in his inning of work, and Bob Sirna struck out 3 in his. There's some regression to the mean at play here, but 4 runs in the last 3 games is something for a team that was sneezing runs only a week ago.

Game 2: It's something for a team now 55-15 to get excited about a win, but after three nights of frustration and offensive futility it was nice to get a different result. They didn't exactly knock the cover off the ball in a 5-0 win over Detroit, but three big homers and the pitching of Nate Schultz carried the day. Victor de Jesus singled, stole second and scored on Alex Buitrago's sac fly to give them a 1-0 lead in the 2nd, and Bo Angeac doubled the lead against his old organization with HR #20. And then Buitrago went deep with de Jesus aboard in the 6th for his 11th HR of the season and the lead was doubled yet again. Nate Clark, who has been a drag on the offense lately, hopefully started snapping out of it with HR #24 in the 9th. Schultz was outstanding, striking out the side in the 1st and going 6 5 0 0 2 6 on 98 pitches to improve to 9-0, 3.46. Tim Siqueiros struck out the side in the 7th, Jim Connors had a 7-pitch 1-2-3 8th, and Jordan Diaz whiffed 3 Tigers around a double in the 9th. Jaiden Hardaway continues his ludicrous run of getting on base, on four times today with two hits and two walks, and he stole 3 bases to boot. His hitting streak is now at 24, he has an absurd OBP of .465 to go with his .376 batting average, and his WAR is up to 4.9, an incredible season for most players but representing only 40% of his year.

June 18: Claimed P Edgar Rios on waivers from San Diego, designated P Steve Bloom for assignment and placed him on waivers.

It's extremely rare I make a waiver claim and even rarer when someone with a worse record doesn't claim him, but we've added Edgar Rios. He's a 96-98 MPH righty reliever who has 65 stuff (potential 75), 65 movement and 45 control (potential 55) and had a cup of coffee with the Padres which saw him allow only 1 hit over 5 2/3 innings with 4 walks and 6 whiffs. Rios was the Padres' 2nd round pick in 2028, and has 2 option years left so he'll go to Durham. Bloom is OK, but isn't as good as Rios, plus he'll probably clear waivers anyway.

Game 3: It was a thrilling game at Comerica Park which saw the Rays take the load, lose it, then get it back again late to take a 5-4 win over Detroit. The Rays had built a 3-1 lead into the 7th after homers from Victor de Jesus (#21) and Mike Harms (#7) and an Omar Rodriguez RBI triple. Meanwhile Jon Soranno was cruising along with a 2-hitter through 6. But after a leadoff single (and some hard-hit balls including a homer off Soranno in the 6th), Spencer Torkelson came to the plate and I decided to leave Soranno in while muttering to myself "this is probably a mistake". And sure enough it was as Tork got some payback against his old team with a 2-run blast to tie it up. Jim Connors came in, and then gave up a homer himself to put Detroit on top 4-3. In the top of the 8th de Jesus led off with a double but looked like he might be stranded at second as the next two batters failed to advance him. With a lefty in for Detroit, lefty-hitting Alex Buitrago was due and my first instinct was to pinch-hit righty Nate Boesel for him. But as the "are you sure?" button came up I remembered Buitrago had done decently against lefties this year so I clicked "no" and let him hit. He repaid my faith by drilling a 2-run homer into the LF stands (#12) to put the Rays back ahead. And I didn't fool around with the pen, bringing Kikuo Kawase in for the bottom of the 8th. He gave up a couple of singles but got three whiffs around those and stayed on for the 9th to strike out 2 more in a 1-2-3 inning for save #9. Despite the homer allowed in 2/3 of an inning, Connors was credited with his 2nd win of the season. And yes Jaiden Hardaway got a hit (to go with 2 more walks) to make it 25 straight with a safety.

A minor trade:



We needed to make room on the 40-man for Nate Thompson (who was on the 60-day IL) and Bejerano was too good to just waive so I was able to turn him into Yusaf Khel (or is that just Khel?), Arizona's #1 pick in the 2031 draft (#27 overall) who has 30-HR power right now but has had some contact issues. He's probably ultimately a DH too.

June 19: Activated P Nate Thompson from his rehab assignment at AAA Durham, optioned P Eric Carter to AAA Durham, sent IF/OF Dane Ayers to AAA Durham for rehab assignment.

Seriously considering putting Thompson into the rotation in the Sachais spot currently held by Kevin Kerstetter and moving Kerstetter to long relief. Also it's rehab take 2 for Ayers, who broke his wrist on the last assignment after he missed the first month and a half with a concussion. The shortstop job is waiting for him if he can get 20-25 AB without getting injured on an HBP again.

Game 4: The Rays made it 3 in a row with an 8-3 win over Detroit and I'm betting nobody had "Erik Batchelder grand slam" on their bingo card. The rookie SS's big fly with the bases loaded in the 2nd, his first MLB homer, was the key hit which helped Tampa Bay to a 7-0 lead in the 2nd and they coasted from there. Nate Clark got them on the board with #25 in the 1st, and they added a pair of runs in the 2nd after Batchelder's slam on a balk and a Victor de Jesus RBI single. Bo Angeac hit #21 in the 5th for their final run. Nate Thompson, just off the IL and back in the bigs for the first time in 11 months, got the surprise start as we decided to give Andy Aparicio an extra rest day. Thompson was very good through 5, allowing just one run, but put two men on to start the 6th and finished 5 5 1 1 3 2 to get the victory. Danny Medina got him out of the 6th on 3 pitches - a double play and a grounder - and pitched 3 innings in total, allowing a 2-run Spencer Torkelson homer. Jordan Diaz got some work in with a perfect 9th (he's only thrown 15 innings this year which might also have something to do with his inconsistency, as the majority of Rays wins have been blowouts). Sadly Jaiden Hardaway's hitting streak came to an end at 25 even though he still reached base 3 times on a pair of walks and an HBP. He popped out and struck out in the two plate appearances he didn't reach.

Team record: 57-15. Next up: Back home for some interleague play as Cincinnati visits for 3 games.

Durham Update: The Bulls crushed Lehigh Valley 12-4 to improve to 44-17 but the big news was that Jon Jimenez hit 3 homers in the game as we have yet another 1B prospect in the pipeline. He's ranked the #41 overall prospect and is hitting 332/402/608 with 14 HR and 52 RBI in 59 games at Durham. Jimenez is clearly ready to play in the bigs but we have, you know, Victor de Jesus at 1B, Rodolfo Rivas DHing and Mike Harms on the bench.