The 2021 (and only 2021) Tampa Bay Rays

[Art Deco]

We'll go in reverse order, first with the waiver claim:



The 33-year-old vet still is rated 55/55/55 as a starter which looks like it should play. He'll take Brad Garrard's spot as the 5th starter although it should be temporary until James Hays comes back, but he could have some use as a middle/long guy. Manning was 6-2, 2.09 with Miami so I'm not really sure why they waived him but their loss is our gain.

Now, a trade:



A rare AI trade proposal I was willing to accept, mainly for Post. Manross was our Rule 5 guy in 2029 but has been stuck at Durham since and behind 2030 Rule 5 guy Jamie Reiner on our depth charts, plus he's 28 now. I shopped Manross to see what else I could get and nothing topped this. Adon is a veteran righty reliever, whom I'm a bit skeptical of at 60/45/60 and had a ghastly 6.92 ERA for the Cubs but I'll give him some low-leverage opportunities just to see if he has anything left. Lopez is a C- prospect, likely just organizational depth. But as I mentioned the real prize is Post:



A 2028 second-round pick, Post looks like a future late-inning fixture for us and was impressive in his MLB debut with the Cubs, going 8.1 2 0 0 2 8 over 6 appearances. For now he goes to Durham but he could be up sooner than later.

Transaction-wise Gavin Bruni, who has been inconsistent this year, went to Durham to make room for Adon, leaving us with only one lefty in the pen (Dax Fulton) so we'll see how that goes.

Now to the draft:



Dicochea:



Our first-rounder (#34 overall) is a high-schooler from West Virginia who has a thunderous bat with great potential. If he lives up to it we can make it work at 3B with him, otherwise he seems ticketed for the other corner.

Berumen:



Our supplemental 1st rounder, compensation for the free agent loss of Andrew Greckel, is a Florida high school OF/P, and since he's listed as a pitcher I put up his full rating page here to show that he's more likely to end up an outfielder with that eye-popping hitting potential he has, not only bat-to-ball but power. He could be a 2-way player although his pitching ratings scream emergency starter/long reliever to me.

Darrough:



Our second-rounder hails from an Arizona high school and is a legit pitching prospect whom my scout says "should be taken seriously as a starter as he matures".

Sanders:



The parade of high-schoolers continues with Sanders, who hails from Maryland. He's a toolsy kind of guy, a good athlete with defensive skills, potential plus power and a potential plus-plus eye. Contact will determine how far he goes.

Huerta:



You guessed it, a high school guy. Huerta's from California and I like this pick as he's a speedy, plus-defensive middle infielder with potential for some pop in his bat.

Gutierrez:



The graybeard of our high picks, 19-year-old Gutierrez spent a year at a JuCo and is a lefty starter with a dazzling curveball who could have a future.

[Art Deco]

The Rays kept winning and the Yankees kept losing (although they won their finale) as Tampa Bay swept Boston and moved into sole possession of first in the AL East, 1 1/2 up on New York as they'd probably rather not being going into the All-Star break considering how hot they now are.

Joe Marlette had been pitching decently for the Rays this year but not at the near-Cy Young level he had last season. That changed today as he was utterly dominant in a 6-1 win over Boston, improving to 7-3 with a 7 2 0 0 2 10 outing. Joan Adon made his Rays debut in relief of Marlette and went the final 2 innings, allowing only a 2-out solo homer in the 9th. Meanwhile the insane homer binge from Rays batters continued apace with four more longballs tonight. Wander Franco (#11) and Dong-hwan Kim (#14) had solo shots in the 3rd, Orlando Tosado drilled a 2-run blast in the 5th (#10/12), and Joshua Baez greeted former Ray Dustin May with his 20th after May come on in relief in the 5th, going back-to-back with Tosado.

A 4-run 1st inning keyed a 6-3 Rays win in the second game. The home run was again the story for the Rays offense with Raimfer Salinas launching a 2-run blast (#12/23) in the 1st and Joshua Baez going back-to-back with a teammate for the second straight night for his 21st. Salinas and Baez later added RBI singles and backed a strong outing from Michael Prosecky (4-4), returning to form at 6 2 2 1 1 3 after a couple of dismal starts. Nathan Dettmer took care of the 9th for his 10th save.

The Rays completed the sweep and made it six straight wins heading into the All-Star break with a 7-1 win over the Red Sox keyed by a dazzling Rays debut from Matt Manning, who pitched a complete-game 3-hitter on only 102 pitches, nicked only for a run in the 6th as he went 9 3 1 1 0 2 and induced a ton of weak contact. Manning was originally considered to just be keeping the seat warm for James Hays, who went on a rehab assignment and pitched at Durham today, but has earned himself another start after the break possibly at the expense of Shane Panzini. He had plenty of support as his teammates belted three more homers, starting with a Wander Franco solo shot (#12) in the 1st. After Boston pulled within 2-1 in the 6th, newly named All-Star JT Realmuto deposited one in the seats with a man on (#16), and Kelly Crumpton salted it away with a 3-run blast in the 7th (#23) and now leads the AL in RBI with 71.

Team record: 51-37. Next up: The aforementioned break and we'll be back to business on Thursday with 4 games in Baltimore.

[Art Deco]

The teams:





James Hays (5th appearance) and Joe Marlette (1st) made it for the Rays from the staff, while JT Realmuto makes midseason plans for 10th time in his career, Wander Franco is voted in at SS (5th), and Kelly Crumpton makes his 3rd trip. Former Rays in the game include Andrew Greckel (LAA), Taj Bradley (OAK), Aaron Fletcher (BOS), Joey Bart (MIN), Adley Rutschman (NYM) as well as former Rays farmhand Mike Mank (TEX), who went to the Rangers in the deal for Hays.

The Home Run Derby:



The All-Star Game:



As you can see the Rays contingent fared well at the All-Star Game with Kelly Crumpton taking home MVP honors. He and JT Realmuto kick-started a 4-run 7th-inning rally which won it for the AL as Realmuto singled and Crumpton then doubled home the go-ahead run as both came off the bench, and Crumpton added another hit later. Wander Franco was 1-3 and Joe Marlette turned in a scoreless inning, being the only pitcher of the game to record all 3 outs via the whiff.

[Art Deco]

The Rays returned to action after the break and their old bugaboo, the bullpen, cost them a pair of games leading to a split of the 4 games with the Orioles.

Shane Panzini's name has been floated as the odd man out of the rotation with James Hays set to return next week and tonight he did all he could to maintain his place as he pitched the Rays to a 4-2 win. The righty improved to 8-2 (albeit with a 4.39 ERA) with a fine 5 3 1 1 2 6 outing and Nathan Dettmer closed it out for save #11. All the scoring for Tampa Bay came via the homer with Joshua Baez resuming his pre-break hot streak by hitting #22, Dong-hwan Kim unloaded with a man on for #15, and JT Realmuto returned from the ASG to hit #17.

In what seems like every year in every one of my Rays saves there's a bullpen meltdown at Camden Yards and today was the latest as Nathan Dettmer served up a grand slam to Gunnar Henderson (who just kills us) with two out in the bottom of the 9th to turn an 8-5 win into a 9-8 loss. Dettmer dropped to 3-3 and suffered his 5th blown save out of 16 opportunities, not a great percentage. Before the 9th it looked like it'd be a day to celebrate for JT Realmuto. Not only did he have a 3-hit day including HR #18 and 2 RBI but the first of those hits, an improbable infield single for a 40-year-old catcher, was the 2000th of his Cooperstown-bound career. Kelly Crumpton also had a big day, homering twice and driving in 3 to give him 25 and 74 and it looked like they'd overcome a poor Michael Prosecky start (4.1 8 5 5 1 5, 3 HR). But Dettmer hit a man to load the bases with two out and Henderson, who is hitting 366/391/610 with 2 HR and 13 RBI in 10 games against the Rays this year, made him pay.

The bullpen was not their friend in the third game either, and although it was another large implosion it wasn't the gut punch yesterday's game was. Kevin DiCostanzo left after going 5 2 1 1 3 4 on 93 pitches with a 2-1 lead thanks in part to yet another Kelly Crumpton homer (#26), but that lead evaporated as soon as he left the mound. Mason Feole (1-2) put 2 men on in the 6th which Codi Heuer allowed to score and then in the 7th Heuer, Dax Fulton and Joan Adon combined to allow 5 more runs in the 7th and Baltimore ended up romping 8-2.

With Hays' return imminent there are a lot of moving parts in the Rays rotation but one piece that's going to stay in place is the newest one as Matt Manning was brilliant again, hurling 8 shutout innings in a 4-0 win over Baltimore to salvage a split. After a complete-game 3-hitter in which he allowed 1 run in his Rays debut, Manning was at it again, going 8 4 0 0 1 5 on 106 pitches. Raymells Rosa took care of the 9th to complete the shutout. Manning pitched the entire way with only a 2-0 lead thanks to a blast with a man on from Wander Franco (#13) in the 6th. Ramifer Salinas unloaded his own 2-run blast in the 9th for some insurance, his 13th as a Ray and 24th overall.

Team record: 53-39. The Yankees took 2 of 3 while we split so they pull within 1 game of us in the AL East. Next up: We head north of the border to play 2 against the Jays.

[Art Deco]

We split the two-game quickie series in Toronto but widened our division lead to two games as the Yankees dropped both their games in Baltimore.

A pair of longballs and a solid Joe Marlette start added up to a 5-2 win in the first game over the Jays. The toasty Joshua Baez evened the game up at 1 in the 2nd with his 23rd, and with the Rays nursing a 1-run lead in the 8th with this year's bullpen Dong-hwan Kim hit a big 2-run shot (#16) to give us some breathing room. Marlette went to 8-3 after a solid 6 4 2 2 2 3 performance and Nathan Dettmer racked up his 12th save.

Stop me if you've heard this one before as the bullpen let the Rays down in a 5-4 loss to Toronto in the second game. Chris Gutierrez hit their third homer of the game (#8) to tie it up at 4 in the 7th but Dax Fulton (4-3) coughed up a run in the 8th to send them to defeat. This was after Seth Elledge put them behind 4-2 after allowing a couple of runs in the 6th. Shane Panzini had a wild start, going 4.1 4 2 1 5 4, and the first two Tampa Bay runs came on homers from Willi Castro (#10, leading off the game) and Cristian Hernandez (#14). Castro's homer meant everyone in the everyday lineup except Gutierrez (at 8) has reached double-digit dingers.

Team record: 54-40. Next up: Another 2-game mini-series back at the Trop against the Orioles.

MLB News: A sad report from St. Louis where former Rays prospect JJ Goss had to call it a career after a torn rotator cuff. We dealt Goss to St. Louis way back in 2022 in a deal for Jack Flaherty and although he was up and down with Cardinals throughout his career he pitched well while in the bigs at 14-15, 3.59 in 303 IP over 88 games, 52 of which were starts.

[Art Deco]

Another split as a first-game romp was followed by a tough loss in the second game. The Yankees split as well so it's status quo at 2 games up.

The Rays routed Baltimore in the first game 10-1 behind a great outing from Michael Prosecky and plenty of thunder. Prosecky (5-4) has been highly inconsistent this season but was on the upswing tonight going 6 3 0 0 1 4. Orlando Tosado's 2-run single in the first turned out to be the all they'd need, but Dong-hwan Kim homered (#17) and drove in a pair while Wander Franco added a 2-run shot (#14).

Transaction: James Hays was activated after 2 rehab starts at Durham to start the finale and Seth Elledge was designated for assignment.

James Hays had a bit of a rough go in his first start since June 7, putting the Rays behind 5-2. They came back and tied it in the 8th only to give up a run when Nathan Dettmer's wildness combined with a critical Wander Franco error allowed the Orioles to score the winner in the 9th as they fell 6-5. Hays was hit for 4 runs in the 3rd when he gave up an RBI single to Rays-killer Gunnar Henderson with 2 out and the next man up blasted a 3-run homer, and then Henderson got him again with another RBI hit in the 5th to make it 5-2 as he he finished 6 6 5 5 1 8 in his return. Still the Rays battled back with Kelly Crumpton and Joshua Baez (#24) homering the bottom of the frame and Crumpton going deep for the second time (#28) in the 8th to tie it. But Dettmer (3-4) loaded the bases by walking a pair and with two out Franco threw wildly to second on a grounder allowing the winning run to score.

Team record: 55-41. Next up: A big series with the Yankees at the Trop with 3 over the weekend.

[Art Deco]

Not sure I've had a team in any of my Rays saves that's frustrated me this much mainly due to the failpen but in so many other facets as well. This time around they dropped 2 of 3 to the Yankees and while they're still in first it's only by a game now.

The Yankees took the first game 7-2 when a scoreless duel was broken up with a 5-run 5th. Kevin DiCostanzo (5-5) could have been out of that inning with only one run scored but his own fielding error opened the floodgates so despite being dominant at times going 4.2 6 5 1 0 9 he took the loss.

The Rays returned the blowout favor in the second game, crushing the Yankees 11-1 behind their sudden new ace Matt Manning. Manning went to 3-0 since being claimed on waivers from Miami thanks to a 6 1 1 1 3 5 outing and has a combined line of 23 8 2 1 4 12 in those three starts; the .111 BABIP is a bit unsustainable though but we'll enjoy it while it lasts. Meanwhile former Yankee Raimfer Salinas had a big game going 3-4 with HR #14 (25 overall) and 3 RBI while Kelly Crumpton chipped in a 2-run blast (#29) and Chris Gutierrez hit his 9th. Slade Cecconi went the final 3 innings for his 2nd save.

It was the finale which raised my ire as the Rays were one out away from a 1-0 win before it all went wrong and the Yankees took the win and the series 4-2. Raimfer Salinas' 4th-inning RBI single backed a fine outing from Joe Marlette (5 2 0 0 2 4 on 92 pitches) and three scoreless from the non-Nathan Dettmer portion of the bullpen. But Dettmer's struggles continued as he put two on with two out and then gave up consecutive RBI singles, the second of which was the winner and came off the bat of former Ray Andy Kelley. Wander Franco (who's really a lousy defensive SS these days), booted a grounder from the next batter to make it 3-1, and then Mason Feole came in with the sacks full and hit a man on an 0-2 count to make it 4-1. Dong-hwan Kim hit a solo shot (#18) in the bottom of the inning but it was mere consolation. Dettmer (3-5, 6 blown saves) is now out of the closer's job which will go to a combination of Raymells Rosa and Mike Moore. Kevin DiCostanzo has been very good in the rotation so I'm not looking to return him to the pen, but I can see where some might think that should be an option.

Team record: 56-43. Next up: We head to Fenway for 4 including a doubleheader on Monday.

[Art Deco]

The losing continued for Tampa Bay as they dropped 3 of 4 to the Red Sox at Fenway and combined with a Yankees sweep of Oakland they've fallen 1 1/2 games behind New York into second place in the AL East. They do hold the second wild card and are 5 games up on Baltimore who's third and 5 1/2 up on a couple of teams just out of the wild card so they've got at least that going for them.

Transaction: Brennon McNair got banged up in Sunday's game against the Yankees and went on the IL so we gave a call-up to our top advanced prospect Nate Strickland, who has been raking at Durham and seen his ratings upgraded to 75 contact and 60 power (yowza!). Strickland was 338/391/618 with 24 homers at Durham and has nothing left to prove in AAA but there's really no place for him in the lineup so he'll mainly be a fill-in for now. He's also lousy defensively and probably will end up a 1B or DH although he currently plays 2B.

The series started with a doubleheader on Monday and the Rays got their win in the opener 9-2. Raimfer Salinas slugged a pair of 2-run homers to dead center, giving him 16 with the Rays and 27 overall, and Willi Castro doubled twice, stole second twice, walked twice and drove in a pair of runs as he reached base all five times up. Shane Panzini (9-2) was solid at 5.2 4 2 2 3 4 but of course the two runs he allowed were solo homers. Nate Strickland made his Rays debut and was 0-4 with a walk although he put the ball in play for the four outs.

After battling back to tie the game at 4 in the 8th the Rays lost the nightcap when Raymells Rosa couldn't get anyone out in the 9th and Boston walked it off 5-4. It was Rosa's first decision for Tampa Bay since coming over in trade and the first run he had allowed so even he isn't immune to the vortex of suck this year's pen has been. Michael Prosecky had trouble with his control going 4.2 4 2 2 5 2 and although Slade Cecconi got him out of further damage Cecconi then gave up 2 of his own in the 6th. JT Realmuto's RBI single in the 8th brought them back to even after being down 4-1 through 6 but it only prolonged the agony.

James Hays wasn't efficient tonight and therefore couldn't make it past the 5th, turning the game over the bullpen with a 3-2 lead and you know what that means. Codi Heuer got through the 6th but Mason Feole (1-3) gave up a 2-run homer in the 7th and Boston took a 4-3 win in the third game. Hays went 5 6 2 2 4 7 on 104 pitches but Kelly Crumpton's 2-run single and Raimfer Salinas' RBI knock gave him a lead that wouldn't last.

The Rays dropped the finale 6-3 to the Red Sox as Kevin DiCostanzo was hit hard and the offense couldn't get enough going at Fenway. DiCostanzo (5-6) was 5.2 7 5 5 3 4 but was one out away from getting through the 6th with only 2 runs charged against him. Alas he allowed a pair of doubles which brought home 3 and that doomed them to the loss. This was after they came back to tie the game at 2 in the top of the 6th, and Raimfer Salinas completed his big series (3 HR, 7 RBI) with a solo shot wrapped around the Pesky Pole while Dong-hwan Kim drove in the team's other two runs.

Team record: 57-46. Next up: An off-day then we travel to San Antonio for 3.

[Art Deco]

By no means am I writing off this season since the Rays still are firmly in a wild card and are still more than capable of winning the division. But I'm also not under any illusions a fourth straight trip to the World Series is guaranteed here and there's a lot I don't like about the team either.

So therefore I decided to shop free-agent-to-be James Hays since we played barely over .500 ball without him just like we've done with him this season and while it's a bit "galaxy brain" to think we can live without the best pitcher in baseball coming off 4 straight Cy Youngs and not miss him I'm also willing to hedge my bets and get something more than a draft pick for him given that this team a) is good enough to make the playoffs and b) probably not good enough to get one of the top 2 seeds and a bye. As a result the up-until-now unthinkable happened and I swung a deal with the Dodgers:



As you can see my AGM Sam Fuld tried to talk me out of it but I ended up acquiring a player I've coveted for a while now in Arturo Gutierrez even if we don't have a lot of use for him right now. Who is Gutierrez?




Only one of the top young players in the NL as you can see from his ratings and stats. He can do it all and has been an All-Star. The only negative is that he's arb-eligible next year and is going to start getting expensive (projected $8.5M in 2032), but we won't be paying Hays 20M+ any more either. For the rest of this season there is the same issue we had with the Nate Strickland call-up: there's no real spot for him in the lineup with 1B, 2B and DH covered but we'll try to work him into the lineup whenever we can. At least Gutierrez can play a good 2B (60 rated). Strickland was sent to Durham to make room for Gutierrez.

But of course it wasn't just Gutierrez we got. While nobody is going to replace Hays' production we did get a rotation replacement for him in Mendes, a hard-throwing lefty LA was using as a swingman (these are his ratings as a starter):



Mendes is a local boy who went to Tampa Jesuit and is still making the league minimum. And with the Mendes acquisition and the emergence of Matt Manning of late, I'm going to bolster the bullpen by moving Kevin DiCostanzo back there even though I still envision him as a starter next year.

In order to get Mendes in the deal we did have to give up Shipp, a two-way prospect who will probably be mediocre at the plate and on the mound; his top projections are 50 contact and 50 power, and 45 stuff on the mound. He was our 4th round pick in 2029.


Whew!

[Art Deco]

The Rays brought their bats to Alamos Park, scoring 31 times over the weekend but only taking 2 of the 3 games. The Yankees did likewise against Boston so we remain 1 1/2 back of New York but firmly in the second wild card slot.

Tampa Bay had 11 runs by the 4th inning in the opener and went on to slam San Antonio 14-5. Raimfer Salinas, who struggled for the first 6-8 weeks with the Rays, has been molten lava hot of late and was 4-6 with 4 RBI, including a 2-run homer (#18/29). Wander Franco (#15), Dong-hwan Kim (#19) and Kelly Crumpton (#30) also went deep with Kim driving in 3 on the day as the team banged out 19 hits. Matt Manning had his first rough start as a Ray but it didn't matter as he hung around long enough to make it 4 wins in 4 starts, going 5 5 4 4 4 2 with a pair of homers allowed. Mason Feole mopped up the final 3 innings for his 2nd save.

The bats couldn't keep up with the poor pitching in the second game as they dropped an 8-6 decision to the Alamos. Shane Panzini (9-3) was lousy at 4 5 5 5 3 3 and the pen allowed three more runs to keep the game out of reach to offset a monster day from Joshua Baez, who hit a pair of 2-run homers (#25 & 26) and drove in a 5th run with an infield single. Kelly Crumpton homered again with a solo shot (#31).

The Rays took the rubber match thanks to another rout, annihilating the Alamos 11-2 behind an excellent start from Joe Marlette, now the team's undisputed ace with the trade of James Hays. Marlette (9-3) was a dominant 7 2 1 1 2 8 and had plenty of support. Dong-hwan Kim had a pair of doubles driving in four, Joshua Baez hit his third homer in two games (#27) with man on, and Wander Franco and Kelly Crumpton both brought home a pair.

Team record: 59-47. Next up: An off-day then our road odyssey continues with 3 games at Citi Field against the Mets and their team full of former Rays.

MLB News: James Hays made his Dodgers debut on Sunday and it wasn't a successful one as he went 7.2 8 6 6 1 12 in a 6-5 loss to Colorado with a homer allowed. Both his starts after coming off the IL for the Rays weren't great either, which also played into the trade decision.

[Art Deco]

The slog of mediocrity continues for this team as they dropped 2 of 3 at Citi Field to the Mets and fell 3 1/2 behind the Yankees who swept their series in Philadelphia.

The Rays took leads of 2-0 and 4-3 on a pair of homers but couldn't hold it and lost in walk-off fashion 5-4 to the Mets in the 9th inning. Dong-hwan Kim's 2-run blast (#20) in the top of the first staked them to the early lead and JT Realmuto (#19) put them ahead again but Michael Prosecky couldn't hold the lead, and worse yet he tore his meniscus and is done for the year. He went 2.2 3 3 3 1 2 and although the bullpen did a good job for the most of the way from there New York broke through against Nathan Dettmer (3-6) in the bottom of the 9th with the winning run scoring on a fly ball which Kim dropped, although the runner probably would have scored from third anyway.

Transaction: Prosecky goes on the 60-day IL and Jon Post, the fireballing reliever we acquired about a month back from the Cubs, is recalled from Durham where he had 4 saves. Kevin DiCostanzo will go back to the rotation to take Prosecky's spot.

An ugly affair all around in the second game as the Mets routed the Rays 10-1. Wes Mendes made his Rays debut and it wasn't particularly impressive although it was only 2-1 until the 5th. That's when Mendes, who had been battling runners all game, put two more on and Mason Feole let them both score along with one of his own and it was over at 5-1 with Mendes finishing 4 5 4 4 4 3. Jon Post made his Rays debut in the 8th and was torched for 5 runs.

The Rays did salvage the finale with a 3-2 win behind yet another brilliant start from Matt Manning, who is keeping the team afloat with now five wins in five starts since being claimed on waivers. The righty was an excellent 7 5 2 2 0 2 as he continues to induce soft contact, and Raymells Rosa earned his first save as a Ray with a clean 9th. After Diego Cartaya's 2-run double in the 2nd put them ahead to stay, Joshua Baez's solo shot in the 6th (#28) proved to be the difference. The Rays were up against old friend Wennington Romero and although he pitched decently against them (5 7 2 2 0 4), he dropped to 1-7 with his new club.

Team record: 60-49. Next up: We head to Atlanta for 3. Although they have a similar record to us (58-49), they've been our opposite of late as Atlanta comes in on a 7-game win streak and has overcome a poor 8-13 start to the season, whereas we started the year 10-1 and have essentially been a .500 team since.

[Art Deco]

This team continues to struggle to get anything going as a series-opening win was followed by a pair of losses and the Yankees continue to pull away, now 4 1/2 games up in the AL East as a wild card is looking like the best hope, especially with a key injury in the bullpen occurring.

The good Shane Panzini showed up for the opener as he pitched the Rays to a 3-0 win. Panzini (10-3) went 6.1 3 0 0 2 7 and Raymells Rosa had a perfect 9th for his 2nd Rays save. Wander Franco's RBI single and JT Realmuto's 2-run homer (#20) were all the offense they needed.

The Rays' bats were held in check and Joe Marlette was left in a little too long in a 4-1 loss in the second game. Marlette (9-4) went 6 6 4 4 1 8 and gave up two runs in the 6th on the second homer of the game he allowed to Atlanta's Christian Pache. Raimfer Salinas' 30th homer of the year overall (and 19th with the Rays) was the sum total of the offense today.

The bullpen provided both insult and injury today in a 10-6 loss in the rubber match to Atlanta. Kevin DiCostanzo (5-7) struggled in his return to the rotation at 4 3 5 3 3 3 with a Willi Castro error proving costly, and Slade Cecconi gave up a pair of runs in the 6th meaning the Rays' 3-run rally in the 7th meant they were still behind 7-6 instead of ahead 6-5. And later in the 8th Dax Fulton gave up a 2-run homer on a pitch which saw him tear his UCL and not only is he done for the year but we'll be lucky if we see him in 2032 (he could also be a non-tender next year). There was at least some offense with most of it coming via the longball: Kelly Crumpton (#32) and Cristian Hernandez (#15) had solo shots and the 3 runs in the 7th were courtesy of Wander Franco's 16th.

Team record: 61-51. Next up: Finally back home for 3 vs Cleveland.

[Art Deco]

The chronic losing continues as the Rays lost two of three for the third straight series, this time unable to score in the first two games before unloading in the third game as befits a team 5 games below their Pythagorean record.

Transaction: Dax Fulton goes on the 60-day IL and it might as well be the 360-day IL as he'll be having Tommy John surgery. Gavin Bruni returns from Durham to give us another lefty.


The Rays dropped the opener 5-3 against the Guardians at the Trop but only a couple of late runs made the final score respectable. Wes Mendes (0-2) was terrible again at 4 8 5 4 2 2. We weren't expecting him to duplicate James Hays (then again maybe he is since Hays has lost his first two Dodgers starts) but we were expecting something better than a random callup from the minors. Joshua Baez's 2-run triple in the 8th was the only real offensive highlight.

Tampa Bay finally lost a Matt Manning start but it wasn't Manning's fault at all as he handed the ball to the manager in the 8th inning with a 1-0 lead. It was the bats and bullpen who were the culprits tonight in a 2-1 loss as Manning allowed a leadoff single in the 8th and departed for Mike Moore, who loaded the bases and then let the tying run score on an infield single with two out. Raymells Rosa (0-2) then gave up a homer in the 9th and the bats went 1-2-3 in the bottom of the frame to end the game with four hits. Manning deserved better at 7 5 1 1 2 5 and he was helped by a remarkable sequence from CF Chris Gutierrez, who threw out runners at plate on consecutive plays in the 5th.

The Rays snapped a 4-game losing streak in the finale, annihilating Cleveland 12-0 in a game that made us think "why couldn't they have scored some of those runs the night before?". Six different Rays homered: Chris Gutierrez (#10), Orlando Tosado (#11/13), Ramifer Salinas (#20/31), Kelly Crumpton (#33), Cristian Hernandez (#16) and JT Realmuto (#21). Realmuto added 3 doubles to make him 4-4 on the night as all the players who homered drove in 2 runs except Salinas. Shane Panzini (11-3) was the starter in the previous Rays win and he was the stopper today with an excellent 6 2 0 0 2 7 performance.

Team record: 62-53. The Yankees dropped 2 of 3 as well so we stay 4 1/2 back, but 3 more days come off the calendar. Next up: An off-day then Houston visits for 3.

MLB News: Speaking of James Hays, the star righty and new Dodger will remain in Tinseltown for the foreseeable future after signing a big 7/205 extension. That's fine with me as I was concerned he'd go free agent and sign with someone like the Yankees.

[Art Deco]

You'd think the Rays could take advantage of a home series against a 49-65 team but instead they dropped two of three for the fourth straight series with the only win coming thanks to a herculean comeback . They drifted farther behind the Yankees at 5 1/2 games and truly appear to be wild card-bound now.

The opener saw the big comeback and the Rays overcame a 5-0 deficit to pull out a 6-5 win. Joe Marlette was neither effective nor efficient, taking 94 pitches to go 4 6 4 4 2 5 and Slade Cecconi allowed another run to put them in a big hole in the 6th inning. But in the bottom of the 6th they loaded the bases and Orlando Tosado brought everyone home including himself with a grand slam (#12/14) and in the 7th Chris Gutierrez launched a 2-run no-doubter (#11) that the Houston CF didn't even turn around for. The win went to Nathan Dettmer (4-6) who struck out the side in the 7th, and Raymells Rosa earned his 3rd Rays save and 21st overall.

After falling behind 3-1 in the 6th the Rays immediately rallied to tie it in the second game, only for their shaky bullpen to lose another game, giving up 5 runs over the final innings to doom them to an 8-3 loss. In fact the roots of the defeat go back to the bottom of the 6th when they tied it, as a bases-loaded walk to Kelly Crumpton brought in the equalizer and there was still nobody out. But a couple of whiffs and a groundout meant the game stayed tied, and then Nathan Dettmer (4-7) allowed a 7th inning run to put Houston ahead to stay before Mason Feole and Mike Moore combined to give up 4 more in the 8th. Kevin DiCostanzo started and pitched quite well at 4.2 3 1 1 2 3 but had to leave with a minor hamstring tweak.

Another bullpen disaster enabled Houston to take the rubber game of the series as the Rays were one out away from taking a 3-2 win before Raymells Rosa (0-3) allowed a game-tying single from former Ray Victor Robles and then Gavin Bruni relieved him and immediately served up a 3-run homer to let the Astros take a 6-3 win. Kelly Crumpton had hit what appeared to be a big solo homer in the bottom of the 8th (#33) to put them up 3-2 off another former Ray, Kendall Williams, and before that Chris Gutierrez continued his recent power binge with HR #12 in the 5th to tie it off still another one-time Ray, Blake Snell. Wes Mendes turned in his best Rays start for naught at 5 5 2 2 1 4 after giving up 2 runs in the 1st and settling down.

Team record: 63-55. Next up: A critical road trip with 3 games in Oakland followed by 3 games in Baltimore, the two teams just outside the third wild card spot who could really cut into the Rays' 4 1/2-game lead on both of them.

MLB News: James Hays continues to have a miserable start to his Dodgers career. After losing his first two starts he didn't last past the 4th in his third as he was ejected for hitting a batter and igniting a brawl after giving up a homer. Also the Rangers' Josh Koskovich no-hit the Angels, walking 1 and fanning 10 in a 116-pitch masterpiece.

[Art Deco]

The Rays won their first series in the last five, taking 2 of 3 in Oakland. By beating the A's and with the Orioles losing 2 of 3 the Rays' hold on a wild card spot became a bit more secure.

The opener wasn't any fun though as Oakland throttled them 12-4. Matt Manning (5-1) took his first loss as a Ray, going 4.2 9 3 3 0 4, and the bullpen was really terrible with Slade Cecconi and Gavin Bruni combining to allow 9 runs. The only bright spot was Arturo Gutierrez hitting his first Rays homer and 22nd of the year while Cristian Hernandez was 3-4 with HR #17 and 3 RBI with all of that offense coming after the game was well out of hand.

Transaction: Gavin Bruni was horrendous in two games since being called, giving up homers in each, so he was sent back to Durham and we purchased the contract of lefty Alex Vesia, who was in our pen for several years during the mid-2020s and was starting this year for the Bulls. He'll become perhaps our key lefty reliever with Dax Fulton out for the year.

The Rays bounced back and broke a 4-game losing streak with a 7-3 win in the second game buoyed by three big hits. The first was a 2-run homer from Kelly Crumpton (#35) in the 1st to get last night's bad taste out of their mouths, then after Oakland had gone ahead 3-2 in the 5th Orlando Tosado belted a 2-run shot (#13/15) to put them back ahead to stay in the 6th and Cristian Hernandez iced the game with a 2-run double in the 8th. Shane Panzini started and was wild, going 4.2 5 3 1 6 7 with the two unearned runs due to his own error. Jon Post (1-0) picked up the win in relief and in his return to the team Alex Vesia had a key 1 1/3 scoreless while it was a one-run game.

Joe Marlette was dominant and had to be as he and the Rays eked out a 2-1 win in the finale. Marlette (10-4) was 6 4 1 1 1 11 with the run scoring when he allowed a leadoff triple in the 7th and departed for Nathan Dettmer, who let the run score. Raymells Rosa survived on a man on 3rd with 2 out in the 9th to record his 4th Rays save and 22nd overall. The offense came on a Cristian Hernandez RBI single in the 2nd and a run-scoring wild pitch in the 3rd.

Team record: 65-56. Next up: An off-day then we play 3 in Baltimore, another team chasing a wild card.

[Art Deco]

Perhaps things are starting to turn in the Rays' favor a bit as they won their second consecutive series by taking 2 of 3 in Baltimore and solidifying their wild card spot (forget the division - the Yankees swept over the weekend and are now up by 6).

Kevin DiCostanzo has pitched decently since joining the rotation but today was what we envisioned when making the switch as he dominated the Orioles in a complete-game 3-hit shutout 5-0. DiCostanzo (6-7) walked 1 and struck out a career-high 14 in a stellar 120-pitch performance. Kelly Crumpton's 2-run homer in the 4th (#36) got the Rays on the board and Raimfer Salinas added his 21st (32nd overall) in the 6th to provide some insurance.

The Saturday game was rained out so we played a Sunday doubleheader and in the matinee game Rays hitters unloaded for 7 homers in a 10-2 rout of the Orioles. JT Realmuto had the biggest game of all, going 4-5 with a pair of dingers (#22 & 23) and 3 RBI; Raimfer Salinas stayed hot with 2 more longballs of his own to give him 23 and 34, Cristian Hernandez had a 2-run blast (#18), Dong-hwan Kim a solo shot (#21) and Wander Franco capped the scoring with a 2-run homer (#17). The beneficiary of this offensive outpouring was Wes Mendes (1-2), who won his first game in Tampa Bay colors going 6 4 1 1 0 3.

Matt Manning is coming back to Earth as he struggled for the second straight start in the nightcap and the Rays fell to Baltimore 7-5. Manning (5-2) was 3.2 8 6 6 2 3 with a pair of homers allowed and has now surrendered 9 runs on 17 hits in 8 1/3 innings over his last two outings. He helped put the Rays in what grew to a 7-1 hole, but a frantic comeback in the 8th made things interesting when Kelly Crumpton delivered a 3-run blast (#37) to give him 99 RBI and Raimfer Salinas homered for the fourth time in the series with #24/35. But despite putting a couple men on in the 9th to threaten they couldn't get it done.

Team record: 67-57. Next up: The road trip concludes with 3 games in Toronto.

[Art Deco]

This year's squad is so relentlessly mediocre that they neither sweep anyone nor get swept and this time around they dropped 2 of 3 in Toronto. The Yankees were actually swept so they're now within 5 of New York but let's be real. Still 4 1/2 up in the wild card with a magic # of 31 there.

The opener was a 2031 vintage blown game by the bullpen as somehow the Rays frittered away a 5-1 lead in the 7th and fell 6-5 to the Jays. Shane Panzini was excellent (6 5 1 1 0 8 and has the ERA down to 3.83) while Raimfer Salinas (#25/36) and JT Realmuto (#24) each homered to help build the lead, but it all went wrong. Codi Heuer in the 7th and Alex Vesia in the 8th each gave up 2-run homers to erase the lead, and Mike Moore (2-4) gave up a leadoff double in the 9th which came around to score.

The final innings of the opener carried over to the second game as the Rays were waxed 8-1, although it was fairly close before another bullpen underachiever, Joan Adon, gave up 5 runs in the 8th. The real problem tonight was the offense, which mustered only 4 hits including JT Realmuto's 25th homer for the lone run. Joe Marlette (10-5) had an up-and-down game at 4.2 8 2 2 0 9.

Kevin DiCostanzo followed up his complete-game shutout tonight by throwing 4 more scoreless innings before having to leave with a sore thumb (he'll be fine for his next start). Amazingly the bullpen kept Toronto off the board from there and Cristian Hernandez's 3-run 7th-inning blast (#19) broke a scoreless tie and the Rays salvaged the finale 4-0. Slade Cecconi (3-2) took over for DiCostanzo and earned the win with 3 perfect innings in which he neither walked nor struck out anyone. Dong-hwan Kim added a solo shot (#22) for some insurance in the 8th.

Team record: 68-59 (throw out the 10-1 start and we're 58-58). Next up: We return home for 4 against Boston.

MLB News: Atlanta's Ronald Acuna Jr. had a rare 4-homer game against the Mets.

[Art Deco]

A good series for the Rays as they took 3 of 4 and should have swept if not for yet more bullpen shenanigans. The magic # for a wild card is down to 26 and the division deficit is 5 games to the Yankees.

Transaction: Purchased the contract of SP Alek Manoah from AAA Durham and optioned RP Jon Post to the Bulls. with the doubleheader earlier in the week we needed another starter and the veteran Manoah was the best-rested available. He was 5-4, 4.32 with 7 saves in a swing role with the Bulls.

The Rays walked off a rare 1-0 win in the bottom of the 9th in the opener behind a brilliant spot start from Alek Manoah and some solid bullpen work. Manoah was dominating, no-hitting Boston until the 5th and finishing 5.2 1 0 0 2 11 on 90 pitches. Not sure who he'd displace but he's going to stay up and possibly make another start, especially with September roster expansion looming. The lone run came when Wander Franco singled, Kelly Crumpton doubled him to 3rd and Franco scored on Joshua Baez's sac fly. Alex Vesia picked up his first win in 5 years as a Ray.

Tampa Bay outslugged Boston 10-5 in the second game. Raimfer Salinas was 4-5 with 2 RBI, Dong-hwan Kim went 3-5 with 3 RBI and Orlando Tosado and JT Realmuto each drove in a pair as they banged out 16 hits as a team, none of which left the yard. Matt Manning struggled at 4.1 7 4 0 4 2 and wasn't helped by a Wander Franco error, while Joan Adon won his first Rays decision with 1 2/3 scoreless, fanning 4.

The third game was the umpteenth time this season the bullpen let one get away as late leads of 3-1 and 4-2 vanished and Boston ended up prevailing 5-4 in 13 innings. Wes Mendes was truly outstanding at 7 4 1 1 1 8 in his best Rays start and homers from Dong-hwan Kim (#23) and Raimfer Salinas (#26/37 and apparent insurance in the 8th after Boston got within 3-2) put them in prime position to win, but Nathan Dettmer allowed a run in the 8th and then Raymells Rosa blew his first save as a Ray by giving up a 2-run homer in the 9th. The Red Sox then broke through for a run off Slade Cecconi (3-3) in the 13th and another 2031 defeat was snatched from the jaws of victory.

The Rays made sure they'd win the series by taking the finale 4-1 in a game which saw the bullpen hold. Cristian Hernandez (#20) and Arturo Gutierrez (#2/23) homered in the 3rd with the latter going deep for the first time at Tropicana Field and with a man on. Gutierrez later singled, stole second and scored an insurance run in the 8th. This was more than enough for the red-hot Shane Panzini, who improved to 12-3 by going 6.1 3 1 1 3 5 and who has allowed only three earned runs in his last five starts covering 29.1 IP and has lowered his ERA from 4.49 to 3.73. Nathan Dettmer got the job done today with a perfect 9th and recorded his 13th save.

Team record: 71-60. Next up: An off-day then the 84-46 Washington Nationals come to town for 3 games.

[Art Deco]

A tough series against a tough opponent as we dropped 2 of 3 but still managed to reduce the magic number for a wild card to 23. We're 6 behind the Yankees so a wild card round series at Minnesota is looking like the most likely outcome at this point.

Transactions: With September roster expansion we recalled 1B/3B Nolan Jones and P John Swanda from Durham, the latter finishing up a month-long rehab assignment. Jones was called up due to his "captain" status as team chemistry was becoming an issue; he won't play that much. Swanda will pitch in long relief.

The series got off to a good start as the Rays routed the Nats 10-2, breaking open a close game with two in the 6th and five in the 7th. Dong-hwan Kim had 3 hits including a homer (#24) and 2 RBI; Chris Gutierrez was 2-3 with a 2-run HR (#13) and 3 RBI; Kelly Crumpton hit HR #38 and Cristian Hernandez was 2-3 with 2 RBI. Joe Marlette (11-5) picked up the win after a 5.2 5 2 2 3 7 outing.

So this happened in the opener:



As a result Salinas was placed on the restricted list and super-prospect Nate Strickland was called up for another cup of coffee after playing in one game earlier this season.

Washington got by the Rays 6-4 in the second game as a 3-2 Nats lead expanded to 6-2 when they managed a 3-run homer off Alek Manoah, who had impressed in his previous start but didn't do so when called on relief. Kevin DiCostanzo (6-8) took the loss after going 5 4 3 3 4 5. Wander Franco and JT Realmuto each had 3 hits, with one of Wander's being a solo shot (#18).

The finale was another game that got away from the Rays, and in the end it really got away as Washington pummeled them 11-2. But it was 3-2 after 4 and 4-2 after 5 before the Nats exposed the soft underbelly of our bullpen. Matt Manning (5-3) continues to turn back into a pumpkin as he lost his third straight decision in a 5.2 6 5 5 1 6 outing, and then three relievers who shall remain nameless combined to allow 6 more runs. Somehow the bats scratched out two runs despite only getting five hits.

Team record: 72-62. Next up: Another interleague series as Philly comes to town for 3. They're a hideous 53-81 so we really should be taking at least 2 of 3.

[Art Deco]

Well we did the minimum expected against a bad Phillies team, taking 2 of 3. But even the silver linings have dark clouds this season for the Rays and we lost a key member of the rotation to injury in the process.

The opener was like pulling teeth but eventually the Rays scored 3 times in the 8th to take a 4-1 win over Philadelphia. Wes Mendes was excellent for the second straight start going 7 3 1 1 4 4 and deserved a win but instead it went to Mike Moore (3-4) who pitched the 8th. Raymells Rosa finished for his 5th Rays save and 23rd overall. Dong-hwan Kim broke the 1-1 tie with a sac fly and Kelly Crumpton followed with a 2-run blast (#39).

The Rays lost more than a game in the second tilt as Shane Panzini tore his UCL and will miss the rest of this season as well as all of 2032. It's a shame as he'd been our hottest pitcher and was likely the Game 3 starter in Minnesota come playoff time. He finishes the year 12-3, 3.74 and left this game in the second inning. As for the game Kelly Crumpton tripled in the 5th to give them a 2-1 lead but Slade Cecconi (3-4) allowed 3 runs in the 6th and they couldn't quite come back in a 4-3 loss. John Swanda, who went 3 scoreless with 5 whiffs after taking over for Panzini in the 2nd, will move into the rotation.

Transactions: Raimfer Salinas came off the restricted list and Nate Strickland was sent back to Durham after going 0-12 in his two brief stints while Shane Panzini went to the 60-day IL and Jon Post was brought back up from the Bulls.

Tampa Bay took the series by scoring six times in the first two innings and holding on for a 6-3 win over the Phillies. With two out and two on in the first Raimfer Salinas singled in a run and then Orlando Tosado stepped up and deposited one in the RF seats (#14/16) to make it 4-0. Wander Franco was also 3-4 with an RBI single in the 2nd and that was more than enough for Joe Marlette (12-5) who was 5 5 1 0 2 7. The bullpen had its typical shaky moments allowing Philly within 3, but Nathan Dettmer closed it out against his former club for save #14.

Team record: 74-63. Next up: The 83-53 Rangers roll into town for 3.