The 2021 (and only 2021) Tampa Bay Rays - Page 52

Art Deco · 02-27-2023, 07:01 PM

The Yankees moved within one game of facing us in the ALDS after Sergio Guajardo tied the game with a solo homer in the bottom of the 9th and then hit a 3-walk walkoff shot in the 11th. The 9th-inning homer came off a familiar name: Cody Adcock, whom we traded Cleveland for DeMarcus Evans in July.

Art Deco · 02-27-2023, 07:05 PM

And unsurprisingly it will be the Yankees coming to the Trop for the ALDS in a few days. Meanwhile old friend Ed Howard led the Nationals to a Game 1 win in their series.

Art Deco · 02-27-2023, 07:12 PM

The Rangers advance to take on Minnesota in the other ALDS, the Nationals punch their ticket to the NLDS against Cincinnati and the Marlins were one inning away from moving on as well before the Giants rallied in the bottom of the 9th to force a Game 3.

Art Deco · 02-27-2023, 07:14 PM

Delayed but not denied, the Marlins advance to the NLDS to take on Arizona.

Art Deco · 02-27-2023, 07:50 PM

Not great...

The Rays wasted a brilliant outing from Cy Young-elect Joe Marlette and lost their ALDS opener to the Yankees 2-1. DeMarcus Evans, not the paragon of effectiveness after coming over from Cleveland, gave up the winner in the 9th on a single, steal and another single but the real culprit tonight was the league-leading offense which was impotent outside of a 2nd-inning Kelly Crumpton solo homer. They had the bases loaded in the 6th and couldn't score, and Cristian Hernandez led off with a double in the 7th but couldn't be brought home. So now Kevin DiCostanzo will try to keep us from falling into a near-fatal 0-2 hole tomorrow.

In the other game:

Art Deco · 02-27-2023, 08:11 PM

Order restored...

Things got off to an ominous start when Kevin DiCostanzo had to leave the game after one batter with a tender shoulder (a one-week injury that should have him available for the ALCS should we make it) but the offense came alive and took the pressure off the bullpen in a 13-3 rout of the Yankees to even up their ALDS. Shane Panzini, who had 6 innings of MLB action all season, came to the rescue in relief of DiCostanzo and held the Yankees scoreless while the offense went to work. Joshua Baez's homer in the 2nd made it 3-0 and Kelly Crumpton broke the game open in the 3rd with a grand slam to make it 7-0 and they never looked back. Wes Mendes gets the nod for Game 3, mainly because the Yankees' two best hitters (Guajardo and Rodriguez) are lefties. Panzini meanwhile might have earned an ALCS start if we advance.

Elsewhere:

Art Deco · 02-27-2023, 08:38 PM

Art Deco · 02-27-2023, 09:21 PM

In charge...

The Rays took a 2-1 lead in the ALDS but in the most unlikely of fashions as instead of having to outscore a typical Wes Mendes mediocre outing the lefty pitched the game of his season and the Rays took a tight 2-0 win. RBI singles from Dong-hwan Kim and Nate Strickland in the 6th were all they needed as Mendes, Mike Moore and DeMarcus Evans combined on a 3-hit shutout. We'll see tomorrow if Francisco Morales can shake off his poor run as Mendes did and close out the series.

Elsewhere Minnesota took the advantage in their DS:

Art Deco · 02-27-2023, 09:49 PM

Moving on....

It wasn't necessarily a surprise that the Rays bested the Yankees in 4 games but the fact that they did it with pitching despite losing the game ace Joe Marlette started was one. Outside of their Game 2 outburst the Rays only managed 5 runs in the series' other 3 games but managed to win two of them thanks to gems from the much-maligned Wes Mendes yesterday and Francisco Morales tonight. Homers from Wander Franco and series MVP Kelly Crumpton (his 3rd) were all they needed and the bullpen was excellent as well as the staff held New York to 6 runs in the series.

And next up are the Minnesota Twins, who eliminated Texas today among the other playoff action:

Art Deco · 02-27-2023, 10:20 PM

It'll be Arizona and Washington in the NLCS:

Art Deco · 02-28-2023, 05:58 PM

Off and running...

The Rays jumped out to a 1-0 series lead in the ALCS against Minnesota behind a typically brilliant Joe Marlette outing and some late offense which broke a close game open. It looked like one of the games from the previous series as the Rays clung to a 2-1 lead going into the bottom of the 7th but back-to-back jacks from Arturo Gutierrez and Wander Franco made it 5-1 before postseason stud Joshua Baez added a 2-run blast in the 7th to cap a 3-hit day. Baez, a career .263 hitter in the regular season, now has a career playoff 305/371/662 slash line with 13 HR in 151 AB, including a 9-homer 2029 postseason. Kevin DiCostanzo will try to send us to Minnesota two games up tomorrow.

Art Deco · 02-28-2023, 07:43 PM

Heartbreak...

The Rays were one out away from taking a 2-0 lead in the ALCS when rookie pinch-hitter Jesus Avila took DeMarcus Evans deep with a man on to give the Twins a 5-4 win and a series tie. Kevin DiCostanzo had a rough 2nd in which he gave up a bases-clearing double with all the runs unearned due to an Arturo Gutierrez error but he clamped down after that and pitched a great game, and the bats eventually came all the way back to go ahead in the 8th on a sac fly. But Evans couldn't hold it and now we have to hope Wes Mendes can duplicate his great ALDS outing in two nights' time in Minnesota.

In the NLCS:

Art Deco · 02-28-2023, 07:46 PM

Art Deco · 02-28-2023, 08:22 PM

Back on track...

Kelly Crumpton, dominant in the ALDS but quiet in the first two games of this series at the Trop, came through big-time tonight with a tie-breaking grand slam in the 7th to give the Rays a 7-3 win and a 2-1 series lead as now we know at worst this series is coming back to St. Petersburg. Wes Mendes looked great for 3 innings and the Rays had a 3-0 lead but it unraveled for him in the 4th as the Twins tied it and he couldn't make it out of the 5th. Christian Little came to the rescue though as he's done so often this year with quality middle relief and the Twins were shut down from there. So now Francisco Morales gets a chance to help us put a stranglehold on the series tomorrow in Game 4.

Art Deco · 02-28-2023, 08:40 PM

One win to go...

The Rays took a hard-fought 3-2 come-from-behind win over Twins to take a commanding 3-1 lead in the ALCS. They were up against a tough customer in Minnesota's Terry Ladner who kept them off the board through 6 as the Twins held a 2-0 lead. But Cristian Hernandez tied the game with one swing of the bat in the 7th, and Dong-hwan Kim and Kelly Crumpton hit back-to-back doubles in the 8th to manufacture the winning run. Francisco Morales gave them a solid start, and the bullpen did a good job especially Eddie Yean, who got the win with 3 whiffs, and DeMarcus Evans, who atoned for blowing Game 2 with a 1-2-3 9th to preserve the one-run win. The Rays are definitely sitting pretty now with a chance to win the series tomorrow night with their ace Joe Marlette on the mound.

In the NLCS:

Art Deco · 02-28-2023, 09:03 PM

Series-bound!

In the beatdown to end all beatdowns the Rays crushed Minnesota 17-1 to take the ALCS in 5 games. The Twins had a glimmer of hope when they scored first off Joe Marlette but an Orlando Tosado slam in the 2nd opened the floodgates and it was simply stat-accruing after that. Now we await the Arizona-Washington winner sometime next week.

And it could be either team as the Nats have tied up the NLCS:

Art Deco · 02-28-2023, 09:07 PM

Advantage snakes:

Art Deco · 02-28-2023, 10:43 PM

Bring on Arizona!

Art Deco · 03-01-2023, 09:24 PM

Advantage Rays...

Joe Marlette, that's the story basically. The ace lefty was stingy once again, holding Arizona to 1 run on 3 hits and the Rays got a big hit from an unlikely source with rookie Jonathan Gutierrez staying in when Arizona when to a righty and blasting a 2-run homer, his first career postseason jack, to provide the difference in the game. Runs were at a premium tonight and Dong-hwan Kim's duck snort into right off lefty Ryan Rolison tied the game up in the 5th. With two lefties due for Arizona in the 9th, Garrett Crochet got the call instead of DeMarcus Evans and responded with a 1-2-3 inning for the veteran's first career postseason save. Our other ace Kevin DiCostanzo will try to make it 2-0 Tampa Bay tomorrow.

Art Deco · 03-01-2023, 09:31 PM

We interrupt the Rays' World Series coverage for a peek into the (distant) future as head scout Rob Metzler has signed a very interesting discovery from Mexico:

We do have some very interesting prospects in the minors in addition to Ruiz, and I'll take a look at them in our State of the Team post after the World Series.

02-27-2023, 07:01 PM	#1021
Art Deco Hall Of Famer Join Date: May 2020 Posts: 7,065	October 6, 2032: AL Wild Card Game 1 The Yankees moved within one game of facing us in the ALDS after Sergio Guajardo tied the game with a solo homer in the bottom of the 9th and then hit a 3-walk walkoff shot in the 11th. The 9th-inning homer came off a familiar name: Cody Adcock, whom we traded Cleveland for DeMarcus Evans in July.

02-27-2023, 07:05 PM	#1022
Art Deco Hall Of Famer Join Date: May 2020 Posts: 7,065	October 7, 2032: AL Wild Card Game 2 & NL Wild Card Game 1 And unsurprisingly it will be the Yankees coming to the Trop for the ALDS in a few days. Meanwhile old friend Ed Howard led the Nationals to a Game 1 win in their series.

02-27-2023, 07:12 PM	#1023
Art Deco Hall Of Famer Join Date: May 2020 Posts: 7,065	October 8, 2032: AL Wild Card Game 3 & NL Wild Card Game 2 The Rangers advance to take on Minnesota in the other ALDS, the Nationals punch their ticket to the NLDS against Cincinnati and the Marlins were one inning away from moving on as well before the Giants rallied in the bottom of the 9th to force a Game 3.

02-27-2023, 07:14 PM	#1024
Art Deco Hall Of Famer Join Date: May 2020 Posts: 7,065	October 9, 2032: NL Wild Card Game 3 Delayed but not denied, the Marlins advance to the NLDS to take on Arizona.

02-27-2023, 07:50 PM	#1025
Art Deco Hall Of Famer Join Date: May 2020 Posts: 7,065	October 10, 2032: ALDS Game 1 Not great... The Rays wasted a brilliant outing from Cy Young-elect Joe Marlette and lost their ALDS opener to the Yankees 2-1. DeMarcus Evans, not the paragon of effectiveness after coming over from Cleveland, gave up the winner in the 9th on a single, steal and another single but the real culprit tonight was the league-leading offense which was impotent outside of a 2nd-inning Kelly Crumpton solo homer. They had the bases loaded in the 6th and couldn't score, and Cristian Hernandez led off with a double in the 7th but couldn't be brought home. So now Kevin DiCostanzo will try to keep us from falling into a near-fatal 0-2 hole tomorrow. In the other game:

02-27-2023, 08:11 PM	#1026
Art Deco Hall Of Famer Join Date: May 2020 Posts: 7,065	October 11, 2032: ALDS Game 2 & NLDS Game 1 Order restored... Things got off to an ominous start when Kevin DiCostanzo had to leave the game after one batter with a tender shoulder (a one-week injury that should have him available for the ALCS should we make it) but the offense came alive and took the pressure off the bullpen in a 13-3 rout of the Yankees to even up their ALDS. Shane Panzini, who had 6 innings of MLB action all season, came to the rescue in relief of DiCostanzo and held the Yankees scoreless while the offense went to work. Joshua Baez's homer in the 2nd made it 3-0 and Kelly Crumpton broke the game open in the 3rd with a grand slam to make it 7-0 and they never looked back. Wes Mendes gets the nod for Game 3, mainly because the Yankees' two best hitters (Guajardo and Rodriguez) are lefties. Panzini meanwhile might have earned an ALCS start if we advance. Elsewhere:

02-27-2023, 08:38 PM	#1027
Art Deco Hall Of Famer Join Date: May 2020 Posts: 7,065	October 12, 2032: NLDS Game 2

02-27-2023, 09:21 PM	#1028
Art Deco Hall Of Famer Join Date: May 2020 Posts: 7,065	October 13, 2032: ALDS Game 3 In charge... The Rays took a 2-1 lead in the ALDS but in the most unlikely of fashions as instead of having to outscore a typical Wes Mendes mediocre outing the lefty pitched the game of his season and the Rays took a tight 2-0 win. RBI singles from Dong-hwan Kim and Nate Strickland in the 6th were all they needed as Mendes, Mike Moore and DeMarcus Evans combined on a 3-hit shutout. We'll see tomorrow if Francisco Morales can shake off his poor run as Mendes did and close out the series. Elsewhere Minnesota took the advantage in their DS:

02-27-2023, 09:49 PM	#1029
Art Deco Hall Of Famer Join Date: May 2020 Posts: 7,065	October 14, 2032: ALCS Game 4 & NLCS Game 3 Moving on.... It wasn't necessarily a surprise that the Rays bested the Yankees in 4 games but the fact that they did it with pitching despite losing the game ace Joe Marlette started was one. Outside of their Game 2 outburst the Rays only managed 5 runs in the series' other 3 games but managed to win two of them thanks to gems from the much-maligned Wes Mendes yesterday and Francisco Morales tonight. Homers from Wander Franco and series MVP Kelly Crumpton (his 3rd) were all they needed and the bullpen was excellent as well as the staff held New York to 6 runs in the series. And next up are the Minnesota Twins, who eliminated Texas today among the other playoff action:

02-27-2023, 10:20 PM	#1030
Art Deco Hall Of Famer Join Date: May 2020 Posts: 7,065	October 15, 2032: NLDS Game 4 It'll be Arizona and Washington in the NLCS:

02-28-2023, 05:58 PM	#1031
Art Deco Hall Of Famer Join Date: May 2020 Posts: 7,065	October 16, 2032: ALCS Game 1 Off and running... The Rays jumped out to a 1-0 series lead in the ALCS against Minnesota behind a typically brilliant Joe Marlette outing and some late offense which broke a close game open. It looked like one of the games from the previous series as the Rays clung to a 2-1 lead going into the bottom of the 7th but back-to-back jacks from Arturo Gutierrez and Wander Franco made it 5-1 before postseason stud Joshua Baez added a 2-run blast in the 7th to cap a 3-hit day. Baez, a career .263 hitter in the regular season, now has a career playoff 305/371/662 slash line with 13 HR in 151 AB, including a 9-homer 2029 postseason. Kevin DiCostanzo will try to send us to Minnesota two games up tomorrow.

02-28-2023, 07:43 PM	#1032
Art Deco Hall Of Famer Join Date: May 2020 Posts: 7,065	October 17, 2032: ALCS Game 2 & NLCS Game 1 Heartbreak... The Rays were one out away from taking a 2-0 lead in the ALCS when rookie pinch-hitter Jesus Avila took DeMarcus Evans deep with a man on to give the Twins a 5-4 win and a series tie. Kevin DiCostanzo had a rough 2nd in which he gave up a bases-clearing double with all the runs unearned due to an Arturo Gutierrez error but he clamped down after that and pitched a great game, and the bats eventually came all the way back to go ahead in the 8th on a sac fly. But Evans couldn't hold it and now we have to hope Wes Mendes can duplicate his great ALDS outing in two nights' time in Minnesota. In the NLCS:

02-28-2023, 07:46 PM	#1033
Art Deco Hall Of Famer Join Date: May 2020 Posts: 7,065	October 18, 2032: NLCS Game 2

02-28-2023, 08:22 PM	#1034
Art Deco Hall Of Famer Join Date: May 2020 Posts: 7,065	October 19, 2032: ALCS Game 3 Back on track... Kelly Crumpton, dominant in the ALDS but quiet in the first two games of this series at the Trop, came through big-time tonight with a tie-breaking grand slam in the 7th to give the Rays a 7-3 win and a 2-1 series lead as now we know at worst this series is coming back to St. Petersburg. Wes Mendes looked great for 3 innings and the Rays had a 3-0 lead but it unraveled for him in the 4th as the Twins tied it and he couldn't make it out of the 5th. Christian Little came to the rescue though as he's done so often this year with quality middle relief and the Twins were shut down from there. So now Francisco Morales gets a chance to help us put a stranglehold on the series tomorrow in Game 4.

02-28-2023, 08:40 PM	#1035
Art Deco Hall Of Famer Join Date: May 2020 Posts: 7,065	October 20, 2032: ALCS Game 4 & NLCS Game 3 One win to go... The Rays took a hard-fought 3-2 come-from-behind win over Twins to take a commanding 3-1 lead in the ALCS. They were up against a tough customer in Minnesota's Terry Ladner who kept them off the board through 6 as the Twins held a 2-0 lead. But Cristian Hernandez tied the game with one swing of the bat in the 7th, and Dong-hwan Kim and Kelly Crumpton hit back-to-back doubles in the 8th to manufacture the winning run. Francisco Morales gave them a solid start, and the bullpen did a good job especially Eddie Yean, who got the win with 3 whiffs, and DeMarcus Evans, who atoned for blowing Game 2 with a 1-2-3 9th to preserve the one-run win. The Rays are definitely sitting pretty now with a chance to win the series tomorrow night with their ace Joe Marlette on the mound. In the NLCS:

02-28-2023, 09:03 PM	#1036
Art Deco Hall Of Famer Join Date: May 2020 Posts: 7,065	October 21, 2032: ALCS Game 5 & NLCS Game 4 Series-bound! In the beatdown to end all beatdowns the Rays crushed Minnesota 17-1 to take the ALCS in 5 games. The Twins had a glimmer of hope when they scored first off Joe Marlette but an Orlando Tosado slam in the 2nd opened the floodgates and it was simply stat-accruing after that. Now we await the Arizona-Washington winner sometime next week. And it could be either team as the Nats have tied up the NLCS:

02-28-2023, 09:07 PM	#1037
Art Deco Hall Of Famer Join Date: May 2020 Posts: 7,065	October 22, 2032: NLCS Game 5 Advantage snakes:

02-28-2023, 10:43 PM	#1038
Art Deco Hall Of Famer Join Date: May 2020 Posts: 7,065	October 24, 2026: NLCS Game 6 Bring on Arizona!

03-01-2023, 09:24 PM	#1039
Art Deco Hall Of Famer Join Date: May 2020 Posts: 7,065	October 26, 2032: World Series Game 1 Advantage Rays... Joe Marlette, that's the story basically. The ace lefty was stingy once again, holding Arizona to 1 run on 3 hits and the Rays got a big hit from an unlikely source with rookie Jonathan Gutierrez staying in when Arizona when to a righty and blasting a 2-run homer, his first career postseason jack, to provide the difference in the game. Runs were at a premium tonight and Dong-hwan Kim's duck snort into right off lefty Ryan Rolison tied the game up in the 5th. With two lefties due for Arizona in the 9th, Garrett Crochet got the call instead of DeMarcus Evans and responded with a 1-2-3 inning for the veteran's first career postseason save. Our other ace Kevin DiCostanzo will try to make it 2-0 Tampa Bay tomorrow.

03-01-2023, 09:31 PM	#1040
Art Deco Hall Of Famer Join Date: May 2020 Posts: 7,065	Interesting Scouting Discovery We interrupt the Rays' World Series coverage for a peek into the (distant) future as head scout Rob Metzler has signed a very interesting discovery from Mexico: We do have some very interesting prospects in the minors in addition to Ruiz, and I'll take a look at them in our State of the Team post after the World Series.