The 2020 (and beyond) Tampa Bay Rays

[Art Deco]

Traded 23-year old minor league LHP Amir Whitmore to the Toronto Blue Jays, getting 23-year old minor league RHP Victor Tobar in return.

Traded 22-year old minor league SS Mike Schneider to the Seattle Mariners, getting 25-year old LF Jeremy Glasson in return. From time to time I like to shop guys and when I see an intriguing name being offered I often pull that name up and see what else the offering team will take in return, hence these two deals. Tobar is a live-armed reliever with 80 stuff but 40 movement and 45 control. If that control can get up to the potential 55, he'd be a very good addition to the bullpen. For now he goes to AA Montgomery. Whitmore is a lefty with 45 stuff as a starter, 50 as a reliever, and even worse movement and control. The catch here I guess with Tobar is that he's a minor league free agent at year's end so unless he takes a minor league extension, he'll have to go on the 40-man. Glasson is a more finished product and just hit 8 HR in 65 AB for the Mariners. His ratings are fairly impressive: Of course that box in the lower right corner probably explains why the Mariners were so eager to get rid of him. That hasn't fazed us before but Glasson is likely just a depth piece for us and he's going to Durham. But if we have an OF injury or two he could step in, and we did have a 40-man roster spot open. Schneider is a SS with a little pop but wasn't much trouble to give up.

[Art Deco]

Game 1: The Rays have played in numerous blowouts this year and typically have won them but today they got a taste of their own medicine as Texas rolled into Publix Park and handed them a 9-1 loss which was as ugly as the score indicated. Nate Thompson was hammered for four in the 1st inning including a 3-run Izaac Pacheco homer (the first of two for him today) then gave up three more to finish with a horrible 3.1 8 7 7 3 2 line which sees his ERA balloon back up to 3.36. Things weren't better on the other side of things either as the bats only managed 3 hits with Bo Angeac's 10th HR of the year in the 2nd the only thing standing between us and a shutout. Texas had been billed as the one team that could really challenge us, and they backed that up tonight.

Game 2: After being routed by the Rangers last night the Rays returned the favor by trouncing Texas 10-1, making some MLB history in the process. We'll get to that in a minute but our ace named Nate fared much better than our 4th starter named Nate as Schultz shut down the tough Texas lineup to the tune of 6 5 1 1 0 7 although it took 100 pitches to do so. Schultz is now 11-1, 3.12 and Danny Medina whiffed 5 over 3 scoreless innings for his 2nd save as he's back in the bullpen where he's thrived. The Rays took a 3-0 lead by the 2nd thanks in large part to a Bo Angeac single and a Dayle Jenkins sac fly, but then this happened in the 5th:



That's right: back-to-back-to-back-to-back home runs, which had happened only 10 times in MLB history before this save started in 2020. It's never happened with the Rays, and although it's possible it's happened elsewhere over the last 15 1/2 seasons, it's a bit unlikely so either way it was a historic occurrence. And what's cut off from the top here is that Victor de Jesus homered two batters before the four consecutive, giving them five homers in six at-bats. For those involved it was #20 for de Jesus, #11 for Angeac, #28 for Jimenez, #16 for Rodriguez and #10 for Baez. Sadly Mike McKee could not be the MLB-record fifth-consecutive HR hitter.

Jimenez's HR tonight capped a great month for him:



Game 3: It was a remarkable game which saw Texas jump all over Josh Hanna and take a 6-0 lead in the top of the 5th, only for the Rays to get to Texas ace Victor Presas & former Ray Jon Whiteleather for 7 runs in the bottom of the 5th to go ahead, and then add 5 more in the 6th to end up 12-6 winners and take two of three from the Rangers. It was always going to be a tough assignment for the lefty Hanna to go against the righty-heavy Ranger lineup and they tuned him up to the tune of 4.1 9 6 6 2 3. Willie Bertone took over and staunched the bleeding and went 2 2/3 hitless to pick up his first Rays win while Edgar Rios shut down Texas over the final 2 innings. The comeback started with a 2-run Jaiden Hardaway triple, Omar Rodriguez singled him home and then June's AL Batter of the Month Jon Jimenez got a head start on repeating in July by smacking a 3-run homer to tie it and chase Presas, who had shut down the Rays and struck out 8 in the first 4 innings. Bo Angeac greeted Whiteleather with HR #12 to put the Rays ahead to stay, and in the 6th Jimenez went deep again with his 2nd 3-run homer of the game and 30th of the year while Hardaway got another RBI on a bases-loaded walk. Jimenez is now 357/419/767 with 30 HR and 78 RBI in only 258 AB. His 1.187 OPS leads MLB by over 100 points and he's 2nd in MLB to teammate Danny Ayala in HR and RBI (31/84), who got the day off today.

Team record: 65-19. Next up: Baltimore comes to town for 3 games.

[Art Deco]

Game 1: It was your standard Publix Park rout of an overmatched team as the Rays took care of Baltimore 11-1. Eric Titcombe drove in 4 with a 2-run single and 2 run double, Omar Rodriguez had 4 hits including HR #17, and Jaiden Hardaway was 3-6 with an RBI to lead the way. Ron Adams started and while he wasn't dominant, he was good enough to go 6 6 1 1 3 3 to improve to 4-3, 3.77. Eric Riley whiffed 4 over 2 shutout innings and Billy Hoyte took the 9th.

Game 2: Tampa Bay took another one from Baltimore 8-4, although at one point it was only 4-3 in the 6th. That was when Dayle Jenkins hit a 2-run homer (#8) to make it 6-3 and they never looked back. Jenkins finished 3-5 with the HR and 3 RBI, Jaiden Hardaway had another 3-hit game going 3-4 with a walk, steal and 3 runs scored, Victor de Jesus had a 2-run HR (#21) in the 3rd and Bo Angeac (#13) went back-to-back with him, and Eric Titcombe added a solo shot for #16. Kevin Kerstetter started and was battling baserunners all day, but improved to 10-0, 2.49 with a 5.2 8 3 3 3 9 outing. Edgar Rios went 1 1/3 and Mike Wherry allowed a run over his 2 innings but fanned 4.

Game 3: The Rays celebrated July 4 by sweeping the Orioles with a second straight 8-4 win. Although there weren't any fireworks in terms of homers, Jaiden Hardaway continued to light up the box score by having his 3rd straight 3-hit day and now is 11 for his last 17. He scored two more runs and his MLB-leading WAR now sits at 5.4. Omar Rodriguez continues to stay crispy as well with 3 more hits today including a 2-RBI double and he's 12 for his last 21 to improve his slash line to 370/427/657. Dayle Jenkins added a 2-run single and Jeff Baez had an RBI double on which he tweaked his ankle and may or may not need a quick IL stay. Nate Thompson was overpowering today after his bad start against Texas, getting the first 7 outs on whiffs. He ran out of gas in the 7th and gave up 3 runs, finishing 6.1 4 3 3 3 10 to improve to 10-3, 5.25. Danny Medina finished the 7th and allowed one of Thompson's runners to core, Billy Hoyte had a perfect 8th and Edgar Rios ran into some trouble in the 9th, giving up a run and putting two more to create a save situation for someone else but he stayed in and got the final out.

Team record: 68-19. Next up: 4 at home against the Yankees before we hit the All-Star Break. I just realized we're at 87 games now and I didn't do the mid-season report, so I'll just be doing it when the break hits.

[Art Deco]

Game 1: We made it 10-for-10 against the Yankees with a 6-3 win at Publix Park to kick off the 4-game series. Eric Titcombe led the offense with a pair of homers to give him 18, a solo shot in the 3rd and a 3-run blast in the 5th to make a 3-2 game no longer close. Victor de Jesus also contributed #22 in the 3rd while Omar Rodriguez doubled in a run in the 1st. Nate Schultz started and was excellent again, going 6 4 2 2 2 7 to improve to 12-1, 3.12. Tim Siqueiros had a scoreless 7th, Bob Sirna gave up a Mario Aguilar homer in the 8th and Kikuo Kawase got his strangest save of the season with a scoreless 9th. Save #23 was odd because it was the first time all season Kawase did not strike out at least one batter in an appearance this year and I imagine that streak tracks far back into last season as well.

July 6: Placed SS Jeff Baez on the 10-day IL with a sore ankle, recalled 2B Robbie Salazar from AAA Durham.

Baez tweaked his ankle in the final game of the Baltimore series, so between that and the fact we're hitting the All-Star break he should be back right about the time we return from it. Salazar was the only other MI on the 40-man and he can't really play SS, so here's hoping Melvin Gutierrez holds up for the next 3 games. In fact yesterday Jaiden Hardaway was fatigued so I played Jon Jimenez of all people at 2B. He handled all his chances, although it looked like there might have been a double play or two that wasn't turned which might have been normally.

Game 2: The Rays made it 11 straight over New York (and 7 straight overall) with a 5-2 win today. Josh Hanna was excellent, bouncing back from a bad start with 7 shutout innings, allowing 3 hits, 4 walks and whiffing 7. He's now 11-2, 3.19. Willie Bertone gave up a 2-run homer to that guy Mario Aguilar again, Mike Wherry got the final out of the 8th, and Kikuo Kawase came on again for save #24 and struck out the first two after yesterday's odd K-less appearance. Victor de Jesus was the hitting star, delivering a 2-run triple in the first and an RBI double in the 5th while Danny Ayala brought home the other two with a groundout and a double. de Jesus drove in Dayle Jenkins both times as Jenkins had a 3-5 day.

Game 3: The Tampa Bay dominance over the Yankees continued today with a 7-1 win, making it 12 of 12 this season over New York. Ron Adams had a strong start, going 7.1 8 1 1 0 7 on only 83 pitches before Bob Sirna took over and retired the final five batters, four on strikeouts. Adams is now 5-3, 3.48. Dayle Jenkins and Victor de Jesus carried the offense with each picking up 3 hits, hitting a homer (#9 for Jenkins, #23 for de Jesus) and driving in a pair of runs. Omar Rodriguez was 3-4 with a double and an RBI as well and his .375 batting average is third-best in MLB.

Game 4: The Rays completed the 4-game series sweep and made it 13 wins in as many games against the Yankees this season after a 10-3 rout at Publix Park. The surprise hero today was rookie 2B Robbie Salazar, who had 2 doubles and a 3-run homer, his first of the year, as part of a 3-hit, one-walk, 4-RBI day. Also coming up big was Danny Ayala, who had a 3-run homer of his own (#32) and 5 RBI total to give him 91 going into the All-Star break. Those two accounted for 90% of the offense while Kevin Kerstetter took care of things on the mound. He shut the Yankees out through 6 before giving up a 2-run homer to Mario Aguilar (who else?) and another homer in the 8th to finish 7.1 7 3 3 0 8 to go to 11-0, 2.60. Edgar Rios finished the 8th and Billy Hoyte had a scoreless 9th to wrap things up.

Team record: 72-19. Next up: The All-Star break, which isn't much of a break for this team considering how many Rays will be playing in it, and when we resume Friday it's for a four-game series in Baltimore including a Saturday doubleheader.

[Art Deco]

First a look at the standings:



One decent race in the AL, but all the divisions are wide-open in the NL.

Rays team stats:



Once again, this could be our best team ever - certainly the record reflects it. We're dominating all the offensive categories except baserunning as this team doesn't steal that much any longer, and we don't need to run the risk of making outs on the basepaths. The pitching is excellent, especially the bullpen as I don't ever remember having a bullpen ERA this low this late in the season. And lookie here: 6th in defensive efficiency! 9th in zone rating! Those rankings are usually in the double digits. Jeff Baez and his 70 rating at SS probably have a lot to do with this as he was a defensive upgrade on Ricky Widmar.

Team hitting stats:



6 hitters playing at a 7.0 WAR or better pace this year, can't argue with that. Only negative is that neither of our catchers are really hitting much, although Will Quintana has heated up over the last month. Also amusing that one big game from Robbie Salazar has him with more WAR than either Chris Peters or Mike McKee, who have 10x the at-bats. And then there's Daniel Vasquez, doomed for eternity to have 1 at-bat for the season but with a 1.000 BA. We've been remarkably injury-free with the exception of Bo Angeac who missed about a month, and of course Vasquez (who will be great but hasn't been missed).

Team pitching stats:



Very few complaints here. Unlike on the offensive side, we've had to deal with some injuries as Jon Soranno went down for the year and Leo Ortega is currently three weeks into his one-month injury. Again the bullpen has been outstanding, and I want to make special mention of Bob Sirna as he's cut the walks back and become a lethal weapon out of the pen. The only disappointments have been Willie Bertone, struggling with control, and Nate Thompson, who was been inconsistent. Thompson's been somewhat unlucky with batted balls though, and in fact has a better FIP (3.66) than Josh Hanna (3.69) even though Hanna's ERA is over 2 runs better.

So once again we're biding our time until the playoffs, and right now it looks like we'll be playing Houston or Boston in the ALDS, a couple of once-perennial powers which have been absent from the playoffs for over a decade.

[Art Deco]

Those goofy accidental injuries you read about are funny until it's one of your players:



Nethercutt was the guy we got from Texas for Tyler Jefferson over the winter and he was extremely impressive at Durham as you can see from the numbers above. He's also a legit two-way player who could hit 45 doubles, 25 homers and about .270 if he played every day as a hitter. He's now done until March.

Also, from the league office:

[Art Deco]

The rosters, with the AL studded by Rays:





In addition to 12 (including 8 of our hitters, although Jeff Baez will miss the game) current Rays on the AL roster, I count 5 former Rays (Little, Connors, Centeno^, Harms, Franco) on the AL roster and 11 (Aparicio, Johns, Lovetere*, Rutschman, Rivas, Widmar, Clark, Jimenez, Dominguez, Bleday*, Romo*) on the NL roster.

*Prospects who didn't play for the big club ^Traded for a couple of winters ago, played in Spring Training for us but dealt before season started

The Home Run Derby:



Sadly our two representatives bowed out in the first round, although at least a former Ray won it.

And the game itself:



It was a mixed bag for Rays players, but one of them was the hero as Omar Rodriguez doubled in the winning run in the bottom of the 9th to give the AL a 6-5 win over the NL at Nationals Park. But the only reason Rodriguez was in position to deliver that hit was because Kikuo Kawase blew a 5-4 lead in the top of the 9th after walking the bases loaded with nobody out. He got a strikeout, but gave up a single which tied it, before getting a popup and line out to LF. Earlier Danny Medina gave up a 2-run homer to a guy who might have been his Durham teammate 5 years ago, Angelo Romo, while Nate Schultz had a 1-2-3 inning in the 3rd. Kevin Kerstetter didn't pitch. Bo Angeac played the whole game and had a pair of doubles, as did Dayle Jenkins who had a hit but was thrown out stealing. Jaiden Hardaway doubled as well while Danny Ayala and Jon Jimenez were held hitless.

[Art Deco]

Game 1: The Rays started off the post-ASB portion of their schedule with a 7-4 loss to the Orioles at Camden Yards, apparently due to the fact about 1/3 of the team didn't really have a break. Ron Adams though had no excuse as he had the week off but he was hit hard and was unusually wild, going 3.2 4 5 5 5 6 after only walking 12 in his first 65 IP this season. Billy Hoyte went 2 1/3 scoreless but Eric Riley gave up 2 runs in the 8th after the Rays had pulled within 5-4. But it wasn't until the 8th that the offense woke up having only 1 run on 3 hits through 7 until pinch-hitter Jon Jimenez drilled a 3-run HR (#31) to dead center. Omar Rodriguez had an RBI single for the other run.

Game 2: The Rays were one out away from losing their second straight to Baltimore and being shut out in the first game of the doubleheader, but Mike McKee came to the rescue with a 2-out RBI single to tie the game at 1 and then he hit HR #5, a 3-run shot, to break it open in the 11th as the Rays took a 5-1 win. It was a scoreless pitchers' duel into the 8th between Baltimore's Zach Farese (who held the Rays to 2 hits) and Josh Hanna. Hanna blinked first in the 8th when he gave up a pair of singles with one out to put men on 1st and 3rd and he gave way to Tim Siqueiros in hopes of a strikeout. Instead of a whiff Kyren Paris hit a fly ball to score the run before the Rays and McKee responded in the 9th. Then in the 11th Bo Angeac led off the inning with HR #14 and they put two more on before McKee came through again with his homer. Mike Wherry pitched the 9th, Kikuo Kawase the 10th for his first win of the year and Bob Sirna finished it off in the 11th.

Game 3: Tampa Bay completed the doubleheader sweep behind another unlikely hitting hero in an 11-6 win. Willie Bertone, whom I had envisioned ultimately as a starter after acquiring him for Rodolfo Rivas the winter before last, got the start in Game 2 of the twinbill and struggled early, putting the Rays in a 4-0 hole after 3. But in the top of the 4th they mounted a rally and after Omar Rodriguez and Will Quintana had RBI hits to help bring them within 4-3, Melvin Gutierrez of all people drilled a 3-run homer to left. Not only was it Gutierrez's first homer of the season in his 80th at-bat, the three runs were the first he'd driven in all year. And just when Baltimore pulled back within 8-6, Gutierrez came through with an RBI double as part of a 3-run 7th that broke it open again. Quintana added a 2-run single to give him 3 RBI as the bottom 2 in the order drove in 7 of the team's 11 runs. Bertone meanwhile settled down a bit and stuck around long enough for the win, but it wasn't a Picasso as he went 5 5 5 5 3 5. Bob Sirna pitched in both ends of the doubleheader, going 2 1/3 here with 5 whiffs and a run allowed, and Edgar Rios pitched the final 1 2/3 without incident.

July 15: Activated SS Jeff Baez from the 10-day IL, optioned 2B Robbie Salazar to AAA Durham.

Game 4: The Rays finished taking 3 of 4 from the Orioles in this series with a tidy 3-1 win at Oriole Park at Camden Yards. Nate Thompson was excellent, getting 12 ground outs in a 7 5 1 1 0 3 performance to improve to 11-3 and get his ERA back below 5 at 4.95. Mike Wherry had a perfect 8th and Kikuo Kawase a perfect 9th with 2 whiffs for save #25. Offense was limited today with the big hit Bo Angeac's 2-run single in the 1st inning proving to be all they would need, but Jeff Baez added an RBI fielder's choice in the 5th in his first game back off the IL.

Team record: 75-20. Next up: We head up I-95 to take on the Yankees for four games at the Stadium.

[Art Deco]

Game 1: The Rays squandered a 4-0 lead in this game and fell behind 6-5, but picked up 2 runs in the 8th to squeak by the Yankees 7-6. Omar Rodriguez had a bases-clearing double in the 1st and a 4-0 lead seemed like money in the bank with Nate Schultz on the mound but the Rays ace struggled today, giving up a 3-run Ivan Vega homer in the 3rd and 3 more runs in the 5th in a 6 7 6 6 2 4 outing. In the 8th, though, pinch-hitter Jon Jimenez doubled Bo Angeac to 3rd, Danny Ayala's sac fly brought him home, and Jeff Baez doubled in Jimenez for the winner. Jaiden Hardaway (#17) homered earlier. Billy Hoyte got win #3 in relief and Tim Siqueiros notched save #3 with Kikuo Kawase tired.

Game 2: The Rays go to 15-0 against the Yankees this season with a 3-0 win behind a masterful performance from Kevin Kersetter and a couple of early homers. The lefty was brilliant once again, going 8 4 0 0 2 7 before giving way to Kikuo Kawase, who whiffed 2 of the 3 men he faced for save #26. Kerstetter is now 12-0, 2.39 and emerging as a dark horse Cy Young candidate. Victor de Jesus blasted a 2-run homer in the first (#24) and Jaiden Hardaway had a solo shot (#18) in the 3rd before the offense took the rest of the game off to watch Kerstetter.

Game 3: 16-0 now against the Yankees after a 4-1 win behind Ron Adams and Jaiden Hardaway. Hardaway continued on his tear with a pair of solo homers, one leading off the game and another in the 7th (#20, his fourth of the series) which bookended a 2-run Danny Ayala double in the 6th. That was more than enough for Ron Adams, who was dominating in a 6 5 0 0 0 9 performance on 95 pitches, making him 6-4, 3.63. Edgar Rios had a scoreless 7th, Mike Wherry gave up a run in the 8th and Tim Siqueiros picked up his second save in three days, #4 on the year, with a 1-2-3 9th.

Game 4: Well as the saying goes, it's hard to beat a team 17 straight times in a season and the Yankees finally broke through against the Rays with a 6-3 win today on their 17th attempt. Josh Hanna got off to a very rough start, giving up 4 in the second inning, and although he settled in from there the damage was done and he was nicked for a couple runs later, finishing 6.1 9 6 6 1 3 and dropping to 11-3, 3.36. Bob Sirna went the final 1 2/3. The sum total of the offense today was a 3-run homer from Dayle Jenkins (#11, matching last year's full-season total) in the 6th as veteran Yankee Dave Falco was shutting them out until then.

Team record: 78-21. Next up: Back to Publix Park for 3 against the White Sox.

[Art Deco]

Game 1: Danny Ayala blasted a pair of homers and Nate Thompson flirted with a shutout in a 5-2 win over the White Sox at Publix Park. Omar Rodriguez doubled in Jaiden Hardaway in the 1st and that run stood up until Ayala gave the Rays some breathing room with a 2-run 6th-inning homer, and then followed it up with a solo blast in the 8th to give him 34. Bo Angeac went back-to-back with Ayala in the 8th for #15, and those two additional runs which made it 5-0 allowed Thompson to come back out for the 9th on 98 pitches with a 6-hit shutout. However after getting the first out Thompson put a man on and former Ray Joe Barker took him deep to ruin the shutout bid. Kikuo Kawase then came in and got the final 2 outs but didn't qualify for a save. Thompson ended 8.1 8 2 2 0 8 to improve to 12-3, 4.71.

Game 2: Nate Schultz pitched perhaps his best game of the season and the bats broke it open late as the Rays took an 8-1 victory over the White Sox for win #80 this season. Schultz was dominating throughout, going 7 4 1 1 0 12 and bouncing back from his rough start against the Yankees last time out. He's now 13-1, 3.29. Tim Siqueiros got a hold with a scoreless 8th when it was only 4-1 (lowering his ERA to 0.35), and after the score got out of hand Eric Riley got the call in the 9th and responded with a 1-2-3 2K inning. Victor de Jesus and Melvin Gutierrez had RBI singles and Danny Ayala a 2-run shot (#35) to make it 4-0 and it stood at 4-1 before they added 4 in the 8th on a bases-loaded walk to Jon Jimenez and a bases-clearing double by Dayle Jenkins.

Game 3: The Rays clubbed the White Sox 12-1 to sweep the series thanks mainly to Kevin Kerstetter and Omar Rodriguez. O-Rod had one of the better days of his career, launching a pair of homers to give him 19, driving in 4 and bashing 3 hits in all. Jeff Baez also had a big day going 3-5 with a homer (#11) and 3 RBI. Eric Titcombe drove in a pair and Jaiden Hardway was 2-4 with an RBI as well. On the mound Kerstetter was more than solid and got better as the game went on, finishing 7 6 1 1 0 8 and remains a perfect 13-0, 2.28. He's made 13 starts since joining the rotation and has won 12 of them and in those 12 he's allowed 3 runs or fewer with a 4-run outing in Oakland which resulted in a no-decision the exception. Eric Riley had a couple of scoreless innings to finish out the game.

Team record: 81-21. Next up: Boston comes to town for 3 as they look to remain in a wild card slot.

[Art Deco]

Game 1: The Rays pieced together a bullpen game resulting from an early exit by Ron Adams and bounced Boston 4-1 at Publix Park. Adams, who missed a year with a flexor tendon tear, had to leave in the 2nd inning with what was diagnosed as an elbow strain and will be out a month. Leo Ortega, whose rotation spot he was filling, is ready to come back for the next turn so that works out. Danny Medina took over and went 3 1/3 scoreless for his 6th win, Billy Hoyte gave up a run in 1 1/3, Willie Bertone had two shutout innings, and Kikuo Kawase had 2 whiffs in a 1-2-3 9th for save #27. The bats were up against Boston's tough lefty Sean Nelson, and after Nelson wild-pitched a run home in the first the Rays got some separation in the 5th when Dayle Jenkins and Victor de Jesus delivered RBI hits and after Boston scored in the top of the 6th Will Quintana restored the 3-run lead with an RBI double in the bottom of the inning.

July 24: Placed P Ron Adams on the 10-day IL with a sore elbow, recalled P Dusty Cross from AAA Durham.

Adams will be back in a month or so, and Leo Ortega makes his 2nd and final rehab start tonight, so until we need Ortega to start we'll add to the bullpen with Cross, whom we claimed on waivers from Toronto at the start of the season. He's pitched well at Durham (6-0, 3.16, 17/66 BB/K in 52 IP) in long relief.

Game 2: Losses have been rare this year so they always seem shocking when they happen, especially in a close game. And so Boston beat the Rays today 6-4 at Publix Park on a 2-run homer in the 8th from their 2034 1st-round pick (#7 overall) Jahlil McLaughlin off Mike Wherry to break a 4-4 tie. The Rays went meekly in the 8th then mounted a 2-out threat in the 9th when a walk, a single, and a fielding error put men on 2nd and 3rd but Danny Ayala could not come through for the third time in the game and his fly ball which looked for a moment like it might go out was caught at the track. Ayala had earlier driven in all 4 Rays runs on a 2-run double in the 1st and a 2-run homer (#35) which put them in front 4-3. But Josh Hanna, who wasn't his best today, allowed Boston to tie in the 6th and went 7 8 4 4 1 4. Dusty Cross made his Rays debut impressively with a 1-2-3 9th. By the way the 4 RBI from Ayala put him over the century mark again at 103.

Game 3: Apparently yesterday's loss motivated the Rays they took Boston to the woodshed 15-2 today. It was 12-0 by the 4th as the bats came out smoking. Bo Angeac started things off with a 2-run single, then the power took over with Victor de Jesus 2-2 with a 3-run homer (#25), Omar Rodriguez with a 3-run jack (#20) as part of a 4-RBI day, Will Quintana (#6) going deep with a man on, and Eric Titcombe slammed a pinch-hit dinger for #19. On the mound Nate Thompson was dealing again, going 6.2 5 2 2 3 9 with both runs coming when he tired in the 7th. He's now 13-3, 4.58 while Willie Bertone went final 2 1/3 scoreless with 5 Ks.

Leo Ortega Update: In what was supposed to be his last Durham rehab start, he had to leave in the 2nd today with elbow inflammation and will be out another 2 weeks. We have a couple of off days coming up so his turn can be skipped, and we may also give Eric Riley a start.

Team record: 83-22. Next up: An off-day then we head to Toronto for 3.

[Art Deco]

Game 1: Victor de Jesus was the hitting star and the Rays got another solid start from Nate Schultz to take an 8-2 win at Rogers Centre over the Jays. de Jesus' 26th HR of the year broke a 2-2 tie in the 6th and then he contributed a 2-run single in a 5-run 7th which broke the game open. Danny Ayala's 37th homer with a man capped that inning, and Jeff Baez was 2-3 with an RBI double. Schultz turned in another quality start, going 6 5 2 2 0 3 on 96 pitches to improve to 14-1, 3.28 while Dusty Cross picked up his first MLB save by pitching the final 3 innings without allowing a run, doing it against the organization which waived him earlier this season.

Game 2: Some sloppy fielding and shaky pitching led to a 6-5 Toronto walk-off win against the Rays. Eric Riley got the start and while he wasn't great, neither was the defense behind him as a pair of Jaiden Hardaway errors led to two unearned runs as Riley finished 4.2 6 5 3 2 3. Hardaway did atone on the other side of the ball, hitting a 3-run homer (#21) to give the Rays a 4-2 lead at one point and he was on base 4 of 5 times at the plate. After Edgar Rios and Mike Wherry got them the next 2 1/3, Tim Siqueiros pitched a scoreless 8th but it turned out to be a mistake to bring him out for the 9th as he allowed back-to-back doubles to start the inning, giving the Jays the win.

Game 3: Have the Rays found themselves a new ace? Kevin Kerstetter has been one of the best starters in the AL since joining the rotation and with Leo Ortega unable to stay healthy, it can be argued Kerstetter is their #2 starter and those arguments hold a lot more weight after his complete-game 6-hitter in a 7-2 win over the Jays. Kersetter went 9 6 2 2 0 7, giving up a 1st-inning solo homer and then nothing until the 9th as he finished with a tidy 98 pitches. He's now 14-0, 2.26 and it doesn't get much better than that. He got the offensive support he needed in a 4-run 4th when the Rays kept the turnstiles moving with consecutive RBI singles from Omar Rodriguez, Eric Titcombe, Jon Jimenez and Jeff Baez. They tacked on 3 more the easy way in the 7th as Jaiden Hardaway's solo shot (#22) was followed a 2-run Victor de Jesus blast (#27).

Team record: 85-23. Next up: Another off-day, followed by 3 games at Fenway against the Red Sox.

[Art Deco]

As we reach the trading deadline, I swung a couple of deals, one decent-sized, one minor. First the decent-sized one:

Traded 18-year old minor league RHP Jeremy Holston and 22-year old minor league LF Danny Ruiz to the Chicago White Sox, getting 28-year old LHP Jim Golunski in return.

Golunski is one of the best LH relievers in baseball and I had been eyeing him awhile. The White Sox are out of contention so they were willing to move him, and Holston was the main enticement. Holston was our 6th round pick last season and has potential to be a league-average starting pitcher, although my scouts are a bit less enthused than OSA. Ruiz made the deal work, and he's a nothing-special OF prospect whom the scouts don't like a lot. So what are we getting in Golunski? Check it out:



We didn't need another lefty in the pen as Mike Wherry, Bob Sirna and Billy Hoyte are all just fine. But Golunski is better than all 3, and is the closest thing to a left-handed Kikuo Kawase out there. And he's only arb-eligible for the first next time year, projected to make $1.5M so quite inexpensive. To make room on the 40-man, I swung this deal:

Traded 23-year old minor league RHP Raymher Costa to the Washington Nationals, getting 24-year old minor league RHP Jim George in return.

Adios Raymher Costa, king of the BB/K ratios but also a big-time server of gopher balls. Regular readers of this thread will know how intrigued I was by him, but his stint in the majors showed the 25 movement was always going to be a real problem for him, especially playing in a hitter's paradise like Publix Park. I think I did well in return, getting George who is a top-notch relief prospect and probably is good enough to pitch in an MLB pen right now. But he was only drafted in 2033 (Washington's 2nd-round pick) so he doesn't have to go on the 40-man nor is he eligible for Rule 5 so he'll be stashed in the minors for the foreseeable future. Also to make room on the active roster for Golunski, Dusty Cross has been optioned to AAA Durham.

[Art Deco]

Game 1: Apparently not content with one day off, the bats decided to take another as the Rays fell to the Red Sox 2-0. The lack of offense wasted a decent outing from Josh Hanna, who went 6.1 8 2 2 0 4 and is now 11-4, 3.43. Mike Wherry didn't impress coming on and giving up a single to score Hanna's runner, and Edgar Rios walked the bases loaded in the 8th but got out of it. Only Dayle Jenkins (3 hits) could hold his head high after Mario Candelaria and two relievers twirled the shutout for Boston.

Awards time:







Gebers was acquired a couple of winters back for Jordan Diaz and he's living up to his status as a top prospect. Of course we have Bo Angeac kind of entrenched at 3B and a top 5 MLB prospect behind him in Steve Champagne at AA Montgomery at the position, so it'll take some creativity to get the best use out of him.

Game 2: After being called out yesterday the bats responded as the Rays opened August with a 15-5 rout of the Red Sox. Danny Ayala was the man of the match with a 2-HR, 6-RBI day including a 3-run shot in the first which set the tone for the night. Ayala now sits at 39 HR and 112 RBI for the season and we're only about 2/3 of the way through. Jaiden Hardaway was all over the scoresheet as well as he went 3-4 with 4 runs scored, a double, a stolen base and 2 RBI and Mike McKee contributed a bases-clearing double. Nate Thompson started and wasn't his sharpest but hung around to go 6 7 5 3 2 3 and notch his 14th win of the year. Willie Bertone went 3 scoreless for his first Rays save, striking out 5 in the process.

Game 3: The Rays scored 3 times with 2 out in the 9th to break a 1-1 tie and take the rubber game of the series from Boston 4-1. Strong pitching was the name of the game for Tampa Bay with Nate Schultz brilliant at 7 6 1 1 0 8, lowering his ERA to 3.18 in the no-decision. Jim Golunski made his Rays debut with a perfect 8th and picked up the win thanks to the 9th-inning rally while Kikuo Kawase struck out the side in the 9th for save #28. Danny Ayala's RBI double in the 5th put the Rays ahead, but Boston answered in the bottom of the frame to tie and it stood there until the 9th when with two out Jeff Baez delivered an RBI double and Will Quintana followed with a 2-run single.

Team record: 87-24. Next up: A rare Friday off-day followed by 2 at Publix Park against Columbus.

[Art Deco]

Game 1: Kevin Freakin' Kerstetter. I'm kicking myself for not getting him into the rotation sooner but it's not like our record's suffered or we didn't win the World Series the last two seasons. Anyway, today was his most dominant outing yet, going 6 2 0 0 1 12 on 94 pitches in an 8-0 Rays crushing of Columbus. With that performance he goes to 15-0 and lowers his ERA to 2.13. Danny Medina and Billy Hoyte combined to pitch the final 3 innings to complete the team shutout as Rays pitchers struck out 18 Lightning in total. Meanwhile if Danny Ayala isn't the AL Player of the Week there should be an investigation as he had another 2-homer game today including a big 3-run shot in the 2nd which got them on the board; he now has 41 HR & 117 RBI. Also going deep were Victor de Jesus (#28, solo) and Dayle Jenkins (#12, with a man on).

Folks, my scouts say Danny Ayala is getting even better:



Game 2: The Rays avenged being swept in their 2-game series at Columbus in May by returning the favor at Publix Park, today by the same 8-2 score by which the lost the second game of the previous series. Jon Jimenez was the man today, going 3-3 with a HR (#32) and 3 RBI, Omar Rodriguez was 3-3 with a walk, two runs scored, and a steal, and Jaiden Hardaway did his usual 3-5, two runs scored and an RBI thing. With Leo Ortega finally ready to rejoin the team for his next start after a solid rehab outing yesterday, Eric Riley took advantage of his final start for the time being by getting his first win of the year in a 6 5 2 2 1 3 outing. Edgar Rios and Bob Sirna both pitched into jams in the 7th and 8th respectively but got out of them, however Willie Bertone was yanked in the 9th after walking the bases loaded with one out before Jim Golunski came in and retired the next two batters to end the game.

Team record: 89-24. Next up: The Blue Jays fly in for 3 games.

[Art Deco]

Game 1: Quite a game at Publix Park as Josh Hanna and Toronto's Jonathan Willey hooked up in an excellent pitchers' duel before the Rays scored in the bottom of the 9th to take a 1-0 walk-off win. Hanna was great again going 7 3 0 0 2 4 in his second straight start where he failed to get a single run of support, and Willey, the #8 overall pick in the draft 2 years ago, made his first start of the season after being recently recalled from AA and was impressive in his own right with 7 1/3 shutout innings. Tim Siqueiros put 2 on with 2 out in the 8th and Jim Golunski got him out of that jam and pitched the ninth, and he picked up his 2nd win in 3 appearances since joining the Rays when Danny Ayala singled up the middle with 2 out to score Victor de Jesus with the game-winner for RBI #119.

Game 2: This one was over in the first when the Rays batted around and scored 5 times as they took an 8-2 win over Toronto. Victor de Jesus' 3-run HR (#29) was the big blow, and in the 3rd Jon Jimenez had a solo shot (#33) to go with his 1st-inning RBI single. Dayle Jenkins added a 2-run homer (#13) and Jeff Baez an RBI double. Nate Thompson left with a shutout with 2 out in the 8th, but Bob Sirna allowed his 2 runners to score so Thompson finished 7.2 4 2 2 2 8 in what was still an outstanding performance to go to 15-3, 4.44.

Game 3: Tampa Bay completed the sweep with some help from the bench guys in a 7-4 win at Publix Park. A sac fly from Melvin Gutierrez (who was 2-3 with 2 RBI and a steal) broke a 3-3 tie in the 7th, and in the 8th Chris Peters hit his first homer since May 23, a 3-run shot (#4) which gave the Rays a comfortable lead. Danny Ayala had a solo shot earlier (#42). On the mound Nate Schultz wasn't his best but good enough to go 6 8 3 1 1 7 and lower his ERA to 3.11 while Danny Medina picked up win #7 with a scoreless 7th. Tim Siqueiros held the 8th and even though it was no longer a save situation after Peters' homer, Kikuo Kawase took the 9th and gave up a run on 3 hits in a rare off-day for him.

Team record: 92-24. Next up: An off-day, then we start a west coast swing with 3 in Seattle.

[Art Deco]

Game 1: It's Kevin Kerstetter's world and we're all living in it. The lefty was brilliant again, shutting down his old team over 7 innings in a 6-0 win against Seattle, the team's 8th straight. Kersetter was 7 2 0 0 1 7 and has now allowed only 3 runs in his last 37 innings covering 6 starts. He's now a silly 16-0, 2.01 as he makes a late run at the Cy Young. Mike Wherry and Edgar Rios fired scoreless innings to finish it. On offense, the first four runs came on solo homers from Dayle Jenkins (#14), Victor de Jesus (#30), Omar Rodriguez (#21) and Eric Titcombe (#20), with the latter two back-to-back in the 6th.

Game 2: Leo Ortega made a triumphant return to the rotation in a 3-2 Rays win over Seattle, extending their winning streak to 9. Ortega, whose one-month injury turned into a two-month one as he suffered a rehab setback, went 6 6 2 1 0 5 to improve to 7-4, 3.12 in his first start since June 12. Jim Golunski went two perfect innings (he's now retired all 15 men he's faced as a Ray), and Kikuo Kawase had a 1-2-3 2K 9th for save #29. The offense was pretty much stifled, held to four hits, but the Mariners made an equivalent number of errors and three of them came in the 2nd inning enabling Jaiden Hardaway to deliver a 2-run single while Jon Jimenez's RBI single in the 6th proved to be the difference.

Game 3: The Rays made it 10 straight wins and swept Seattle today by a score of 8-3. It was a balanced attack on offense with Danny Ayala hitting #43 and driving in 2, with Dayle Jenkins knocking in a pair as well. Melvin Guiterrez was on base 3 times with a pair of hits, a walk and 2 runs scored as he's been productive of late when playing. Josh Hanna started and mostly pitched to contact, going 7 7 2 2 1 1 and improving to 12-4, 3.22. Eric Riley went the final two innings and allowed a run.

Team record: 95-24. Next up: 3 games in San Diego.

MLB News: Atlanta legend Ronald Acuna Jr. hit HR #500 today.

[Art Deco]

Game 1: The Rays visited Petco Park for the first time in several years and made themselves at home with a 5-3 decision over the host Padres, consecutive win #11. Bo Angeac's 16th HR of the year in the 6th broke a 3-3 tie, and he added an RBI single for insurance in the 8th. Earlier Danny Ayala homered once again (#44) with a man on. Nate Thompson started and got the win, but he was far from sharp, allowing 10 hits and only striking out 1 in his 5.2 innings of work, as he continues to have a record (16-3) which flatters his ERA (4.45). Danny Medina went 1 1/3, Jim Golunski retired all 3 men he faced to stay perfect as a Ray, and Kikuo Kawase got the final 2 batters for save #30.

Game 2: The Rays' 11-game win streak came to a crashing halt today at Petco Park as the Padres pasted them 6-0. Jose Reynoso and Matt Washington combined on a 2-hit shutout of Tampa Bay with Jaiden Hardaway's double and single the only two safeties they managed. Meanwhile Nate Schultz turned in one of his poorer starts of the year (a good time to do so I guess since he could have been great and lost 1-0 today), going 4 7 5 5 0 2 with a pair of homers allowed and losing for only the second time this season (14-2). Eric Riley went 3 and gave up a run and Billy Hoyte had a scoreless inning.

Game 3: Tampa Bay dropped its second straight to San Diego today, losing 3-2 in 11 innings. Kevin Kerstetter and his 16-0 record got the start today, and fell behind 2-0 as the lefty went 5 6 2 2 3 5 in a decent but not sharp outing. His teammates did get him off the hook for the loss with a 2-run rally in the 8th on RBI singles from Danny Ayala and Eric Titcombe but couldn't push across the third run. On to extras we went, and after Mike Wherry put the first two men in the 11th on 1st and 3rd, Kikuo Kawase came on in hopes of a strikeout but instead 21-year-old catcher Alex Briatori singled up the middle to walk it off for the Padres. Jim Golunski finally had a man reach since joining the Rays, allowing an 8th-inning single but went 1 1/3 scoreless.

Team record: 96-26. Next up: An off-day to fly back home where the Detroit Tigers will await us for a 3-game weekend set.

[Art Deco]

Game 1: A back-and-forth game ended with Rays taking a walk-off 4-3 win over Detroit at Publix Park. After Kikuo Kawase had a rare blown save in the top of the 9th (although he did strand a man who was at 3rd with 0 out thanks to 3 straight whiffs to keep it tied), Mike McKee singled, Melvin Gutierrez pinch-ran for him, stole second and went to third on the bad throw, and scored when Shohei Ohtani dropped Dayle Jenkins' fly ball in right trying to throw home, although Gutierrez would have likely scored either way. Kawase vultured his 2nd win of the year. Danny Ayala hit a pair of solo homers to give him 46 and Jenkins earlier beat out an infield single to score the other. Leo Ortega started and settled down after a 1st-inning 2-run homer from Gleyber Torres to finish 5 6 2 2 0 9, Danny Medina had 2 scoreless innings and Tim Siqueiros one.

Game 2: The Rays took a second straight 4-3 win over Detroit today behind a fine start from Josh Hanna and some timely hitting. The lefty went 6.2 6 1 1 3 6 to improve to 13-4, 3.14 and left ahead 2-1. Jeff Baez's 12th homer and Omar Rodriguez's sac fly made it 4-1, but in the 8th Tim Siqueiros served up a 2-run homer to Shohei Ohtani to cut the lead back to 4-3. Jim Golunski took over and got the final four outs for his 1st Rays save and 9th overall. The Rays picked up their first two runs on a Detroit error and a Will Quintana RBI single. Quintana also doubled as part of a 2-3 day.

August 19: Activated P Ron Adams from the 10-day IL, optioned P Eric Riley to AAA Durham.

Decided to bring Adams back right away to the big club rather than do rehab, since it's been less than a month and he'll be pitching in long relief anyway with Ortega back. Riley goes down and either he or Willie Bertone will back in a couple of weeks when the rosters expand.

Game 3: 17-3 was the score of today's Rays rout of the Tigers, and 17-3 is Nate Thompson's record now after winning his start. After a mini-team slump with only 10 runs scored in their last 4 games, the offense broke out big-time today led by who other than Danny Ayala. He hit 3-run homers in both the 2nd and 3rd innings after Detroit actually went ahead 3-1 in top of the 2nd. Ayala now has 48 HR and 133 RBI in only 113 games and is on pace for 62 HR and 172 RBI. If he were to end on those numbers it would be #8 and #7 on the all-time single-season HR & RBI lists respectively. Dayle Jenkins (#15), Chris Peters (#5) and Omar Rodriguez (#22) also homered, and Victor de Jesus was 4-4 with 2 doubles and 3 RBI before leaving with a mild abdominal strain which will sideline him a couple of days. Thompson again didn't have a pretty outing but got the run support, going 6 6 3 2 2 6 and at least settling down after his rough first 2 innings. Ron Adams returned from the IL and was electric over the final 3 innings, whiffing 4 and giving up only a hit as he was awarded his 3rd save despite the score.

Team record: 99-26. Next up: Seattle comes in for 3 games.

[Art Deco]

Game 1: The Rays got by Seattle 6-3 tonight for win #100 of the season in Game 126 behind an excellent performance from Nate Schultz. The Rays ace went 7 6 2 2 0 11 and is now 15-2, 3.29 and sports a 57-9 regular season record with Tampa Bay. Mike Wherry allowed one of Schultz's runners to score and then one of his own in the 8th before Kikuo Kawase notched save #31 with a scoreless 9th. Eric Titcombe and Bo Angeac each drove in a pair of runs, with the former hitting #21 with a man on and the latter with a double and a groundout. Jaiden Hardaway had 3 hits and scored twice.

Game 2: The Rays came up with a Bo-dacious win tonight over Seattle as Bo Angeac hit a 2-run homer to tie it in the 7th and then a 2-run walkoff homer to win it in the bottom of the 9th 8-7. After dominating his old team in the Emerald City a couple of weeks ago, Kevin Kerstetter looked like he'd lose his perfect 16-0 record after giving up 4 runs in the first and 6 overall in a 4.1 7 6 6 3 4 outing that marked his worst start since joining the rotation. But Angeac's first homer kept that record intact, although Wander Franco got revenge on his former team with his third hit of the game, an RBI single off Tim Siqueiros in the 8th to put the Mariners back ahead 7-6. But after Mike Wherry got the M's out 1-2-3 in the 9th, Victor de Jesus reached on a bloop single that probably should have been caught, and Angeac stepped up and swatted HR #18 to walk it off. Wherry picked up his 5th win, and Ron Adams had 2 2/3 innings of shutout relief with 5 Ks, giving him 100 in 81 innings. Also contributing were Eric Titcombe with HR #22 and Jaiden Hardaway with another 3-hit game and an RBI.

Game 3: The Rays completed the sweep of Seattle with a decisive 9-2 win thanks to a couple of big 3-run homers and a great outing from Leo Ortega. The first of the 3-run jacks was the big one as Victor de Jesus hit #31 in the 3rd to turn a 2-0 deficit into a 3-2 lead. Yesterday's hero Bo Angeac had the other one, his 19th, in the 7th to blow the game open. Omar Rodriguez also contributed #23 and drove in a pair to back Ortega, who overcame some early hiccups to go 7 6 2 2 0 7 and up his record to 8-4, 3.10. Billy Hoyte went 6 up, 6 down over the final 2 innings.

Team record: 102-26. Next up: 4 games in Charm City against the Orioles.