The 2020 (and beyond) Tampa Bay Rays

[Art Deco]

Game 1: High drama at Publix Park as Daniel Vasquez's 2-run homer in the bottom of the 9th gave the Rays a 4-2 walk-off win over the Yankees. The game started out as former Ray Leo Ortega vs Jon Soranno, but Soranno had to leave after 2 innings with a mild calf strain, which turned it into a bullpen day for the Rays. Jim Gebers struck first with a 2-run shot off Ortega in the 2nd (#15) but that would be all the Rays would get off their former teammate. Ron Adams took over for Soranno in the 3rd and allowed a run in his 3 innings of work, and Billy Hoyte surrendered an Ivan Vega homer in the 6th to tie it. Danny Medina, Jim Golunski and Kikuo Kawase turned in scoreless innings, and Vasquez got Kawase his first win of the year with his walk-off blast, #27, off one-time Rays minor leaguer Mike Bayles.

Game 2: The Rays made it two straight against the Yankees in an 8-3 win that was closer than the final score. Tampa Bay took an early 2-0 lead on a Jon Jimenez RBI double and Jaiden Hardaway's 16th HR of the year but Josh Carsello ran out of gas in the 6th and gave up a pair of runs to tie it, finishing 5.2 8 2 2 2 6. Willie Bertone took over and became the pitcher of record when Daniel Vasquez homered yet again (#28) to make it 4-2, just as he did last night. But Mike Wherry gave up a run in the 8th to cut it to 4-3, and had to escape a jam to keep the lead intact. Then in the bottom of the inning the bases were loaded for Jim Gebers, who also went deep for the second straight night (#16) with a grand slam to break it open. Wherry finished the 9th for save #3 while Bertone notched win #4.

Game 3: It was a day of round number milestones as the Rays blasted the Yankees 11-4, win #100 on the season and win #20 for Nate Thompson. The ace righty wasn't his most dominant, but pitched well enough going 5.2 4 2 2 4 6 and stands a good shot of breaking the team single-season wins record of 22 held by Nate Schultz, Andy Aparicio and Jon Hayes. He's now 20-1, 2.54. It was also a big day for the bats as they banged out 16 hits with Danny Ayala and Jaiden Hardaway leading the charge. Ayala was 4-5 with HR #35 and 3 RBI while Hardaway was 4-5 with 2 runs scored. Jim Gebers drove in 3 with a double and a sac fly to finish a big weekend for him and Jeff Hayes, slumping of late, hit a 2-run shot (#14).

Team record: 100-24. Next up: An off-day then we entertain Detroit for 3 games.

[Art Deco]

I've scrolled down in the AL so you can see the wide-open wild card race:

[Art Deco]

Game 1: Josh Hanna was dazzling as the Rays took a 6-1 win over Detroit at Publix Park. Hanna went 7 2 1 1 1 8 to improve to 14-4, 3.93 with Mike Wherry and Willie Bertone each striking out 3 in their innings of work. Danny Ayala had the big bat today, going 2-4 with HR #36 and 2 RBI while Will Quintana was 2-4 with HR #6.

NOTE: That win clinched the AL East for us. I wasn't paying attention to the magic number but there it is.

Game 2: The ball was flying out of Publix Park today as the teams combined for 8 homers in a 16-9 Rays win. The Rays jumped out to leads of 12-1 and 14-3 behind Alfredo Vega, who went 6 6 3 2 0 9 in one of his typical performances to improve to 10-1, 3.60 as a Ray, but Ron Adams crapped the bed in the 7th, allowing 6 runs with the last two scoring on a single allowed by Bob Sirna who finished the final 2 1/3. 6 different Rays homered, and rather than recap it, I'm just gonna post the batting section of the boxscore:



Bad day for Mike McKee, going 0-5 while the rest of your team is raking, and then see your catcher ERA go through the roof.

Game 3: Another orgy of offense for the Rays today but this time they got the pitching to go with it as Josh Carsello hurled a 4-hit shutout in a 14-0 drubbing of Detroit. It took him 119 pitches but with the big lead he went for it, and got it, going 9 4 0 0 2 10 to improve to 16-5, 3.68. 11 of the 14 runs came courtesy of 3 Rays: Eric Titcombe was 3-3 with 2 homers (#19 & 20), 3 RBI, 2 walks and 4 runs scored; Daniel Vasquez (there is no one hotter at the plate) was 2-5 with a double and 4 RBI; and Will Quintana was 2-5 with 4 RBI including a bases-clearing double. 3 others had 3 hits as everyone had at least one hit except the skunk at the party, Andy Vasquez, who was 0-5.

Team record: 103-24. Next up: We're going to have to register our bats as weapons in Customs as we head to Toronto for 3 games.

[Art Deco]

Game 1: Apparently inspired by Josh Carsello's shutout yesterday, Jon Soranno went out and pitched one of his own in a 7-0 win over Toronto at Rogers Centre. The lefty went 9 6 0 0 1 6 on 115 pitches in the gem and was never seriously in trouble, improving to 11-1, 3.61. Danny Ayala led the offense with a HR (#38) and 2 RBI, Dayle Jenkins drove in a pair, and Daniel Vasquez joined the 30-HR club with a solo shot.

Game 2: Up 8-0 in the 9th, Nate Thompson was two outs away from pitching the team's third straight shutout. Two outs later, the Rays barely hung on to an 8-6 win over the Jays, their 9th straight. Thompson took a 4-hitter with a pitch count of 85 into the 9th but loaded the bases with nobody out. He got an infield pop, then gave up a 2-run double so Tim Siqueiros was summoned from the pen only to make a mess, re-loading the bases with a walk and giving up another 2-run double. Siqueiros got a shallow fly, but then gave up an RBI single to make it 8-5 and it was time for Kikuo Kawase, who gave up an infield single to score a run before mercifully getting a fly to right to end the game and notch save #32. Thanks to the 9th, Thompson's final line was marred at 8.1 7 4 4 1 6 but he still moved to 21-1. Before that Daniel Vasquez continued on his insane tear, homering twice (31 & 32, giving him 6 in 6 games) and driving in 3, while Mike McKee was 3-4 with a double, homer (#9) and 3 RBI. Jaiden Hardaway went 0-5 and did not reach today, ending his 50-game on-base streak.

August 24: Sent P Kevin Kerstetter to AAA Durham on a rehab assignment.

Had kind of forgotten about him, if that's possible for someone who went 21-0, 2.46 last season. He'll need a few starts at Durham and come up in September when rosters expand. Whether it's in the rotation or the bullpen remains to be seen, I guess the weakest link in the rotation is Alfredo Vega, and he's not exactly weak.

Game 3: The Rays made it 10 straight wins with their third shutout in four games, a 4-0 win over Toronto. Josh Hanna went 6 3 0 0 3 5 and Danny Medina went the final 3 perfect on 32 pitches with Hanna going to 15-4, 3.77 and Medina notching his 5th save. Danny Ayala's RBI double was the only run through 6 innings, but a Dayle Jenkins sac fly and a 2-run single from Will Quintana gave the Rays some cushion. Omar Rodriguez was 3-5 and is hitting .351.

Team record: 106-24. Next up: Back in the USA for 4 games at Baltimore.

No shocker here:



Although I never thought of Vasquez as "scrappy", especially given his nickname:

[Art Deco]

Game 1: A rare low-scoring Rays-Orioles game at Camden Yards went Tampa Bay's way as Daniel Vasquez brought home the winning run with an 8th-inning sac fly in a 2-1 win. Bo Angeac hit HR #22 in the 2nd to put the Rays up 1-0 but Danny Roush, a former Rays farmhand, took Alfredo Vega deep in the bottom of the inning to tie it up. That would be all Vega would allow in an excellent 6 4 1 1 0 9 outing. The win however went to Jim Golunski, who struck out the side in the 7th in his first appearance in 10 days, his 3rd of the year. Tim Siqueiros got the 8th and Kikuo Kawase had a 2K 1-2-3 9th for save #33.

Game 2: It was a Trade Challenge matchup at Oriole Park tonight as Josh Carsello squared off against Nate Schultz with the two having been dealt for each other this past winter. Schultz has had a rough debut season with Baltimore (and probably his only one as he's set to be a free agent), coming in 8-8, 5.01 while Carsello has thrived with the Rays especially after his recent run. And tonight only widened the gap between their respective seasons as the Rays jumped all over Schultz in a 7-2 win. Jim Gebers got to him in the 2nd with a 2-run shot (#17) and they chased him in the 4th after 5 runs on 7 hits, including a Jaiden Hardaway RBI single as the three-time MVP later added a HR (#18) as part of a 3-hit night. Also having a big game was Danny Ayala, 3 for 3 with HR #39 and 2 RBI as he eclipsed the 100-RBI plateau once again. Carsello meanwhile was excellent aside from a pair of 3rd-inning solo homers, finishing 6 4 2 2 2 9 to improve to 17-5, 3.66 and adding to his AL-leading 214 strikeouts. Billy Hoyte saw his first action in 11 days and went 2 scoreless while Mike Wherry took care of the 9th.

Game 3: Last night's game was rained out so we're playing a doubleheader today and in the first game the Orioles took a shocking 7-6 walk-off win over the Rays to snap their 12-game win streak. Shocking because Kikuo Kawase, who had allowed only 2 homers in the last 3 seasons with his 80-rated movement, was touched for a pair in the 9th including a 3-run walk-off blast from former Ray Mike Harms as he lost a 6-3 lead. Earlier in the inning Danny Roush homered again against his former organization (as did Gavin Lux earlier in the game) but that was the only earned run of the batch as a Jaiden Hardaway error prolonged the inning. They had built a 6-3 lead earlier on Omar Rodriguez's 2-run HR (#22), a solo shot from Jim Gebers (#18) and a 2-run Hardaway single. Jon Soranno started and went 7 5 2 2 3 6 and Danny Medina gave up a run in the 8th before Kawase's meltdown, his 5th blown save of the season.

Game 4: The Rays rebounded from the Game 1 fiasco to take a hard-fought 3-1 win over Baltimore in the nightcap which saw 4 Rays pitchers combine to hold the Orioles to 2 hits. Nate Thompson started in search of a team record-tying 22nd win, but was forced to leave in the 4th with a sore shoulder which should sideline him a week. We'll probably leave him off the IL since we can bring up an extra starter in a few days. Willie Bertone took over and went 2 2/3, allowing the lone run and picking up win #5. Tim Siqueiros got through 1 1/3 and Jim Golunski pitched the final 1 2/3 for save #4. He allowed no hits or runs and whiffed 3 in his stint, giving him an extremely impressive 5/77 BB/K ratio in 43 innings. The bats generated just enough offense on 5 hits, with the big blows RBI doubles from Jon Jimenez and Omar Rodriguez.

Team record: 109-25. Next up: We close out August with a 3-game set at Publix Park vs Boston.

So how about that AL Central?



Houston will get to play one of these jokers in the ALDS while we'll have to face a better wild card team.

[Art Deco]

This is actually a 4-game series, I didn't notice it wrapped around to Monday.

August 29: Optioned SS Andy Vasquez to AAA Durham, purchased the contract of SS Dorian Gonzalez from AAA Durham.

Andy Vasquez wasn't getting it done filling in for the injured Jeff Baez, hitting 202/212/298 with a horrendous 1/29 BB/K ratio, showing no sign of the power he displayed at Durham the last year and a half. And while he's a good defensive SS (65), Gonzalez is an even better one, a defensive wizard rated 80 and with 6 Gold Gloves on his CV whom we signed to a minor league deal at the beginning of the month. He was hitting .338 in 74 AB which isn't really representative, but he can get on base at about a .330-.340 clip (albeit without any power) which is good enough for us.

Game 1: The Rays routed Boston 10-1 at Publix Park behind an excellent outing from Josh Hanna and their usual power display. Hanna took a shutout into the 8th, going 7.1 4 1 1 1 10 and upping his record to 16-4, 3.66. Billy Hoyte went the final 1 2/3 without incident. Jaiden Hardaway is probably going to be the AL MVP for the 4th straight season thanks to days like today, where he blasted 2 homers to give him 20 and drove in 3, while Jon Jimenez (#31) and Danny Ayala (#40) went deep back-to-back in the 7th. Will Quintana was also 2-4 with 3 RBI, including a 2-run double.

Game 2: Boston's Phil Peters held the Rays in check as Tampa Bay fell 5-1 to the Red Sox. The righty, who had missed most of the year with injuries, went 7 6 1 1 2 2 and only allowed Danny Ayala's 41st homer of the year. Jaiden Hardaway did go 4-4 with a double but was stranded on the bases. Alfredo Vega suffered a rare loss, only his 2nd as a Ray, as he coughed up a couple of homers and finished 6 7 5 5 2 5 with Bob Sirna going the final 3.

Game 3: A fairly routine 5-2 win for the Rays as they recovered from yesterday's loss. Josh Carsello was in command, going 6 4 2 2 1 10 and improving to 18-5, 3.63, with the usual triumvirate of Tim Siquerios, Jim Golunski and Kikuo Kawase pitching the final 3 innings and not allowing a hit between them. Kawase in fact struck out the side and claimed save #34. An Eric Titcombe sac fly and Daniel Vasquez RBI single, his 100th RBI, made it 2-0 in the first and Omar Rodriguez doubled the lead with a 2-run shot (#23) in the 2nd before Jon Jimenez launched a solo shot for #32 in the 4th.

On his way to a Cy Young:



Jaiden Hardaway was also named AL player of the week, he was 14-29 over that period.

September 1: Recalled P Mike Thomas from AAA Durham.

September roster expansion time, although I've not yet called up a second player. Eventually it will be Kevin Kerstetter when his rehab is done. Thomas will make his MLB debut with a start today, he was 6-7, 3.29 with a 30/83 BB/K ratio in 87 innings at Durham.

Game 4: The Rays took a business-like 9 to 5 win over Boston today at Publix Park, with Mike Thomas winning his MLB debut. The rookie lefty wasn't exactly overpowering and although he held Boston to 1 run through the first 4 innings, he came apart somewhat in the 5th, allowing Boston to tie it up with 3 runs. He finished 5 7 4 4 1 3 and got the win when Tampa Bay retook the lead in the bottom of the 5th on a Danny Ayala RBI double and Jim Gebers RBI single. Elsewhere the offense was all Eric Titcombe as he blasted Red Sox ace Sean Nelson for a 3-run homer in the 3rd (#21) and had an RBI double and RBI single to give him 5 driven in on the day. Willie Bertone went 2 2/3 with 5 whiffs and a run allowed, and Danny Medina finished up for save #6 going the last 1 1/3.

Team record: 112-26. Next up: Our AL East homestand continues with Toronto visiting for 3.

[Art Deco]

Game 1: The Rays trounced Toronto 10-1 at Publix Park. Jon Soranno returned from his sore shoulder to go 6 2 1 1 3 7 and improve to 12-1, 3.45 with Ron Adams turning in 3 scoreless innings to pick up his 4th save. Bo Angeac led the offense with 2 HR (#23/24) and 3 RBI, Jon Jimenez had a 3-run HR in the first (#33) and Daniel Vasquez was 2-4 with HR #33 and 2 RBI.

Game 2: Toronto took a 6-0 lead off Josh Hanna, held the Rays to 2 hits through 5, led 6-1 after 6...eh, you know where this one is going. The Rays rallied for a 7-6 win over the Blue Jays when Mike McKee blasted a grand slam (#10) in the bottom of the 8th after Jaiden Hardaway got them within 6-3 in the 7th with a 2-run blast (#21). Hanna had problems with the long ball himself, allowing 3 in a 6 8 6 6 2 7 outing. Bob Sirna went 2 scoreless with 4 whiffs and was awarded his 4th win while Kikuo Kawase had a 1-2-3 9th with 2 whiffs for save #35.

Game 3: Toronto took a 6-1 lead off Nate Thompson, and......this time they beat the Rays 6-1. The presumptive Cy Young winner suffered only his 2nd loss of the season to go with 21 wins as the Jays hit him relatively hard, although he hung in there just in case there was another comeback from his teammates and he finished 7 9 6 6 2 10. But Toronto's Dave Gatlin, in his second start since being acquired from Cleveland, held them to the one run (on a Danny Ayala single) through 5 innings and their bullpen did the rest.

Team record: 114-27. Next up: The Orioles come to town for 3 games.

[Art Deco]

Game 1: For the third time this season Nate Schultz faced his former teammates and for the third time this season the Rays hit him hard as they took a 6-3 win over Baltimore at Publix Park. They got Schultz for 5 runs in 4 1/3 innings with the big blows a Bo Angeac 3-run HR (#25) and a Daniel Vasquez solo shot. Vasquez later added another solo blast off the Baltimore pen to give him 35 on the season. Alfredo Vegas started and made his usual solid if unspectacular start, going 6.1 5 3 3 1 8 with his final line marred by 2 runs in the 7th, an inning he probably shouldn't have pitched. He's now 11-2 as a Ray. Danny Medina struggled, allowing a couple of hits to score one of Vega's runners, but Mike Wherry went 1 1/3 before Kikuo Kawase got a measure of redemption after being bombed in Baltimore last week, striking out 3 in the 9th for save #36.

Game 2: The Rays came back from 4-1 down to take a 5-4 win over Baltimore and survived an injury scare. After giving up a 2-run homer in the 6th which put the Orioles up by 3, Josh Carsello had to leave with an arm issue but fortunately it's just a sprained elbow and he will be out a week. It's going to put a crimp into his shot at 20 wins but we dodged a bullet. Omar Rodriguez's sac fly in the bottom of the 8th brought home the winning run on a day the bats were somewhat muted with only 7 hits. 3 of them were homers, though: Jaiden Hardaway's solo shot (#22), a 2-run Danny Ayala blast (#42) which got them within 4-3, and Jim Gebers' 19th of the year in the 7th which tied the game. Carsello finished 5.2 5 4 4 1 7 beforer Willie Bertone went 1 1/3. Jim Golunski nabbed win #4 with 1 1/3 of work and Tim Siqueiros struck out the 2 Orioles he faced to notch his first save of the season.

Game 3: Tampa Bay completed the sweep with an easy 9-3 win over Baltimore. Danny Ayala homered twice and drove in 3 to keep him leading the AL in HR and RBI and 44 and 112, Eric Titcombe was 3-5 with a HR (#22) and 3 RBI and Dayle Jenkins had a 2-run double to lead the offense. Jon Soranno did it on the mound, going 7.1 5 3 3 3 6 to improve to 13-1, 3.47. He was only on 82 pitches going into the 8th and had allowed one run, but he left having loaded the bases only for Danny Medina, who finished out the game, to walk home two of his runners.

Team record: 117-27. Next up: An off-day, then we're back on the road for 3 at Yankee Stadium.

[Art Deco]

Game 1: The Rays blitzed the Yankees 8-2 at the Stadium tonight to put a crimp in New York's somewhat longshot wild card hopes. Josh Hanna was outstanding, 7 3 1 1 2 5 to improve to 17-4, 3.75 and is now 35-8 in his two seasons with Tampa Bay. Ron Adams went the final two and allowed a solo homer. Bo Angeac swatted a pair of solo homers to give him 27, Jaiden Hardaway hit a 2-run shot (#23) and Omar Rodriguez had a 2-run triple.

Game 2: The Rays lost a sloppy affair at Yankee Stadium 7-6 in 14 innings, making 5 errors and blowing an early 4-0 lead. Nate Thompson was once again trying to tie the team record of 22 wins but couldn't stand prosperity, giving up a 3-run Mario Aguilar homer in the 4th to let the Yankees back in it. He did leave with a 6-5 lead in the 7th but an Eric Titcombe dropped foul pop with 2 out opened the door for the Yankees to tie, and Billy Hoyte loaded the bases in the 14th with nobody out. Kikuo Kawase came in to try and strike his way out of it but the first batter hit a fly ball to center to score the winner. The Rays did get homers from Jim Gebers (#20, not bad for a part-timer and one of his 3 hits), Bo Angeac (#28, his 3rd in 2 days) and Jaiden Hardaway (#24, homering for the second straight day). Comical note: in the bottom of the 10th after the first two men were retired, Rays fielders made 3 straight errors to load the bases before Tim Siqueiros got out of it with a fly ball.

Durham Playoff Update: Once again the Bulls were the class of the IL, going 93-47, and drew Buffalo for the first-round playoff best-of-5 playoff series. Durham was triumphant, although it wasn't easy as Jeremy Glasson's 3-run homer in the 7th gave them a 5-3 win. Kevin Kerstetter started on his rehab assignment and went 5 4 2 2 3 4, Jose Espinoza picked up the win and Chris Toombs the save.

Game 3: The Rays took a back-and-forth 6-5 win over the Yankees chock full of late-inning drama. New York's Dave Falco shut them out through 6 innings and the Yankees held a 3-0 lead going into the 8th when the Rays put four on the board thanks to a 2-run Daniel Vasquez homer (#36) and RBI hits from Will Quintana and Jim Gebers. Tim Siqueiros then blew the 4-3 lead, allowing 2 runs in the bottom of the 8th to put the Yankees back ahead. But Danny Ayala took former Rays farmhand Mike Bayles deep for a 2-run shot (#45) and Kikuo Kawase finished with a 1-2-3 2-whiff 9th for save #37 with Siqueiros vulturing his 5th win. Alfredo Vega started and was homer-prone again (20 in 114.1 innings with the Rays), allowing a pair and finishing 6 7 3 3 3 2.

Durham Playoff Update: The Bulls lost a tough 8-7 decision to Buffalo with the series now even at a game apiece. Jimmy Steveson could not get it done, giving up 6 runs in 4 innings and putting Durham in an early hole. The Bulls did get homers from C Kevin Morley and SS Andy Vasquez but it wasn't enough as the series shifts back to Buffalo in a couple of days for Game 3.

Team record: 119-28. Next up: A weekend in Toronto for 3.

[Art Deco]

Game 1: The Rays broke open a scoreless game in the 5th with 6 runs and cruised to an 8-2 win over Toronto at Rogers Centre. Josh Carsello went to 19-5, 3.63 with another excellent outing of 7 4 1 1 1 10, taking over the MLB strikeout lead from former Ray Marc Wagner at 241. Willie Bertone went 2 innings and was shaky, giving up a run and getting bailed out by a couple of double plays. Jim Gebers continues to produce whenever his name is written into the lineup, today 3-4 with a double, 2 HRs (#21 and 22) and 4 RBI. Dayle Jenkins had a 2-run single as well.

Game 2: Omar Rodriguez had a big day and led the Rays to a come-from-behind 5-4 win over Toronto. The sweet-swinging OF was 4-4 with 2 steals and the game-tying homer in the 8th (#24) before Jim Gebers and Mike McKee singled and Jaiden Hardaway delivered a sac fly for the game-winner. Daniel Vasquez earlier had a pair of solo homers to give him 38. On the mound Jon Soranno wasn't his best, going 6.2 10 4 4 0 8, but Danny Medina got him out of the 7th and pitched the 8th for his 4th win while Kikuo Kawase put a couple of men on in the 9th but pitched around them for save #38.

Durham Playoff Update: The Bulls squeezed out a 4-3 win in Buffalo to take a 2-1 lead in their best-of-5 opening round series. Dave MacDougall was the hitting star, breaking a 3-3 tie with a homer to cap a 3-4, 2-RBI day. Vinny Willard got the win going 6 6 3 3 0 6 and Chris Toombs went 1 2/3 for the save. Durham will look to wrap it up tomorrow behind Jim Harrell.

Game 3: Today was a rarity of rarities as the Rays lost a 1-0 decision to Toronto at Rogers Centre. What made it even more surprising was the architect of the win was the Blue Jays' Wyatt Banks, who came into the game 3-16, 5.71 yet went 6 shutout innings against the Rays, holding them to 4 hits. Granted, Dayle Jenkins and Danny Ayala were given days off, but Jeff Hayes who filled in for Ayala was 2-3. Josh Hanna was the hard luck loser, dropping to 17-5, 3.67 despite going 6 5 1 1 1 8 with the lone run coming on a 6th-inning Dan Phipps homer. Ron Adams and Mike Thomas each turned in a scoreless inning of relief.

Durham Playoff Update: The Bulls advance to the finals once again with a 6-5 win over Buffalo to take the series in 4 games as they seek their 6th consecutive Governors' Cup. Dave MacDougall homered for the second straight game, a 2-run shot, and Daniel Malone, next year's likely CF for the Rays after Dayle Jenkins goes to free agency, had a 3-run blast. Jim Harrell got the win while Eric Riley notched the save.

Team record: 121-29. Next up: Back to Publix Park to play 3 against the Yankees, who are clinging to a shot at a wild card.

Here's a look at where things stand in the AL races still in question stand with two weeks left in the season (The Rays and Astros have clinched their divisions):



Seattle looks solid for one wild card, but the second is up for grabs, and nobody wants the AL Central but someone will take it.

[Art Deco]

Farewell to Stu, who was unpopular early in his tenure as Rays' owner with all of the stadium shenanigans until the team started winning titles in the 20s and he got Publix Park built in downtown Tampa. I'm almost sad I never re-signed one of the fading, expensive veterans he kept imploring me to, even though my track record spoke for itself. Don't know the son well, but thankfully I can't be fired as Manager/GM.

[Art Deco]

Game 1: It was an emotional night at Publix Park as the team and its fans paid tribute to Stu Sternberg, the Rays' long-time owner who passed away yesterday. The team will wear a black armband the remainder of the season and there was a video tribute on the scoreboard tonight. Once the game began the main point of interest was whether Nate Thompson could tie the team single-season wins record of 22. Mission accomplished, although it ended up a close call through neither the fault of Thompson nor the bats in a 7-6 win. Instead it was the bullpen, with Willie Bertone and Billy Hoyte contriving to allow 4 runs in the 9th and putting a man on before Tim Siqueiros had to get the final two outs for his 2nd save as Kikuo Kawase was unavailable. Thompson pitched well in going to 22-2, 2.91 with a 6.2 8 2 2 0 5 outing, and Mike Wherry was fine in his 1 1/3 innings. Danny Ayala got things started with a 3-run HR (#46) in the 1st, and Omar Rodriguez added #25. Jaiden Hardaway was 3-3 with 2 walks and 2 runs, and Dayle Jenkins was 3-5 with 2 RBI.

Game 2: The Rays crushed the Yankees 13-4, although a 6-run 8th really broke the game open. They mostly did it with doubles as they hit 7 as a team with Danny Ayala's 3-run homer in the first (#47) the only longball they manged. Ayala added one of those doubles for a 4-RBI night while Jon Jimenez, Jim Gebers and Daniel Vasquez each drove in a pair. Alfredo Vega started and picked up the win despite not being very good tonight, surrendering a couple of homers and going 5 7 4 4 3 4. He's now 12-2 with the Rays, but looking more and more like the odd starter out come playoff time. Danny Medina went a couple of scoreless innings despite 5 runners, Jim Golunski got the 8th when it was still close, and Mike Thomas mopped up in the 9th when it wasn't.

Game 3: Josh Carsello became the Rays' 2nd 20-game winner this season, tossing 6 shutout innings in a 4-0 win over the Yankees at Publix Park. Carsello was 6 5 0 0 0 6 on 96 pitches to improve to 20-5, 3.52. Willie Bertone, Jim Golunski and Kikuo Kawase each pitched an inning to complete the team shutout. Danny Ayala was once again the offensive start, going 3-4 with an RBI double and a solo homer (#48) as he went deep for the third straight game. Eric Titcombe added #23 and Jon Jimenez singled in a run.

Team record: 124-29. Next up: An off-day then the White Sox visit for the weekend as we get closer to the end of the season.

Durham Playoff Update (9/18): The Bulls opened their IL championship series with Rochester at Durham Athletic Park with a 3-2 win over the Red Wings. Dave MacDougall continued his hot playoff run with a big 2-run homer which broke a 1-1 tie in the 6th, while Kevin Kerstetter, in his final rehab start, was brilliant (8 3 1 1 1 8) for the win. Chris Toombs picked up the save despite allowing a run in the 9th. Vinny Willard will take the ball for Game 2 tomorrow.

[Art Deco]

Game 1: Another ridiculous game which saw the Rays annihilate the White Sox 18-0. Amazingly all the run-scoring came in two innings: the 1st, when the Rays put 5 on the board, and the 8th, when they scored an incredible 13 runs on 4 homers. Two of those homers came from Bo Angeac, who had a 2-run shot to start the scoring in the 8th and a 3-run shot later in the inning to give him 30 for the year and cap a 6-RBI day. Jaiden Hardaway had a 3-run blast (#25) and Danny Ayala homered for the 4th straight game with his MLB-best #49. Omar Rodriguez's 2-run triple in the first was the big hit in that inning, and Dorian Gonzalez was 3-5 with 3 RBI. Jon Soranno went 7 2 0 0 1 7 to go to 14-1, 3.39 and Ron Adams whiffed 4 over 2 scoreless to finish the game.

Durham Playoff Update: The Bulls fell 4-1 to Rochester in Game 2, leaving their series even at 1 as they head to Rochester in two days' time for Game 3. Vinny Willard was not effective, giving up 4 runs in 4 2/3. Jimmy Steveson will take the ball next.

Game 2: He did it! Where others have tried and failed before, Nate Thompson set the Rays' single-season wins record with his 23rd of the year in a 7-2 win over the White Sox. Thompson surrendered a 2-run homer in the top of the 1st to put the Rays behind, but that deficit was immediately erased in the bottom of the inning when Bo Angeac, who had homered twice in the 8th last night, homered again in his next at-bat with two men on to make it 3-2, his 31st. That would be all Thompson needed as he settled in and finished 6 3 2 2 2 9 to go to 23-2, 2.91 in what is almost assuredly a Cy Young season. Tim Siqueiros pitched the 7th and Mike Wherry went the final two innings to preserve the win. Jaiden Hardaway went 3-5 to extend his hitting streak to 22 games and is now over 10 WAR for the third time in four seasons and the one year he didn't (last year) he finished with 9.7.

Game 3: It was the Rays' turn to be on the wrong end of a blowout as the White Sox thumped them 9-1 in the final home game of the regular season. Josh Hanna didn't have it today, and left with the bases loaded in the 5th and 4 runs against before Willie Bertone served up a grand slam to Chicago's Bobby Alvarez so Hanna ended with a 4.1 7 7 7 3 5 line to drop to 17-6, 3.93. Mike McKee's 9th-inning homer (#11) avoided the shutout. With another pitching getting hit hard with McKee catching, I decided to look up his and Will Quintana's catcher ERAs, and the difference is stark: 2.78 for Quintana vs 3.92 for McKee. Expect Quintana to get all or most of the playoff starts.

Team record: 126-30. Next up: A day off then we head to Fenway for 3.

Durham Playoff Update: The Bulls are one win away from their 6th consecutive Governors' Cup thanks to an 8-2 win over Rochester. A 6-run first inning capped by a 2-run Pat McKinney homer sent them on their way. Daniel Malone and Ricky Loya each homered as well to back Jimmy Steveson, who went 6 2/3 for the win. Jim Harrell will take the ball tomorrow in Game 4 to try and close it out.

[Art Deco]

First of all Danny Ayala was named AL Player of the Week for his 4 homers and overall performance. Here are the standings and leaders going into the season's final week:



Kansas City has pulled away a bit (2 games) from Minnesota and may even win the division with a winning record. Seattle is all but set as a wild card and Texas is in very good shape too. Only real race in the NL is in the East with Washington winning 7 straight and tying Columbus over the weekend before the Lightning beat them yesterday to regain a 1-game lead. The loser will not have a wild card to fall back on. Colorado has a slight chance of overtaking San Diego for the second wild card, and they're being led by Zach Mathias, who leads the NL in batting average. Mathias was our first round pick several years back and was dealt to the Rockies in the offseason.

[Art Deco]

The Governors' Cup is staying in Durham where it's resided for 6 years now as the Bulls beat Rochester 4-3 in 10 innings tonight to take the IL Championship Series in 4 games. The names may change every season but the results don't as the Durham Dynasty continues.

[Art Deco]

Tuesday's game was rained out and will made up as part of a doubleheader on Wednesday.

Game 1: The Rays took the first game of their day-night doubleheader with a 5-2 over the Red Sox. Josh Carsello picked up the win with a 6 6 2 2 3 8 outing and finishes his 2036 regular season at 21-5, 3.50 with 255 whiffs in 198 innings and 5 WAR. The Siquerios-Golunski-Kawase combo got the last 3 innings with Kikuo picking up save #39. Dayle Jenkins, who had been on a HR tear at midseason, hit his first since August 20th, a 2-run shot in the first (#28). Bo Angeac drove in a run with an infield single for RBI #100, joining teammates Danny Ayala, Jenkins, Jon Jimenez and Daniel Vasquez in that club.

Game 2: Tampa Bay was cruising in the nightcap, up 5-0 behind a Bo Angeac HR (#32) and 2 RBI from Jaiden Hardaway, who extended his hitting streak to 25 games. Kevin Kerstetter got the start, his first since April, and was no-hitting Boston through 4. But Kerstetter limped through the 5th, giving up 3 runs, and then Ron Adams came on in the 6th and gave up a run to make it 5-4 before giving up 3 more in the 7th as the Rays fell 7-5, only Boston's 2 win in 18 games against the Rays this year. Adams has fanned 138 in 106 innings in a swingman role this year but has a 4.84 ERA. The loss will keep them from matching last year's record win total of 132.

Playoff race update: Kansas City and Minnesota both lost, so the Royals remain 1 up on the Twins in the ugly AL Central. Seattle scored 11 times in the 9th to break a 6-6 tie with Toronto and beat them 17-10 to clinch a tie for a wild card (Wander Franco was 4-6 with a HR and 4 RBI) and with a win tonight Texas reduced their magic # for the 2nd wild card to 2. Over in the NL Washington and Columbus each won, which keeps the Nationals a game up in NL East. The Cubs clinched a wild card with their win tonight and San Diego's magic # is 1 for the other one.

Game 3: The Rays took the rubber game of the series with a comfortable 9-2 win behind Jon Soranno. The lefty went 7 4 2 2 4 4 and finishes his season 15-1, 3.35 with 162 whiffs in 155 innings, good for 3.9 WAR. Mike Thomas pitched 2 perfect innings with 3 whiffs to finish out the game. Jaiden Hardaway had yet another 3-hit game, driving in a pair and now hitting in 26 straight, Omar Rodriguez hit HR #26 and the team banged out 15 hits in total to finish the year 17-2 against Boston.

Team record: 128-31. Next up: We close out the regular season with 3 in Cleveland.

Playoff race update: Minnesota walloped Detroit 8-1 while Kansas City fell 5-4 to the White Sox so those two teams are tied atop the AL Central at 78-81. KC has 3 more at the White Sox and the Twins have 3 more at Detroit. Texas lost so they're 2 up on the Angels for the 2nd wild card (and 3 up on some others but we won't get into that unless it becomes meaningful). And in the NL Columbus won while Washington lost so we have a tie in the NL East. And the best part is that these two teams will play each other this weekend in Washington, meaning we won't have a tie to break. Columbus has gone 14-2 in its last 16 to make up 6 games on the Nats. The Padres clinched the other wild card in the NL, and while I wasn't paying attention I see now they're only 2 behind the Dodgers for the NL West lead.

[Art Deco]

Game 1: The Rays got a scare when ace Nate Thompson had to leave in the 2nd inning but it turned out to be a mild hamstring strain and he should be good to go in Game 1 of the ALDS. After that the game became secondary but the Rays did in fact win it 3-1 after having to piece a bullpen game together. Thompson's season finale leaves him at 23-2, 2.89 with a 50/223 BB/K ratio in 202.2 innings, good for 6.7 WAR and perhaps the majors' best depending on how Josh Doyle and his 6.6 fare this weekend. Bob Sirna ended up with win #5 going 2 1/3 in relief of Thompson and four pitchers later Kikuo Kawase got save #40. Bo Angeac stayed hot with his 4th HR in 7 games (#33) and Danny Ayala hit the round number of 50 with a 6th-inning blast. Sadly Jaiden Hardaway's hitting streak was snapped at 26 tonight, although he did reach on a walk.

Playoff race update: Advantage Royals as they beat the White Sox while the Twins succumbed to Detroit, giving KC a 1-game lead with 2 to go. As for the 2nd AL Wild Card after Seattle, Texas lost while the Angels won and suddenly LA is only 1 game behind. Over in the big showdown series in the NL East, Columbus continued with the momentum, taking Washington 7-5 to move into sole possession of first and can clinch with a win tomorrow. In the West, both the Dodgers and Padres won in the first at-bat as LA clinched at least a tie for the division, up 2 games with 2 to go. San Diego is already in as a wild card.

Game 2: The Rays squeaked out another low-scoring win with a 2-0 decision over Cleveland in the penultimate regular season game. Josh Hanna started and went 5 4 0 0 0 7 to finish his regular season 18-6, 3.82 with 208 whiffs in 188.1 IP and 4.6 WAR. Mike Thomas, eyeing a rotation spot next season, went the final four without allowing a walk or a hit and fanning 7 for his first MLB save. Both runs came in the 6th off former Rays prospect Jeff Baker on consecutive infield singles from Bo Angeac and Danny Ayala.

Playoff race update: The Royals inched closer to the AL Central title with a 5-1 win over the White Sox but didn't clinch because Minnesota pasted Detroit 11-5. A Royals win tomorrow clinches the division and at least gives them a .500 record. Texas clinched the second AL wild card and will face off against Seattle thanks to a 15-7 win over Oakland while the Mariners scored in the bottom of the 9th to beat the Angels 2-1 and eliminate them. Columbus won the NL East by beating Washington again 3-0 to cap an amazing run of 16 wins in 18 games to close out the season, and the Dodgers wrapped up the NL West with a 7-3 win over Colorado. So all that's left for the final day is the AL Central race.

Game 3: The Rays closed out their regular season in muted fashion with a 5-1 loss to Cleveland. Alfredo Vega's second-half swoon continued as he was hit hard (4 9 5 5 1 3) and finishes his first season as a Ray 12-3, 4.16. There's a good chance he's left off the playoff roster. Billy Hoyte went 3 hitless innings and Willie Bertone had a scoreless frame. With some regulars sitting they only managed 6 hits, with a bases-loaded walk to Dayle Jenkins bringing home the only run.

Final Regular Season Record: 130-32, two games off last year's record. Here's hoping they better last year's playoff record though. Next up: Texas or Seattle in the ALDS.

Playoff Race Update: Minnesota lost and KC won so the Royals take the AL Central and at least don't enter the playoffs with a losing record. They'll face Houston in the other ALDS. In the NLDS it's Columbus vs the Dodgers and St. Louis vs either the Cubs or San Diego.

[Art Deco]

Jaiden Hardaway wins the AL batting crown for the 4th straight season but his days as the good Khris Davis are over as he didn't hit .364 for the fourth consecutive year. He also led in WAR for the 4th straight year (41.8 total in that stretch) and led in OPS, narrowing beating out Danny Ayala, who won the MLB HR & RBI crowns. Nate Thompson led MLB in wins and pitcher WAR, was second in the AL to teammate Josh Carsello in strikeouts, and finished 3rd in the AL in ERA. And Kikuo Kawase ended up tied with Texas's Jeff Lavender for the AL saves lead with 40.

The final team stats:



Pretty much great in everything except steals (we didn't steal much but we were still the best baserunning team), pitcher walks (kind of wild bunch this year, trading out Ortega and Schultz for Carsello and some others), and as always, defense (but with 80-rated SS Dorian Gonzalez starting in the postseason we should be better there). Outplayed our Pythagorean by 6 games but that's splitting hairs.

Final hitting stats:



Amazingly we only used 16 position players the entire season, thanks to some very good injury luck (except for Jeff Baez). These guys raked all year with Jim Gebers a very pleasant surprise in a utility role. Dayle Jenkins did tail off in the second half of the season some, but that was about it.

Final pitching stats:



Nothing to complain about here either, the big 4 starters were all outstanding, and the Kawase/Golunski combo at the end of games is MLB's best, nearly a combined 6 WAR between them. Willie Bertone was a revelation after a rough first year with us, while Tim Siqueiros took a step back with 28 walks in 43 innings.

Playoff roster notes: Kevin Kerstetter is making it over Alfredo Vega, and he'll pitch in long relief. Vega and Mike Thomas are the two guys we had active in September that are being left off. I thought long and hard about dropping Jeff Hayes as well since he had a miserable second half (14 for 91 with 3 HR and 34 whiffs) but I didn't see any alternatives that exciting (I could have gone with Daniel Malone) and neither Hayes nor anyone else I'd roster instead of him is likely to see much, if any, action anyway.

[Art Deco]

It's the Rays vs the Rangers, again




Not sure where to put this, so I'll throw it in here:

[Art Deco]

What a game, what a duel. Zach Burgmeier and Kevin Turnbull went at it, with Jonathan Vaughns' homer in the 4th the game's only run. The Padres loaded the bases with 2 out in the 9th against Cubs closer Luis Balladares but Juan Pena took a 3-2 pitch for a called strike 3 and Chicago is on to face arch-rival St. Louis in the NLDS.