The 2021 (and only 2021) Tampa Bay Rays

[Art Deco]

A disappointing series for the Rays in San Antonio where they dropped a pair to the 44-76 Alamos before winning the finale. Toronto also lost 2 of 3 so we remain tied with them in first.

The 7-6 loss to San Antonio in the opener was doubly unfortunate in that they blew a 5-1 lead, came back to tie, and then lost on a walk-off homer in the 9th. Bobby Marin had a pair of homers (#6 & 7) including a grand slam and the equalizer to tie it at 6 while Wander Franco also went deep with his 10th, but Ethan McElvain couldn't stand prosperity and gave up 5 runs in the 5th to finish 4.2 8 6 6 2 4. And then Devon Williams, whom I'm not going to trust in a critical situation again for a while, took his 4th loss and gave up his 4th homer in 18 innings since joining the club when he gave up the walk-off winner in the 9th.

Another big inning doomed the Rays as the Alamos scored 6 times in the 3rd on their way to an 8-2 rout. Chris Ferguson (11-6) ended up 4 7 7 7 1 3 in a brutal outing. Danny Arroyave's solo homer (#28) was the lone Tampa Bay highlight.

It was Danny Morales to the rescue in the finale as the young righty went 7 shutout innings in a 4-2 Rays win. Morales (13-4) was spotless at 7 5 0 0 2 4 and while the bullpen gave up a couple including one in the 9th from Mike Moore, he held on for save #24. All the offense came in the 6th on 2-run homers from Jake Westfall (#26) and Nate Strickland (#29).

Team record: 74-47. Next up: We won't be tied with the Jays after the next series as we head across our North border to play a showdown 3-game set in Toronto.

MLB News: Milestones, we got your milestones! Ronald Acuna Jr. of the Mets hit career homer #600, Jose Ramirez of St. Louis belted his 500th, and Cleveland's Adalberto Mondesi recorded career hit #2000.

[Art Deco]

The Rays came out on the short end of their showdown series with Toronto, dropping 2 of 3 in large part due to the bullpen (and their inability to score unless homering).

And the bullpen was the obvious culprit in the opening 4-3 loss, specifically Mike Moore who blew a 3-2 lead in the bottom of the 9th. Orlando Tosado's 2-run homer in the 6th (#31) gave them a 3-0 lead and starter Joe Marlette gave back 2 in the bottom of the frame and finished 5.1 4 2 2 4 8. Four relievers negotiated the next 2 2/3 getting two outs apiece and that brought us to the 9th when Moore (3-4) was just terrible in blowing his 8th save, failing to retire a batter and giving up three hits and a walk to allow the Jays to plate a pair of runs and walk it off.

The Rays did come back to win the second game 5-4 in 10 innings thanks to Danny Charlton's second Tampa Bay homer (and 11th overall). Kevin DiCostanzo and Arturo Gutierrez (HR #32) had them up 2-0 into the 5th when the righty gave up an RBI double and a 3-run homer in succession to put them down 4-2. But Bobby Marin answered with a 2-run blast (#8) in the top of the 6th to tie it back up before Charlton won it in the 10th. DiCostanzo was pretty good outside that bad sequence and ended 6 2 4 4 2 8, Nathan Dettmer (7-3) picked up the win in relief, and Mike Moore overcame yesterday's disaster by picking up save #25.

Toronto took the rubber game 7-3 as they scored 5 off the Rays' pen in the bottom of the 7th after Tampa Bay went up 3-2 in the top of the inning. Arturo Gutierrez's 2-run shot (#33) put them ahead, and Ethan McElvain was an excellent 6 3 2 2 0 6 to leave them in a winning position. But Frankely Guzman (1-1) was horrendous, giving up a couple of runs and leaving a couple on, and Devon Williams' struggles continued when he allowed Guzman's runners to score and one of his own. Bobby Marin homered (#9) for the first Rays run as they can only seem to score via the longball these days.

Team record: 75-49, now 1 game behind Toronto. And the Yankees took advantage to move with 2 of the Rays as second place becomes important as well to host a wild card series. And it's from the frying pan into the fire as we head to Yankee Stadium for 3 games.

[Art Deco]

The Rays got the better of New York, taking 2 out of 3 and remaining a game behind Toronto while pushing out 3 ahead of the Yankees.

Lately the Rays have been struggling to score when they don't homer but tonight they didn't as they outslugged the Yankees 13-8 in the opener at the Stadium. Although they did end up homering 3 times to drive in 7, the first three runs they scored in an 8-run 5th to break open a 1-1 game came on RBI singles. The leaders on offense were Danny Charlton (2-5, HR #3/12, 4 RBI), Wander Franco (2-5, HR #11, 3 RBI) and Danny Arroyave (3-5, 2B, 2 RBI). Bobby Marin also hit his 10th homer, a 2-run blast. Chris Ferguson (12-6) got the win after going 5 5 3 3 3 7.

The Rays took another high-scoring tilt from New York, prevailing 10-5, and once again a big 5th inning was decisive. As it was yesterday the teams were tied through 4 before the Rays put 4 on the board to break a 3-3 deadlock. Danny Charlton, who had hit a 2-run homer in the previous inning (#4/13), drew a bases-loaded walk to put the Rays ahead for good and later Arturo Gutierrez capped a 4-RBI day with a 3-run homer (#34). Danny Morales went to 14-4 with a 5 7 4 4 1 6 outing and after Frankely Guzman loaded the bases in the 9th Matt Cronin came on for the final two outs to pick up his first save.

Tampa Bay couldn't quite pull off the sweep as they fell 6-4 in the finale. Joe Marlette (8-6) piled up the strikeouts but not much else, going 4.2 6 4 4 2 9 in the loss. Bobby Marin's 2-run homer (#11) was the highlight of the day for the Rays.

Team record: 77-50. Next up: We return home for a 4-game set with Baltimore.

[Art Deco]

A great long weekend for the Rays as they swept the Orioles while Toronto lost twice in Seattle, moving Tampa Bay into first place in the AL East by 1 1/2 games.

The Rays had to come from behind in the opener with three runs in the 7th to take a 6-5 win over Baltimore. Arturo Gutierrez's 2-run single was the key and Danny Arroyave managed a 2-run double as they maximized the six hits they got on the day. Kevin DiCostanzo had a bit of a rough start at 6 6 5 5 2 6, Ruben Abeyta (2-0) picked up the win and Mike Moore notched save #26.

Ethan McElvain was brilliant and Danny Arroyave had a big day at the plate as the Rays beat Baltimore 5-0 in the second game. McElvain (8-7) went 7 2 0 0 2 8 in a dominating outing and Arroyave drove in 4 of the 5 Tampa Bay runs thanks to a pair of homers which brought him to 30 on the season.

Tampa Bay got a big contribution from one of its seldom-used players to score a 3-2 win over the Orioles in the third game. Backup IF Mu-Sang Park got a rare start and hit a pair of RBI doubles, including one in the 7th to break a 2-2 tie, to lead the Rays to victory. Earlier Danny Charlton blasted a solo homer (#5/14) as he and Park backed a fine outing from Chris Ferguson (13-6) who went 7 4 2 2 1 8. Mike Moore had a 1-2-3 9th for save #27.

The Rays completed the 4-game sweep with a comprehensive 9-3 win over the Orioles. Catcher William Contreras, quiet of late, stepped up and hit a pair of homers (#7 & 8 and his first since July 4), driving in 3 while Danny Charlton was 3-5 with HR #6/15 and 2 RBI to lead the attack. Danny Morales took over the AL win lead at 15-4 after going 7 7 2 2 1 5.

Team record: 81-50. Next up: An off-day then Atlanta visits for 3 games.

MLB News: Longtime Washington slugger Kian Manmano hit career homer #400.

[Art Deco]

The Rays remained red-hot, sweeping Atlanta to make it 7 straight wins and 9 of their last 10. Toronto isn't going away but they did lose a game as part of a 4-game series so they're now 2 back.

Tampa Bay scored 8 runs combined in the 3rd and 4th innings to romp 9-1 over Atlanta in the opener at Tropicana Field. Danny Arroyave's 2-run single was the big hit in the 3rd and Danny Charlton's bases-clearing double keyed the 5-run 4th. Arturo Gutierrez knocked in a pair and Jake Westfall was 3-5 including a solo homer (#27). Joe Marlette (9-6) coasted with the lead, going 6 3 1 1 4 7.

The second game was a much tighter affair with the Rays squeaking out a 2-1 win over Atlanta. After a slow start with inconsistent playing time following his acquisition from Cleveland, Danny Charlton has become a lineup fixture and today he was responsible for both Tampa Bay runs, an RBI double in the first and a solo homer (#7/16) in the 6th. You also love to see this in the player development update:



Look at all that blue. Charlton's heroics at the plate were enough for Kevin DiCostanzo (4-2), who pitched his best game in a long, long time at 7 3 0 0 1 3 and will need to be in his classic form if the Rays want to go deep in the playoffs. Mike Moore finished up for save #28 despite allowing a solo homer.

The Rays completed the sweep with a 8-6 win in the finale but the bullpen made it way too exciting as they led 6-1 as late as the 7th inning. Nate Strickland's 3-run homer (#30) was the big blow and Chris Ferguson (14-6) was outstanding at 6 4 1 0 3 3. But Slade Cecconi was awful again (and left in too long), allowing 4 runs in the 7th on a pair of homers, making it 9 runs allowed on 5 homers over 5 innings covering his last 3 appearances. Bobby Marin provided some necessary insurance in the bottom of the inning with a 2-run blast (#12), but things got dicey in the 9th when Mike Moore gave up a couple of hits including one to score an inherited runner but he managed to get the final outs for his 29th save.

Team record: 84-50. Next up: The Mets visit for 3 games. Despite an uninspiring 70-64 record, New York is 3 1/2 games up in a bad NL East and the only team above .500 in the division.

[Art Deco]

The train keeps a-rollin' as the Rays swept their third straight series and extended their win streak to 10. Also being extended was their lead over the Jays, now at 4 games as we begin play in the final month of the season.

Transaction: September roster expansion time and our two callups were IF Agustin Lopez and P Randy Morris. Morris of course is a familiar face who was in the rotation for a little while earlier this year and will pitch in long relief. Lopez has been a Rays prospect since being acquired from Detroit in 2028 as an 18-year-old and he has incredible bat-to-ball skills, rated 70 for contact (80 vs LHP) and 80 in avoid Ks. He doesn't have much power (40) but is a 60 gap guy and while he's fast he's a lousy basestealer. And finally while he's rated at all the infield positions and the OF corners, 1B is the only place he's considered better than a 45 so he'll be used as a bat against lefties and a pinch-hitter.

Bobby Marin was the star in the opener as the rookie homered (#13) and singled in the winning run in the 11th to give the Rays a 3-2 win over the Mets. Nate Strickland's RBI single in the 9th tied the game for Tampa Bay and took Ethan McElvain off the hook for a hard-luck loss after going 7 4 2 2 1 4. Devon Williams (3-4) picked up the win after getting four outs.

Danny Morales was nearly untouchable and the Rays took a hard-fought 2-0 win over New York in the second game. The righty has become a dark horse Cy Young candidate and improved to 16-4, 3.09 after a dominant 7 1 0 0 1 9 outing. Mike Moore completed the team 1-hit shutout with a 1-2-3 9th for save #30 and Agustin Lopez had a debut to remember, homering in his first MLB at-bat to lead off the game for Tampa Bay and finishing 2 for 3. William Contreras added an RBI double.

After a pair of tight, low-scoring games the Rays enjoyed a laugher in the finale as they mauled the Mets 8-2. There were plenty of hitting stars led by Joe Stack (4-4, HR #27, 2 RBI), Jake Westfall (3-4, 2 solo homers, #28 & 29), and Danny Charlton (2-3, double, two walks, 2-run homer, #8/17) and Joe Marlette (10-6) dominated on the mound, going 7 4 2 1 1 10.

Team record: 87-50. Next up: Seattle comes to town for 3 games.

[Art Deco]

The Rays' win streak reached 13 as the swept the Mariners in a trio of close, low-scoring games which included a miracle finish in the finale. As a result they've opened up a 6-game lead on the Jays, who lost a pair, and all but wrapped up the division with magic number sitting at 17.

Kevin DiCostanzo was perfect for 5 1/3 before having to depart, and the staff combined a 1-hit shutout as the Rays got by Seattle 2-0 in the opener. DiCostanzo was 5.1 0 0 0 0 7 before leaving with hamstring soreness which will not prevent him from making his next start. It was scoreless until the 7th when Nate Strickland blasted a solo homer (#31) and Danny Arroyave added his 31st in the 8th. Wes Mendes (6-4) gave up the only hit but whiffed 4 in his 1 2/3 for the win and Mike Moore had a perfect 9th for save# - you guessed it - 31, which was the number for the night.

Tampa Bay walked off a 3-2 win in 10 innings in the second game as Nate Strickland had the big hit again, an RBI single in the extra frame. Chris Ferguson was solid at 6.1 4 2 2 3 2, Ruben Abeyta (3-0) picked up the win and Arturo Gutierrez had a solo homer (#35).

As in the first two games runs were scarce in the finale and the game went 1-1 until the 11th. Ethan McElvain was dazzling with a 6.1 6 1 1 1 9 outing and Seattle's Bryce Barnett held the Rays to 3 hits and one run through 9, a Joe Stack solo shot (#28). The Mariners then scored a pair in the top of the 11th off Ruben Abeyta and it appeared the win streak was coming to an end. But the Rays put the leadoff man on in the bottom of the inning and Orlando Tosado smacked HR #32 to tie it up. And then two outs later Danny Arroyave lost one in the LF seats, his 32nd, and Tampa Bay had an improbable 4-3 walk-off win. Abeyta (4-0) won for the second straight night despite the poor outing.

Team record: 90-50. Next up: A day off then we're off to Chicago for 3 against the White Sox.

MLB News: Luis Robert of the Cubs picked up hit #2000.

[Art Deco]

The Rays moved closer to clinching the AL East while officially clinching a playoff spot, and while their win streak was snapped they still took 2 of 3 from the White Sox.

Bobby Marin had the game of his young MLB career, homering twice to lead the Rays to a 6-1 win over Chicago in the opener making it 14 straight. His 3-run homer in the 2nd got Tampa Bay on the board and he added a solo shot (#15) in the 9th for good measure. Also going yard was Danny Charlton (#9/18) with a 2-run blast. Joe Marlette (11-6) was in fine form at 5.2 4 1 1 2 6 and Chris Ericson was so efficient that he went the final 3 1/3 scoreless for his 2nd save on only 26 pitches.

All good things, etc. as the Rays tasted defeat for the first time in over two weeks when they fell to the White Sox 4-2. Danny Morales (16-5) pitched well for the most part but had a bad sequence in the 4th where he gave up 3 runs and finished 7 5 4 4 1 3, likely ending his long-shot bid for 20 wins. Danny Charlton's 2-run double in the 8th got them back in the game but it wasn't enough.

Tampa Bay took the finale thanks to a dominant performance from Kevin DiCostanzo, who appears to be returning to his ace form as they beat the White Sox 3-1. DiCostanzo (5-2) went 7 5 1 1 0 11 on 103 pitches and if he can be part of the dynamic duo again with Marlette the Rays stand a good chance of three-peating. Mike Moore fanned 3 in the 9th for save #32. Back-to-back solo shots in the 2nd from Danny Arroyave and Orlando Tosado, the 33rd of the year for each, were all the offense needed.

Team record: 92-51. We're 5 1/2 up on the Jays and the magic number to clinch the AL East is 14. Next up: An off-day then a return home to face Cleveland for 3.

[Art Deco]

The march to a division title continues as the magic number is down to 10 after taking 2 of 3 from the Guardians.

The opener was a tough loss though as Cleveland scored in the 9th to take a 4-3 win over the Rays. Devon Williams (3-5), who has pitched much better of late, walked a man and with two out and a lefty due Matt Cronin came in and promptly surrendered an RBI double to let the Guardians win it. Before that the Rays had fought back from a 3-0 deficit, tying it in the 5th on former Guardian Danny Charlton's 2-run homer, his 10th as a Ray and 19th overall. Chris Ferguson started and went 5.1 6 3 2 2 4.

The Rays evened up the series by hanging on for a 6-5 win over Cleveland despite allowing 16 Guardians on base. Danny Arroyave had a big 2-run double while Agustin Lopez and Jake Westfall each had 3 hits and an RBI as Tampa Bay took a 6-3 lead. Ethan McElvain (9-7) wasn't his sharpest, finishing 5.2 8 4 4 2 3 and Chris Ericson gave up another run to let Cleveland within one but Mike Moore managed to close it out for his 33rd save.

After a pair of nail-biters the Rays enjoyed a 14-1 rout of the Guardians in the finale. Danny Arroyave had a 3-run homer (#33) in a 4-run first and they never looked back with Orlando Tosado (#34), Danny Charlton (#11/20) and Arturo Gutierrez (#36) also finding the seats. Charlton drove in 3 as well and it was all fun and games until Tosado, one of the regulars who didn't get replaced around the 6th/7th, injured his hammy and will be out two weeks with tendinitis. Joe Marlette (12-6) cruised to the win and got an early rest of the day off after going 5 2 0 0 1 6.

Team record: 94-52. Next up: Minnesota visits for 3 games.

MLB News: Former Florida Gators star and current Cub Jac Caglianone became MLB's first 20-game winner this year, and there were a slew of veteran retirements with the AAA season ending. Notable among them were former Rays postseason star Randy Arozarena and former two-time Rays reliever Aaron Fletcher.

[Art Deco]

The magic number to clinch the AL East is down to 7 after the Rays took 2 of 3 from the Twins at Tropicana Field.

Transaction: Orlando Tosado went on the IL with hamstring tendinitis and the contract of OF Kevin Alcantara was purchased from Durham. Alcantara, the one-time Yankees and Cubs prospect, had a few part-time seasons in Memphis before my AI minor-league GM signed him to a AAA deal. He was hitting an impressive 348/382/596 for the Bulls with 12 HR and 31 RBI in 54 games.

Tampa Bay routed Minnesota 10-2 in the opener with the big blows a 3-run homer from Arturo Gutierrez (#37) and a 2-run shot from Danny Arroyave (#35). Danny Morales improved to 17-5 after a solid 6 5 1 1 2 3 outing.

It was another torching of the Twins in the second game as the Rays obliterated them 14-0. Danny Charlton was 3-5 with a 2-run double and a 3-run homer (#12/21) and Arturo Gutierrez's grand slam (#38) started the onslaught. Kevin DiCostanzo's brilliant run of form continued as he went 6 1 0 0 1 5 to up his record to 6-2 and give him only 1 run allowed over his last 4 starts covering 25 1/3 IP.

The Rays jumped out to an early 3-1 lead in the finale and it looked like more of the same but the Twins hit a couple of 2-run homers off Chris Ferguson to go ahead and took a 6-4 win. Tampa Bay loaded the bases with nobody out in the bottom of the 9th but couldn't get anyone home. Ferguson (14-7) was 6.2 9 6 5 0 5 in the loss, which can't be pinned on Danny Arroyave who was 3-5 with HR #36 and 2 RBI.

Team record: 96-53. Next up: Toronto comes to the Trop for 3 and a sweep would see us reduce the magic number to 1.

[Art Deco]

Rays had a chance to get their magic # down to 1, but instead it's 5 after the bullpen cost them a couple of games against the Jays.

The pen wasn't a problem in the opener as the Rays beat the Jays 4-2. Ethan McElvain (10-7) scattered the hits at 5.2 9 2 1 0 3 and Mike Moore made it interesting by loading the bases in the 9th before fanning former Rays star Kelly Crumpton to end the game. Tampa Bay got solo homers from Danny Arroyave (#37) and Arturo Gutierrez (#39).

The Rays lost the second game by the same 4-2 score they won by the day before as Chris Ericson (3-5) failed in a high-leverage situation, giving up a pair of runs in the 9th to lose it. Joe Marlette had his usual fine start at 7 6 2 2 3 8 and Danny Arroyave homered (#38) for the third straight day but all for naught.

Danny Morales got the ball in the finale with three starts including this one left and 17 wins, but his quest for 20 came to an end when the pen couldn't hold the lead he left with and Toronto won 7-4 in 10 innings. Morales went 6 6 3 3 2 4 and was up 4-3 when he departed but Nathan Dettmer allowed the equalizer in the 8th and then Wes Mendes (6-5) and Frankely Guzman gave up 3 in the 10th, including a 2-run shot by Kelly Crumpton who atoned for whiffing with the bases loaded in the opener. Elijah Green was 2-4 with a steal and an RBI to lead the offense.

Team record: 97-55. Next up: An off-day then Boston visits for 3 games.

[Art Deco]

With the 58-win Red Sox coming to town this should have been a weekend where the Rays truly put away the division but instead they dropped 2 of 3 while the red-hot Yankees moved into second place 4 games back, and they're off to New York to play 3 against them. With a week left in the season the Yankees still pretty much need a sweep but the fact that there's still a race is sub-optimal. The magic number stands at 4, so two wins against the Yanks will clinch.

The offense was the main culprit in their 4-2 loss to Boston in the opener. Danny Arroyave's solo homer (#39) was about it and Kevin DiCostanzo (6-3) wasn't terribly sharp at 5 9 4 4 2 4, his worst outing in a while.

The Rays did take out their frustrations from the night before in the second game, routing the Red Sox 11-1. Danny Charlton had a huge game, going 4-5 with HR #13 and 3 RBI, Kevin Alcantara had a 3-run blast of his own, his first as a Ray, and Nate Strickland plated three as well. Chris Ferguson (15-7) cruised going 6.1 6 1 1 2 6.

Boston took the final 6-4 thanks to a pair of runs in the 7th off Wes Mendes (6-6). Ethan McElvain wasn't great a 5 7 4 4 2 4 but the offense kept them in the game for a while thanks to a 3-run Bobby Marin homer (#13) and a Joe Stack RBI triple but couldn't do anything over the final innings to come back.

Team record: 98-57.

MLB Playoff Race Update: This will likely go down as a relatively dull final week as just about all 12 playoff teams are pretty much set with only the AL divisions at stake. Oakland and Texas are tied for the West lead with the winner earning a bye into the ALDS; Cleveland is 2 1/2 up on Kansas City in Central and the loser will not have a wild card to fall back on, and of course we have the Yankees with an outside shot at the Rays. The Yankees, Jays and Oakland/Texas loser will claim the three wild cards. In the NL your division winners will be Memphis (Central), LA (West) and the Mets (East) with the New York the third seed, and three wild cards will all come from the Central with the Cubs, Cardinals and Reds all making it.

[Art Deco]

The Rays came into this series with the possibility of losing sole possession of the division lead they'd held for about a month as they entered the 4-game series up 4 games. But instead thanks to a couple of dramatic comebacks they are AL East Champions once again and remain in pole position for a World Series threepeat.

It didn't seem that way at first as the Yankees took the opener 5-1 and moved within 3 games of the division lead, scoring 4 times in the first against Joe Marlette (12-7), who finished 5 5 4 4 2 5. Arturo Gutierrez reached the 40-homer mark for the second time in three seasons with a solo shot in the 5th for the only Rays run. Also Danny Charlton was hit by a pitch, suffering a bone bruise which will sideline him the rest of the series.

Nails were being bit and stomachs were churning in the second game as the Yankees built a 5-2 lead after 7 and looked like they'd bring the Rays' division lead down to a slim two games. But up stepped Nate Strickland with two men on in the top of the 8th and he deposited a Rayner Castillo fastball into the short Yankee Stadium porch in RF to tie it (his 32nd), and Kevin Alcantara delivered the biggest hit of his short Rays career with an RBI single in the 9th as the Rays snuck away with a 6-5 win, meaning the division title would be theirs with one win in the next two games. Before that though Danny Morales had a rough 5th, giving up a grand slam in an inning prolonged by his own fielding error and finished 5 2 4 0 4 2. Nathan Dettmer (8-3) wound up with the win and Mike Moore closed it out for save #35 with a 1-2-3 9th. Arturo Gutierrez earlier homered again, his 41st.

The Rays went into the third game with a chance to clinch the division but New York held the late lead again, taking a 2-1 lead in the 7th when Devon Williams surrendered a homer and holding that lead into the 9th. But once again that man Nate Strickland came to the plate and gave Yankee fans nightmares again, hitting an opposite-field shot to left to tie it (#33) and two innings later Danny Arroyave's RBI double was the difference as the Rays came from behind again to beat the Yankees 3-2 in 11 and clinch the AL East with their 100th win of the season. After leading the AL in OBP and OPS last year and earning 5.3 WAR, Strickland has slumped seriously in 2034 despite 33 homers and 104 RBI. His triple slash line is a pedestrian 246/303/447 and coupled with no defensive value he's at 0.5 WAR for the season and has lost some at-bats to Danny Charlton. But none of that will matter to Rays fans thanks to his clutch homers the last two nights which clinched a division title they looked in the process of blowing. On the pitching side tonight Kevin DiCostanzo went a pretty good 5.2 4 1 1 5 8, Matt Cronin (2-0) earned the win and Mike Moore finished again for save #36.

The Rays emptied their bench tonight with the division clinched but still pounded a demoralized Yankee squad 7-2 in the finale. Agustin Lopez has done nothing but hit since coming up September 1, and today he was 2-5 with his 2nd homer and 3 RBI to lead the way, Joe Stack hit his 29th homer as the rookie will try to reach the 30-homer mark over the final weekend, and Nate Strickland rubbed more salt in the Yankees' wounds by homering for the third straight night (#34). Lopez is now hitting .462 (12-26) in part-time play. Chris Ferguson finished his regular season 16-7, 3.91 after going 5 2 1 0 2 4 for the win.

Team record: 101-58. Next up: We'll close out the regular season with 3 games in Baltimore and hope nobody gets hurt. Orlando Tosado, whom we thought was going to be ready for the playoffs, might not be now as he's had a setback and now faces an uncertain return date.

MLB Playoff Race Update: As mentioned last time, the field is set but a couple of divisions were up for grabs. Cleveland is now 3 up on Kansas City with 3 games left so they should be good while Oakland is only 1 up on the Rangers in the AL West. The Rays' taking 3 of 4 from the Yankees dropped them into a tie with Toronto as those two are vying to see who hosts their wild card series. In the NL wild card entrant St. Louis suffered a serious blow when they lost superstar Juan Soto to a fractured foot. The LF was having a renaissance season, leading the NL in OPS at 1.022 and third in the circuit with 6.0 WAR.

[Art Deco]

The Rays played out the string with three games in Baltimore, two of which they won as they get ready to watch the Yankees play the Jays in the wild card round for the right to visit the Trop for Game 1 of the ALDS.

Kevin Alcantara's 3-run homer (#2) broke a 6-6 tie in the opener and gave the Rays a 9-6 win over the Orioles. Bobby Marin was 3-5 with 2 RBI as well while Ethan McElvain started and went 5 4 3 3 0 7. Matt Cronin (3-0) picked up the win after giving up a game-tying homer in the 8th and Wes Mendes finished for save #2.

After winning with an emptied bench last night the Rays went with a lineup of mostly regulars in the second game and ended up losing 3-2. Nate Strickland's big week continued as he hit a 2-run homer in the 9th (#35) to keep Tampa Bay from being skunked while Joe Marlette (12-8) closed out his regular season with a short, 60-pitch 5 6 2 1 0 1 outing.

The Rays took the regular season finale from Baltimore 10-1 thanks to a trio of homers which accounted for all their scoring. Danny Arroyave reached the 40-homer mark in his first full MLB season thanks a 3-run shot in the 4th off former Ray Michael Prosecky, Nate Strickland closed out his regular season by homering in the final five games he played, today launching a 3-run blast (#36) in the 6th, and Kevin Alcantara capped things off with a 9th-inning grand slam (#3). Danny Morales ended his excellent regular season 18-5, 3.00 with the win today after going 5 4 0 0 2 5 on 63 pitches.

Final Regular Season Record: 103-59. Next up: The ALDS against either the Yankees or the Jays as we get the tough end of the AL bracket.

MLB Playoff Race Update: The Rangers held off Oakland to win the AL West, relegating the A's to the Wild Card round while the Guardians beat back the Royals, who will not be getting a wild card.

[Art Deco]

cut off at the bottom here are that Oakland and Cincinnati were the third wild cards and that's Eric Baggs, a prospect we traded to Cincinnati last year for rental reliever Eric Lewis, finishing 3rd in the NL in batting



While the offense was very good this team was even better at run prevention with the partially remade staff turning out to be better than expected, and look at that team defense - one of the best showings there in all my Rays saves. I didn't make a conscious effort to improve the D, it kind of just....happened. One thing I'll say about the offense is that it's very homer-dependent as this team doesn't do a great job of getting on base.



One thing that made the team better in the second half was upgrading the bench as you can see 377 AB given to negative-WAR guys who are no longer with the club. Wander had a quite pedestrian season by his standards and I wonder if at 33 age is catching up with him. Contreras also had a mediocre year after a good first half, and we still have him under contract for another year at $23M (our panic move after JT Realmuto abruptly and unexpectedly retired a few seasons ago). And further confirmation that Strickland, despite his heroic final week, had a pretty lousy year despite big power numbers. He's going to be trade bait this offseason as Charlton and Stack should take over 1B/DH.



What a year for the staff. Judging starting pitchers by their W/L record has been discredited for years now, and Marlette is a great example why as he actually pitched better this year at 12-8 than he did last year at 18-0, earning 5.4 WAR to 2033's 4.7. All four full-season starters were worth at least 3.4 WAR and DiCostanzo was the equivalent of that with 1.7 WAR while missing half the season. McElvain will probably be the odd man out of the playoff rotation which should go Marlette-DiCostanzo-Morales-Ferguson.



We're going to have to find a place for Berumen next year, who is probably capable of hitting .300 with 30 HR in the bigs right now, and it likely will require an Orlando Tosado trade. Gutierrez could join the rotation with McElvain a free agent this winter, and Hoppenbrouwers could figure in with Arturo Gutierrez also a free agent.

[Art Deco]

They all went the distance:



And the Yankees it is, set to face the Rays in the ALDS.



Oakland will face Texas in the other ALDS as they resume their division rivalry.



The Cubs will travel to Memphis for the NLDS.



And the Mets will face the Dodgers in the other NLDS.

[Art Deco]

That was fun...



High drama at the Trop as Joe Stack came off the bench in his first career playoff game and delivered a 2-run walk-off homer to win the ALDS opener for the Rays 4-3. For most of the night the Rays' offense was listless as New York's Zach Feist dominated them, fanning 10 and keeping them off the board into the 6th. Joe Marlette started and didn't allow a hit through the first 4, but New York got to him with an RBI double from the light-hitting Drew Romo in the 5th and eventually made it 3-0. Another rookie playing in his first postseason game started the comeback as Bobby Marin went deep with a man on in the 7th, setting the stage for Stack. Kevin DiCostanzo will go tomorrow to try and make it a 2-0 lead.


Elsewhere:

[Art Deco]

Live by the homer...



Rays pitching couldn't keep the ball in the park and the Yankees evened up the best-of-5 series at a game apiece with a 6-5 win in extras. Drew Romo, who hit .216 this year, killed the Rays again with a pair of homers including the winner in the 11th off Nathan Dettmer, who now has decisions in both games this series. The problems started early when Kevin DiCostanzo gave up 5 runs on 3 homers in the first 3 innings but the Rays fought back with a pair of big blows of their own: Bobby Marin's 3-run shot in the 2nd and a dramatic 2-run blast from Wander Franco in the 8th to tie it as all 11 runs in this game came via the longball. Danny Morales will get the ball at Yankee Stadium in two days to try to restore the series lead for the Rays.



Texas is one game away from the ALCS while the road teams took the advantage in the NL with a couple of former Rays pitchers involved. Tommy Burpee, in our bullpen the previous few years, had a rough season in Chicago's rotation (5.67 ERA, 32 HR allowed) but came through with 6 scoreless innings in Memphis while serial Cy Young winner for Tampa Bay in the late 20s/early 30s James Hays was on the wrong end of things for the Dodgers.

[Art Deco]

[Art Deco]

Back on track...



The Rays brought the lumber to New York, scoring early and often before holding on for a 7-4 win over the Yankees to go up 2-1 in the ALDS. A trio of homers had them up 7-1 (they actually even scored a run that wasn't via the homer with a Danny Arroyave RBI single) and Danny Morales was very effective for 6 innings. But hopes they could close out the game while saving the "A" pen were dashed when Frankely Guzman got hurt in the 7th and an unprepared Slade Cecconi allowed 3 runs to score to make it fairly close. And Mike Moore put 2 on in the 9th with the dangerous lefty hitter Sergio Guajardo due, so Matt Cronin was summoned and got Guajarado to ground out to end it. Chris Ferguson will now have the chance to close out the series tomorrow.

Meanwhile Oakland stays alive in the other ALDS:



Former Rays 2026 2nd round pick Josh Baggett has homered in all three games of this series.