The 2021 (and only 2021) Tampa Bay Rays

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Game 1: An electric game from newcomer Jarren Duran led the Rays to a 6-2 win over Kansas City at Kauffman Stadium. The rookie CF was 3-3, scored two runs, stole a base, and broke a 2-2 tie in the 9th with a 2-run double. Garrett Cooper then dropped a ball in RF which allowed 2 more runs to score in the inning. Earlier Wander Franco had hit a 2-run homer (#9) to put the Rays up 2-1 in the 6th before a Willy Adames error led to the tying run off Yonny Chirinos, who went 6.2 5 2 1 1 2. Diego Castillo got a big whiff with the bases loaded in relief of Yonny and picked up win #3 with a clean 8th.

Game 2: The Rays blew a pair of leads but got a 3-run homer from Randy Arozarena (#13) in the 10th to take a 7-4 win over the Royals. Tyler Glasnow started and was dominating until he ran out of gas in the 6th and gave up a 3-run Carlos Santana homer on his 102nd pitch to finish 5.1 6 3 3 0 10. This erased an early 3-0 Rays lead which came mainly from a 2-run Oscar Colas single. Austin Meadows homered in the 8th (#12) to put the Rays back on top but Rafael Dolis blew that lead in the bottom of the inning. Aaron Fletcher pitched the 9th and picked up win #4 while Ken Giles saved for 21st time.

Game 3: A pedestrian start from Ryan Yarbrough and some shaky bullpen work doomed the Rays to a 6-3 loss as they saw their modest 5-game win streak end. Yarbs was hit for 3 runs in the first 2 innings (the last one due to his own error) and then Devin Williams allowed run #4 to score in the 6th before allowing a Carlos Santana triple (!) for another in the 7th while Alex Vesia served up a Starling Marte homer in the 8th. The Rays, who had gotten their first homer from Joey Bart (his 8th overall) earlier, pulled within 4-3 on a 2-run Mike Brosseau single in the 7th but were largely held in check by KC's Asa Lacy.

Team record: 65-28. Next up: Back home for 3 vs Minnesota.

MLB News: The Yankees continued their fire sale by shipping Jameson Taillon to Minnesota (and he turned around and beat them in his Twins debut) and reliever Andrew Chafin to Arizona, acquiring prospects in both deals.

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Game 1: The opener against the Twins was the quintessential 2022 Rays game, low-scoring with the Rays winning. And one does not get any more low-scoring than 1-0 in a game which featured both teams combining for a grand total of 5 hits. Matt Peacock was excellent again, going 7 2 0 0 2 6 and making his own bid for a Cy Young at 13-2, 2.19 while Nick Anderson whiffed the side in the 8th and Ken Giles had a 1-2-3 9th for save #22. The Rays only managed 3 hits off Lance McCullers Jr. & company, but two of them were strung together in the 3rd when Austin Meadows doubled and Wander Franco singled him home.

Game 2: The Rays looked dead in this one as Brendan McKay had a rare bad start and put them in a 5-1 hole. But they steadily marched back, tied it with 2 in the 9th off Twins closer Taylor Rogers, and won it in the 14th on a Wander walk-off as Franco delivered HR #10 to cap a 4-hit day. McKay was 4.2 7 5 5 1 8 as his ERA rose to 2.59 but the bullpen was brilliant for 9 1/3, allowing only an unearned run with everyone but Devin Williams pitching. Ken Giles ended up with win #2 as he pitched the 14th. In addition to Franco, Jarren Duran had a 4-hit day, scoring twice, Austin Meadows was 3-7 with 2 doubles and Randy Arozarena drove in a pair including the equalizer in the 9th.

July 21: Activated OF Khris Davis from the 10-day IL; optioned IF Mike Brosseau to AAA Durham; sent 2B/OF Vidal Brujan to AAA Durham on a rehab assignment.

It was a bad break for Brujan that I couldn't wait until he came back to make a move in CF and Duran has been so good since the acquisition that I can't bench or demote him (hitting .421). And there's no room on the roster for both of them, unless I were to get rid of Davis but he's a rare source of RH power for us.

Game 3: It doesn't make up for Minnesota's sweep of us in last year's ALDS, but at least it makes up for the sweep in Minneapolis earlier this year as the Rays did it again, this time coming behind from an even larger deficit (7-2) to take a 9-7 win and a series sweep. With the bullpen worked over from last night we wanted length from Yonny Chirinos but 5 terrible innings was all we could get as he went 5 7 7 5 1 5, giving up a 3-run homer to Byron Buxton. But Devin Williams had his best game as a Ray with 2 scoreless innings and 4 whiffs, Alex Vesia had a 1-2-3 8th and Diego Castillo did likewise in the 9th for his 3rd save. Meanwhile it was Wander with the winning hit for the 3rd straight night as his 7th-inning homer (#11) made it 8-7 Tampa Bay, and he earlier had a 2-run double. Randy Arozarena hit a big 2-run HR (#14) as part of a 3-hit, 3-RBI day in a 5-run 5th which tied it up, and Jarren Duran can't stop hitting as he went 2-4 with 2 RBI.

Team record: 68-28. Next up: a 3-game weekend series in Texas.

MLB News: In a game the other night Christian Yelich hit 3 homers for Milwaukee as they beat the Diamondbacks and overcame a 5-hit game from.....Yandy Diaz. Despite the big night Diaz is only .255-4-24 in part-time play for Arizona, as we look to be the clear winners of the deal which sent him to the desert for Matt Peacock.

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Game 1: A forgettable affair at Globe Life Field as the Rays were blanked by Kohei Arihara and the Rangers 4-0 on 3 hits. Tyler Glasnow was OK going 7 7 4 4 0 5 but he would have had to be perfect tonight.

Game 2: A wild one which saw the Rays blow a 7-3 lead ended up an 8-7 Tampa Bay win when Willy Adames homered (#6) in the 8th and the bullpen held on. Ryan Yarbrough couldn't stand prosperity and it was partially my fault as I tried to get him through the 5th up 7-4 but he served up a gopher ball to Nick Solak to tie it. Brandon Lowe had a 4-RBI game with a 2-run single and 2-run double and Khris Davis had a 2-run double. Aaron Fletcher picked up the relief win (#5) and Ken Giles got save #23.

Game 3: Another back-and-forth game saw the Rays keep tying it and Josh Jung keep getting the lead back for the Rangers as they won 5-4 and took the series from the Rays. Khris Davis doubled in a run in the top of the 8th to get the game tied again, but after a 2-out Willy Adames error, that man Jung completed a 4-4, 4-RBI day with a run-scoring double off Diego Castillo and the Rays stranded Wander Franco at 3rd in the top of the 9th. Jung had homered off Matt Peacock in the 6th to put Texas ahead after Brandon Lowe's 2-run HR (#24) tied it in the top of the frame. Jung had earlier knocked in two with a single while Lowe drove in another run for the Rays as it was a virtual mano-a-mano affair. Peacock finished 6 5 4 4 2 2 as his ERA ticked up to 2.37.

Team record: 69-30. Next up: An off-day then the Red Sox roll into town for 3.

MLB News: Keston Hiura had a day for the ages for Milwaukee at Memphis, going 5-for-7 with 3 homers and 9 RBI including a game-winning 2-run shot in the 13th, to give the Brewers a 10-8 win over the Spirit. And to complete his big weekend Hiura launched 2 more homers two days later.

Down on the Farm: Heliot Ramos, acquired with Joey Bart in the Xavier Edwards trade, has hit 6 homers in his last 4 games for AA Montgomery. He's hitting 241/352/562 in 34 games there after having a rough stretch at Durham after the trade. One guy who hasn't had a rough stretch is his teammate Heriberto Hernandez, acquired last year from Texas in the Nate Lowe trade. HH is hitting 331/402/537 with 13 HR and 54 RBI for the season.

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Game 1: Another 1-0 game in which the Rays came out on top as Brendan McKay continued his season of brilliance by going 7 3 0 0 3 9 to improve to 11-1, 2.40. The usual bullpen blueprint of Nick Anderson in the 8th and Ken Giles in the 9th (save #24) nailed it down as they made Christian Vazquez's 7th inning homer (his 7th) stand up for the win. Former Ray Matt Andriese was impressive for Boston with 6 scoreless.

Game 2: Another shutout for Rays pitching but this time the offense was invited to the party as they clobbered the Sox 10-0. Yonny Chirinos got it done today to the tune of 7 3 0 0 1 7 as he's now 10-3, 3.38. Devin Williams (who struck out the side) and Alex Vesia combined with Yonny for the whitewash. Three Rays had monster games at the plate: Austin Meadows was 3-4 with a homer (#13), 3 RBI and 4 runs scored; Wander Franco was 3-5 with a 2-run homer (#12) in the first to get things going and a 2-run single in the 2nd; and Jarren Duran tormented his former team by going 3-4 with an RBI.

Game 3: A wild game saw the Rays score twice in the 9th to tie it and once in the 10th to walk it off as they swept Boston with a 6-5 win. Jarren Duran, who had earlier tripled and scored, hit his first MLB homer, a 2-run shot in the 9th with one out off Sox closer Eduard Bazardo to knot the score and cap a 3-hit day, and in the bottom of the 10th Joey Bart singled home Ji-Man Choi, who chugged into home from 2nd just ahead of a tag to set off a frenzy at the Trop. Tyler Glasnow started and got his whiffs but issued the walks too, and it finally caught up to him in the 5th when he gave up a 3-run Rafael Devers shot. He finished 5 6 3 3 4 9. Boston added runs off Aaron Fletcher and Diego Castillo before Nick Anderson ended up with win #3 after a scoreless 10th.

Team record: 72-30. Next up: We head to Alamo Park park to take on expansion San Antonio. The Alamos took 2 of 3 in our first trip there before we swept them at the Trop in June.

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Game 1: The Rays fell behind 3-1 in the 4th inning in this game but fought back to tie and force extra innings before scoring 3 times in the 11th to take a 6-3 win over the Alamos. Randy Arozarena's 15th HR of the year was all they had to show through 6, but Christian Vazquez, whose bat has been quiet the last couple of months, came through with a 2-run shot in the 7th (#8) to tie it up. And in the 11th Wander Franco broke the deadlock with a 2-run shot, his 13th while Willy Adames added an RBI single as the rally continued. Ryan Yarbrough started and went 7 4 3 3 1 9 and Aaron Fletcher got his 6th relief win of the year.

Game 2: Matt Peacock no-hit the Alamos for 6 2/3 and the bats came alive in a 10-3 blowout of San Antonio at Alamo Park. The righty was in the 70-pitch range and well in line for it, but after he gave up a Yairo Munoz hit, the wheels came off and he gave up 4 straight to plate 3 San Antonio runs. He left but still got the win to go to an MLB-best 14-2, 2.45. They broke open a 1-0 game (thanks to Christian Vazquez's 9th HR) with a 6-run 4th which featured a 2-run HR from Jarren Duran, his 2nd, and a 2-run Willy Adames double.

Game 3: A pair of Rays had games to remember as they blew out San Antonio once again 10-0 to sweep the series. Randy Arozarena blasted 3 homers and Brendan McKay twirled a 4-hit shutout to lead the way. Arozarena homered in the 4th and 5th off Zack Greinke and added a 3rd in the 7th as he went 4-4 with 4 RBI and now has 18 longballs on the year. McKay meanwhile was in control throughout, notching his second shutout of the season in a 9 4 0 0 2 8 performance that sees his record now at 12-1, 2.23 as he and teammate Matt Peacock vie for the Cy Young. Joey Bart (#2 with the Rays, #9 overall) homered and drove in 3 while Brandon Lowe (#24) also went deep and brought home a pair.

Team record: 75-30. Next up: 3 games in Detroit.

MLB News: The trading deadline is here, and I'm not making any more deals although I've shopped a few guys and have some ideas for the offseason. As is usual in OOTP, there weren't any real significant deals at the deadline, an area in which I'd like to see the game improve.

Award News: Randy Arozarena took home AL Player of the Week on the strength of his 4 homers in the San Antonio series, and Matt Peacock won (for the third time this year I believe) AL Rookie of the Month as he continues to put up Cy Young-worthy numbers.

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Game 1: Yonny Chirinos didn't have it today and the bullpen wasn't much help in a 9-6 loss to the Tigers at Comerica Park. Spencer Torkelson had a 3-run shot off Yonny in the first, and Chirinos wound up going 4.1 7 6 6 3 4 and dropped to 10-4, 3.69. Devin Williams coughed up a couple of runs and Colin Poche one more, which made a difference when they tried to come back late. Randy Arozarena drove in 3 early on a sac fly and a 2-run double, and Austin Meadows had a bases-clearing double in the 8th which got them within 8-6.

Game 2: Tyler Glasnow was excellent and the offense was clicking as the Rays bounced back with an 8-4 win over Detroit. The righty had his good stuff tonight, holding the Tigers to 6 4 1 1 2 11 to finally pick up a decision (he had only 2 in his first 6 starts) at 2-1, 2.61. Diego Castillo had a rough 7th, allowing 3 runs, 2 earned. Brandon Lowe was the star on offense, going 3-5 with HR #26 and 4 RBI. The homer came in the 8th with 2 men on after Detroit had closed within 5-4.

Game 3: The series concluded with more of a Rays-style game as they edged the Tigers 2-1 behind Ryan Yarbrough. The crafty lefty went 7 4 1 1 0 3, allowing only a Jake Rogers homer in the 2nd. Aaron Fletcher held the 8th and Ken Giles fanned the side in the 9th for save #25. Joey Bart's RBI grounder in the 2nd and Brandon Lowe's RBI single in the 5th accounted for the Tampa Bay scoring. Jarren Duran, so hot coming in at .429 since being acquired from Boston, finished this series 0-13.

Team record: 77-31. Next up: 3 at home vs Toronto.

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Game 1: The Rays squandered an early 4-0 lead, allowing Toronto to come back and tie the game in the 7th. And that's where it stayed for inning after inning after inning until Cavan Biggio hit a 2-run homer off Alex Vesia in the top of the 18th(!). But the team that so often refuses to lose refused again tonight, rallying for 3 runs in the bottom of the frame on a Randy Arozarena RBI single and a 2-run hit from Manuel Margot to take an absurd 7-6 win over Toronto. When all was said and done Wander Franco had a 5-hit night (in 9 AB), Austin Meadows had 4 hits in 8 AB, and after starter Matt Peacock went 6 6 3 3 3 7 and Rafael Dolis allowed the tying run in the 7th the bullpen went 10 scoreless (including 4 from Aaron Fletcher) before Vesia blinked. He still netted his first Rays win.

August 5: Optioned P Alex Vesia to AAA Durham, recalled P Andrew Kittredge from AAA Durham.

It wasn't punishment for Vesia giving up the homer last night, it was because we desperately needed a fresh arm in the pen.

Game 2: The Rays came out flat after last night's marathon with Brendan McKay getting tagged for 5 runs in the first 3 innings to put them in a 5-0 hole. But with this team it doesn't matter and of course they came back. After Brandon Lowe hit a solo homer to get them on the board in the 4th, they tied it up in the 6th on a 2-run Wander Franco triple and Lowe's 2nd homer of the night (#28) with a man on. And in the 7th after Willy Adames led off with a double, Franco brought him home with a sac fly and the Rays took a 6-5 win. McKay settled in to finish 6 5 5 4 2 7 and the fresh arm of Andrew Kittredge went 1 2/3 for the win with Diego Castillo notching his 4th save.

Game 3: They fell behind early again tonight but of course it didn't matter as they won 4-2 behind Yonny Chirinos and damaged Toronto's wild card chances with the sweep. The veteran righty seemed to constantly be in jams but limited the damage and finished 6.1 8 2 2 1 7 to improve to 11-4, 3.64. Nick Anderson nabbed save #9 as the Rays rode a 3-run 4th aided by a Bo Bichette error to take the lead for good. Jarren Duran's RBI single snapped a 2-2 tie while Brandon Lowe had another fine night, going 3-4 with 2 runs scored.

Team record: 80-31. Next up: An off-day then 3 games in Oakland.

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Game 1: The Rays took a tight one from Oakland behind Tyler Glasnow and Wander Franco by a 4-3 margin. Glasnow was dominating at times, going 6 5 3 2 3 11 while the Diego Castillo-Nick Anderson-Ken Giles troika did its thing in relief. Glas is now 3-1, 2.66 while Giles gets save #26. Franco had a 2-run homer (#14) in the 3rd while Ji-Man Choi and Randy Arozarena contributed RBI singles.

Game 2: A key error doomed the Rays in a 4-2 loss at whatever they're calling the stadium in Oakland these days. Up 2-1 in the 6th with 2 out, Rafael Dolis took over for Ryan Yarbrough with two men on and he induced a grounder that Willy Adames booted, allowing the tying run to score and then a 2-run single for the A's ensued. Yarbs took a tough loss after going 5.2 6 3 1 2 6 and is 6-8, 3.83. A Khris Davis RBI single and a Ji-Man Choi sac fly accounted for the Tampa Bay runs.

Game 3: The Rays haven't played a stinker in what seems like forever, but this one was a turd they couldn't polish as Oakland routed them 14-1 to take the series. A toxic mix of walks and gopher balls led to slams from Ramon Laureano and Mark Canha with Matt Peacock turning in his worst start of the year to the tune of 3.1 6 8 7 5 4, and Devin Williams poured gasoline on the fire by walking 4 in his 1 2/3 innings and giving up 6 runs. Peacock's ERA rose from 2.54 to 2.93 in the process and he fell to 14-3. Joey Bart, back in the SF Bay Area, homered for the lone Rays run in the 7th to avoid a blanking. It was his 3rd as a Ray and 10th overall.

Team record: 81-33. Next up: 3 games at home vs Cleveland.

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Game 1: It was an epic pitchers' duel between Cleveland's Shane Bieber and Tampa Bay's Brendan McKay but Randy Arozarena crashed the party with a pair of solo homers to give the Rays a 2-1 win. After Cleveland got to McKay for a run in the 4th, Arozarena answered in the bottom of the inning and then went deep to give the Rays the lead in the 7th, his 20th of the year. McKay went 7 4 1 1 3 7 and is now an astounding 13-1, 2.37. Ken Giles got save #27 with a perfect 2K 9th while Bieber struck out 10 in an 8-inning complete game to take the hard luck loss.

Game 2: Yonny Chirinos was handed a 4-0 lead when the Rays batted around in the 1st but squandered it by giving up a pair of homers to Franmil Reyes, including a grand slam, and Cleveland took a 7-5 win over Tampa Bay. Reyes' pair of round-trippers offset a pair from Ji-Man Choi, including a 3-run blast in that 1st inning as he now has 10 on the year. Chirinos finished a brutal 4 7 6 6 3 3 and dropped to 11-5, 3.93 as he's allowed 5 or more earned runs in 3 of his last 5 starts.

August 13: Optioned P Andrew Kittredge to AAA Durham, recalled P Alex Vesia from AAA Durham.

Game 3: For the second straight night the Rays lost an early lead but this time they rallied to score 7 times in the 7th and 8th to take an 11-4 win and take the series. Tampa Bay got homers in the 2nd, 3rd and 4th from Willy Adames (#7), Jarren Duran (#3) and Joey Bart (#4/#11) to go up 4-1 behind Tyler Glasnow. But Glasnow ran up a huge pitch count once again and had to leave after the 5th, going 5 4 1 1 5 9. Aaron Fletcher coughed up a run in the 6th and then Diego Castillo gave up a 2-run Jordan Luplow homer in the 7th allowing Cleveland to tie. But Austin Meadows came to the rescue with a 2-run triple in the 7th to put the Rays back on top, and he added an RBI single in the 8th when they really broke it open with 5 runs. Ji-Man Choi drove in 3 over those two innings with a sac fly and 2-run single and Bart had a 2-run single to go with his earlier solo homer. Castillo vultured win #4 while blowing save #3.

Team record: 83-34. Next up: Off to Seattle for 3 games.

MLB Note: The Dodgers swept the Braves today to take their 15th straight victory and are now 79-38, 4 games behind the Rays for best record in MLB.

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Game 1: Yusei Kukuchi shut the Rays out over 6 innings and left with a 2-0 lead but the Tampa Bay offense feasted on the Seattle bullpen with a 5-run 7th and held on for a 6-4 win at T-Mobile Park. Wander Franco accelerated the rally with a 2-run triple, Austin Meadows singled him home and Randy Arozarena hit a 2-run shot (#21) to make it 5-2 Rays. Ryan Yarbrough went from hard-luck loser to winner after going 6 6 2 2 1 7 and improving to 7-8, 3.80. Devin Williams gave up a 2-run HR to Trevor Larnach to get Seattle within 5-4 but Austin Meadows hit #14 in the top of the 9th to provide a cushion, and Ken Giles struck out the side in the 9th for save #28.

Game 2: Khris Davis hasn't quite provided the big power bat we were hoping for with only 3 HR in about 100 AB, but he came through tonight with an 11th-inning blast to give the Rays a 3-2 win as they roll on. The Rays took an early 2-0 lead but Matt Peacock gave one back before leaving after a 5.1 6 1 1 1 3 outing, and Nick Anderson gave up a Jarred Kelenic homer in the 8th to tie it, a tie which Davis went on to break. Alex Vesia got his 2nd win with 2 scoreless innings of relief and Ken Giles notched save #29.

Game 3: Brendan McKay was brilliant once more and the offense scored 4 times in the first two innings to sweep the series after taking a 4-1 win. McKay turned in an impressive 8 3 1 1 1 9 line with the only damage a 6th-inning JP Crawford homer as his astounding season continues at 14-1, 2.28. With Ken Giles and Nick Anderson unavailable, Devin Williams got the call and overcame his struggles since joining the team with a 1-2-3 2K 9th for his first save. Brandon Lowe's 2-run homer (#29) in the first was the biggest hit of the game while Jarren Duran added an RBI double in the 2nd. Duran was on base three times total and swiped a pair of bags.

NOTE: Computer decided to restart overnight and I hadn't yet saved this day. So I replayed Game 3 and guess what? The Rays won it 4-1 behind McKay and Devin Williams got the save. Not going to re-recap it though.

Team record: 86-34. The magic # is down to 18. Next up: Back home for 3 vs the Angels.

MLB News: The Dodgers extended their winning streak to 18 by sweeping the Cubs.

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Game 1: Some serious competition rolled into town as the AL West-leading Angels sport a 73-47 record, but that didn't faze the Rays tonight as they walloped LA 8-1. Randy Arozarena had a 2-run double in the first as part of a 3-3, 3-RBI day, and then Khris Davis continued to show signs of heating up by drilling a 3-run homer in the 3rd (#5) off Patrick Sandoval to give the Rays a healthy lead they wouldn't relinquish. Yonny Chirinos was excellent, going 7.2 7 1 1 0 6 to improve to 12-5, 3.79.

Game 2: Tyler Glasnow took a no-hitter into the 8th inning and 5 early runs propelled the Rays to a 6-2 win over the Angels. Glasnow was unusually pitch-efficient today, walking 2 and whiffing 10 through the first 7 without allowing a hit before Justin Upton led off the 8th with a seeing-eye single just past Willy Adames. A couple of more hits led to a pair of LA runs and Glasnow finished 7.2 3 2 2 2 11 and is now 5-1, 2.55 since coming back at mid-season. Brandon Lowe, Austin Meadows and Adames each drove in a pair of runs to account for the Tampa Bay scoring.

Game 3: It was a long day at Tropicana Field for the Rays and their fans as not only were they crushed by the Angels 8-0 but they lost starter Ryan Yarbrough, who had to leave after 3 with a barking elbow. It turns out he has a sprained UCL and will be out a month. Look for Joe Ryan to take his rotation spot. Yarbs allowed 1 run in his 3 innings, and each of the four relievers after that allowed at least 1 run with Diego Castillo giving up a Justin Upton grand slam for the final indignity. They also couldn't get the light-hitting Austin Hedges out today; he was 4-4 with 2 HR and 3 RBI. With Brandon Lowe, Randy Arozarena and Ji-Man Choi all having to rest today, the bats were no match for James Paxton, who shut them out over 7 1/3.

Team record: 88-35. Next up: A much-needed off-day after the bullpen had to throw 6 innings, followed by 3 games in Yankee Stadium.

MLB News: The Dodgers keep winning, sweeping Pittsburgh to extend their winning streak to 21 games. They're now tied for the third-longest winning streak in MLB history, and are one behind 2017 Cleveland at #2. The NL and MLB record is 26 by the 1916 Giants. (In my other Rays save, the 2022 Rays won 25 straight, but that of course doesn't count here)

August 19: Placed P Ryan Yarbrough on the 10-day IL with a sprained UCL, recalled P Andrew Kittredge from AAA Durham.

As mentioned, Joe Ryan will take Yarbrough's spot in the rotation but with an off-day coming up he won't be needed for several days so Kittredge comes up to give the pen a fresh arm.

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Game 1: Matt Peacock and the Rays bullpen conspired to blow a 7-0 lead and allow the Yankees to tie it up, but Jarren Duran's RBI single in the 8th got them off the hook as the Rays took an 8-7 win at Yankee Stadium. They had jumped out to that big lead by the 3rd inning on a 3-run Brandon Lowe homer (#29), a Randy Arozarena 2-run shot (#23) and a Khris Davis solo blast (#6) and with Peacock on the mound it look like a done deal. But the Yankees started chipping away and with it 7-3 going into the 7th Peacock allowed the leadoff man to reach and then Rafael Dolis imploded, allowing Peacock's man to score and loading the bases. Aaron Fletcher came in and pinch-hitter Miguel Andujar cleared the bases off him with a double to tie it before the Rays took back the lead in the 8th thanks to Duran, who had a 3-hit night. Fletcher vultured win #7 while Ken Giles had a 1-2-3 9th for save #30.

Game 2: The Rays blew another lead tonight, but unlike last night they didn't recover from it and lost 4-3. It was scoreless until the Rays struck for 3 in the 5th including Willy Adames' 8th HR, but the Yankees answered right back against Brendan McKay with 3 in the bottom of the frame. McKay ended up 6 6 3 3 2 11 and Nick Anderson, who had cut his HR rate in half this year, saw his old bugaboo return when Aaron Hicks took him deep in the 8th and the Yankees held on from there.

Game 3: Yonny Chirinos and Jordan Montgomery hooked up in quite the duel until the Rays broke through in the 6th, and this time they built up a 4-0 which they didn't lose as that was the final score. Chirinos was excellent going 7 6 0 0 2 3 while Devin Williams and Diego Castillo took care of the 8th and 9th. Chirinos is now 13-5, 3.61. Wander Franco's RBI single broke the ice in the 6th, and they added two more in the 7th on a Willy Adames RBI single and Ji-Man Choi's sac fly.

Team record: 90-36, magic number 14. Next up: 3 games in Chicago against the White Sox.

MLB News: The Dodgers' 21-game win streak came to an abrupt end when they ran into Jacob deGrom and the Mets, with the New York ace going 8 shutout innings in a 3-0 Mets win. New York went on to sweep their series. Also the Astros go a combined no-hitter from Francis Martes, Sean Doolittle and recently acquired closer and former Ray Jake McGee against the Angels at Anaheim Stadium. Martes went the first 5 1/3, whiffing 8 but on 99 pitches hence the early exit.

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Game 1: Christian Vazquez had one of his biggest games as a Ray and Tyler Glasnow went 6 strong innings to lead Tampa Bay to a 7-2 win over the White Sox in Chicago. Vazquez drove in 4, including a 3-run homer (#10) in a 5-run 6th which put the Rays ahead to stay. Willy Adames had a 2-run blast later in the inning, his 9th, while Austin Meadows hit #15 earlier. This was plenty of run support for Glasnow, who went to 5-1, 2.59 off a 6 5 2 2 4 5 outing.

August 25: Optioned P Andrew Kittredge to AAA Durham, recalled P Joe Ryan from AAA Durham.

Game 2: Joe Ryan returned to the rotation to take the place of the injured Ryan Yarbrough, and went pitch-for-pitch with White Sox ace Lucas Giolito until things went wrong in the 6th and beyond as the White Sox ended up with a 7-1 win. Ryan shut out Chicago through 5 and had a 1-0 lead on Randy Arozarena's RBI triple but his bugaboo the gopher ball came back to bite him when he allowed a couple of solo shots to put Chicago up 2-1. And he put two on to start the 7th before Alex Vesia and Rafael Dolis made a huge mess with the latter giving up a 3-run Blake Rutherford homer to blow it open. Ryan finished 6 6 4 4 1 6 but probably deserved better from his pen and his bats.

Game 3: Pitching let the Rays down again as Matt Peacock and the bullpen couldn't hold a 5-3 lead in the 6th and they lost their second straight to Chicago 8-5. Wander Franco hit #15 and drove in a pair while Joey Bart was 2-4 with an RBI to give them the middle-inning lead but Peacock, who had settled down after a rough beginning, lost it again in the 6th allowing Chicago to tie, as he finished 5.1 8 5 5 0 5. Devin Williams then gave up the go-ahead homer to Max Kepler and Diego Castillo gave up solo shots to Kepler and Yoan Moncada (his 2nd of the game as well) in the 8th. Peacock seems to have hit the wall in August, as he's allowed 17 runs in his last 20 IP over 4 starts and has seen his ERA rise from 2.54 to 3.19.

Team record: 91-38. Next up: home for 3 vs Houston.

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Game 1: Just a brutal day all around for the Rays. They were bombed by the Astros 17-5, but the real bad news was that Brendan McKay partially tore his labrum and is done for the year. He should be ready for 2023 but it's a huge blow to lose the team's best pitcher this season and to add insult to injury he'll finish 5 1/3 innings short of qualifying for the ERA title as he ends the year at 2.59. Something seemed amiss when he gave up 3 solo homers in the first two innings and a parade of relievers fared no better as the game went on. It got to the point where Taylor Walls came in to pitch the 9th but he was hit so hard (6 runs in 2/3 innings) that I went back to Aaron Fletcher to get the final out. In a losing cause Brandon Lowe hit a 2-run HR (#30), Wander Franco drove in a pair with two doubles and Jarren Duran homered (#4).

August 28: Placed P Brendan McKay on the 60-day IL with a partially torn labrum and optioned P Colin Poche to AAA Durham, recalled Ps Luis Patino and Josh Fleming from AAA Durham.

Patino will go into McKay's spot. He was dreadful in April and was a bit of a mixed bag at Durham, 5-6, 4.23 in 17 starts with 122 whiffs (but 39 walks) in 95.2 innings. Fleming will give us a much-need long reliever as all of our bullpen guys are 35-40 stamina-rated so it's a lot to ask any of them to pitch more than 2.

Game 2: After yesterday's black cloud it was nice to bounce back with a win, and it was especially nice the way it happened as the Rays won 2-1. Luis Patino got the start and was quite good, even if he did walk some guys. He finished 5.1 2 1 1 4 4 against a tough lineup, although he got a no-decision. Aaron Fletcher came in after Patino left with two on, and struck out Michael Brantley and Zack Collins to end the threat and when Manuel Margot doubled and Randy Arozarena singled him home, Fletcher nabbed his 8th win. The triumvirate of Diego Castillo, Nick Anderson and Ken Giles each had a hitless inning to complete the combined 2-hitter, with Giles picking up save #31. Arozarena also brought home the first run in the 4th after Jarren Duran had tripled.

August 29: Optioned 1B/OF Oscar Colas to AAA Durham, recalled 2B/OF Vidal Brujan from AAA Durham.

I've had it with Colas, who hasn't had a multi-hit game or a homer since July 4 and was down to 217/298/338. Brujan meanwhile has done nothing but hit since going back to Durham after getting hurt, hitting 409/465/539 in 115 AB. Not sure how much he's going to play, but he'll be useful.

Game 3: The Rays twice answered Houston scores to tie it up and then won it in the bottom of the 9th 4-3 to take the series from the Astros. After Houston got 2 in the top of the 5th, the Rays shot right back with a 2-run Randy Arozarena single, and after the 'Stros went back ahead in the 6th 3-2, Joey Bart homered (#5/#12) to equalize again. And in the bottom of the 9th, Ji-Man Choi led off with a double and with two out Brandon Lowe singled in pinch-runner Vidal Brujan with the walk-off winner. Yonny Chirinos got the nod today and retired the first 9 Astros before leaving in the 6th with a man on, and Josh Fleming allowed that runner to score so he finished 5.2 5 3 3 2 4. The Castillo/Anderson/Giles combo came through again with Giles getting his 3rd win. Nick Anderson by the way is having an incredible season. He has an 11/95 BB/K ratio in 54.1 IP with a 1.66 ERA and has cut his HR/9 in more than half from 2.1 to a respectable 1.0.

Team record: 93-39, magic number is 10. Next up: 3 games in Baltimore to close out the month and begin September.

[Art Deco]

Game 1: Tyler Glasnow turned in his most dominant performance of the season and the Rays broke open a close game late in a 7-1 win at Baltimore. Glasnow, who's going to need to step up with Brendan McKay lost for the season, struck out 8 of the first 9 Orioles he faced on his way to a 7 2 1 1 3 12 performance with Adley Rutschman's homer the only damage. Glasnow is now 6-1, 2.47. Vidal Brujan got his first start since being called back up and he responded with a double and a triple and two RBI, scoring twice while Wander Franco and Manuel Margot had RBI hits to make it 2-1. They broke it open with 5 in the 8th on a 2-run single from Willy Adames and Brujan's 2-run double. Josh Fleming went the final 2 innings scoreless.

Game 2: Joe Ryan pitched his best game as a big leaguer and the Rays scratched out enough offense to take a 2-1 win at Camden Yards. Ryan went 8 4 1 1 1 6 on an efficient 98 pitches to improve to 6-4, 3.63 and keep himself in contention for a potential postseason start with the McKay injury. With lefties due in the 9th and the big 3 fatigued, Aaron Fletcher notched his first save of the season. Both runs came in the 4th when Brandon Lowe singled in Austin Meadows and then Christian Vazquez singled in Lowe.

Well-deserved:



September 1: Recalled 1B/OF Oscar Colas and P Colin Poche from AAA Durham.

Bringing back a couple of guys just recently demoted for September roster expansion. I was planning on calling up Mike Brosseau for his versatility and right-handed bat but he broke his thumb the other day so he's out 5-6 weeks.

Game 3: Never the count the Rays out. Shut out on 3 hits through 8 innings and trailing 3-0, the Rays scored 6 times on 7 hits in the 9th off Baltimore closer Hunter Harvey and another reliever and took a 6-3 win to sweep the series and make it 5 straight. Matt Peacock had one bad inning, the 4th, when Javier Baez hit a 2-run homer off him and he allowed 3 runs but looked like he was headed to a complete-game loss after going 8 3 3 3 4 7. But thanks to the rally he's now 15-4, and Ken Giles had a shaky 32nd save loading the bases with 3 hits but kept the Orioles from scoring. Willy Adames' RBI single got them on the board and although Vidal Brujan brought home another run with a groundout, it was the second out. But Jarren Duran came through with a 2-run single to put the Rays ahead, and Brandon Lowe added one of his own to make it 6-3. Duran capped a 3-hit night with his big knock and has been nothing short of sensational since his acquisition, hitting 326/374/496 with 4 HR and 17 RBI in 35 games.

Team record: 96-39, magic number 6. Next up: An off-day then Kansas City visits for 3 games.

[Art Deco]

Some big news on our off-day, a Tyler Glasnow extension:



Considering Glasnow's health history it's a bit of a risk, but not an unmanageable one, especially with the team option for 2026. When he's on, like he has been this year, he's one of the league's best starters.

Game 1: The Rays jumped on Brad Keller for 7 runs in the first inning on their way to a 9-5 win over Kansas City. Brandon Lowe's 2-run single, a Randy Arozarena RBI double and Ji-Man Choi's 11th HR of the year, a 2-run shot were the big hits early. Austin Meadows added a 2-run shot (#16) in the 4th. Luis Patino started and won, going an OK 6 7 4 3 3 4 and Alex Vesia got out of a jam in the 8th and pitched the 9th for his 1st save.

Game 2: Yonny Chirinos held down the Royals for 8 innings and the Rays won yet again, 4-2 over Kansas City. Chirinos went 8 5 2 2 0 3 on only 85 pitches and with a bigger lead would have gotten a shot at a CG, but Ken Giles made quick work of KC in the 9th for save #33. Yonny is now 14-5, 3.59. Willy Adames' 2-run triple in the 2nd off Asa Lacy was the big hit of the night.

Game 3: Tyler Glasnow celebrated his new contract extension by utterly dominating the Royals tonight as the Rays took their 8th straight win 4-0. The lanky righty turned in a 7 5 0 0 1 10 performance to improve to 7-1, 2.25 with 113 whiffs in 80 innings. It was scoreless until the 6th when the Rays scored all 4 runs on a Wander Franco RBI triple, a Randy Arozarena RBI single and then Khris Davis's 7th HR of the year to score Arozarena.

Team record: 99-39, the magic number to clinch the division is 2. Next up: 3 games in Minnesota, a venue quite unkind to us over the last couple of years.

[Art Deco]

Game 1: Joe Ryan and Lance McCullers Jr. hooked up in a pitchers' duel which was scoreless through 6 before Ryan blinked and gave up a couple of homers to fall behind 2-0, and then the bullpen exploded in the 8th and what was a close game finished a 7-0 Twins rout. Ryan probably should have come out after the 6th, however his pitch count wasn't bad. But Alex Kirilloff and Miguel Sano took him deep and his day was done at 6 6 2 2 1 9 as Ryan fell to 6-5, 3.58. After a perfect inning from Devin Williams, the slumping Rafael Dolis and Colin Poche combined to give up 5 more in the 8th. Meanwhile the bats only managed 5 hits with Wander Franco getting 2 of them.

Game 2: Target Field remains the Rays' personal house of horrors as they lost their 5th game in 5 tries here this year on top of losing Game 3 of last year's ALDS in this park. Matt Peacock is fading fast, and today he was 5 5 4 4 5 5 in a 5-1 loss and is now 15-4, 3.32. Rafael Dolis had yet another bad outing allowing a run before Josh Fleming went the final 2 2/3 to keep the score in hand. Another weak night for the bats as Jameson Tallion held them in check with Jarren Duran's sac fly giving them their only run in two nights.

Game 3: The Rays couldn't have been too upset to hear tonight's game was postponed due to rain, although it means they still need to come back here in a week's time to make it up.

Team record: 99-41. Next up: Back home for 3 vs Texas.

[Art Deco]

Game 1: With Toronto losing, the Rays clinched their third straight AL East title with a 5-3 win over Texas, the team's 100th of the season. Wander Franco's bases-clearing double in the 3rd put them ahead to stay, and Willy Adames added a 2-run homer (#10) in the 7th. Luis Patino started and was very good, going 5.1 5 1 0 0 5 (no walks!) and improved to 4-2, 5.84. Ken Giles picked up save #34 despite allowing a run in the 9th.

Game 2: Yonny Chirinos turned in one of his best performances of the season as the Rays took care of Texas 5-1 at Tropicana Field. Chirinos gave up an unearned run in the first and never looked back, finishing 7 3 1 0 3 9 to go to 15-5, 3.44 while a pair of homers were the big hits for Rays with Christian Vazquez's solo shot (#11) and a 2-run jack from Brandon Lowe (#31).

Game 3: The Rays completed the sweep of Texas with a 5-2 win behind yet another dominant outing from Tyler Glasnow. He reached double digits in whiffs for his third straight start, going 6 3 1 0 1 10 and is now 8-1, 2.09 and this kind of performance would be welcome in the playoffs. Ji-Man Choi and Taylor Walls had back-to-back RBI doubles in the 3rd while Christian Vazquez homered for the 2nd straight day (#12) and Austin Meadows added a 2-run blast (#17) in what has been a bit of a down year for him.

Team record: 102-41. Next up: 3 games at Fenway against the Red Sox.

From the league office:

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Game 1: For four years since he was drafted by Boston in 2018, Jarren Duran dreamed of hitting in Fenway Park. He finally got his chance today as a Ray, and led off the game with a homer (#5) as the Rays sent Boston to their 9th straight defeat 5-2. It was a 1-1 game after 7 as Joe Ryan pitched very well (6 7 1 1 0 7) before the Rays scored 3 in the 8th. Duran led off with a single, came around to score on a Brandon Lowe sac fly, and then Austin Meadows hit a 2-run shot (#18). Christian Vazquez singled in a run for insurance in the 9th. Diego Castillo got win #5 and Ken Giles save #35.

Game 2: The Rays took an early 2-0 lead but couldn't hold it as Boston came back and snapped their 9-game losing streak with a 5-2 win over Tampa Bay. Brandon Lowe hit #32 in the first and Joey Bart had a a sac fly, but Matt Peacock couldn't hold the lead, giving up 3 runs in 5 2/3 and falling to 15-5, 3.26. Josh Fleming coughed a couple of more runs in the 8th to put it out of reach.

Game 3: Tampa Bay again blew an early lead, this time 3-0 in the 2nd, and fell for the second straight night 7-5 to Boston. Wander Franco drove in two of those early runs and knocked in a 3rd in the 9th after Jarren Duran tripled in a run but in between the Red Sox got to Luis Patino for 5 runs, although only 2 were earned thanks to a Willy Adames error. Patino at least went another start without walking anyone, finishing 5 5 5 2 0 6. Rafael Dolis continued his horrible stretch by giving up 2 more runs, he's now allowed at least one run in his last 8 appearances with 15 runs allowed in 6 1/3 innings and his ERA has doubled from 2.10 to 4.21 as a result. He's unusable right now.

Team record: 103-43. Next up: A makeup game in our favorite place to visit, Minnesota.

[Art Deco]

The Rays won in Minnesota! And not only did they win, they did so emphatically 11-1 thanks to a career day from Joey Bart. The Rays' catching future is in good hands as the 25-year-old drove in a career-high 7 runs with a 2-run shot in the 2nd to get them going, a sac fly in the 8th and then a grand slam in the 9th to cap the scoring. The pair of dingers gave him 7 as a Ray and 14 on the season and his Tampa Bay totals are now 308/364/577 in 104 AB with 7 HR and 23 RBI. Willy Adames was 3-4 and scored twice while Jarren Duran was 2-4 with an RBI double. Yonny Chirinos was outstanding again going 6 4 1 1 2 3 to improve to 16-5, 3.38 and the win ties him with Shohei Ohtani for the MLB lead. In fact things went so well for the Rays today that Rafael Dolis even pitched a scoreless 9th.

Team record: 104-43. Next up: Back to the Trop for 3 against the expansion San Antonio Alamos.