The 2020 (and beyond) Tampa Bay Rays

[Art Deco]

Game 1: An uncharacteristically bad game for the bullpen cost the Rays a win in a 5-4 loss to the Yankees in the home opener at Yankee Stadium. They had a 4-2 lead going into the bottom of the 8th before Ken Burgess put men on 2nd and 3rd with one out, and Kikuo Kawase was summoned early only to give up a 2-run double and then an RBI single in a shocking development. In some ways it was reminiscent of the Game 4 loss in the ALDS at Toronto last year with Kawase struggling with being called in early. Before all that they built the lead on Danny Ayala's 1st HR, a 2-run shot in the 1st, and a pair of solo blasts from Andy Ruggles, who already has 4 on the young season. Steve Abeles started and was OK, going 5.1 6 2 2 2 2.

Game 2: The bullpen lost the lead again but the offense picked the Rays up in an 8-3 win over the Yankees. Today it was a 3-2 lead in the 7th built on a 2-run Josh Alexander HR in the 1st (#3) and a Josh Beckett RBI single (the first of his 3 hits) which they lost. Ken Neil put two on with one out and Ed Pretty gave up an RBI double. Pretty got out of it and pitched through the 8th, vulturing his first MLB win when Andy Ruggles homered yet again in the 8th to make it 4-3 and then they tacked on 4 in the 9th on a 3-run shot from Danny Ayala (#2) and still another homer from Ruggles, his 4th in the two games in New York and his 6th in 6 overall. Danny Romero missed out on the win with another fine outing (6 3 2 2 1 7).

Team record: 4-2. Next up: We head up I-95 to Boston to play their home opener as part of 3 games in 4 days.

[Art Deco]

Game 1: An inability to get runners home doomed the Rays in a 4-2 loss to Boston at the Fenway Park season opener. Tampa Bay left 11 on base and was only able to score via the homer when Jeff Baez and Jaiden Hardaway went back-to-back in the 7th. Jordan Perez pitched OK, going 6 4 4 2 2 6 with a Hardaway error proving costly.

Game 2: The Rays suffered more LOB frustrations today (another 11) but overcame them with one clutch hit and some quality pitching to beat Boston by the same 4-2 score they lost by last time out. Daniel Malone's 2-out RBI single in the 8th broke a 2-2 tie and they tacked on an insurance run in the 9th on a wild pitch. Andy Ruggles continued his hot start by going 3-5 with 2 runs scored and a double. Tim Gates got the start and was decent at 5.1 8 2 2 1 4 but Ed Pretty was the mound hero getting Gates out of the 6th, pitching a scoreless 7th and earning his 2nd win. Kikuo Kawase notched save #3.

Game 3: In perhaps the wildest game they'll play all season the Rays came back from 8-0 down to go ahead 9-8, fall behind 11-9 and then win 12-11 thanks to a 3-run homer in the 7th from Jose Mendez (#1). It all started badly when Ron Adams turned in his second disastrous start in as many outings, giving up 8 runs in the 2nd (although only 3 were earned after a Pat Moyer dropped fly ball, the 3-run homer right after that with 2 out was on Adams). But the Rays put up their own 8-spot (how often does each team have an 8-run inning in the same game?) in the 5th to incredibly take the lead, an inning which saw Josh Alexander (who had a 4-hit day) double twice and drive in 3 of the runs. Andy Ruggles chipped in a 2-run single as part of the inning but Jon Harbour and Chris Toombs gave it back, allowing Boston to score thrice over the next two innings. Fortunately though a pair of walks ahead of Mendez in the 7th paved the way for his over-the-Monster blast and Vinny Willard (who got win #2), Ken Burgess and Kikuo Kawase (save #4) got them through the final 3 innings for the unlikely win.

Team record: 6-3. Next up: we head west to Chicago to take on the White Sox for 3. The Pale Hose started the year 8-0 before losing today so they'll be a tough opponent.

[Art Deco]

That should be 2040 above, not 2024 - that's what happens when you have two saves going at once.

Game 1: The ball was flying out of Guaranteed Rate Field, mostly on the Rays side, as they hit 7 homers in a 9-7 win over the White Sox. Daniel Malone was 4-4 with his first two dingers of the year, both solo shots, Danny Ayala hit a pair to double his season total and drove in three, and they added solo blasts from Danny Ruggles (of course, #7), Josh Alexander (#4) and Mike McKee (#1). They needed all those homers because they got a terrible start from Steve Abeles (5 10 6 6 3 1) who hasn't looked good in either of his outings. Abeles still picked up the win and Ken Burgess, the fourth Rays reliever, picked up his 1st save of the year.

Game 2: The Rays should have been shut out in this game but somehow they managed to take a 5-4 win in 11 innings. Down 3-0 with a man on and two out in the 9th, White Sox closer Devin McGhie induced Pat Moyer to hit a grounder back at him but 1B Joel Taylor dropped McGhie's toss. Mike McKee immediately took advantage with a 3-run homer (#2) and Jim Gebers won it in the 11th with a two-run shot, his 1st of the year. Danny Romero made it three good starts in as many outings after going 6.2 6 3 2 2 3 but Chicago's Sean D'Alena handcuffed the Rays to the tune of 7 4 0 0 0 9. Ken Neil got his first win despite allowing a homer in the bottom of the 11th and Ed Pretty picked up his first MLB save by striking out the final batter of the game.

Game 3: Tampa Bay got into its third slugfest in four games and ended up winning them all after downing the White Sox 11-8. They blasted 6 more homers today to give them 15 in the 3-game series. Jordan Perez had a nightmare 1st inning, putting the Rays in a 4-0 hole after throwing 46 pitches, but the Rays snapped back with 4 in the 3rd on homers from Kevin Morley (#1), Jimmy Leonard (#4, with a man on) and Danny Ayala (#5). Pat Moyer's 1st re-tied it in the 5th, Josh Alexander had a 2-run blast (#5) later, and Andy Ruggles added his obligatory longball, his 8th in the season's first 12 games. Perez hung around to go 4 7 5 5 3 4 and Jon Harbour got the win despite allowing 3 runs on 6 hits in 2 1/3 innings. With all of the high-scoring games of late the bullpen was depleted which meant Joe Trader ended up with his first save of the year, getting Vinny Willard out of the 9th after Willard put two men on to start the inning.

Team record: 9-3. Next up: A much-needed off-day to rest the pen as we return home to take on the Phillies for 3.

[Art Deco]

Game 1: The Rays got a solid outing from a starter for a change and took an 8-4 win over Philly at Publix Park. Tim Gates went 6 7 2 1 1 6 for his first win of the year and a 6-run 5th broke a 1-1 tie. Mike McKee's RBI single, his 2nd of the day, broke the tie and Josh Alexander and Jim Gebers knocked in a pair with a single and double respectively.

Game 2: Ron Adams is broken, and I don't know what to do about it. The righty turned in his third disastrous start in three appearances, and although the Rays overcame the 7-0 2nd-inning hole he put them in by the third inning, the bullpen wasn't much help and for a change they lost a slugfest 12-10. As I tried not to overtax an already overtaxed bullpen, Adams stayed in and pitched an excellent 3rd and 4th, so there's that, but Vinny Willard was awful in relief allowing 4 runs and though the bats did their thing it wasn't enough. Daniel Malone had an epic day, doubling, tripling twice and driving in 5 runs, and Andy Ruggles drove in a pair with a single and yup you guessed it - another homer, #9. Adams now has a season line (trigger warning) of 8.1 20 17 17 6 9 with 6 homers allowed. Not sure I've ever had a pitcher go that bad over 3 starts.

Game 3: While Ron Adams has been horrendous, Steve Abeles hasn't been much better as the 5th starter and despite 5 more homers from the offense the Rays dropped 2 of 3 to the Phillies with a 9-6 loss. Abeles went 4.1 4 6 6 3 3 in an outing that saw him give up a 2-run homer in the first, settle down nicely for the next 3, and then unable to get anyone out in the 5th. It didn't help that Jon Harbour stunk again in long relief, allowing Abeles' runners to score and 3 of his own over 2 2/3. But we did hit a bunch of homers: Kevin Morley (#2), Danny Ayala (#6), Daniel Malone (#3), Josh Alexander (#6) and do I really need to say it, Andy Ruggles with #10. We've now hit 38 homers in 15 games, which translates to 410 over a full season, including 108 from Andy Ruggles. Also our starters have a collective ERA of 5.81. What a weird start to the year.

Team record: 10-5. Next up: 3 games at home vs Texas, which had their 14-game win streak snapped today as they dropped to 15-2.

MLB News: Congratulations to Vlad Guerrero Jr. as he became the third man in MLB history to reach the 4000 hit mark after Pete Rose and Ty Cobb. Vladito is now 41 but is still a dangerous hitter, rated 75 for contact, so the record of 4256 is within his reach next season should he stay healthy. He's also a far better person than the two men he's chasing.

[Art Deco]

Game 1: The Rays had it all set up, a nice 4-2 lead behind a solid Danny Romero performance going into the 9th, and Kikuo Kawase to close it out. But Kawase's been a little off so far this year and he coughed up 3 runs in the 9th to put Texas ahead. But in the end the Rays answered with 2 in the bottom of the 9th and won anyway 6-5. Romero gave them their first quality start in 4 games going 7 4 2 2 3 5 and sports a 2.05 ERA but only 1 win thanks to some shaky bullpen work. Jaiden Hardaway's 2-run homer (#2) in the 5th broke a 1-1 tie and set them up for late, but after Kawase blew the save, they did rally against Texas closer Dan Hinson who loaded the bases. He then hit Danny Ayala to force in the tying run and Jim Gebers followed with a line single to left to walk it off.

Game 2: It was back to starting pitching woes as Jordan Perez turned in his second straight bad start, putting the Rays in a 7-1 hole from which they nearly climbed out only to lose 7-5. Perez gave up 2 in the first, settled in for 3 innings and then lost it in the 5th, allowing 5 runs. Jaiden Hardaway did his best to get them back in it, doubling and hitting a pair of solo homers to give him 4, and Daniel Malone also hit #4 with the bases empty but it wasn't enough.

Game 3: Along with Danny Romero, Tim Gates has been the Rays' only consistent starter this year and he did it again leading Tampa Bay to a 5-1 win. Gates went 7 7 1 1 0 6 and improved to 2-0, 1.96. Ken Burgess stayed on to close it out after the lead went to 4 in the 8th but put a couple on so Kikuo Kawase came in and got the final out for save #5. Danny Ayala was 2-3 with HR #7, Josh Alexander doubled twice and drove in a run, and Mike McKee had an RBI double to lead the attack.

Team record: 12-6. Next up: An off-day then Minnesota visits for 3.

[Art Deco]

Game 1: Ron Adams got his act together and the Rays downed the Twins 4-2 at Publix Park. The righty, who had put up horrendous numbers in his first three starts, was excellent today at 5.1 3 1 1 3 5 with the only knock being it took him 103 pitches to get there. Ed Pretty cost him the win though as he surrendered his first run of the year on a homer which allowed the Twins to equalize at 2 in the 8th. But Daniel Malone delivered a 2-run single in the bottom of the inning and Kikuo Kawase also snapped back from a blown save to strike out the side in the 9th for save #6 while Pretty vultured his 3rd win.

Game 2: In the same boat as Adams of late has been Steve Abeles, but he doesn't have the track record of Adams. Could he turn it around like Adams? Nope. Abeles sailed through the first 2 innings but was bombed for 6 runs in the 3rd and lasted 3 2/3. As has so often been the case this season it didn't deter the Rays however and Mike McKee's 2-run walk-off blast in the bottom of the 10th (#3) gave them a 10-8 win. Jim Gebers gave Abeles and the Rays a 3-0 lead in the bottom of the 1st with a 3-run shot (#2), and after they fell behind 6-3 Daniel Malone tied it up with a 3-run blast in the 4th (#5). Jon Harbour, another struggling pitcher of ours, gave up 2 runs in the 5th to put Minnesota back ahead but Jeff Baez knocked in runs in the 6th and 8th to tie it up once again, setting up McKee's heroics. Kikuo Kawase pitched the 10th and struck out 3 more for win #2.

Game 3: It was Danny Romero's turn in the rotation and once again that meant a well-pitched game as the Rays swept the series from Minnesota 8-3. Romero went 7 3 1 0 2 5 to improve to 2-0, 1.62 as he's yet to turn in a bad start this season. Josh Alexander led the offense, extending his hitting streak to 16 games with a bases-clearing double and a solo homer (#7). Jimmy Leonard's 2-run homer (#5) in the 4th got the offense going and Danny Ayala added a 2-run double.

Team record: 15-6. Next up: An off-day before we hit the road to play 3 in Baltimore.

[Art Deco]

Game 1: Jordan Perez's first two starts with the Rays were pretty good and his next two were pretty bad. Thankfully he reverted to the former tonight as the Rays took care of the Orioles 8-2. Perez was 5 4 2 2 1 6 although it took him 96 pitches to get there and the bullpen was solid with 4 pitchers each turning in a hitless inning. The big man on offense was Danny Ayala, 4-5 with a double and 2 RBI while Andy Ruggles went back to homering after a brief break with #11, a 2-run shot in the 4th.

Game 2: Tim Gates had his first bad start of the year as the Rays saw an early 3-2 lead become an 8-3 loss. Gates gave up 5 runs on 8 hits in 4 2/3, allowing 3 homers. He fanned 6 without walking anyone but the damage was done. Speaking of damage, Jon Harbour followed Gates in relief and left in the 7th with a partial tear of his UCL and is done for the year, so it was a bad night all around. Pat Moyer's 2nd HR of the year with a man on in the 4th gave them that brief 3-2 lead as the bats only managed 3 hits in total on the night.

April 26: Placed P Jon Harbour on the 60-day IL with a partial UCL tear, recalled P Jesus Morales from AAA Durham.

Morales, who pitched well for us last season before going down to Durham the last 2 months due to a numbers game, is back up most likely briefly. Jose Mendoza (not to be confused with Jose Mendez) has been dazzling to start the year with the Bulls (2.29 ERA in 3 starts with a 7/28 K/BB ratio in 19.2 IP) and he will likely take Steve Abeles' spot as the 5th starter with Abeles moving back into the long relief role where he thrived last year, although Abeles will get one more start to have some say about that.

Game 3: Ron Adams, whom we thought had turned a corner in his last start after three horrendous ones, wasn't very good again tonight. But as often is the case it didn't matter as the Rays came back and beat Baltimore 9-5. And in credit to Adams he gave up all 5 runs in the first 3 innings and then settled down to throw 3 scoreless after that to allow the team back into the game and get his first win going 6 8 5 5 1 7. He allowed 2 more homers to make it 8 in 19.2 IP and when you add 31 hits allowed and 10 walks to that a 10.53 ERA is what results. On the offensive side Jimmy Leonard had a big night with an RBI single and a 3-run homer (#6) to cap a 5-run 6th that saw the Rays wrest the lead. Josh Alexander had a big 2-run homer (#8) in the 3rd after Adams put them behind 4-1 and later had an RBI single while Josh Beckett was 3-4 with a double and an RBI. Jesus Morales made a mess in the 9th loading the bases and bringing the tying run to the plate with two out, so Kikuo Kawase came in and struck out the first (and only) man he faced on three pitches for save #7.

Team record: 17-7. Next up: 3 games at Fenway against the Red Sox.

[Art Deco]

*the third game was rained out, to be made up August 17

Game 1: Steve Abeles was pitching for his spot in the rotation, and although he threw 5 1/3 scoreless in an 8-1 Rays win, it wasn't a particularly convincing 5 1/3. He was in trouble on several occasions and finished 5.1 4 0 0 3 2 and he now has a pretty bad 13/11 BB/K ratio in 23 innings. It was good enough to get him another start but the leash is short. Jimmy Leonard had another big game with the bat, homering in the first (#7) and then adding a 2-run double in a 4-run 7th which broke the game open. Jim Gebers had a 2-run homer in that 7th (#3) and Danny Ayala had a homer in the 9th (#8) for the cherry on top.

Game 2: Danny Romero and recent #1 overall MLB prospect Mark Marks hooked up in a pitchers' duel with Romero and the Rays prevailing 4-0. Danny Ayala's 9th HR, a solo shot in the 6th, was all they got off Marks but it turned out to be enough with Romero continuing on his early-season roll going 7 6 0 0 1 6 and improving to 3-0, 1.34. Ken Burgess and Jesus Morales each went an inning to complete the shutout. Daniel Malone's RBI double keyed a 3-run 8th to open things up for Tampa Bay.

Team record: 19-7. Next up: 3 games in Detroit.

[Art Deco]

Game 1: Jordan Perez remained consistently inconsistent, and the Rays dropped an 8-6 decision to Detroit in a game that really wasn't that close. Perez had a rough 3rd in which he allowed 4 runs and finished 5 5 5 5 2 7; with no homers allowed it was mainly a night of bad sequencing. The problem was that Jesus Morales allowed 3 more runs, meaning the comeback from 8-0 down fell short as they scored 6 times in the final 2 innings. Josh Alexander had a 2-run HR (#9) go with an RBI single and Andy Ruggles was 2-4 with a double and an RBI to help make the final score respectable.

Game 2: Tim Gates couldn't make it out of the third inning but the Rays got 7 1/3 scoreless innings from their bullpen to enable them to take a 5-3 win over the Tigers in 10 innings. Gates just didn't have it tonight, going 2.2 8 3 3 2 0 but Vinny Willard got out of the 3rd without further damage and went 3 1/3, and eventually Kikuo Kawase got win #3, getting the final 2 outs of the 9th and taking care of the 10th after Mike McKee's 2-run single in the top of the inning. The rest of the runs came courtesy of Josh Alexander, who homered in his first two at-bats to drive in the first 3 runs after homering in his final at-bat the night before. He's now .363-11-31 in 28 games.

Game 3: Ron Adams looked like he was finally making a true breakthrough, retiring the first 10 men he faced with 6 whiffs - and then had to leave with a shoulder strain. It turns out to be mild but will bother him for 10 days so off to the IL he goes. Fortunately like last night the pen picked things up and the Rays went on to take a 7-4 win. Chris Toombs took over for him and got win #1, Ed Pretty went two perfect innings with 5 Ks (more on him in a bit) and although Ken Burgess and Joe Trader combined to allow 3 runs in the final 2 innings the Rays were already up 7-1 at that point. And they were up thanks to a big day from Jaiden Hardaway, on base 4 times with a steal, 3 hits, 3 runs scored and 3 driven in on a big homer (#5) which turned a 3-1 game into a 6-1 game. And Josh Alexander stayed hot, homering again for his 4th in the 3-game series (#12), driving in a pair. Back to Ed Pretty for a moment. The rookie has been nothing short of incredible, with a season line of 17.1 10 2 2 2 32, already good for 1 WAR. I've been using him as a true fireman from the 6th inning on and he's really come through.

Team record: 21-8. Next up: An off-day followed by a return home for a weekend set with Toronto.

[Art Deco]

May 4: Placed P Ron Adams on the 10-day IL with a shoulder strain, recalled P Dan Hill from AAA Durham.

Game 1: Steve Abeles' run in the rotation is over as he was hit hard once again, tonight to the tune of 4 6 6 5 3 2 as the Rays were blown out by the Blue Jays 12-4. Abeles now has an 8.13 ERA in 27.2 IP over 6 starts and is nothing like the long relief ace he was last year. Dan Hill didn't distinguish himself after being recalled either, allowing 3 runs on 3 hits and 3 walks (and a hit batter) in 1 inning. The Rays' lone offensive highlight was a 2-run homer from Jaiden Hardaway, his 6th.

May 5: Optioned P Dan Hill to AAA Durham, recalled P Dan Anderson from AAA Durham.

A swap of Dans. Anderson would have been up the day before but he was fatigued, and obviously Hill did nothing to warrant sticking around after his awful outing.

Game 2: Once again no worries from the rotation on days when Danny Romero starts, and the lefty was dazzling again as the Rays took a 7-2 win. Romero went to 4-0, 1.53 with a 6.2 5 2 2 4 7 performance. The offense came via the homer today with Pat Moyer slugging a pair and driving in four to double his season output in longballs, Josh Alexander hit his AL-leading 13th with a man on, and Mike McKee hit #4.

Game 3: The Rays dropped a tough one 4-3 after going up 3-1. Jordan Perez started strong but gave up 2 runs in the 5th to allow Toronto tie and finished 6 8 3 3 1 5, and then the Jays scored off Ken Burgess in the 7th to go ahead. The offense was somewhat limited today with only 6 hits with Daniel Malone collecting 2 of them including a solo HR (#6) which gave them the 3-1 lead.

Team record: 22-10. The Red Sox are hanging in there and moved to within 3 back so we have a divisional race at least for now. Next up: Yet another off-day, then 2 games at home vs Atlanta.

[Art Deco]

Game 1: Stop me if you've heard this before: The Rays got a lousy outing from their starter, but overcame it to win. The latest example came tonight at Publix Park when Tampa Bay scored 6 times in the 8th to turn a 6-5 loss into an 11-6 win over Atlanta. Tim Gates gave up 4 runs in the 1st capped by a 3-run homer from former Rays 1st-round pick Jose Sandoval and 6 runs over 4.1 in total. But the offense is usually relentless and tonight they were. Jeff Baez had a bases-clearing double, Mike McKee homered (#5) in the 8th to tie it, Jaiden Hardaway's RBI single was the winner and Danny Ayala added a 3-run homer (#10). The bullpen made the comeback possible by turning in 4 1/3 innings of 1-hit ball with Ken Neil getting his 2nd win after striking out the side in the 8th.

May 9: Optioned P Jesus Morales to AAA Durham, recalled P Jose Mendoza from AAA Durham.

Once more unto the breach with Mendoza, our elite pitching prospect who still shows signs of inconsistency but got off to a good start at Durham (an 11/44 BB/K ratio in 29 innings with a 3.34 ERA). He'll be taking Steve Abeles' spot in the rotation.

Game 2: Groundhog Day again for the Rays but at least in a good way as they had to come from behind once again, this time winning 5-4 in 10 after trailing 4-0. Jose Mendoza got the start and was brilliant through the first three, allowing one hit and fanning 5, but put two on in both the 4th and 5th and gave up doubles each time to score them, and put Tampa Bay in a 4-0 hole after going 4.2 6 4 4 2 7. There's enough there to give him more starts, but at some point someone's going to have to get it done. The big hit of the game came in the 8th when Andy Ruggles blasted a 3-run homer (#12) to tie it up, after his early HR binge this one was only Ruggles' 2nd in his last 15 games but a most timely one. The winner came in the 10th when Jimmy Leonard walked, stole second and scored on Danny Ayala's double, his 3rd hit of the game. Kikuo Kawase pitched the final two innings for his 4th win. Our starters now have a collective ERA of 5.39, which is really something considering Danny Romero's is around 1.50.

Team record: 24-10. Despite winning both our lead dropped slightly when Boston won on our off-day to pull within 2 1/2.

MLB News: The last of the big-ticket free agents not to sign finally did when former Rays superstar Bo Angeac put pen to paper on a 1-year, $26.6M deal with the Padres.

[Art Deco]

Game 1: Danny Romero was dominant again, the Rays had a 4-1 lead in the 7th, everything was there for a win until Ken Neil came in and served up a pair of 2-run homers and the Orioles came back for a 5-4 win. Romero went 6 2 1 1 2 7 on 94 pitches, although he did allow his first homer of the year to Oriole catcher Tim Daniel. Daniel then smacked the 2nd of the homers off Neil in the 7th for the game-winner. The Rays had two runners thrown out at home including Josh Alexander, who tried to score on Danny Ayala's double in the 9th. Before it all went wrong, Jimmy Leonard had a 2-run HR (#8) and Jaiden Hardaway contributed a solo shot (#7).

Game 2: The Rays built leads of 5-0 and 6-2 but it wasn't enough for Jordan Perez to get the win, although they still went on to take a 9-5 decision. Perez was 4 6 3 3 2 8 on 97 pitches as although he's getting his strikeouts this year, he's not getting enough people out. Chris Toombs took win #2 in relief, although he allowed a 2-run homer to get the Orioles within 6-5. Josh Beckett had the big early hit, a 3-run inside-the-park homer, his first four-bagger as a Ray. Danny Ayala drove in 3 with a 2-run single and a groundout while Jaiden Hardaway hit a solo homer for the second straight game (#8).

May 13: Activated P Ron Adams from the 10-day IL, optioned P Dan Anderson to AAA Durham.

Game 3: Ron Adams came off the IL and started, and it was like he never left as he served up 3 more homers to give him a ridiculous 11 allowed in 29 innings. Nevertheless the Rays still prevailed 6-5 on an RBI single from Jeff Baez in the 8th after he earlier had a 2-run double. That made a winner of another very homer-prone pitcher, Ken Neil, who gave up his 3rd longball of the series to allow Baltimore to tie in the 7th, his 4th of the season in only 14.1 IP. Kikuo Kawase notched his 8th save with a clean 9th. Daniel Malone was 2-4 with a double, steal and RBI and Jim Gebers doubled and scored twice.

Team record: 26-11, still 2 1/2 up over Boston. This has to be the least enjoyable 26-11 team I've managed, what with the horrible starting pitching and all. A trade or two could be in the offing if things don't improve on the pitching side. Next up: The road trip continues with 3 in Kansas City against the woeful 11-30 Royals.

[Art Deco]

Game 1: Rays take 4-0 lead in the 1st, starting pitcher gives it back, Rays go on to win 8-5. It's the story of the season so far and that's what happened tonight in Kansas City. Jaiden Hardaway led off the game with HR #9 and Daniel Malone drilled a 2-run double in the first but Tim Gates gave the lead right back within three innings. This enabled us to flip the number over on our "GAMES SINCE WE GOT A DECENT START FROM SOMEONE NOT NAMED DANNY ROMERO" sign to 16. Danny Ayala hit HR #11, Josh Alexander and Andy Ruggles singled in runs, and Vinny Willard went 2 2/3 in relief for his 3rd win. Kikuo Kawase had to come in for a four-out save, his 9th.

Game 2: By our recent stanards, Jose Mendoza turned in a decent start going 6 8 4 4 1 8, especially considering all 4 runs came in the 3rd inning. But another mediocre start greatly reduced our margin for error and with Kikuo Kawase and Ed Pretty unavailable and Ken Burgess used in the 9th, it fell to Joe Trader to protect a 9th-inning lead and he couldn't and a 5-4 win became a 6-5 loss. Interestingly the Rays scored 5 runs tonight but had only 1 RBI as two runs scored on wild pitches, one on a balk and another on an error.

May 16: Optioned P Jose Mendoza to AAA Durham, recalled P Dan Anderson from AAA Durham.

The bullpen is so fried from our recent run of poor starts that Chris Toombs was the only reliever showing in white for today that we need an arm and we'll skip Mendoza's next turn or give it to Steve Abeles before we can bring him back up.

Game 3: The starting rotation malaise finally got to Danny Romero, who wasn't terrible but wasn't great either in a 7-2 loss, meaning the Rays dropped 2 of 3 to a team that came into the series 11-30. Romero went 6 7 4 4 1 6. The bats were held to only 5 hits.

Team record: 27-13. Boston swept Oakland, and if you think the Royals have a bad record the A's are now 7-36(!). This means the Sox have pulled within 1/2 game of the division lead. Meanwhile next up for the Rays is a 4-game set in Anaheim against the Angels.

[Art Deco]

Game 1: So the Rays finally get some decent pitching and then they forget how to score runs. That was the story tonight as they fell 3-2 to the Angels in the first of a 4-game set in Anaheim. Jordan Perez was solid at 5.1 5 3 1 1 7, and as you can see from the two unearned runs there was a costly Josh Beckett error in the third which proved to be critical. Normally 3 runs isn't a problem to overcome but the bats only managed 6 hits tonight.

Game 2: Ron Adams came in having allowed 11 HR in 29 IP this season and sure enough the first batter of the game took him deep. But he actually settled down after that and went 6 3 2 2 3 7 in one of his few effective outings this year. But like last night the bats were silent and the Rays dropped their 4th straight with a 2-1 loss. Pat Moyer's 5th HR in the 7th was the extent of the offense, which only had 4 other hits.

May 18: Well that decent outing turned out to be Ron Adams' last with the Rays:



Aside from the rough start to the season, the strikes against Adams were 1) his control is down to 45, 2) he remains "fragile" so if he breaks down again we get nothing for him, and 3) he's making $10.6M. So when Cincinnati offered us Jeff Brockman in trade talks, we jumped at the chance. Brockman is a stud - these are his ratings as a starter:




He earned 4.4 WAR last year with Cincinnati on a 14-5, 2.92, 55/226 BB/K ratio in 194 innings and was on pace for 5.9 WAR this year with a 12/72 BB/K ratio in 55 IP. He's the real deal, and for this year at least he's a few million cheaper than Adams. We had to give up Morales, who's a pretty damn good reliever but we have a lot of those, and a couple of marginal prospects in Yllescas and Popovich. I felt like a shakeup was needed and we improved our rotation which badly needed it.

Game 3: The Rays' funk reached consecutive loss #5 with the bats AWOL again as they fell 5-2. Tim Gates wasn't terrible but he wasn't great either, going 5.1 5 3 3 3 3 and left down 3-2. Ed Pretty and Vinny Willard each gave up a run to allow the Angels to extend their lead.

Game 4: Jeff Brockman made his Rays debut and they broke their 5-game losing streak, although in this case correlation was not causation as it was the bats which came to life, hitting 5 homers in a 10-5 win. Brockman struggled, allowing a homer in the first and 3 more runs in the 2nd to put the Rays in a 4-0 hole, and after they tied it up in the top of the 3rd he gave up another run to put them behind again. But the homers kept coming and Brockman at least hung in there go 5 8 5 5 2 6 to get the win, however undeserved. Instead it was Danny Ayala's 3-run homer in the 3rd (#12) which broke the offense out of its funk and Andy Ruggles (#13), Josh Beckett (#2), Josh Alexander (#14) and Jeff Baez (#2) all found the seats as well in a 16-hit attack.

Team record: 28-16. Boston dropped 2 of 3 over the weekend thankfully so the Rays are percentage points ahead of the Red Sox, who are 29-17. Next up: An off-day to fly back to Tampa to start a homestand tomorrow with 3 games against those very Red Sox in a rare big regular season series.

[Art Deco]

Game 1: It was the first game of the battle for AL East supremacy at Publix Park as the Rays hosted the Red Sox with the teams tied for first place. And it was advantage Rays behind their ace Danny Romero in a 5-2 win. Tampa Bay jumped on Red Sox ace Marc Marks for 4 runs in the first 2 innings, and although the offense took most of the rest of the day off it didn't matter thanks to Romero, who went 7 4 2 2 0 10 in a dominant performance, allowing a couple of solo homers in the 7th when he ran out of gas. Romero is now 5-1, 2.05 and is gunning for his 2nd Cy in 3 years. Kikuo Kawase had a 1-2-3 9th for save #10. Jimmy Leonard's 2-run single in the 3rd, a 2-4, RBI day for Josh Beckett (now hitting .373) and Jaiden Hardaway on base 4 times in 5 trips with 2 runs scored were the offensive highlights.

Game 2: The Rays were in statement mode as they put 5 on the board in the first on their way to a 12-2 rout of the Red Sox to go 2 games up in the AL East. Daniel Malone (#7) and Mike McKee (#6) hit 2-run homers in the opening frame and Pat Moyer drove in 4 to key the blowout with Jose Mendez and Danny Ayala each going 3-4 with an RBI. Jordan Perez had some early hiccups but settled in to go 7 8 2 2 1 7 to improve to 3-4.

Game 3: Tampa Bay certainly asserted itself in this series by sweeping the Red Sox with a 9-4 triumph, outscoring Boston 26-8 in the 3 games. A 5-run 4th which featured a bases-clearing double by Jaiden Hardaway broke the game open, and Danny Ayala (#13, solo) and Josh Alexander (#15, a 2-run shot) also paced the offense. Tim Gates was good enough today on the mound (6 5 3 3 3 6) to go to 3-2 while Chris Toombs picked up a 3-inning save, his first.

Team record: 31-16. Next up: Baltimore visits for the weekend.

[Art Deco]

*Sunday's game was rained out, to be made up August 7.

May 25: Recalled P Jose Mendoza from AAA Durham, optioned P Dan Anderson to AAA Durham.

Mendoza was skipped over due to off-days and the Brockman acquisition and will rejoin the rotation. Anderson pitched very well during his stint, and was 8.1 4 0 0 3 13 in 6 outings. He deserves a recall at some point.

Game 1: Jose Mendoza has incredible (80) stuff but still hasn't really figured out how to pitch at the MLB level as he was terrible tonight in his return to the rotation as the Rays were routed 9-2 by Baltimore at Publix Park. Mendoza went 4 4 7 7 4 3 and there's no spinning that outing other than to note Steve Abeles allowed the 2 runners he left on to score. Abeles wasn't the answer either so if Mendoza doesn't get it going we're going to have to explore other options.

Game 2: The Rays returned the favor by blasting Baltimore 8-3 tonight behind huge games from Jaiden Hardaway and Josh Alexander, batting 1-2 in the order. Hardaway was 4-5 with a steal and 3 RBI while Alexander went 2-5 with HR #16 and 3 RBI. Jeff Brockman made his home debut for the Rays and started poorly, allowing 3 runs in the 2nd inning but solid otherwise, finishing 6 5 3 3 1 4, but Joe Trader ended up with the win (his first) after the Rays scored 5 times in the 8th to break a 3-3 tie.

Team record: 32-17. Boston took 2 of 3 to pick up 1/2 game and pull to within 2 1/2. Next up: We head out west to take on the Oakland A's, who are off to perhaps the worst start I've seen in the 21 seasons of this save at 9-44, for 4 games. The Rays dropped 2 of 3 to the then 11-30 Royals last week so 3 or 4 wins isn't necessarily a gimme.

[Art Deco]

Game 1: The Rays used the longball to get past the hapless A's in a 5-4 win at Oakland Coliseum, dropping the A's to 9-45. Jimmy Leonard hit #9, Andy Ruggles #14 against his old team, and Josh Alexander #17 as part of a 3-hit day as he takes over the AL WAR lead at 3.0. Danny Romero started and picked up the win but only lasted 5 due to running up 97 pitches. His 5 5 2 2 2 7 outing improved him to 6-1, 2.15. It took 5 relievers to get through the final 4 innings as Ken Neil did not fare well against his old team, allowing 2 runs in the 8th but Kikuo Kawase did get save #11.

Game 2: A blown lead could have been fatal but the Rays came through in the 11th on a Jose Mendez RBI single to take a 4-3 win over Oakland. Jordan Perez had perhaps his best start as a Ray, going 6 6 1 1 2 6 and should have had the win but Ken Neil failed again, allowing a pair of solo homers in the 8th to allow Oakland to tie it up with the second coming from the ageless Juan Soto (41 actually), his 717th career blast. Kikuo Kawase grabbed the win with 2 more innings of scoreless relief, already his 5th of the year. Daniel Malone and Mike McKee each had two hits including RBI doubles to give the Rays the early lead.

Game 3: Bad teams find ways to lose and Oakland is a bad team as they fell to 9-47 after blowing an early 5-1 lead to allow the Rays to take a 6-5 win with two in the 9th. Tim Gates had a rough start, going 5 7 5 5 2 3 and allowing a couple of early homers to put the Rays in a hole. But they kept chipping away, with Jimmy Leonard blasting a couple of solo homers (#s 10 & 11) to get them within one and then they got to former teammate and Oakland closer Mike Wherry in the 9th. Pat Moyer led off the inning with a pinch-hit homer (#6) and then they put two on including Daniel Malone who reached on a passed ball third strike. Jeff Baez then came through with an RBI single to give them the lead and Ken Burgess nailed down the 9th for his 2nd save. Chris Toombs picked up his third win with two scoreless innings of relief.

Game 4: The teams played their fourth straight one-run game, but this time Oakland came out on top to finally hit double digits in the win column with a 2-1 victory. Alex Santamaria, once one of the top pitchers in the AL and Oakland's long-time ace, came into the game 1-10, 6.64 but turned back the clock to hold the Rays to 7 4 1 1 1 6. Jose Mendoza got the start for the Rays and turned in his best outing of the year going 5 4 2 2 3 7 and Steve Abeles seems to have settled back into his long relief role with 3 1-hit innings and 4 Ks but the bats couldn't hold up their end. They did put two on with one out in the 9th to no avail.

Team record: 35-18. The lead remains 2 1/2 as Boston also won 3 of 4 in the same stretch. The west coast swing continues in the Pacific northwest as they take on Seattle for 3.

[Art Deco]

Game 1: Tonight Jeff Brockman looked like the guy we thought we were acquiring as the Rays took care of the Mariners 6-2. The righty held Seattle off the board until the 7th, when he allowed a couple of runs and finished 6.2 5 2 2 2 7 to make it 2-0 with the Rays. Ed Pretty did his thing with 1 1/3 scoreless, lowering his ERA to 0.94. Josh Alexander's 18th homer (against his former organization) turned a 2-0 game into a 4-0 one and Josh Beckett had a 2-run single to lead the offense. Jaiden Hardaway strained his back, described as "moderate" and lasting a week, so he heads to the IL.

June 2: Placed 2B Jaiden Hardaway on the 10-day IL, recalled P Dan Anderson from AAA Durham.

We'd been going 14/13 hitters/pitchers all year instead of the normal 13/14, so this brings us back there for 10 days. The main beneficiary of the injury will be Jim Gebers, who had been reduced to the short side of a 3B platoon with Josh Beckett, who slides over to 2B.

Game 2: It was deja vu all over again as the Rays took a 7-2 win over Seattle behind another outstanding performance from Danny Romero. The lefty went 7 6 2 2 1 3 to improve to 7-1, 2.19 and increased his AL-leading pitcher WAR total to 2.5. Danny Ayala's 2-run HR (#14) in the 3rd made it 3-0, Ramon Ruiz hit his 1st, Josh Alexander launched #19 and Jeff Baez had a 2-run single to highlight the offense.

Game 3: The Tampa Bay pitching renaissance continued as the Rays swept the series with a 3-2 win in Seattle. Jordan Perez stayed on his hot streak by going 6.2 5 2 2 0 5 to improve to 4-4, 4.80 and has allowed only 6 ER in 25 IP over his last 4 starts. Ed Pretty whiffed 3 more in 1 1/3 for the hold and Kikuo Kawase recorded save #12. Andy Ruggles was the offensive star, going 3-3 with a pair of solo homers to give him 16, and Daniel Malone had an RBI single.

Team record: 38-18, now 4 1/2 up on Boston which dropped its last two. Next up: An off-day during which we'll conduct the 2040 Amateur Draft as we fly cross-country to our nation's capital to play a pair against the Nats.

[Art Deco]

I was pretty underwhelmed by this year's class, at least what was left of it when it was my turn to pick at the end of the first round.

Melendez seems interesting, although we've left a trail of washed out and underachieving first round picks in our wake over the last decade. Still if he lives up to potential, he could be useful:




Just noticed the 40 stamina. Ouch.

Alba seems to have a very good potential bat, but his fielding is questionable and I see him moving across the diamond to first, which means he's definitely going to have to hit.

Pegler seems like he'll be a control/movement guy, which translates to 4th/5th starter at best.

Roane is a sidearming groundballer out of high school who could have decent stuff, but a flyer at best.

And Phillips is an OK-bat, average-glove catcher coming to a bullpen near you.

[Art Deco]

Game 1: While much of the rest of the staff has turned things around, Tim Gates has gone in the opposite direction and today was no different as he and the Rays were pounded by the Nationals 10-3. Gates was 4.2 7 5 4 2 7, so at least the strikeouts were an encouraging sign. Steve Abeles was hit for 5 more runs in long mop-up relief, just when he had looked to be back in form. Washington's Alex Gomez, one of the NL's better young starters, no-hit the Rays through 6 before Josh Alexander led off the 7th with HR #20 and Jeff Baez added HR #3 with a man on in the 8th, the only two hits the offense managed today.

Game 2: Jose Mendoza turned in a solid start and the Rays salvaged a split of the 2 games with Washington thanks to a 6-4 win. Mendoza was dominant at times and finished 6 4 3 3 2 10 for his first win of the year and Kikuo Kawase managed save #13 despite allowing a rare run in the 9th. Josh Alexander had yet another big day with the bat, going 3-5 with HR #21, his 4th in 5 games, and 2 RBI, and Jim Gebers was 4-4 with a solo HR (#4).

Team record: 39-19, Boston won both its games to move back within 3 1/2. Next up: After playing them just this past weekend we get 4 more games with Seattle at Publix Park.