The 2021 (and only 2021) Tampa Bay Rays

[Art Deco]

Alamo Park has not been kind to the Rays over the last several years but Tampa Bay did manage to take 2 of 3 and could have had a sweep had the bullpen not squandered a sizable lead in the first game. The series win largely came courtesy of Tony Fisher, who belted 5 homers in the 3-game set, and with the Yankees dropping 2 of 3 the Rays have expanded their division lead to 4 1/2 games.

The Rays built a 4-0 lead over San Antonio in the opener but couldn't hold it as the bullpen blew it, allowing the Alamos to take a 5-4 walk-off win. A solo shot from Tony Fisher (#30) and a 2-run Justin Blackwell blast (#7) helped give them that lead in the 5th but Chris Ericson couldn't make it out of the bottom of the inning, finishing 4.2 5 2 2 2 2. Still the pen a 4-2 lead in the 7th and the downfall started with Eric Lewis allowing a run in his second return to the Rays, Branden Gammage surrendering the tying run in the 8th and Tony Alicea (3-3) giving up the winner after loading the bases in the 9th.

Although the Rays were held without a hit through 4 innings they made up for lost time in a big way and ended up routing the Alamos 8-1 behind Tony Fisher and Joe Marlette. The Rays exploded for 4 in the 5th with Billy Doughty's 2-run triple the big hit and then Fisher went to work, hitting a 2-run homer in the 7th and a solo shot in the 9th to give him 32. Meanwhile Marlette won his first start in his last six and improved to 9-3 after going 7 4 1 1 1 6.

Whereas yesterday Tony Fisher's 2 homers were icing on the cake today his two homers were absolutely necessary as the Rays edged past San Antonio 4-3. He hit solo shots in the 1st and 3rd to make it 34 on the year and 5 in the series and although the Alamos went up 3-2 after that he started the winning rally in the 5th with a double and later in the inning Danny Arroyave doubled in the go-ahead and eventually winning run. Danny Morales pitched around that rough 3rd and finished 6.2 6 3 3 0 8 to go to 13-5, and this time the bullpen held with Tony Alicea securing save #26 despite surrendering a leadoff double in the 9th.

Team record: 64-42. Next up: A day off then we play 3 in Washington against a tough 61-43 Nationals squad.

[Art Deco]

A highly successful trip to our nation's capital for the Rays as they swept the Nationals. It turned out they needed to in order to maintain their 4 1/2-game division lead as the Yankees swept their series as well.

It was the Tony and Danny show as the insanely-hot Fisher and the star rookie Rodriguez each hit two homers in an 8-3 Tampa Bay win over Washington in the opener. Fisher, who hit 5 homers in the previous 3-game series in San Antonio, made it 7 in his last 4 with 2-run blasts in the 3rd and 7th to give him 36 while D-Rod reached the 20-homer mark with a 2-run homer and solo shot. Leo Gutierrez went to 5-0 with a 5 7 3 3 0 6 outing. (By the way the MLB record for most homers over 4 games is 8.)

The Rays fell behind 3-0 after 2 innings in the second game but guess who hit a 3-run homer in the 3rd to tie it up and send them on their way to a 5-3 win? Yep, Tony Fisher whom I forgot hit 2 homers in the last game in Boston so this made it 10 in his last 6 games and #37 on the year. I've never had a player in any of my saves go on this kind of homer binge. After Fisher's game-tying blast Luis Berumen went deep (#22) in the 5th with the game-winner and Gabe Bryant (7-4) settled in after his rough beginning to finish 6 7 3 3 1 6 for the win while Tony Alicea closed it out for save #27.

Tampa Bay completed the sweep with another 5-3 win over the Nationals. Tony Fisher did not homer for the first time in 7 games but Danny Charlton did and his 2-run blast in the 1st (#17) got them going and the struggling Danny Rivera's bases-clearing double in the 5th was the hit that made the difference. Chris Ericson (2-0) was very good at 6.2 6 1 1 2 4 and after Stan LeVea gave up a 2-run homer to let Washington back in it, Tony Alicea closed the door again in the 9th despite walking a pair for his 28th save.

Team record: 67-42. Next up: Our interleague sojourn up I-95 continues as we travel to the Big Apple to play 3 against the Mets where we'll reunite with old friend Joe Stack, having a decent first season in New York at 275/330/516 with 27 homers, a number we hope he'll still have after the weekend.

[Art Deco]

A good time in the Big Apple for the Rays as they took 2 out of 3 and kept their lead at 4 1/2 games in the AL East.

Times weren't so good in the opener though as the Mets tattooed Rays pitching in an 11-5 loss. Joe Marlette (9-4) is now officially a problem as the long-time ace was reported by the scouts to have lost 2 MPH on his fastball and his once-65 stuff was downgraded to 50, making him a somewhat ordinary pitcher now. It was apparent today as he went 4.2 9 6 6 0 3 and saw his ERA rise to 3.51. Luis Berumen was 3-5 with a HR (#23) and 3 RBI in the losing cause while Danny Charlton also went deep (#18).

Danny Morales was great and Tampa Bay got a couple of solo homers as they downed the Mets 3-1 in the second game. Morales (14-5) keeps piling up the wins thanks to a 6 3 1 1 3 6 outing today while Branden Gammage threw 2 perfect innings of relief to set up Tony Alicea for save #29. Luis Berumen stayed hot with HR #24 and speaking of hot, Tony Fisher belted his AL-leading 38th in the 9th to provide insurance.

The Rays took the rubber game of the series from the Mets 4-3, hanging on to a lead they took into the 5th while squandering numerous chances to add on in the final 4 innings (11 LOB total). Danny Charlton was the offense today, driving in all four runs on a pair of 2-run singles including the winning hit in the 5th. Leo Gutierrez stayed perfect at 6-0 despite being a little less than convincing today at 5.2 4 3 3 4 6 but Stan LeVea was stellar with 2 1/3 scoreless behind him, and Eric Lewis notched his first Rays save of the year (and 30th overall) as the Rays won a game they made harder than it had to be.

Team record: 69-43. Next up: We return home for 3 against Detroit.

[Art Deco]

Once again we took 2 out of 3 and once again we maintained a 4 1/2-game lead but three games have come off the schedule.

Gabe Bryant was excellent and the bats feasted in a 10-3 blowout win over the Tigers. Bryant (8-4) was largely untouchable at 7 2 0 0 3 5 and his teammates made it easy for him with ample run support. Danny Arroyave started the party with a 2-run double in the first, Luis Berumen drove in 3, and Justin Blackwell had a 2-run homer (#8) to lead the way. Danny Charlton added a late solo shot (#19) to give the team double digits.

The Rays lost the second game 9-1, so you'd be forgiven for thinking Detroit simply returned last night's favor. But instead it was a nail-biter for 14 innings before the Tigers erupted for 8 runs in the 15th. Both teams had numerous opportunities to break the deadlock with Detroit leaving 16 on base and Tampa Bay 13 but couldn't, and the worst Rays offender was Danny Charlton who was 0-for-7 with 8 LOB. Finally the Tigers jumped on Danny Mauricio in his second inning of work and who was one out away from escaping the 15th unscathed before allowing six straight men to reach with a homer mixed in, and then Ken Battle came in and gave up a 3-run homer to the first man he faced. Chris Ericson started and went a decent 5 4 1 1 1 4.

After scoring only one run in 15 innings the day before the Rays put 5 on the board in the first and never looked back in a 7-1 win over Detroit to take the series. Tony Fisher belted a 2-run homer (#39), Luis Berumen went back-to-back with him for #25, and Justin Blackwell had a 2-run single in the big opening frame. This made life easy for the newly stuff-challenged Joe Marlette, who improved to 10-4 after going 6 5 1 0 1 2.

Team record: 71-44. Next up: An off-day before Seattle visits for 3 games.

[Art Deco]

A great three days for the Rays as they swept Seattle while the Yankees lost a pair, ballooning their division lead to 6 1/2 games.

They had to work hard to take the opener as it went extra innings, but unlike a couple of games ago where they were bombed in the 15th the Rays came out on top thanks to their third solo homer of the game, Danny Rodriguez's walk-off blast (#21) in the bottom of the 11th to slide by Seattle 3-2. The drama began when Danny Arroyave led off the bottom of the 9th with his 22nd longball of the year to tie things up, and Justin Blackwell got them on the board in the 7th with #9 after they trailed 2-0. Danny Morales was excellent at 7 5 2 2 1 9 and so was the bullpen which held the Mariners off the board the rest of the way with Tony Alicea (4-3) picking up the win.

Leo Gutierrez pitched six no-hit innings to lead the Rays to a 6-0 win over Seattle in the second game. Gutierrez improved to 7-0, 2.22 but walked five in the six innings along with five whiffs on 103 pitches. He departed with a mild shoulder strain but probably would have been relieved anyway. Danny Arroyave drilled a solo homer in the first (#23) then they broke it open with a 4-run 2nd on a 2-run single from Danny Charlton and Arroyave's 2-run double. Danny Rivera, struggling all season, capped the scoring with HR #13.

Tampa Bay completed the sweep with a 5-2 win in the finale over the Mariners. Gabe Bryant (9-4) pitched with a lot of traffic but got the key whiffs in a 5.2 6 2 2 3 9 outing while Tony Alicea earned save #30 by fanning 3 in the 9th. Danny Charlton's 2-run homer in the first (#20) got things going and Justin Blackwell added a bases-clearing triple in the 4th that was the difference.

Team record: 74-44. Next up: 3 games in Texas against the Rangers.

[Art Deco]

The Rays are on an August roll as they swept another series, this time on the road, and lead the division by 7 games.

It took them a while to get going in the opener but after falling behind early 2-0 they came back to win 3-2 in 10 innings over the Rangers in Arlington. And it was that man again Tony Fisher, as the red-hot hitting OF blasted homer #40 to give them the win in extras. Earlier Agustin Lopez drilled an RBI double in the 5th and came around to score the tying run and Chris Ericson turned in a solid start at 5 3 2 2 2 5. Tony Alicea (5-3) went the final two innings in relief, "saving" his own win.

The second game saw the Rays pull off quite the comeback as they trailed 5-1 after 6 innings before coming back thanks to longball to win in extras again, 8-5 in 10. It was a rough start for Joe Marlette and he wasn't helped by his defense in a 4.2 7 4 0 4 4 outing while the bats didn't even manage a hit until the 5th. Isaiah Jackson started the comeback with a 2-run belt (#9) in the 7th and then who other than Tony Fisher went yard again with a man on in the 8th (#41) to tie it up. And then Danny Rodriguez took former Rays farmhand Mike Mank deep in the tenth for his 22nd homer and a 6-5 Rays lead before Danny Arroyave doubled in two more for insurance. Branden Gammage (4-4) earned the relief win and Jon Coggin got his first save by taking care of Texas in the 10th.

The Rays completed the sweep in easier fashion than the previous two nights, winning 7-5 in a game that really wasn't that close as they led 7-1 after 8. Danny Charlton has been disappointing this year but came through today, belting a pair of 2-run homers (#21 & 22), one in the 1st to start the scoring and the other in the 8th in what turned out to be the margin of victory. Also going deep were Danny Rivera (the biggest disappointment) with his 14th and Jeremy Begley with #30. Danny Morales remained on course for 20 wins by going to 15-5 with a 7 8 0 0 1 6 outing but Eric Lewis, getting some work in the 9th with his team up 7-1, gave up a pair of 2-run homers before mercifully recording the final out.

Team record: 77-44. Next up: A day off to head north to Toronto for 3 games.

[Art Deco]

The Rays keep rolling on, sweeping their third straight series, extending their winning streak to 10, and opening up a 9-game lead in the AL East.

Leo Gutierrez was magnificent in the opener, finishing one out short of a complete game 1-hitter in a 2-1 Rays win over Toronto at Rogers Centre. The lefty took a no-hitter into the 6th and finishing 8.2 1 1 1 2 9 in improving to 8-0, 2.05. With it being a one-run game and issuing a 2-out walk in the 9th, Tony Alicea came on to get the final out for save #31. All the offense came off the bat of Rookie of the Year candidate Danny Rodriguez, who blasted solo homers in the 2nd and 4th innings to give him 24 on the year.

The Rays rode more outstanding pitching in the second game with Gabe Bryant and Danny Mauricio combining on a 2-hitter in a 6-0 beatdown of the Jays. Bryant (10-4) went 7 2 0 0 1 5 on 102 pitches and Mauricio was perfect over the final two frames. It was a slow start for the offense which didn't manage a hit until the 5th, but Jeremy Begley's 2-run single in the 6th broke the ice and Danny Rodriguez went yard again (#25) and that would be all they'd need with the way Bryant was pitching.

It took a late rally but Tampa Bay managed to complete the sweep of Toronto with an 8-5 win in the finale. They did jump out to a 3-0 lead in the 4th keyed by Danny Arroyave's 2-run homer (#24) and a solo shot from Danny Rivera (#15) but Joe Marlette couldn't hold it at 6 5 4 4 3 4 and Stan LeVea gave up a 7th-inning run to put the Jays up 5-4. However the Rays loaded the bases in the 8th and Jeremy Begley cleared them with a double while Danny Charlton added an insurance homer (#23) in the 9th to give us the final margin. Branden Gammage (5-4), who gave up the hit which scored the run off LeVea, ended up with the win and Tony Alicea struck out the side in the 9th for his 32nd save.

Team record: 80-44. Next up: The road trip concludes with 3 games in Baltimore.

Archundia Watch: Something special is happening in Chicago as second-year man Melvin Archundia is chasing MLB history. The Cub OF took the bigs by storm last year in his rookie season, hitting 316/357/610 with 52 homers and 128 RBI and with 38 games remaining in the season he's exceeded those numbers as he already sits at 62 and 136 and is on pace for 81 and 178 respectively. As a result he stands a good chance at obliterating Barry Bonds' record 73 homers in 2001 and while he would have to get even hotter to threaten Hack Wilson's record of 191 RBI, his projected 178 would be 4th-best all-time and the most since Jimmie Foxx had 175 in 1938. We'll keep you updated on his progress.

[Art Deco]

The juggernaut that is the 2038 Tampa Bay Rays is showing no signs of slowing down, sweeping their fourth straight series (while allowing only 2 runs over the 3 games) and making it a baker's dozen of consecutive wins.

Chris Ericson was outstanding and Danny Charlton slugged a couple of homers as the Rays took the opener over the Orioles at Camden Yards 5-0. The stamina-challenged Ericson pitched deep into the 7th to improve to 3-0, 2.85 since returning to the club after today's 6.2 5 0 0 1 7 outing and three relievers completed the shutout. Meanwhile Charlton is heating up as he launched solo homers in the 2nd and 4th to give him 25 and Tony Fisher added to his AL lead with a 2-run blast in the 3rd, #42.

Danny Morales won his 9th straight decision, improving to 16-5 while pitching Tampa Bay to a 5-1 win over Baltimore. The righty went 5.2 6 1 1 3 5 and Jamie Arnold got the team out of a jam in the 8th and ended up finishing the game for his first save. The game's big blow came in the 8th when backup C Art Bing hit only his 2nd homer of the year, a 3-run blast in the top of the 8th which broke open a tight 2-1 affair. Danny Rodriguez homered earlier, his 26th.

The Rays only managed 3 hits in the finale but made them count in a 4-1 win triumph over the Orioles to finish the sweep. Leo Gutierrez is another Rays starter who's won 9 consecutive decisions as he improved to 9-0, 1.95 with an 8 5 1 1 1 6 gem. Gutierrez has been great but he's also been lucky as after today his BABIP sits at a minuscule .186. Tony Alicea handled the 9th for his 33rd save. Luis Berumen homered (#26) and drove in a pair while the other two Rays runs came on a sac fly and a ground out.

Team record: 83-44. The division lead remains at 9 as the Yankees also swept their series but it's largely academic at this point. Next up: Home for 4 games against Boston.

[Art Deco]

The Rays are chasing history now as they've extended their win streak to 17 games with a 4-game sweep of the Red Sox, Not counting any longer streaks that may have occurred in this save that I missed (a real possibility), this streak is tied for 15th overall in MLB history and one more will put them in the top 10 as they chase Cleveland's AL record of 22 set in 2017.

The streak briefly appeared in jeopardy in the opener as they trailed 3-1 through 4 innings but the Rays stormed back to take a 7-3 win over the Red Sox. Danny Rodriguez tied it in the 6th with his second solo homer of the game (#28) and Jeremy Begley followed shortly thereafter with a 2-run triple to win it, the first of two three-baggers he hit on the day. Gabe Bryant went 5 7 3 3 2 6 and Jon Coggin (1-2) picked up his first win of the year in relief.

The second game was a breeze for Tampa Bay as they routed the Red Sox 8-2. Danny Charlton was unstoppable, doubling, homering (#26, a 2-run shot) and walking twice while Tony Fisher added to his AL homer lead with a 2-run blast of his own, #43. They backed Joe Marlette (11-4), who was a solid 7 6 1 0 3 4.

Things were a bit dicier for the Rays in the third game as they trailed 3-2 in the middle innings before holding on for a 5-4 triumph over Boston. Danny Charlton and Danny Rodriguez had RBI singles in the 5th to reverse that 3-2 deficit and Alex Rivas had 3 hits including a pair of doubles. The Rays left 13 on base (thanks to 16 hits) so they could have made it much more comfortable on themselves, but failed to do so. Chris Ericson (4-0) got the win after going 5 6 3 3 0 6 and Tony Alicea needed only 7 pitches in a perfect 9th for save #34.

Danny Morales won his MLB-best 17th game of the season as the Rays took the finale to finish off the sweep, winning 6-1 over Boston. Morales (17-5) went 6 6 1 1 2 8 while Jeremy Begley showed why he's one of the game's biggest stars by going 2-3 with a 3-run homer (#31) to break the game open in the 8th, adding 2 walks and 2 steals. Danny Arroyave's 2-run double in the 5th got them on the board.

Team record: 87-44. It's not even September and their magic number to clinch the AL East is down to 19, and they're now only 2 1/2 games behind Houston for the #1 seed, something that looked impossible to pull off not that long ago as they trailed the Astros by double digits. Next up: They'll try to keep this historic win streak going with 3 games at home against a bad (49-81) Atlanta team.

[Art Deco]

Not only did the Rays see their 17-game win streak snapped, they lost 2 of 3 to a lousy Atlanta team at home to lose their first series since they dropped 3 of 4 in Toronto coming out of the All-Star break in mid-July.

The win streak came to an end in the opener although the Rays went down fighting, losing 6-5 in 11 innings after Tony Alicea (5-4) balked home the winning run. Atlanta jumped out to a 4-1 lead against Leo Gutierrez (who went 5 6 3 2 2 7) and Jon Coggin (who gave up an unearned run - the team made 4 errors including a trio from Gold Glover Jeremy Begley), but Billy Doughty tried to single-handedly keep the win streak alive. He doubled in a pair cut the deficit to 4-3 in the 6th and after Atlanta scored in the top of the 7th he hit a 2-run homer (#16) to tie it up. The Rays had a couple of chances late to score but couldn't, and the streak was over.

Transactions: September roster expansion time. The batter callup was 1B Ines Monts, acquired from Seattle in the offseason and who turned in a good season at Durham (296/327/512) with 23 homers and had an impressive late-season debut with the Mariners last year (.325 with 12 homers in 41 games). The switch-hitting Monts will spell lefties Danny Charlton and Luis Berumen at 1B/DH against same-handed pitching and be a power bat off the bench. On the mound we called Moises Baca back up. Baca started strong in relief with the big club before struggling and being demoted and then joined the Durham rotation where he went 3-3, 3.00 in 10 starts. He'll pitch in long relief.

Tampa Bay did bounce back in the second game to handle Atlanta 6-2. Also bouncing back was Jeremy Begley after his 3-error game was a major factor in ending the team's 17-game win streak. Begley was 3-4 with a steal and a grand slam (#32) in the 4th which snapped a 1-1 deadlock. Also going yard in his Rays debut was Ines Monts, who belted a solo shot. Gabe Bryant (11-4) was excellent at 6 3 1 1 0 9 for the win.

Joe Marlette's precipitous drop in velocity was apparent today as he was roasted for 9 runs (5 earned) in the first two innings as Atlanta manhandled the Rays 11-6. More troubling was his lack of control as he finished 3.2 7 9 5 4 1 with 3 homers allowed, dropping to 11-5, and questions have to be raised about where he'll slot into playoff rotation. He may end up the #4 starter behind Morales, Bryant and Gutierrez if things don't improve. The offense tried to make a game of it after being behind 9-0 with Danny Rivera (#16) and Justin Blackwell (#10) homering. Blackwell was 3-5 with 2 RBI and Ines Monts was 2-5 with 2 RBI in another impressive day at the plate.

Team record: 88-46. The magic number is down to 17. Next up: More interleague play the Trop as the 71-63 Phillies visit for 3 games as they fight for an NL wild card (1 1/2 back of WC3).

[Art Deco]

The Rays returned to their series-sweeping ways, easily dispatching of the Phillies over three games by a combined score of 27-4 and reducing their magic number to clinch the AL East to 11.

Superstar Jeremy Begley has had a big week (and a big season) but today he took it to an even higher level, going 5-5 with a pair of homers (#33 & 34) and 5 RBI to lead the Rays to an 11-2 rout of the Phillies. It was actually Luis Berumen who had the big hit though as his grand slam (#27) in the 3rd made it 5-0 and the team never looked back. Chris Ericson (5-0) continues to be an inspired acquisition and he went 7.2 3 0 0 2 6 to lower his Rays ERA to 2.68, giving us the 5th starter we needed.

Danny Morales just keeps winning games as he went to 18-5 after combining with three relievers on a 1-hitter in a 3-1 Tampa Bay win over Philadelphia. Morales was actually far from his sharpest tonight, needing 101 pitches to go 5 1 1 1 4 4 and qualify for the win with Tony Alicea handling the 9th for save #35. The Rays didn't get much offense tonight but didn't need much, highlighted by Danny Charlton who was 2-4 with an RBI double.

The Rays poured it on again in the finale, pounding Philly 13-1. This one was over early with Tampa Bay up 7-1 after 2 and 11-1 after 4. Danny Charlton had a monster game going 3-5 with a double, two homers (#27 & 28) and 7 RBI while middle infielders Isaiah Jackson (#10) and Justin Blackwell (#11) also went yard. Alex Rivas was 4-5 with a double, steal and RBI as well. For the second straight day a Rays starter struggled to get through 5 despite only allowing a run as Leo Gutierrez went to 10-0, 2.04 even though he struggled to find the plate, finishing 5 3 1 1 6 4 on 102 pitches.

Team record: 91-46. Next up: The series of the year as the Rays face their recent archrival Houston for 3 games at the Trop with the #1 seed at stake. The Astros are 93-43, 2 1/2 up on Tampa Bay for that distinction so the Rays will need to at least take 2 of 3 to stay in that race.

[Art Deco]

The Rays will have to hope this series wasn't a preview of the teams' potential rematch in the ALCS as the Astros took 2 of 3 and moved 3 1/2 up in the race for the top seed.

The opener might have been the game of the year for all its twists and turns with the Rays taking a dramatic 7-6 walk-off win on Luis Berumen's sac fly in the 9th. Houston roughed up Gabe Bryant early (4 9 5 5 3 2) and held a 5-1 lead in the 5th. Agustin Lopez started the comeback with an RBI double in the 5th, Danny Arroyave tied it in the 6th with a 3-run homer (#25), and Billy Doughty singled in a run later in the inning put the Rays ahead. Unfortunately Eric Lewis gave up a game-tying homer to former Ray Dominic Scavone in the 7th, setting the stage for the winning rally in the 9th when Jeremy Begley doubled, went to third on a wild pitch, and scored on the Berumen sac fly. Tony Alicea (6-4) pitched a clean 9th to pick up the win.

The Rays sent their once (as late as earlier this season) ace Joe Marlette to the mound in the second game and fears about the potent Houston lineup feasting on his diminished stuff were realized in a 7-4 Astros win. Marlette (11-6) was knocked around to the tune of 4 9 5 5 0 3 and the final score was flattering to the Rays as they scored twice in the 8th and 9th to make the margin respectable. Danny Arroyave's 2-run homer (#26) accounted for the runs in the 9th.

The rubber game had a postseason feel to it as the teams traded zeroes for 7 innings before Houston broke through in the 8th and went on to take the series with a 3-0 win. Chris Ericson had an abbreviated start and pitched with traffic but got the job done at 4 3 0 0 4 1, and the bullpen held until Eric Lewis (0-1) faltered again, giving up two runs on three hits in the 8th. Meanwhile five Astros pitchers combined to hold Tampa Bay bats to only 5 hits.

Team record: 92-48. The magic number for the division is down to 9 and the Rays did officially clinch a playoff spot. Next up: A day off then we play 3 in Kansas City.

Archundia Watch: The Cubs' Melvin Archundia continues to chase history and after a 2-homer game on the 6th he sits at a nice 69 homers, only 4 shy of Barry Bonds' single-season MLB record with 23 games left on the schedule.

[Art Deco]

The Rays were swept for only the third time this season and first since mid-June when the Yankees did the trick as they pitched poorly in Kansas City, giving up 26 runs in the 3 games.

The first game was the one where the poor pitching cost them as normally you'd expect to win after scoring 12 runs. But Tony Alicea (6-5) imploded in the 9th and blew a 12-9 lead, giving up 4 runs without retiring a batter and condemning the Rays to a crazy 13-12 loss to the Royals. Tampa Bay twice looked like they had this one, the first time when they raced out to a 6-0 lead in the 2nd inning thanks in part to a 2-run Danny Rodriguez homer (#29). And with ace Danny Morales on the mound looking for win #19 what could go wrong? Plenty it turned out as after getting through a scoreless first Morales couldn't get anyone out, beaten up to the tune of 3 10 8 8 2 2 and the Rays found themselves down 8-6. But a couple of homers put them back on top in the 6th with Tony Fisher's 461-foot 3-run jack (#44) tying it and Danny Charlton's 29th making it 11-9. Danny Arroyave then capped a 3-hit day in which he earlier had two doubles with an 8th-inning solo shot (#27) and with their deep bullpen it looked like a win. But then came Alicea and his troubles and the Rays lost a tough one.

Leo Gutierrez suffered his first loss of the season after starting the year 10-0 and the Rays dropped the second game 5-1 to Kansas City. Gutierrez was 4.2 6 4 4 4 6 in the loss and the bats didn't offer much resistance after scoring 12 the night before.

The Rays took a brief 2-0 lead in the first inning of the finale on RBI doubles from Luis Berumen and Danny Chalrton, but it was all downhill from there as the Royals routed them 8-2. Gabe Bryant (11-5) got his strikeouts but not much else at 5.1 6 6 6 2 7 and the bats went silent the rest of the way as they dropped their fifth straight.

Team record: 92-51. The #1 seed is now out of the question and with the Yankees sweeping over the weekend the magic number was kept at 9. Still 11 1/2 up so nobody's panicking but it would be nice to start winning again. That could happen in Minnesota where the Rays resume play for 3 against the Twins after a day off.

Durham Update: The AAA Bulls won their division and play their first-round playoff series against Nashville, to whom they dropped Game 1 5-3.

Archundia Watch: The Cubs slugger was held homer-less over the weekend and remains at 69 for the season.

[Art Deco]

The Rays returned to winning ways by taking 2 of 3 from the Twins and coupled with a Yankee loss their magic number to clinch the AL East is down to 6.

The bad pitching (and by extension, the losing) continued in the opener as Joe Marlette was knocked around again the Rays lost their sixth straight game, 8-4 to the Twins. Marlette (11-7) started the year as one of the top pitchers in baseball and the Rays' clear ace, only for the 35-year-old to rapidly lose his stuff and even worse of late, his control. Today he gave up 3 runs in the first on his way to going 4 8 4 4 3 2 and I almost have to wonder if he'll even be in the playoff rotation. Meanwhile the Rays got solo shots from Justin Blackwell (#12), Tony Fisher (#45) and Luis Berumen (#28) in a losing effort.

The Rays finally got a well-pitched game from the staff's unsung hero since coming over from Cincinnati in an early July deal and that would be Chris Ericson as they snapped the losing skid with a 5-1 win over Minnesota. Ericson doesn't have the stamina of a typical starter and therefore didn't qualify for the win after going 4.1 2 1 1 3 6 but he lowered his Rays ERA to 2.47 and Jamie Arnold (4-1) got him out of a 5th-inning mini-jam to pick up the win. On offense the big blow came in the bottom of that inning when Tony Fisher stepped up and belted a grand slam to break a 1-1 tie, his 46th longball of the year which also put him over the 100-RBI mark, joining Jeremy Begley who was the first Ray to reach that milestone this season. Interestingly Begley and Fisher normally hit 1-2 in the lineup.

Danny Morales bounced back from perhaps the worst start of his career to pick up his 19th win of the season as the Rays bested the Twins again 5-2. Morales (19-5) was immaculate at 6 4 0 0 2 6 although it did take him 102 pitches. Branden Gammage gave up a 2-run homer in the 8th to let Minnesota within 3-2 but Danny Arroyave restored the 3-run lead with a 2-run shot of his own (#28) in the bottom of the inning, and also bouncing back from a disastrous outing in his last appearance was Tony Alicea, who struck out the side in the 9th for his 36th save. Earlier the Rays got a pair of solo homers from their biggest 2038 disappointment, Danny Rivera, who is poised to finally get over the Mendoza Line (he's up to .197) after longballs #17 & 18. Rivera was a 5+ WAR player for Seattle last year and we're still holding out hope he gets it going down the stretch here and in the postseason.

Team record: 94-52. Next up: 3 at home against the White Sox.

Archundia Watch: If a watched pot never boils perhaps a watched Archundia never homers as after regularly starting this feature he's been stuck on 69 homers in his pursuit of history.

Durham Update: The Bulls are on the brink after dropping Game 3 of their best-of-5 first-round series with Nashville, falling behind 2 games to 1. The 6-5 loss was a tough one as they gave up runs in the 7th and 8th to lose a 5-4 lead. Danny Arevalo, up for a while earlier this year, homered for Durham.

[Art Deco]

The Rays registered another sweep and their three wins against the Pale Hose have helped reduce their division-clinching magic number to a mere two.

Tampa Bay did all its scoring in the 3rd and 4th inning but packed 7 runs into those frames to beat Chicago 7-3. Tony Fisher drove in 3 including a pair on his 47th homer of the season, putting him within 2 of the single-season club record held by Kelly Crumpton, and Jeremy Begley had a pair of run-scoring hits in the two innings. Leo Gutierrez improved to 11-1 after going 6 7 3 3 2 5 and allowing a couple of homers.

After losing a 2-0 lead in the 7th the Rays had to work overtime to take the second game, prevailing 3-2 in 11 innings over the White Sox. Jeremy Begley's 35th homer of the year made it 2-0 in the 5th and Begley didn't even have to swing the bat to bring home the winner as he drew a bases-loaded walk in the 11th. Gabe Bryant took a no-hitter into the 7th and recorded one out before getting into trouble with Stan LeVea allowing a 2-run triple to score the tying runs. Bryant finished 6.1 2 2 2 1 8 and Branden Gammage (6-4) ended up with the win.

Joe Marlette turned the clock back to May as he was excellent in a 2-1 win in the finale after a string of poor starts after losing his stuff. The lefty went to 12-7 with an outstanding 6 2 0 0 2 6 outing with the six whiffs representing the most he's had in his last nine starts. But before anyone gets excited about him "being back", I have to point out that Chicago is 31st in MLB in runs scored so we're not exactly talking the 1927 Yankees here. Still it was good to see, and Eric Lewis ended up with the save, his 2nd since rejoining the Rays and 31st overall this year. The Rays got both their runs in the 5th with Jeremy Begley figuring again courtesy of an RBI single.

Team record: 97-52. Next up: The Rays will look to officially clinch during a 3-game set at the Trop with Toronto.

Durham Update: The Bulls' 2038 season is over after they were shut out in Game 4 of their opening-round series against Nashville, losing the best-of-five 3-1.

Archundia Watch: Melvin finally broke out of his homer drought with #70, joining Mark McGwire and Barry Bonds in that exclusive club, and of course he's now 3 behind Bonds' record of 73 with 13 games remaining.

[Art Deco]

It was a series of milestones for the Rays as they swept yet another series and extended their latest win streak to 8 games.

The big one came in the opener as Tampa Bay clinched another AL East title thanks to a 7-2 win over Toronto and a Yankee loss. And Tony Fisher made sure they did it in grand style as he belted a trio of homers not only to reach the round number of 50 but to set the team single-season HR record. Fisher added an RBI double to give him 5 RBI on a career night. Meanwhile Chris Ericson (6-0) gave up a 2-run homer in the first but not a baserunner thereafter as he was great once again in a 6 1 2 2 0 7 outing.

Another milestone was on the line as Danny Morales took the mound on the prowl of win #20 and although he had to wait a while to get some run support he reached the mark in a 3-1 win over the Jays. Morales (20-5) himself was brilliant at 6 5 0 0 0 8 but he was at 93 pitches in a 0-0 game before Jeremy Begley went yard (#36) with a man on in the bottom of the 6th to make it 2-0, and Billy Doughty added an RBI double for insurance. The bullpen held although Tony Alicea made things way too interesting, giving up a run and walking 3 in the 9th but getting through it for save #37.

The Rays rested some regulars in the finale and after Leo Gutierrez got knocked around for 4 runs in the first and the score was 5-1 Toronto in the 7th you could be forgiven for thinking they'd drop a meaningless one. But there were more milestones to be had and the Rays managed to get win #100 on the season with a thrilling 6-5 comeback win in 10 innings keyed by a couple of more round numbers being hit, the 30th homers of the year from Danny Charlton and Danny Rodriguez, the latter's a 3-run shot in the bottom of the 8th to tie it. And it was a night for the Dannys as Danny Arroyave's RBI double scored Charlton with the walk-off winner in the 10th and Danny Rivera started the comeback with a 7th-inning solo shot (#19) (we have to be the first MLB team with 4 Dannys in the lineup). Gutierrez gutted his way to a 4 8 5 3 2 7 outing and the secondary guys in the bullpen managed 6 scoreless innings with Moises Baca (2-4) going the final two for the win.

Team record: 100-52. Next up as we play out the string: 3 at home against the Yankees after a day off.

Archundia Watch: No additional homers for the Cubs OF as he's now only hit one in his last 15 games as perhaps the pressure of the chase has gotten to him. He remains on 70, 3 behind Bonds and whereas at one point he was projected to hit 82, that's down to 75.

MLB News: While his former teammates were reaching all kinds of milestones, old friend Joe Stack had a 3-homer game and reached the 40-homer mark for the first time in his career as that outburst gave him 42. He has 93 RBI and is hitting 279/331/548 in his first season with the Mets and has earned 3 WAR while mostly serving as their DH.

[Art Deco]

Despite liberally interspersing backups throughout the lineup the Rays still kept winning, sweeping the Yankees at the Trop and extending another double-digit win streak which has now reached 11.

The opener was over barely after it got started as the Rays scored 5 runs in the first before making an out and 6 total in the inning as they routed the Yankees 8-1. Danny Rodriguez had a big game, hitting a 2-run double in that first and later homering (#31) while Jeremy Begley also went yard with #37. Gabe Bryant (12-5) cruised to the win at 6 1 0 0 0 4 on 76 pitches as with the playoffs approaching he got an early rest.

The second start turned out to be another laugher as the Rays broke open a 5-2 game late and thumped New York 10-2. Danny Rodriguez swung the big bat again, going 2-3 with a walk, homer (#32), three runs scored and two RBI while Luis Berumen went back-to-back (#29) with him in the 7th. Joe Marlette (13-7) was solid in the win at 6.2 6 2 2 3 2.

The finale was a tougher task but the Rays were up to it as they edged the Yankees 3-2 to complete the sweep. They were up against a tough customer in perennial all-star Nathan Deschryver but finally broke through against him in the 6th for all 3 runs with the key hit a 2-run Danny Rivera double, a hit which put Rivera above the Mendoza Line. Chris Ericson stayed undefeated thanks to the rally after going 5 5 1 1 3 3 with the win going to Moises Baca (3-4) despite allowing a solo homer in his inning of work while Tony Alicea earned save #38 despite putting men on 2nd and 3rd with 2 out before getting the final out.

Team record: 103-52. Next up: 4 games in Baltimore.

Archundia Watch: The Cub slugger continues to struggle as he went homerless over the weekend and remains stuck on 70 with time running out to tie or surpass Barry Bonds.

[Art Deco]

The Rays continued to play out the string in Baltimore, interspersing bench players throughout during a 4-game set in which they came away with a split.

They saw their 11-game win streak snapped in opener as the Orioles prevailed 5-3. Danny Morales (20-6) wasn't effective at 5 8 5 5 1 7 with a couple of homers allowed while the offense came courtesy of solo shots from Jeremy Begley (#38), Danny Rodriguez (#33) and Danny Charlton (#31).

Tampa Bay came back in the second game to rout Baltimore 10-4. Leo Gutierrez went to 12-1 after going 6 4 1 1 2 6 and his teammates were homer-happy again. Danny Arroyave (#29), Isaiah Jackson (#11), Danny Rivera (#20) and Jeremy Begley (#39) circled the bases today, with Rivera's a 3-run shot as he found himself above the Mendoza Line again at .201.

Rays hitters struck out 20 times in total including 16 by Orioles ace Joe White as they fell 3-1 in the third game. Gabe Bryant (12-6) took the loss with a 5 6 3 3 1 7 outing and Danny Charlton's RBI double was the lone offensive highlight.

Tampa Bay salvaged the split with a 7-2 win in the finale, again via the longball as four Rays homered and Joe Marlette (14-7) scattered the hits in a 7 10 2 1 0 3 outing. Today's homer heroes were Luis Berumen (#30), Justin Blackwell (#13), Danny Charlton (#32) and Danny Rivera (#21 - his only hit in the last two days so he's back down to .199). Berumen's blast gave the team 5 30-homer hitters which ties the MLB record held by two teams, most recently the 2019 Twins although I can't be sure it's happened elsewhere in this save. Danny Arroyave is sitting on 29 so if he goes deep in the final 3 games they should have the record.

Team record: 105-54. Next up: We finally close out the regular season with 3 games in Boston.

Archundia Watch: Well he did hit homer #71 during the week but his tortoise-like pace in September has likely cost him the record unless he unloads for 3 homers over the final weekend of the season.

[Art Deco]

At long last the regular season is over and the Rays took 2 of 3 from Boston despite liberally using bench players.

They were shellacked 9-1 in the opener as Chris Ericson had his first truly bad outing in his second tour of duty as a Ray, giving up 6 runs in the first inning. Ericson (6-1) lost for the first time this year in Tampa Bay colors, going 3 7 7 6 2 4. Danny Arroyave's double brought home the only Rays run but it wasn't his 30th homer to give the Rays an MLB-record six in that club.

The Rays edged the Red Sox 2-1 in the second game on a pair of RBI singles from Justin Blackwell. Moises Baca got his first start of the year with the big club and went a respectable 5 5 1 1 2 3, Ken Battle (3-1) got the win with two scoreless in relief, and Tony Alicea closed it out for save #39.

The regular season finale was what nobody wanted (extra innings) but the Rays didn't let it linger too long as they got by Boston 4-3 in 10 innings. Jeremy Begley made the 40-homer club with his game-winning solo shot in the 10th after Danny Rivera tied it in the 9th with homer #22 (Rivera ended up above the Mendoza line thanks to a 3-hit game on Friday and finished at .205). Leo Gutierrez went 5 4 1 1 0 6, Branden Gammage (7-4) picked up the relief win, and Jon Coggin converted a rare save chance for his 2nd of the year.

Final Regular Season Record: 107-55. Next up: The ALDS against either Kansas City or Minnesota.

Archundia Watch: Well after weeks of watching he finally heated up with homers in each of the final two games, leaving him at 73 and tied with Barry Bonds for the single-season MLB record. The Cubs won 104 games as the class of the NL but suffered a key blow as Archundia's bash brother Kevin Aguillard, who had 54 homers (his third straight year and fourth in the last five with 50+), is done for the year with back spasms.

[Art Deco]

Sadly Tony Fisher was beaten out on the final weekend for the AL home run title. Cut off here for the third wild card were Kansas City in the AL and St. Louis, who won the tiebreaker over Philly, in the NL.



Numbers which befit a 107-win team. The only nit you can pick is that we strike out a lot, to which we'd say "so what?"



Not every day you have three 6+ WAR players on a team, and Begley turned out to be worth every penny of the high price we paid for him last winter. And if D-Rod isn't Rookie of the Year there should be an investigation. At the other end of the spectrum we had down years from our middle-of-the-order guys with Charlton off some and a really poor year from Berumen, who as the DH was barely above replacement value after looking like he'd be a generational hitter (he's still rated 75 contact and 70 power). He's due a big bump in arbitration next year and we have a lot of DH-types, so he could very well be moved.



Morales finally emerged as the true ace of the staff, taking over for Marlette. Speaking of the lefty, if you didn't know any better you'd think Marlette one of his typical seasons but his numbers are buoyed by his first half before he lost his stuff and became a soft-tosser who gave up a lot of hits and is either our fourth or fifth-best starter right now. Also special mention to Alicea - any time you can put up 3+ WAR out of the bullpen you've had a special season.



This system is short on elite prospects, although it has a fair amount of depth. Also we have MLB-ready bats at Durham, some who show up above (Duron and Arevalo, both of whom had brief stints up this year), and some who don't (Danny Perez, rated as high as #23 and still is age 24 with rookie status but mysteriously disappeared from this list, Willie Maldonado, and Danny Bellamy, all of whom who have at least 55 contact and 55 power with each faring better in one or the other).