The 2021 (and only 2021) Tampa Bay Rays

[Art Deco]

The dog days of August are catching up to Tampa Bay as the Rays lost their third straight series after dropping 2 of 3 to the Rangers.

The opener saw Sergio Espinoza turn in his worst start of the season and a result Texas took an 8-3 win. Espinoza (7-3) was ambushed in a 4-run 3rd and wasn't much better from there, finishing 5.1 8 7 6 3 3 with 3 homers allowed. Danny Perez gave the Rays a brief 1-0 lead with his 26th homer in the 2nd but it was all downhill from there.

The Rays did bounce back in the second game behind another brilliant outing from Ruben Cerrillo as they roughed up the Rangers 7-0. Cerrillo (11-6) was a sterling 7.1 5 0 0 2 9 as he lowered his ERA to 2.72 and had plenty of runway thanks to an offense that showed up for a changed led by 2-run homers from Danny Rodriguez (#14) and Danny Rivera (#26).

The offense deserted them in the finale as they lost a tight one to Texas 3-2. Salvatore Garza's 2-run blast (#4/27) in the 1st inning gave them a quick 2-0 lead but Bryce Barnett gave it back and then one more by the 3rd, where the score held up for the rest of the game. Barnett (1-1) at least made it through a start without leaving early to injury and did settle down to go 7 7 3 3 2 6.

Team record: 75-43. Perhaps a change of venue will snap the Rays out of the August doldrums as they head to San Antonio for 3 games.

[Art Deco]

Thankfully this team got off to such a great first four months because they've lost four series in a row now after dropping 2 of 3 in Alamo country.

The Rays did take the opener, easily handling San Antonio 9-4. Tony Fisher drove in 5 runs on a pair of homers (#23 & 24) and a sac fly, John Lopez went yard pinch-hitting (#9) and Danny Morales (13-2) was dominant at 7 3 0 0 1 7. Moises Baca was hit for four runs in the 8th to spoil the shutout.

Tampa Bay was on the other side of a 5-run loss in the second game as they fell 8-3 to the Alamos. Mike Blake (7-5) was utterly dreadful, walking 6 and giving up as many runs in 2 1/3 innings while also allowing 7 hits and fanning only one. The only bright spot was Justin Blackwell, who was 3-3 with a solo homer (#15) while Danny Arroyave also went deep with his 27th.

After trading routs the teams played a nailbiter in the finale but the Rays came up short 3-2. A 2-0 Tampa Bay lead after 2 dissipated when another starter had control issues, this time Sergio Espinoza (7-4) as he went 5 4 3 3 7 4 and the 7th walk caught up to him when he gave up a 2-run homer in the 6th to put the Alamos ahead. The Rays had some chances, banging out 10 hits and drawing 3 walks, but couldn't get the big hit when they needed it.

Team record: 76-45. Next up: A day off then 3 games in Boston.

[Art Deco]

The awful August continues for the Rays as they lost their fifth straight series with an old bugaboo, the bullpen, playing an outsized role. The only good thing I can say for this stretch is they've been at least winning one game in each series.

Transaction: RF Danny Rivera went on the IL with patellar tendonitis but will be back when his 10 days are up (and I'm also reporting this 3 days late). OF Willie Maldonado is up from Durham for his second stint this season.

The opener saw the mother of all bullpen meltdowns as a 7-1 lead in the 7th inning turned into an 8-7 loss at Fenway. Everything was going their way - Tony Fisher homered (#25) and drove in 3, Jeremy Begley was 3-4 with a homer, 4 runs scored and joined the 30-30 club with both the homer and steal, and Ruben Cerrillo went 7 7 2 2 1 4 - but things went south in a hurry. First Ken Battle gave up a pair of runs in the 8th to make it 7-4 and then Walt Kelly (5-6), in a slump of late, imploded in the 9th allowing 4 runs on 4 hits and a walk to lose it. He was one out away from escaping after striking out a Red Sock with men on 2nd and 3rd but then gave up a 2-run single to let them walk it off.

Danny Rodriguez had a massive day and the Rays took the second game from Boston 7-4. The CF, who had been in a bit of a funk, broke out in a big way going 4-5 with a triple, pair of homers (#15 & 16) and 3 RBI, and Salvatore Garza broke a 3-3 tie in the 8th with a solo shot (#5/28) just inside the Pesky Pole. Bryce Barnett scattered the hits but was effective at 5 8 1 0 1 4 but the bullpen was problematic once as first Isaac Washington (9-2) blew a 3-1 lead in the 7th by giving up a 2-run homer but vultured another win, and Walt Kelly came back for the 9th and gave up another run but the lead was too big for him to blow.

The bullpen technically lost the finale when Chad Montgomery (1-2) served up the winning homer in the 8th to break a 5-5 tie and let Boston win 6-5, but the real damage came thanks to ace starter Danny Morales, who threw away a 3-0 lead by giving up 5 runs in the 4th. Billy Doughty cleared the bases with a double to give Tampa Bay a 3-0 lead in the top of the 4th but the usually stingy Morales was blasted for 5 runs in the bottom of the frame and finished 5 8 5 5 1 5. Sal Garza capped a 3-hit day with a 2-run homer (#6/29) in the 7th to tie it up but Montgomery gave up his 10th homer of the year in only 44 innings, an amazing stat for a guy with 70 movement.

Team record: 77-47. The division lead, which I haven't mentioned for a month, is now down to 8 games over New York and the next stop for the Rays is none other than Yankee Stadium where they'll play 3. Get swept and suddenly they have a division race they weren't anticipating.

[Art Deco]

The worst-case scenario came to pass as the Rays were swept by the Yankees who pulled within 5 games of the division lead, a lead that 10 days ago stood at 11. It's been a truly awful August and they've actually been a sub-.500 (23-24) team since the beginning of July.

Transaction: Leo Gutierrez's rehab at Durham was up and the only pitcher to send down with options was Sergio Espinoza, who had done a good job in the rotation but had struggled of late.

And Leo Gutierrez got the start in the opener and you've probably already been spoiled that it didn't turn out so great as the Rays dropped the opener 5-2 to New York. Danny Arroyave's 2-run homer (#28) in the 4th tied the game but Gutierrez (2-1) gave up two more in the 5th and finished 5.1 5 5 5 2 3 in the loss.

Solo homers from Jeremy Begley (#31) and Tony Fisher (#26) gave the Rays a quick 2-0 lead but Mike Blake imploded and the Yankees went to score a 5-4 win over Tampa Bay. Blake (7-6) fell apart in the 3rd, allowing 4 runs and was an ugly 4.1 5 5 5 4 2 on the day. Fisher added another solo homer (#27) and Begley capped a 3-hit day with an RBI single to get the Rays back within one, but they couldn't squeeze out the equalizer.

It was Groundhog Day for the Rays in the finale as once again they got the early advantage, this time going up 3-0 before it all felt apart and the Yankees completed the sweep with a 7-5 win. Jeremy Begley's 2-run homer (#32) in the 5th made it 3-0 Rays and with Ruben Cerrillo cruising through 5 it looked like they'd at least salvage the finale. But once again it all went wrong quickly as Cerrillo couldn't retire anyone in the 6th and the Yankees ended up putting 6 on the board. After Eric Lewis came in and gave up his obligatory homer (with Cerrillo's man aboard) the lefty ended with a line of 5 5 5 5 0 4 and fell to 11-7. The Rays mounted a 2-out rally in the 9th that got them within 2 with the bases loaded but Tony Fisher struck out to end the game and a miserable three days in the Big Apple.

Team record: 77-50. Next up: The Rays will look to get right at home as they play 4 against Toronto.

[Art Deco]

The Rays finally got their mojo back, winning their first series since sweeping the Mets at the beginning of the month as they took 3 of 4 high-scoring games from Toronto.

The Jays scored two runs in the first and it seemed like "here we go again" but the offense answered back and the Rays took an 11-5 win in the opener. Danny Arroyave led the attack with a pair of 2-run homers, giving him 30 on the year, while Danny Perez (#27) went yard as well. Bryce Barnett (2-1) wasn't that good but 6 7 3 3 4 1 was good enough to earn a win today.

Transaction: Danny Rivera comes back off the IL to patrol RF again and OF Willie Maldonado is optioned to Durham.

The second game was a nip-and-tuck affair but the Rays scored in both the extra frames to beat the Jays 6-5 in 11 on a walk-off solo shot from Danny Perez (#28). Danny Morales was hit for a pair of runs in the first but his teammates staked him to a 4-2 lead thanks to a 3-run shot from Salvatore Garza (#7/30) and a solo blast off the bat of Danny Rivera (#27) in his first game off the IL. But Morales coughed up the lead in the 6th (finishing 6.2 7 4 4 1 4) and on to extras we went. Toronto scored in the top of the 10th but the Rays matched it after a double steal set up Tony Fisher's sac fly, and then Perez's blast won it in the 11th. Isaac Washington picked up his 10th relief win of the year against two losses.

The Rays were not as fortunate in the third game as like yesterday it was tied 4-4 late but this time it was Toronto which scored a pair in the 9th to prevail 6-4. Danny Arroyave hit another 2-run homer (#31) to give Tampa Bay a 2-0 lead but Leo Gutierrez lost the plot in the 5th, allowing 4 runs and finishing 4.2 4 4 4 5 7 with 3 of the runs coming with two out. Willis Ramirez's 2-run double in the bottom of the frame tied it and there we went until the 9th when Jamie Arnold (1-2) surrendered a 2-run homer to lose it.

Tampa Bay bats feasted in the finale, banging out 18 hits in a wild 15-7 win over Toronto. AL MVP-Elect Jeremy Begley had a massive game, falling short of the cycle by a double and going 4-6, with a triple, 3-run homer (#33) and 5 RBI to up his season total to 8.5 WAR. Danny Arroyave drove in 3 with a pair of doubles giving him 9 RBI in the 4-game series and Billy Doughty had 3 hits and a ribbie. Mike Blake (8-6) was pretty lousy at 5 7 6 6 1 4 but still was awarded the win thanks to all the run support.

Team record: 80-51. And the Rays took care of their business while the Yankees were being swept in the heart of Texas by San Antonio so the division lead that had dwindled to 5 is back to 7 1/2 games. Next up: A day-off then cross-state rival Miami heads across Alligator Alley to visit for 3 games.

[Art Deco]

The Rays made it back-to-back series wins for the first time since early July as they took 2 of 3 from the fish.

The opener was a taut pitching duel that saw the teams combine for only 7 hits with one of them being Billy Doughty's game-winning homer (#17) in the bottom of the 8th as the Rays slipped by the Marlins 2-1. Ruben Cerrillo was excellent as usual at 6.1 2 0 0 3 4 and Tampa Bay took a 1-0 lead into the 8th before Isaac Washington gave up the tying run. Washington (11-2) then vultured the win when Doughty went deep, and Walt Kelly pitched around a couple of walks for his 23rd save.

The Rays and Bryce Barnett got knocked around in the second game as Miami took a 9-2 win. Barnett (2-2) went 5 9 4 4 0 4 and the offense couldn't get much going outside of Danny Perez's solo homer (#29). Chad Montgomery was hit for 4 runs in the 9th on a couple of homers to make the final margin a rout.

Transactions: It's September 1 and time to expand the roster with a couple of returnees, IF Frank Duron and SP Sergio Espinoza, neither of whom deserved their demotions but were victims of roster squeezes.

Tampa Bay took the rubber game 8-2 although for the first half of the action that looked like an unlikely final score. That's because neither team even managed a hit until the 5th inning when Danny Arroyave belted a solo homer (#32) to put the Rays on top and Justin Blackwell added a 2-run blast (#16) to cap a 4-run inning. Meanwhile Danny Morales (14-2) continued with his no-hit bid until giving up a leadoff single in the 7th. That man came around to score and Morales finished 6 2 1 1 3 3. It became a comfortable win when they kept tacking on with homers from Danny Rivera (#28), Willis Ramirez (#6) and Salvatore Garza (#8/31), the latter two back-to-back.

Team record: 82-52. The Yankees dropped 2 of 3 to fall 8 1/2 back, so their brief run at the division after sweeping the Rays last week seems doomed. Next up: Washington visits for 3 games.

[Art Deco]

The Rays continued to right the ship with a sweep of Washington and now have their magic number to clinch the AL East down to 17 with the better part of a month left.

Leo Gutierrez and three relievers combined on a 5-hit shutout as the Rays took the opener from Nationals 5-0. Gutierrez (3-1) was a bit wild but effective at 5.1 2 0 0 5 6 and Salvatore Garza swung the big bat with a 3-run homer (#9/32) in the 6th which broke open a 2-0 game.

The Rays got another great start in the second game from Mike Blake but had to hang on as the bullpen let Washington get close in a 4-3 win. It was encouraging to see Blake (9-6), who's struggle of late, go a solid 6 3 0 0 2 5. And another struggler, Eric Lewis, pitched a perfect 7th for his fourth straight clean outing. But Isaac Washington walked 3 in the 8th without recording an out and two of them came around to score, and then Devon Williams gave up a solo shot in the 9th while picking up his first Rays save of the season. The offense should have put more than the four they did, with 11 LOB and 2 CS, as Jeremy Begley was 4-4 with an RBI and Willis Ramirez was 3-4 with HR #7.

Tampa Bay completed the sweep with a 5-4, 11-inning comeback win in the finale. They trailed 4-1 in the 7th and then 4-3 in the 9th before Tony Fisher led off the inning with a solo homer (#28) to tie it and Danny Perez, whose RBI single in the 7th got the comeback going, walked it off with a solo shot in the bottom of the 11th, his 30th round-tripper of the year. Ruben Cerrillo started and went 5.2 5 4 4 3 6 although the last two runs off him came after he had left the game, and Sebastian Burns (2-1) ended up with the win in relief.

Team record: 85-52. Next up: Oakland visits for 3 games.

[Art Deco]

The Rays took 2 of 3 from the A's as they marched closer to a division title (magic number of 15).

Bryce Barnett and two relievers scattered 9 hits in a combined 5-0 shutout of Oakland to kick off the series. Barnett (3-2) went 5.2 7 0 0 1 7 and lowered his Rays ERA to 2.68 with the outing with 2-run homers from Danny Rivera (#29) and Art Bing (#2) providing the offense.

It's tough to win when you can only manage two hits, and the Rays learned that in a 5-2 loss to the A's. One of those two hits was a Frank Duron solo homer (#12) and it was a 2-2 game until the 7th when Danny Morales (14-3) ran out of gas and combined with a Ken Battle triple allowing one of his men to score he finished 6.1 8 4 4 2 5.

Tampa Bay took the rubber game from Oakland rather comfortably 6-1 as Sergio Espinoza made a triumphant return to the rotation. Espinoza had been the odd man out when Leo Gutierrez came back in late August due to having an option but he was back up with roster expansion and didn't miss a beat in going 7 6 1 1 1 8 and improving to 8-4. Tony Fisher's RBI triple and Billy Doughty's 2-run homer (#18) were the big blows on offense today.

Team record: 87-53. Next up: An off-day then we head to Kansas City for 3.

[Art Deco]

The Rays took 2 of 3 in KC as they moved three games closer to the playoffs, the magic number for the division down to 11.

The opener was a wild affair which saw the ball flying out of Kauffman Stadium as the teams combined for 9 homers with Danny Arroyave's second of the game, a 3-run shot in the 10th, giving the Rays a 10-8 win. Ruben Cerrillo started and struggled, falling behind 3-0 after 2 but seemingly settling in as the bats came back and gave him a 5-3 lead. But he lost that lead by allowing 3 more in the 6th including the second of three homers hit by the Royals' Ben Grossenbacher, and he finished 5.1 7 6 6 1 8. Tampa Bay looked like winners again in the 9th though when Danny Rivera belted a 2-run shot (#30) to make it 7-6 but Walt Kelly (6-6) blew another save by allowing a solo homer. Finally Devon Williams put an end to the madness in the 10th for his 2nd Rays save and 25th overall despite allowing a solo shot to Grossenbacher. Arroyave ended up with 5 RBI on the day and has now hit 34 homers while Danny Rodriguez (#17) and Billy Doughty (#19) also went deep for Tampa Bay.

The second game was a much calmer affair as Leo Gutierrez helped the Rays to a 4-1 win. The lefty improved to 4-1 after going 6 4 1 1 4 4 and this time Walt Kelly converted the save, his 24th. Gutierrez was backed a 2-run Tony Fisher homer (#29) in the 4th and Billy Doughty's solo shot (#20) in the 5th. Doughty gave the Rays their 7th 20-homer hitter of the season, one shy of the 2023 Twins record of 8, and Danny Rodriguez has 17 and Justin Blackwell 16 so there's a chance their entire regular lineup could hit at least 20 apiece.

The offense went AWOL in the finale as the Royals' Jose Lizarde dominated them in a 3-0 loss. Lizarde, one of the better pitchers in the league, went 6.2 4 0 0 1 10 against Tampa Bay although he left a 0-0 game before KC scored all 3 of its run in the 7th off Jamie Arnold (1-3) and Isaac Washington. It was mostly Washington's fault (as well as Isaiah Jackson's thanks to his key error) as Arnold simply put a man on with one out and left and Washington gave up a 2-run double. Bryce Barnett started and went 3 1 0 0 0 2 but left yet another game early, this time with a strained ab which will bother him for two weeks. Fortunately we've been going with a 6-man rotation this month so no need to change anything.

Team record: 89-54. Next up: A day off then back home for 3 against Cleveland.

[Art Deco]

Another Meat Loaf series as the Rays took two of three and reduced their magic number to clinch the AL East to 9 while they did clinch at least a wild card.

The opener was billed as a premium pitching matchup with the Rays' Danny Morales squaring off against Cleveland's Wayne Weir (who last year led the league with 7.2 WAR and has 5.5 this year). It lived up to the hype until the 5th when Tampa Bay got 3 off Weir and added on against the Guardian bullpen to take a 7-0 win. Morales (15-3) had the upper hand in an excellent 7 4 0 0 0 8 outing and Danny Arroyave broke the ice in the 5th with a solo shot (#35) off Weir before his teammates tacked on two more. And then Frank Duron left no doubt as to the outcome when he belted a 3-run homer (#13) in the 8th.

The Rays dropped the middle game 6-4 to Cleveland. Mike Blake (9-7) had one of his bad outings, going 4.2 10 5 5 1 6 and although the offense put four on the board they didn't sustain any rallies as the runs came on 2-run homers from Jeremy Begley (#34) and Billy Doughty (#21).

Tampa Bay prevailed in the rubber game 8-6 although a 3-run Cleveland homer in the 9th made the final score look more competitive than the game was. Ruben Cerrillo (12-7) was touched for 2 runs in the first but settled in to go 7 5 3 3 1 9 in the win and the Rays tied it in the 4th on run-scoring hits from Tony Fisher and Frank Duron, who each had 3 hits on the day. Fisher's RBI single in the 5th broke the deadlock and then Sal Garza broke it open with a 3-run shot (#10/33) which put him over the 100-RBI mark for the seventh time in seven full MLB seasons. Entrusted with an 8-3 lead going into the 9th Ken Battle made a mess, giving up that 3-run homer so Walt Kelly had to get the final two outs for save #25.

Team record: 91-55. Next up: Minnesota visits for 3 games.

Durham update: The Bulls are in the playoffs after a fine 84-56 season but have their backs to the wall after blowing a 7-2 lead in the late innings of Game 3 of the opening round best-of-five playoff series against St. Paul, down 2-1. The inconsistent (with the big club) Danny Mauricio was the Game 3 culprit, giving up 3 runs in the 9th to lose it.

[Art Deco]

The Rays marked time ahead of the playoffs by dropping 2 of 3 to the Twins at home as their magic number for clinching the AL East dropped to 6.

Sergio Espinoza was brilliant but the offense was anemic as the Rays fell 2-1 to Minnesota in 10 innings to open the series. Espinoza went 8 6 1 1 1 5 and lowered his ERA to 3.14 but the only run his teammates could manage came on a wild pitch in the 3rd and the Twins scratched out an unearned run in the 10th off Jamie Arnold (1-4) to win it.

Tampa Bay got excellent pitching again and this time translated it into a win as Leo Gutierrez and four relievers combined on a 4-0 shutout of Minnesota. Gutierrez (5-1) went 6 5 0 0 3 8 in a 110-pitch performance, and after Isaac Washington made a mess starting the 9th and left with a minor injury Walt Kelly got the next 3 batters, two via strikeout, to end the game and earn his 26th save. Support came via Danny Arroyave, who had an RBI triple in the 2nd and scored on a sac fly.

It was quite the pitching mismatch on paper with the Rays sending longtime ace Danny Morales to the mound against Minnesota's Connor Hagen who came in with a 5-12 record and 5.96 ERA. So of course Hagen held the Rays to one run on three hits through six while Morales (15-4) had a bad stretch where he gave up 3 runs with two out in the 5th on an infield single, bases-loaded walk and a single and the Rays lost 5-4 despite a late rally. Morales wasn't bad overall at 6 5 3 3 1 2 but the bats were quiet for much of the game. Danny Arroyave was an exception as he had an RBI double in the first to give him 100 on the season for the first time in his MLB career after coming close with seasons of 94, 99 and 94. Arroyave later added a solo homer (#37) as he went back-to-back in the 9th with Willis Ramirez, who hit a 2-run homer (#8), to shave the Twins lead to one with nobody out and although they got a man to second they couldn't get him home.

Team record: 92-57. Next up: Boston comes to the Trop for 3 games.

Durham Update: The Bulls rallied to win Games 4 and 5 to advance to the championship round of the IL playoffs against Gwinnett. Game 5 saw Durham pull out a 5-3 win on a 2-run Ines Monts homer in the bottom of the 8th inning and this time Danny Mauricio held on to the lead.

[Art Deco]

The Rays swept the Red Sox, pulling off a trio of close wins.

The opener saw Tampa Bay squander a 5-0 lead before winning it in the 10th on Jeremy Begley's 2-run walk-off homer (#35). The Rays raced out to that 5-0 lead through 2 innings with Tony Fisher following his first-inning 2-run homer (#30) with a 2-run single in the 2nd, but Mike Blake had his usual struggles, going 6 9 4 4 3 3 and allowing Boston within one. Still they had the chance to win in regulation but Walt Kelly blew his 5th save, allowing the Red Sox to tie before Begley got him off the hook in the 10th and made a winner of Jamie Arnold (2-4).

Ruben Cerrillo was masterful as the Rays shut out the Red Sox 2-0 in the second game. Cerrillo (13-7) went 8 4 0 0 0 6 on 106 pitches and lowered his ERA to 3.01 in the win with Devon Williams handling the 9th for his 3rd Rays save and 26th overall. The runs came in the 6th on RBI singles from Danny Rivera and Isaiah Jackson.

Tampa Bay completed the sweep with a 4-3 win over the Red Sox, scoring all four runs in the 6th to erase a 3-0 Boston lead. Billy Doughty's 2-run double capped the rally and proved the game's winning hit. Chris Ericson (6-4) earned the win with 4 1/3 innings of one-run ball after having to come on in the 3rd when Sergio Espinoza left with back stiffness after going 2.2 3 2 2 1 1. Walt Kelly came through this time in the 9th with a pair of whiffs for save #27.

Team record: 95-57. The magic number for the division is down to 3. Next up: An off-day followed by a visit from Baltimore for 3 games.

Durham Update: The Bulls are one win away from the IL championship as they took the first two games of their best-of-five from Gwinnett.

[Art Deco]

The Rays concluded the home portion of the regular season schedule by dropping 2 of 3 to Baltimore and finishing 57-24 at the Trop, but this was of little consequence consider they suffered a season-ending injury to a regular at a key position.

The Orioles edged Tampa Bay 3-2 in the opener but the real loss for the Rays came in the 2nd inning when starting catcher Billy Doughty strained his groin beating out an infield single and is done for the season. It's a crippling blow considering how well Doughty handled the staff with his 65 catcher defense and of course he contributed 21 homers as well. Art Bing will now take over as the starter but it's a considerable dropoff both offensively and defensively. As for the game Mrs. Lincoln Leo Gutierrez (5-2) gave up a 2-run homer in the 6th to break a 1-1 tie and he finished 6 4 3 3 3 7. Danny Perez broke out of a slump by going 4-4 with HR #31 but he was about the extent of the offense.

Transaction: Doughty had to go on the 60-day IL because the 40-man was full, there was nobody I wanted to DFA and he and Bing were the only two catchers on the 40-man. Coming up for his MLB debut is Dan Toliver, our second-round pick back in 2032 who's worked his way up the system and hit 289/373/417 for Durham in 204 AB. He's a little bit better of a hitter than Bing and might be about his equal defensively so we'll run him out there some over the final week.

The Rays dropped another one to Baltimore 7-5 and once again a big homer for the Orioles was the difference. Eric Lewis (0-4), who was so horrible in the first half especially with the HR ball, appeared to have turned things around with 11 straight scoreless appearances and 16 in his last 17 outings. But today he put two on and gave up a 3-run homer in the 7th in a 4-4 game. Danny Morales was also far from his best, going 6 8 4 4 1 5 in his start. Offensively Jeremy Begley led off the game with HR #36 for the Tampa Bay highlight.

Tampa Bay finally broke through in the finale, reducing their magic number to clinch the AL East to 1 thanks to a 13-3 rout of Baltimore. Jeremy Begley is this year's AL MVP-elect at 9.5 WAR, 2.6 ahead of the field, but burnished his credentials today with four hits including a double, homer (#37) and 3 RBI while Danny Arroyave got the party started with a 3-run jack (#38) in the first. Also putting up numbers was Salvatore Garza, 3-6 with HR #34 (11th with the Rays) and 4 RBI with Danny Rodriguez also adding a 2-run shot (#18). The beneficiary of all this offense was Mike Blake (10-7), who got off to an inauspicious start by allowing a 2-run homer in the first but didn't allow another hit until the 7th when he gave up another dinger and finished 7 3 3 3 2 5.

Team record: 96-59. Next up: Four games at Yankee Stadium, with a win clinching the AL East.

MLB News: Colorado's Brady House picked up his 2000th career hit.

Durham Update: So I was wrong about the IL playoffs. Durham did finish off Gwinnett with a sweep but there's actually a third round so it's Rochester who they will battle for the IL championship, and the Bulls got off to a great start by taking Game 1 of the best-of-five series 10-3. Leading the way was Danny Arevalo, who's been up at times this season and should be in the bigs, who was 4-4 with a double, homer and four RBI and is hitting 421/439/816 with 4 homers and a ridiculous 16 RBI in 9 games.

[Art Deco]

It took four tries but the Rays finally won the game they needed to clinch the AL East, after losing the first three of the series.

They should have taken care of business in the opener but the bullpen coughed up a 4-0 lead they took into the 8th and the Yankees beat the Rays 5-4 in 13 innings. Danny Rivera drove in 3 runs on a pair of hits and Ruben Cerrillo was rolling along with a shutout until he put two on with one out in the 8th. Devon Williams gave up a 2-run double and a homer to make it 4-3 New York and Cerrillo finished 7.1 5 2 2 1 4, and then Walt Kelly blew another save by allowing the tying run in the 9th. Meanwhile the offense completely dried up in extras and in fact things got so bad that they struck out 23 times(!) in the game as a team including Justin Blackwell whiffing in all 6 plate appearances and Jeremy Begley fanning 5 times. And finally Eric Lewis (0-5) gave up the winning run in the 13th on a sac fly.

The second game was a forgettable 5-1 loss to the Yankees with Bryce Barnett (5-5) allowing a couple of homers and going 6.2 6 5 5 1 6.

The third game was a 1-1 affair until New York put 3 on the board in the 6th and took a 4-2 win despite a late Rays rally that fell short. Leo Gutierrez (5-3) loaded the bases with nobody out in that 6th and Chris Ericson allowed them all to score, leaving Gutierrez with a 5 4 3 3 4 5 line.

The Rays finally got the win they needed in the finale, beating New York 8-4 and getting all their offense via 6 - count 'em, 6 - home runs. Jeremy Begley led the charge, going yard twice (#38 & 39) and stealing a base (his 37th) as he has an outside chance of going 40-40 and also is just short of a 10-WAR season as he sits at an MLB-best 9.9. Danny Arroyave started the longball parade with a solo blast (#39) in the first and Salvatore Garza's was the biggest of 'em all, a 3-run shot (#12/35) in the 5th to break the game open. Danny Rivera (#31) and Justin Blackwell (#17) added bases-empty dingers. Danny Morales (16-4) was the beneficiary of the offense, not his best at 5.1 7 3 3 1 4 but good enough today for the division-clinching win.

Team record: 97-62. This series probably cost them a shot at 100 wins as now only a sweep in Toronto over the final weekend will get them there.

MLB Playoff Race Update: The Rays (#1 seed), Texas (#2) and Kansas City (#3) are your division winners, the Yankees are WC1 and San Antonio WC2, leaving WC3 up for grabs with Houston in good shape two games up on Minnesota. In the NL the Mets are the #1 seed, the Dodgers (who should win the division, 2 up on Colorado) would be the #2 and the Cubs will be #3. Miami and Colorado should be WC1&2, but the Phillies and Giants are tied for WC3 with Washington two back.

Durham Update: The Durham Bulls are the 2025 International League Champs as they stormed through the playoffs, sweeping Rochester in three games in the final round after taking the clincher 5-4 in 12 innings on a Jeremy Herndon RBI single.

[Art Deco]

The Rays closed out the regular season by taking 2 of 3 in Toronto, falling just short of the 100-win mark. They were overtaken for MLB's best record by the Mets, who won their final 7 games to finish 100-62 so if the teams meet in the World Series New York will have home-field advantage.

Mike Blake had an up-and-down maiden season with the Rays but finished it on an up note, pitching Tampa Bay to a 3-1 win in the opener. Blake finished 11-7, 4.16 after going 6 3 1 1 1 3 and Walt Kelly closed it out for save #28 despite putting a couple of men on. A pair of runs in the 1st featuring a Danny Arroyave RBI double sent them on their way and Salvatore Garza added some insurance with a pinch solo homer (#13/36) in the 9th.

Ruben Cerrillo got the ball for his final regular season tuneup before the playoffs and the intent was to have him pitch 5 or 6 innings but instead he took a perfect game into the 8th as the Rays beat Toronto again 3-0. Cerrillo was masterful and only on 77 pitches through 7 before giving up a leadoff single in the 8th to lose the perfecto and immediately departed, finishing 7 1 0 0 0 7 on the day and 14-7, 2.90 on the season. In fact with the outing he overtook teammate Danny Morales (2.95) for the AL ERA title. Walt Kelly came on again for the save (#29) and put three more runners on despite preserving the shutout. Willis Ramirez was the man on offense, supplying an RBI double and a solo homer (#9).

The finale was utterly forgettable as the Rays were annihilated by the Jays 15-0. Things started off ominously enough as Sergio Espinoza (8-5) left with two out and two on in the first with what turned out to be a minor back tweak and Chris Ericson immediately gave up a homer to the first man he faced to make it 3-0. Five different Rays pitchers appeared in the game and all five allowed at least one run with Ericson a brutal 4 4 6 6 3 4 in long relief.

Final Regular Season Record: 99-63. Next up: The ALDS starting at the Trop against either the Yankees or San Antonio.

We'll have a final stats and standings update in the morning.

[Art Deco]

There he is - Jeremy Begley at 10 WAR. He reached that mark on the last Friday of the season so I sat him the final two games to keep him there (as well as preserve his .303 BA). As for the standings, the third wild cards are cut off so here's the playoff tree:



Houston wrapped up the third AL wild card on Friday night but over in the NL things got wild with the Rockies, Phillies and Giants all ending up tied for WC2/WC3 and San Francisco ended up the odd team out due to tiebreakers.



A team that was 54-26 over the first three months went 45-37 over the final three, leading to some cause for concern heading into the playoffs. The bullpen remains unreliable and was a reason why they underperformed their Pythagorean record by 5 games, and while the offense is good, it's not incredible as you can see from the 5th place finish in the AL in runs scored. And losing Billy Doughty for the postseason is a blow. This was without doubt though the best defensive team I've ever had in all my saves.



So to give you an idea of how this team fell off in the second half we had 9 players on pace for 3 WAR and instead only three of them hit that number. Now five more ended up with 2.8 or 2.9 WAR but only one or two were on pace to barely make it. Begley of course will be the MVP and Arroyave had his best season in his walk year but Danny Rodriguez tailed off badly in the second half as did Fisher and Perez and the team just had trouble putting up a lot of runs even though they had a lineup in which everyone except Blackwell hit 20 homers. Garza was a good pickup but he wasn't spectacular.




Like the offense the pitching was top-heavy with Morales and Cerrillo perhaps the best 1-2 starting punch in the league but not a lot overly impressive after that. Espinoza was a very good #3 starter when healthy and that caveat certainly applies to Barnett, who had trouble staying in the rotation after being acquired mid-season. And don't get me started on the bullpen. Kelly blew a fair number of saves in the second half but was somewhat the victim of a .331 BABIP while Lewis had a nightmare season but was one of the few better in the second half. Williams may be our playoff closer as he has the best stuff but even he gave up too many homers (5 in 26 IP). Washington had a great first half as a setup man then was almost unpitchable in the second, a good number of those 11 wins he picked up were vultured.



Some depth in the prospect pool even if there isn't any can't-miss talent. We do have a ton of 1B/OF-types at AAA who are MLB-ready and Gardener is the heir apparent at 3B when Arroyave goes free agent this winter (we also have vet Luis Cisneros at Durham who's capable).

[Art Deco]

The heavy-hitting Alamos laid waste to the Yankees in the Bronx, scoring 21 runs in their two-game sweep and will now be the Rays' opponent in the ALDS.



Despite barely making the playoffs with an 85-77 record the Astros upset the Royals and will take on Texas in the other ALDS. Houston has been a thorn in the Rays' side the last couple of ALCSes and they could meet for a third straight year.



The Phillies won an all-NL East matchup and get to play another team from their division, the 100-win Mets, in the NLDS.



The Rockies had an easy go of it with the Cubs and now will take on the Dodgers in the other NLDS.

[Art Deco]

That's why they call it an Achilles heel...



Despite a fine season in which they won the division fairly comfortably, the Rays had persistent problems late in games with the bullpen and it showed at the worst time with Walt Kelly blowing a 5-4 lead in the 9th of the ALDS opener as the Rays fell 6-5 to San Antonio. Kelly gave up a leadoff double followed by a homer and in an instant a 1-0 advantage in a best-of-5 series became an 0-1 deficit. They did get a 2-out double from Danny Rodriguez followed by a walk to Danny Rivera to put the winning run on base but Justin Blackwell fanned to end it. The Alamos were the top offensive team in the AL (and 2nd in MLB) and showed it today, getting 4 runs off ace Danny Morales and then scoring again when they needed to. Ruben Cerrillo will take the mount for what is suddenly a critical Game 2.

In the other ALDS lid-lifter:



Yesterday's NLDS openers:



And today's Games 2:

[Art Deco]

Cerrillo to the rescue...



The Rays are all even in the ALDS thanks to a brilliant outing from Ruben Cerrillo and a 7th-inning rally which saw them score four times. Cerrillo gave up a first-inning homer and scattered some hits but was otherwise unstoppable until he allowed a 2-out homer in the 9th trying to close out his own win. At 112 pitches he gave way to Walt Kelly, who picked up the save this time by getting the final out. It look for a long time like the Rays might still be in real trouble, trailing 1-0 in the 7th before Danny Perez doubled home the tying run, Danny Rivera singled home the go-ahead run, and Frank Duron came off the bench to deliver a 2-run double which proved to be the difference. Bryce Barnett will take the ball in Texas in a couple of days in another critical game.

Meanwhile the Rangers are a game away from eliminating the Rays' playoff bête noire the Astros:

[Art Deco]

Coming through in the pinch again...



The Rays are one game away from the ALDS thanks to their bench as for the second straight game the difference came from a pinch-hitter. In Game 2 Frank Duron's 2-run pinch double was the difference and in the critical Game 3 Willis Ramirez was the hero, leading off a 3-3 game in the 9th with a pinch-infield single, stealing second, going to third on a groundout and scoring on Danny Rodriguez's sac fly. And this time Walt Kelly held firm in the 9th, getting the Alamos in order on only eight pitches. Tampa Bay will try to finish the series off behind Sergio Espinoza tomorrow.

Meanwhile...



Like a horror movie villain left for dead who springs back to life, the Astros aren't quite done yet.

In the NLDS yesterday:



and today:



So it'll be a classic Dodgers-Phillies matchup in the NLCS.