The 2020 (and beyond) Tampa Bay Rays

[Art Deco]

Game 1: The Rays were shellacked in the opener of their 2-game series with Columbus 9-0 as former NL Cy Young winner Juan Rosales shut them down on 4 hits. Danny Romero was decent but not great at 5 8 2 2 2 6 but Jon Harbour, who had been so good this year in long relief, was lit up for 5 runs in 1 1/3 innings and the rout was on.

Game 2: Tampa Bay bounced back behind a strong performance from Jeff Brockman and some timely hitting to take a split of the 2-game series with a 4-2 win over the Lightning. Brockman went 6 6 1 1 1 7 on 99 pitches and improved to 17-3, 2.38 when Jimmy Leonard blasted a 2-run homer (#17) in the bottom of the 6th to break a 1-1 tie. Jose Mendez, who is now 6-8 this season as a pinch-hitter, came off the bench to deliver an RBI double for some insurance in the 7th. Kikuo Kawase also bounced back from his latest blown save to throw a perfect 9th with two whiffs for save #25.

Team record: 83-29. Next up: 3 games at home vs Toronto.

[Art Deco]

Game 1: The Rays led 5-0 after 4 and ended up losing this one 7-6 at Publix Park to Toronto. Josh Alexander drove in 3, including his 28th homer, Seth Williams had 2 triples and the Rays looked on their way. But Vinny Willard has been far from reliable lately, and he couldn't make it through the 5th as Toronto scored 3 times, then the Jays erupted for 4 runs on 4 hits in the 8th against Ed Pretty and that was that. Jordan Perez went 2 2/3 scoreless between Willard and Pretty and he's thisclose to taking Willard's spot in the rotation, which would be ironic since it was Willard who gave the team a shot in the arm in the second half of last season taking Perez's place in the rotation.

Game 2: The bad times continued to roll as the Rays were shut out by old friend Jon Hayes and the Jays 3-0. Hayes went 7 6 0 0 2 6 and although he's not the Cy Young-caliber pitcher he was during his days in Tampa Bay, he can still turn back the clock from time to time as he did today. Brad Jackson was alright (6 9 3 3 1 3) but the bats weren't.

Game 3: Thankfully Toronto has a 53-64 record, and that's after sweeping the Rays thanks to an 11-2 beatdown, as this team is probably harder on Tampa Bay than any other franchise. Their combination of high-average, right-handed hitters and ground ball-throwing pitchers have given us fits over the last several seasons and today's loss was the 6th in 7 games for the Rays. Tampa Bay actually led this game 2-1 after 5 thanks to Doug Johns, who had 2 hits and an RBI, and Jose Mendoza, who was (relatively) cruising along. But Mendoza gave up a 2-run homer in the 6th and left with another man on in the 7th and it was Dan Anderson's turn in the dunk tank as Toronto battered him for 6 runs, one of Mendoza's and 5 of his, to blow it open in the inning. Toronto batters banged out 45 base hits in the 3 games and while our defense misses Dan Gregory, it wasn't just his absence to blame as we've fallen from 6th to 11th in defensive efficiency over the last six weeks or so.

Team record: 83-32. Next up: An off-day to tend to our bruised egos then we get as far away from Tampa as we can to escape the stink of this last series by heading to Seattle for 3.

[Art Deco]

Game 1: Danny Romero was sharp in a complete-game outing as the Rays bested Seattle 5-1. The lefty went 9 8 1 1 0 7 on 112 pitches to improve to 13-4, 2.97 as he turns in another fine season. The game was 1-1 until the 7th when Josh Beckett singled in a run and Jeff Baez immediately followed with a 3-run homer (#8).

August 10: Designated P Jose Morales for assignment and placed him on waivers, recalled P Doug Combs from AAA Durham.

The Morales experiment is over, as he was terrible in his outings since being reacquired. The hope is he clears waivers and can go to Durham since nobody ahead of us (i.e., the entire league) claimed him last time. Combs deserves to be back up.

Game 2: The Rays' bullpen woes of late continued today as they blew leads of 4-0 and 5-2 before losing 6-5 in 11 innings to the Mariners. Josh Alexander had a nice night going 3-5 with a double and 3 RBI and Josh Beckett was 4-5 with an RBI while Jeff Brockman was pitching well. Brockman gave up a couple of runs in the 6th but departed going 7 9 2 2 2 4 and should have had a win. But in the 8th Chris Williams and Ed Pretty combined to allow 3 runs and after Kikuo Kawase turned in two scoreless innings the Mariners got to Chris Toombs for a walk, a hit and a wild pitch to score the game-winner.

Game 3: The Rays took the series from Seattle with a 5-2 win, but it wasn't without more follies from the bullpen. Brad Jackson started and was dominant, but ran up a pitch count and left in the 6th having gone 5.1 4 0 0 2 9 on 98 pitches. Dan Anderson did a great job with two whiffs to get out of the jam and fanned two more in a scoreless 7th. Doug Combs got out of a 2-man-on jam Chris Toombs left him with in the 8th as it was 5-0 going into the 9th but made his own mess in the 9th. Two runs scored off him and Chris Williams came in and loaded the bases, but escaped further damage and hung on for his 6th save. Jackson improved to 17-3, 2.51 and is probably the AL Cy Young frontrunner. Andy Ruggles was the star on offense with an RBI double and a 2-run homer (#26) and Josh Beckett added a 2-run double for needed insurance.

Team record: 85-33. Next up: We head down the Pacific coast to face San Diego 3 times.

[Art Deco]

Game 1: You score 5 times in the top of the 1st inning and you figure you're on your way to victory. That's what the Rays did in the first inning at San Diego but ended up losing to the Padres 10-5. Padres starter Noel Kimbel was wild in the first inning, walking 3 including Jimmy Leonard with the bases loaded and then gave up a grand slam to former Padre Pat Moyer (#13). The lead was entrusted to Vinny Willard, and if you've been following along, you won't be surprised to hear it went poorly. He gave 1 back in the bottom of the 1st, 2 in the 3rd and then the walls fell in during the 4th as San Diego scored 6 times. Willard finished 3.1 7 7 5 2 3 to drop to 7-7, 4.65 and he's now out of the rotation. His replacement didn't fare much better in long relief as Jordan Perez gave up 3 runs on 7 hits in 2 2/3 but it's time for a change.

Game 2: Jose Mendoza got the Rays back in the win column with another outstanding performance as the Rays took a 5-1 win to even the series with San Diego. Mendoza went 6.1 6 1 1 1 11 to improve to 14-2, 2.71 with Dan Anderson taking care of the final 2 2/3. Jeff Baez had a big 2-run double in a 3-run 2nd and Seth Williams had 3 hits and an RBI.

Game 3: The Rays continue in their second half funk as they dropped a 5-3 decision to the Padres. They've lost 9 of their last 14 and are basically a .500 team since the beginning of July. Some regression was due after their ridiculous start to the season but they haven't been much fun to watch lately. Today's game saw Danny Romero give up a 2-run homer in the 1st and then hit the next batter, triggering a brawl which sees Romero suspended for 6 games, so he'll miss a start. The Rays got back within 2-1, but the Padres got to Jon Harbour (who pitched admirably in long relief) in the 7th with a run in and a man on, and then Chris Williams served up a 2-run homer to a lefty to put the game out of reach, despite a desperate 9th-inning rally which saw them score twice but fall short.

Team record: 86-35. Next up: An off-day to fly back to Tampa where we'll face Detroit for 3 over the weekend.

[Art Deco]

Game 1: The Rays overcame an early 4-1 deficit and raced past the Tigers 9-6 today at Publix Park. Jeff Brockman gave up a string of hits in the 2nd which led to 4 Detroit runs, but he settled in and the offense struck back. Four homers did the trick, with Seth Williams (#15, solo) in the 1st, Jose Mendez (#10, a 3-run job) in the 3rd, Mike Willis (#8, solo) in the 4th and Jimmy Leonard (#19, solo) in the 5th leading the offense. Brockman was fine after the 2nd until the 6th, when he gave up two more runs and finished 5.2 9 6 6 0 4 but still improved to 18-3. Kikuo Kawase picked up save #26 without much difficulty.

Game 2: It was the Pat Moyer show as the Rays trounced the Tigers 15-5:



It was a reverse "natural cycle". In addition to Moyer's heroics, Seth Williams (#16) and Jose Mendez (#11) homered for the second straight day, Doug Johns was 3-5 with 2 doubles and 3 RBI and Jeff Baez was 4-5 with 2 RBI. Brad Jackson joined Jeff Brockman at 18-3 despite a shaky start like Brockman's yesterday, going 5 8 4 4 2 9 and allowing a couple of homers.

Game 3: After their offensive orgy of the last two days the Rays were held in check by Detroit's Pat Hurtado, who along with a reliever held them to one run on four hits in a 3-1 loss. Seth Williams' RBI infield single in the 8th averted a shutout. The encouraging takeaway from the game was a fine start from Jordan Perez, rejoining the rotation in Vinny Willard's place. Perez went 5 4 1 0 2 5 on 98 pitches and was the hard luck loser. Willard meanwhile had a nice outing in relief, retiring all 5 men he faced with a pair of whiffs.

Team record: 88-36. Next up: 3 at home vs Seattle.

[Art Deco]

Game 1: A 0-0 game into the 6th got away from the Rays as Jose Mendoza got lit up in the 4th and the Mariners went on to take a 9-1 win over Tampa Bay at Publix Park. Mendoza was rolling but gave up a run in the 6th and with two men on he then yielded a 3-run homer to former Rays farmhand and fellow lefty Ricky Loya to finish 6 6 4 4 4 8 to take only his 3rd loss against 14 wins. Chris Toombs then gave up 4 more runs to really put the game out of reach. Jose Mendez hit his 12th HR in the 9th to avoid a shutout.

August 20: Optioned P Danny Hill to AAA Durham, recalled P Sean Forbes from AAA Durham.

Hill had been called up when Danny Romero was put on the restricted list, but he goes back down since we need a starter today. Forbes, one of our top prospects, struggled mightily in his stint with the big club last year then got hurt in the spring but has pitched well at Durham lately.

Game 2: The Rays scored 4 times in the 5th to take a 7-3 win over Seattle today. Sean Forbes retired the first 6 batters but gave up 3 in the 3rd before settling down and finishing 5 7 3 3 1 5 to pick up the win in his spot start and the bullpen shut the Mariners down the rest of the way. Jeff Baez tied the game with a 2-run HR (#9) in the 5th and Seth Williams put them ahead to stay with an RBI single. Andy Ruggles also drove in a pair with a solo HR (#27) and a single.

August 21: Optioned P Sean Forbes to AAA Durham, recalled P Alex Stephens from AAA Durham.

Game 3: A crazy game at Publix Park saw the Rays and Mariners deadlocked at 3 after 3 innings and it stayed that way until the 10th when Seattle scored 3 times only for the Rays to answer with 4 in the bottom of the inning for a thrilling 7-6 walk-off win. Jeff Brockman started and struggled early but hung in there to go 6 5 3 3 1 7 but Ed Pretty was pretty bad in the 10th, giving up a 3-run homer to put Seattle ahead. But Tampa Bay put on a pair against former Ray Tony Rey, and Mike McKee stepped up and blasted a 3-run shot (#5) to tie it up. They continued the rally, and later in the inning Pat Moyer delivered an RBI single to walk it off. Pretty picked up his 5th win however undeserved, and Seth Williams and Jose Mendez had 3-hit games. One bit of bad news, though: Jimmy Leonard strained his oblique and will be out 2 weeks.

Team record: 90-37. Next up: 4 games in Baltimore, which is sitting in the first wildcard spot.

[Art Deco]

August 22: Placed OF Jimmy Leonard on the 10-day IL with a strained oblique, purchased the contract of OF Jeremy Truitt from Class-A Bowling Green.

First time in the 22 seasons of this save I've called someone up from A-ball but Truitt is a defensive wizard in CF and we'll use him as a late inning guy when we have a lead as now-starter Doug Johns is a 40 there. Dan Gregory made me appreciate the benefits of having a Gold Glover in CF but he won't be back until mid-September. Truitt can't hit a lick though so that will keep him out of the starting lineup.

Game 1: The Rays slugged 4 homers and got some fine pitching in a 9-2 beatdown of Baltimore in the opener of their 4-game series at Camden Yards. The top of the order led the way with Seth Williams going 3-5 with a HR (#17), double and 3 RBI while Mike Willis was 2-5 with a HR (#9) and 2 RBI. Jeff Baez added a 2-run shot (#10) and Andy Ruggles hit #28. Brad Jackson went to 19-3, 2.63 with a 6 7 2 2 2 4 outing and Doug Combs picked up his first MLB save with a 3-inning, 1-hit job.

August 23: Activated P Danny Romero from the restricted list, optioned P Alex Stephens to AAA Durham.

Game 2: It looked like another Rays rout as they built a 5-0 lead behind Danny Romero going into the 7th, but Romero ran out of gas and Kikuo Kawase blew the save before they scored in the 10th to take a 6-5 win over the Orioles. Pat Moyer was having himself a day (solo HR #15 and a bases-clearing double) and Romero was working on a shutout but in the 7th he allowed 3 runs and Dan Anderson another. Kawase then blew his 6th save of the season, sending us to extras. Fortunately Jeff Baez came through with an RBI double and Chris Williams retired Baltimore in order in the bottom of the 10th for his 7th save while Kawase vultured his 2nd win.

Game 3: The Rays took another 5-0 lead they almost completely gave back, but hung in there to prevail 9-5 for their fifth straight win. Mike Willis led off the game with HR #10, Andy Ruggles hit a 2-run shot for #29 and Mike McKee hit the first of his two homers to make it 5-0, but Jordan Perez gave up 4 runs in the bottom of the 3rd. This time they continued to tack on runs with McKee's 2nd of the game and 7th of the year with a man on in the 5th expanding the lead and Perez settled in to finish 6 4 5 5 4 7 and improve to 5-2, 2.63. Vinny Willard went the final 3 innings for his 1st save of 2041 with 3 1-hit innings.

Game 4: Tampa Bay couldn't complete the 4-game sweep as the Orioles battered Jose Mendoza in an 11-4 rout. Mendoza fanned a pair in a 1-2-3 first but it was all downhill from there as he allowed 9 runs on 12 hits in 3 1/3 (yeah I left him in too long) to see his record drop to 14-4 and his ERA rise to 3.33. Mike McKee capped a big 4-homer week with a 2-run shot (#8) for the highlight on offense.

Team record: 93-38. Next up: An off-day then we visit Houston for 3 games. The Astros are one of the league's best as expected with their former Rays contingent of Ayala, Hardaway and Angeac and have an 89-43 record as we see them for the first time since taking 3 of 4 in Tampa to open the season.

[Art Deco]

Game 1: The Houston lineup is the scariest I've seen in years outside of ours, and they spooked Jeff Brockman in the opener, scoring 3 times against him in the first two innings before putting 6 on the board in the 4th to open up a 9-2 lead before a Rays comeback fell just short in a 9-8 loss. Outside of a Bo Angeac 2-RBI double in that 4th, the other former Rays (Ayala/Hardaway) were largely quiet. Brockman finished 3.2 9 8 7 2 0 in a brutal outing but Vinny Willard kept Houston at bay for 3 1/3 allowing only one run and they nearly completed the comeback. Mike McKee hit his 5th homer in 5 games with a man on in the 4th (#9) and Seth Williams had a 2-run shot (#18) in the 6th as part of a 3-hit day.

Game 2: Brad Jackson didn't fare too much better than Jeff Brockman yesterday but the Rays scored 5 times in the 9th to take a 10-6 win to even up the series with Houston. Jackson was hit to the tune of 4.2 10 4 4 1 3 and Rays pitching allowed 16 hits but limited the damage. Trailing 6-5 going into the top of the 9th Tampa Bay got the best of Astros closer Phil Daniels, loading the bases before drawing a walk by Josh Alexander to force in the tying run and then getting a grand slam from Andy Ruggles (#30) to break the tie. Earlier Josh Beckett had a 2-run double among the first 5 runs scored. Dan Anderson picked up the win in relief, his 4th, while Kikuo Kawase loaded the bases in the 9th in a non-save situation but got a double play to end the game.

Game 3: A tough loss for the Rays as they held a 4-2 lead in the 7th, blew it, went back ahead in the top of the 10th 5-4, blew that lead, and then Dan Anderson gave up a leadoff homer in the 12th to give Houston a 6-5 win. Danny Romero pitched very well considering the opponent, going 7 3 2 2 0 7 but Chris Williams crapped the bed in the 8th, giving up 2 runs without getting an out. After Ed Pretty got out of there without further damage over two innings, Seth Williams singled in the go-ahead run in the top of the 10th but Chris Toombs, possibly the most un-clutch pitcher we have but called in because Kawase was tired and Houston had lefties due, gave up a leadoff homer to allow the Astros to equalize again. And after Anderson retired Houston in the 11th, he gave up the walk-off homer in the 12th. The Rays were up against Astros ace Elias Gomez and although he struck out 13 in 7 2/3, they did get to him in the 1st with a Doug Johns grand slam (#3). Tony Cordova (4) and Jamie Truitt (3, in his first MLB start) accounted for 7 of the 13 Gomez whiffs. Truitt did manage his first MLB hit in the 9th but was thrown out stealing.

Team record: 94-40. Next up: Back home for 3 over the weekend against Cleveland.

[Art Deco]

Game 1: Well the Jordan Perez-to-the-rotation experiment had its second setback in three starts when he gave up 5 runs in the 2nd and a sixth in the 4th as the Rays dropped an 8-7 decision to the Guardians at Publix Park. Perez looked great in his first start since rejoining the rotation but today's 4 8 6 6 2 3 means he's allowed 11 runs over 10 IP in his last two. Speaking of slumping pitchers, Jon Harbour's been hit hard in long relief lately, and today's 2 runs allowed marked his 4th straight relief appearance in which he's allowed a pair to score after he had been largely lights-out. The offense tried valiantly to stay in it, with Mike Willis banging out 3 hits including HR #11, Doug Johns going 3-5 with HR #4 and 2 RBI, and Josh Beckett driving in a pair including one on a triple.

Game 2: Jose Mendoza was the cure to what's ailed the Rays' staff of late as he bounced back after a few mediocre to bad outings which put a snowflake next to his name. He went 6.2 6 0 0 1 9 in a 3-0 win over Cleveland which upped his record to 15-4, 3.19. Kikuo Kawase completed the shutout with a 2-whiff 9th for save #27. Pat Moyer's 3-run homer (#16) in the first was all the scoring the game saw, but it was more than enough for Mendoza.

September 1: Recalled P Danny Hill and C Kevin Morley from AAA Durham.

September roster expansion time and Hill gives us an extra arm while Morley is rescued from Durham where he never belonged but had to be there so we could hang on to Tony Cordova. With Mike McKee a free agent at season's end, we wanted to keep Morley and Cordova as our catching tandem next season. Also while Morley played every day for about six weeks while McKee was out earlier this year, he had a CERA of 2.33 in 31 games, while Cordova is about a run higher and McKee is at 3.78. That's not all their doing of course but interesting nonetheless.

Game 3: We were rained out at Publix Park as Hurricane Gregory sideswiped the region. The game will be played on 9/16 as a one-off.

Team record: 95-41. Next up: 3 at home vs Baltimore, who along with the Yankees look comfortable in the two wild card spots. With Houston only 3 games back in the overall standings, it's no guarantee we'll face the wild card winner this year.

[Art Deco]

Game 1: The bullpen let us down again, as did our general inability to pitch or play defense well in an 8-6 loss to Baltimore at Publix Park on Labor Day. It's a rare occasion these days when he hold a team to single digits in hits, and after Ed Pretty blew his 9th save of the year to cap a 4-run Oriole 8th, they had allowed another 12. Jeff Brockman went 5 9 4 3 0 7 and Dan Anderson took the loss when his runner scored to make it 6-5 Baltimore. Pat Moyer had another big day to lead the offense, homering twice (#17 & 18) and driving in 3.

Game 2: Brad Jackson became MLB's first 20-game winner this season as the Rays got by Baltimore 7-5. Jackson pitched well outside of a terrible 4th inning which saw the Orioles score 4 times, finishing 6 5 5 4 1 8 to improve to 20-3, 2.91. Vinny Willard turned in 2 perfect relief innings to set up Kikuo Kawase, who got save #28 despite allowing a couple of hits. The bottom of the order did the damage on offense with Mike McKee driving in 3 including a 2-run triple, Josh Beckett going 4-4 with an RBI and Jeff Baez 3-3 with 2 RBI.

Game 3: For a team with a record of 96-43 we've been extremely mediocre for the last 2 months as after losing 7-4 in 12 innings today; we're just 25-23 since the All-Star Break and 15-16 since the beginning of August. We're back to our customary 14th in the AL in defensive efficiency after being as high as 6th in the first half of the season and it seems the only time we win of late is by outslugging the opposition. Today they jumped out to a 4-0 lead in the 2nd with Mike Willis's 2-run double the big hit and had Danny Romero on the mound but Baltimore chipped away at him and tied it in the 8th with Romero leaving having gone 7.1 10 4 4 0 4 (yep another double-digit hit game for the opposition). The bullpen did well until Doug Combs gave up 3 runs on 4 hits in the 12th and that was the game.

Team record: 96-43. Next up: 4 games at home vs Toronto, our bogey team and the last one we want to play they way we've been going lately.

[Art Deco]

Game 1: Well today played out like a typical Blue Jays-Rays game, especially in light of how the Rays have pitched lately as Tampa Bay blew an 8-3 lead after 5 and lost 14-9. Jordan Perez's rotation spot gets shakier by the start and today he was 5 6 5 5 2 5 and began the process of blowing the game. The only thing going for Perez was that the guy whose rotation spot he took, Vinny Willard, was responsible for the rest of the blown lead by allowing 5 runs in the 8th and 9th covering only 1 inning of work and Danny Hill put gasoline on the fire allowing 3 more himself. The bats held up their end of the bargain with Andy Ruggles and Josh Beckett (now leading the AL in batting average) each driving in 3 and Jimmy Leonard bringing home two more.

September 6: Recalled P Ken Burgess from his rehab assignment at AAA Durham, optioned P Danny Hill to AAA Durham.

Burgess returns for the first time since having bone chips removed from his elbow back in early April. And also Dan Gregory is going out on a rehab assignment. Yay!

Game 2: A well-pitched start - what a concept! Jose Mendoza was in dominant form today and retired the first 18 Blue Jays he faced before giving up a walk, single and a run in the 7th. He finished an eye-popping 8 2 1 1 1 13 as the Rays took a 6-2 win and improved to 16-4, 3.09, going over the 200-strikeout mark. Ken Burgess got an opportunity to finish out a 6-1 game but showed his rust making a mess in the 9th, necessitating Kikuo Kawase to come in and finish. It was a save situation, KK's 30th of the year and the 300th of his illustrious Rays career. Jimmy Leonard (#20) and Josh Beckett (#7) hit solo homers, and Pat Moyer broke open the game with a 3-run shot (#19) in the 8th.

Game 3: What is this new devilry? The Rays got a second straight excellent start - against Toronto, no less - and took an 8-3 win over the Jays at Publix Park. Jeff Brockman went to 19-4, 3.10 with a fine 6.2 3 1 1 4 6 outing and was backed by a 2-4, 2-RBI performance from Andy Ruggles and a 3-run Ramon Ruiz homer (#7).

Game 4: For the second straight Sunday we had a series finale rained out and it'll be made up September 27th in Toronto.

Team record: 98-44. We officially clinched the AL East for the 20th straight season when Baltimore lost on Sunday. Next up: An off-day then we travel to Texas for 3.

[Art Deco]

Game 1: The Rays squandered a 5-1 lead after 6 1/2 and lost 6-5 when Texas walked it off in the bottom of the 9th at Globe Life Field. Danny Romero pitched well and deserved a win after going 7 6 3 2 0 4 but Ed Pretty blew his 10th save of the year allowing the Rangers to tie with 2 in the 8th and Dan Anderson lost another game when he allowed 3 hits for a Texas run in the 9th. Before the bullpen shenanigans, Andy Ruggles had a 3-run homer (#31) in the 1st and Jimmy Leonard added #21 to build the early lead.

Game 2: In one of the more ridiculous games of the season the Rays found themselves behind 8-2 after 4 only to score 14 runs over the next two innings and go on to a 19-8 win over Texas. Brad Jackson started and ended up with his 21st win despite giving up 2 homers in a 7-run 4th with all of the runs being unearned thanks to a Josh Beckett error. He hung around to make it through a 5 10 8 1 2 7 outing, a pitching line that is either unique or close to unique in MLB history. Vinny Willard went the final 3 innings for save #2. The offense was led by Jimmy Leonard, who had 3 hits including 2 homers to give him 23 and 4 RBI, Seth Williams with a 4-6, 4-RBI performance including HR #19 and Jeff Baez going 2-5 with HR #11 and 3 RBI.

Game 3: It was a rerun of Game 1 that saw the Rays get an actual excellent start from Jordan Perez, take a 4-2 lead in the bottom of the 9th, blow it, and lose 6-4 on a 2-run walk-off Texas homer in the bottom of the 11th. Perez had his best start in 4 outings and kept his tenuous hold on a rotation spot by going 6.2 6 2 2 1 4, and after Ken Burgess retired all 4 men he faced with 2 whiffs, Kikuo Kawase continued his season of inconsistency by blowing his 7th save, allowing the tying runs on a 2-out single. And then Ed Pretty, who has been anything but in the second half of the season, gave up a 2-run homer in the 11th to Brendan George and the Rays dropped another series. Things started off well when Seth Williams led off the game with his 20th HR as he is essentially the AL Rookie of the Year-Elect, and Jeff Baez scored two runs and singled in another to lead the offense, which unfortunately did go quiet after the 4th and failed to build a bullpen-proof lead.

Team record: 99-46. Next up: 4 games in Anaheim, including a doubleheader on Friday making up a game rained out at Publix Park.

Durham Playoff Update: As consistently successful as the Rays are (recent results notwithstanding), so are the Durham Bulls who once again won their division in the International League going 82-58. They opened the playoffs on Thursday night against recent nemesis Syracuse, who have eliminated them in the last two playoffs, but got off to a good start with a 5-1 win at Durham Athletic Park. Sean Forbes was outstanding (7 4 1 1 0 3) and veteran 2B signing Bobby Schultz had a grand slam in the 2nd inning to supply the offense. Another highly-regarded Rays pitching prospect, Joel Gird, will pitch Game 2 tomorrow.

[Art Deco]

Game 1: This was the first of a doubleheader, with the Rays as the home team since it was a makeup of a rained-out game at Publix Park. And despite being at the Big A, it played like a Publix Park game with the Rays coming back from a huge early deficit for the second time this week to take a win, this time 12-8 over the Angels. Jeff Brockman was flat-out awful, going 3.2 7 8 8 3 5 and putting the Rays in an 8-3 hole after 4. But they scored 5 times in the 5th to tie it, and 4 more times in the 9th to win. Josh Alexander swung the big bat, hitting a 3-run HR in the 3rd and a 2-run shot (#31) in the 4th, Mike McKee went deep (#10) and Seth Williams was 3-4 with an RBI. Jon Harbour went 3 2/3 scoreless with 7 whiffs in long relief and Doug Johns of all people went the final 1 2/3 for his 2nd win.

Game 2: Not content with being the winning pitcher in the matinee game of the doubleheader, Doug Johns homered twice in the nightcap to give the Rays a sweep of the day with a 7-2 win. Johns had a 2-run shot in the 2nd and a solo blast in the 3rd (#6) to put the game out of reach early. Andy Ruggles added a 2-run dinger in the 3rd (#32) and that was all more than enough for Jose Mendoza, who went 6 5 1 1 5 7 to improve to 17-4, 3.03.

September 14: Optioned C Kevin Morley to AAA Durham, recalled P Billy Haroutunian from AAA Durham.

Haroutunian was scheduled to start Game 4 of Durham's opening round playoff series but instead was happier to get the call to take the mound in Anaheim today as yesterday's doubleheader necessitated a fresh starter. It'll be his first MLB start after 53 relief appearances with Arizona and the Rays.

Game 3: The Rays routed the Angels 12-3 to make it 3 straight, scoring 9 in the first two innings and giving Billy Haroutunian plenty of leash in his first MLB start. Pat Moyer had a 2-run single and Jose Mendez a 3-run HR (#13) in a 5-run 1st, Andy Ruggles had a 2-run single in a 4-run 2nd, and Doug Johns stayed toasty with a 3-run homer in the 5th (#7). Hartoutnian had traffic on the bases all night but hung in there to deliver a 7 9 3 3 3 3 performance and get the win.

Game 4: The pitching woes resurfaced for the Rays in the finale as they squandered leads of 4-1 and 10-6 before eventually losing 11-10 in 10 innings. Danny Romero was hit hard (3.1 11 6 6 1 3) but they overcame that to lead, however Jon Harbour was not as effective in long relief as he was the other night, allowing 3 runs, Ken Burgess gave up the tying run, and Kikuo Kawase could only get one out in the 10th before allowing the winner. As a result another massive game from Doug Johns was wasted as the rookie hit 2 more homers (#s 8 & 9) and drove in 3 to have one of the best series ever, giving him 5 HR and 9 RBI in the 3 games he hit in and a win in the game he pitched. Josh Beckett also went deep (#7) as the Rays roughed up old friend Joe Trader, starting these days for LA, for 8 runs in 3 2/3.

Team record: 102-47. Next up: We fly back to Tampa to play the Guardians in a makeup game before flying back to LA to play the Dodgers for two games. Only in OOTP.

Durham Playoff Update: The Bulls exorcised the ghosts of the last couple of seasons by sweeping the Syracuse Mets. Stud prospect Joel Gird went 6.2 4 0 0 2 7 in a 7-2 win in Game 2 with Bobby Schultz homering again along with Randy Rappaport while Dan Gregory on his rehab had a bases-clearing double to break things open. They completed the sweep in Syracuse with a 4-2 win in 10-innings in Game 3. Veteran Tony Cardoso was dominating (8 5 2 1 1 10), Schultz homered yet again (as did prospect 3B Tomas Laboy), and Chris Gentile broke the deadlock with an RBI single. The Bulls await the Indianapolis-Buffalo winner in the finals.

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Brad Jackson tossed 7 shutout innings as the Rays beat Cleveland 5-1 in a one-off makeup game at Publix Park. Jackson went to 22-3, 2.78 with a 7 5 0 0 3 6 outing and he was backed by Andy Ruggles, who hit a 2-run HR (#33), and Josh Beckett, 3-4 with a 2-run triple.

Team record: 103-47. Next up: We fly back cross-country to LA and play 2 games at Dodger Stadium.

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Game 1: The Rays left it late, scoring 7 times over the final 2 innings to turn a 5-2 loss into a 9-5 win at Dodger Stadium. Jordan Perez was decent in his start (6 5 3 3 2 8) but Vinny Willard gave up 2 in the 7th and things looked bleak. But in the 8th Andy Ruggles had a 2-run double and Jimmy Leonard doubled him home to tie it, and in the 9th Seth Williams broke the tie with an RBI single right before Josh Alexander drilled a 3-run homer the opposite way for #32. Ed Pretty picked up win #6 with a scoreless 8th.

Game 2: It was almost a carbon copy of yesterday's game except the Rays did things an inning earlier, scoring 5 times in the 7th and 8th to come back and take an 8-5 win to sweep the 2-game series from LA. Jeff Brockman failed miserably once again to win his 20th game, going 5 8 4 4 2 2, and the Dodgers led 4-2 after 6. But Andy Ruggles blasted a 3-run homer (#34) to put the Rays ahead, and Ramon Ruiz went deep with a man on in the 8th (#8) to extend the lead. Jeff Baez was 4-4 with an RBI as well. Dan Anderson earned win #5 in relief and after Ken Burgess made a mess in the 8th, Kikuo Kawase had to get him out of it and earn a 4-out save (#30). It wasn't all smiles after the game though as potential batting champ Josh Beckett was lost for the season with a strained hamstring. It's a 6-week injury which will force him to miss the playoffs as well. Beckett finished the year hitting .362 with 4.2 WAR and he will be missed in the lineup. Sadly he'll also fall 8 plate appearances short of qualifying for the batting title where he was just ahead of Toronto's Zack Wells at .359.

Team record: 105-47. Next up: An off-day then we return home to face Boston for 3.

Durham Playoff Update: The Bulls remained idle as Indianapolis had to go 5 games to take the other first-round series, with the championship round starting Friday.

MLB Playoff Race Update: This is shaping up to be the least suspenseful year in ages as all 6 divisions have already been clinched (Rays, White Sox, Astros and Lightning, Reds, Giants) while the Yankees and Orioles look to be the AL Wild Cards (Seattle is 3 back of Baltimore) and the Padres and Mets the NL Wild Cards (St. Louis is 2 1/2 back of New York). The Giants have become the last team to finally make the playoffs in this save dating back to 2020.

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September 20: Placed 3B Josh Beckett on the 10-day IL, recalled IF Jon Callahan from AAA Durham.

Callahan is a good hitter and a decent 3B, so he'll take Beckett's role in the lineup and platoon with Eric Phillips at the hot corner.

Game 1: Jose Mendoza continued to sparkle and the Rays took a tight 3-2 win over Boston. The lefty improved to 18-4, 3.02 in his first full year in the rotation after going 6.2 5 2 2 3 8. Chris Williams ended up with a 5-out save (#8) as Boston had a bunch of lefties due in the 9th. The offense came via a pair of homers with Jon Callahan celebrating his return to the bigs with a solo shot in the 5th and then Pat Moyer following up with a 2-run shot in the 6th, his 20th.

Game 2: Danny Romero was hit for 6 runs in the 1st and the Rays trailed 7-3 going into the bottom of the 9th, but a miracle 5-run rally enabled them to walk off an 8-7 win over the Red Sox. Dan Gregory's 2-run double pulled them within 7-5 and Seth Williams' 2-RBI double tied it up with nobody out. And after Jose Mendez and Andy Ruggles struck out with bases loaded, Mike McKee capped a 4-hit day with a game-winning RBI single. McKee earlier hit HR #11 in the 7th immediately after Doug Johns had an inside-the-parker (#10), his 6th in 5 games. Romero survived long enough to go 4 9 6 6 1 4 and after Vinny Willard turned in 4 innings of 2-hit, 1-run ball Doug Combs notched his second victory with a scoreless 9th.

Game 3: If you thought yesterday's game was a slugfest, you should have seen today's as the Rays beat the Red Sox 15-9. Brad Jackson had another rough start (4.1 10 7 4 1 5) as he's lately not been in the form you'd like to see him take into the playoffs and he turned an early 7-0 Rays lead into a 7-6 game. Jon Harbour came on in relief and got the win, amazingly his first decision of the season despite pitching 72 1/3 innings over 31 appearances. Andy Ruggles had a massive day, going 4-5 with a double, 2 homers (#35 & #36) and 4 RBI as he took the team lead in the latter category from Josh Alexander, who had it all year, with 121. Jimmy Leonard drove in 4 including a bases-clearing double in the second while Jeff Baez drove in 3, including a pair with HR #12. Baez has been a hitting machine in the second half and is now 282/371/447 for the season to go with Gold Glove-caliber defense. We'll miss him at season's end but he's gonna cost way too much and for too long despite a "wrecked" designation. Tony Cordova added his 2nd homer of the year as well.

Game 4: After two games which saw 39 runs score in total, things calmed down considerably as the Rays swept the wrap-around series with a 2-1 win in Monday's finale, the team's 7th straight victory as they continue to shake off their second-half mediocrity. Jordan Perez was outstanding at 5 3 1 1 2 6 to improve to 6-3, 3.53, while the bullpen did its thing with 2 scoreless from Dan Anderson and Kikuo Kawase notching save #31. Both the Rays' runs came in the 4th when Jose Mendez tied things up with an RBI double and Mike McKee singled him home.

Team record: 109-47. Next up: The Yankees visit for 2 games in what could be an ALDS preview.

Some league news:



I also neglected to report this from the week before:

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Game 1: Jeff Brockman got his 20th win and the Rays broke open a close game late to take a 9-2 win over the Yankees at Publix Park. The righty went 6 5 2 2 1 4 to end his 2041 regular season 20-4, 3.55. Dan Gregory had his biggest game since returning from injury, 4-5 with a double, homer (#8) and 2 RBI. Mike McKee stayed hot with HR #12 and Josh Alexander re-took the team RBI lead (and 2nd place in the AL) from Andy Ruggles with a 3-run blast (#33) to give him 122.

Game 2: The ingredients were all there for another Rays win as they took a 3-1 lead in the 9th: a brilliant outing from Jose Mendoza, good set-up work and some timely hits. But Kikuo Kawase burned the meal once again as the Japanese closing legend has really struggled at times this year and today he gave up 3 runs on 5 hits to allow the Yankees to take a 4-3 win, snapping the Rays' 8-game win streak. Mendoza went 6 5 1 1 3 9 and finishes his regular season 18-4, 2.97 with today's performance getting his ERA below 3. Doug Combs and Ed Pretty took care of the 7th and 8th, and Pat Moyer hit HR #21 in the 8th to provide some (but in the end not enough) insurance after Doug Johns came off the bench to single in the go-ahead run in the 6th. It was all for naught though when Kawase blew his career-high 8th save of the season, 2 more than he blew in the last two seasons combined. And at 2.7 WAR he's going to finish below 3 for the first time in his career as age (35) seems to be catching up with him.

Team record: 110-48. Next up: An off-day then we close out the regular season with 4 in Toronto, starting with a doubleheader on Friday making up a game rained out at Publix Park.

Durham Playoff Update: The Bulls had won 7 straight Governors' Cups from 2031-2037 but haven't won one since. Well the 3-season drought is over as Durham beat Indianapolis in the Championship Round, but not without having to take it to the full 5 games. I thought I had written up the first two games in the previous post but I don't see it (perhaps I erased it when adding the Players of the Week images) so to sum up, they took the first two in Durham 5-3 and 8-2 behind great pitching performances from prospects Joel Gird and Steve Forbes, then lost a couple of tough 4-2 and 3-2 games in Indianapolis. In Game 5 they jumped out to an early 4-0 lead on 2-run homers from 3B prospect Tomas Laboy and 2034 2nd-round pick Randy Bahr to back Gird, who went 5.2 4 2 2 1 5. And they didn't need any more runs as Ian Cowles went the final 3 1/3 perfect with 4 Ks, completing a great postseason which saw him put up a combined line of 9.1 1 0 0 2 14.

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Game 1: Going into the playoffs we have a bit of a bullpen problem, as Kikuo Kawase gave up 4 runs in the 9th to turn a 6-4 win into a 9-6 loss in the first game of the doubleheader at Rogers Centre. We were the home team due it to being a rainout makeup and Kawase had his second straight meltdown in a season that has been way below his normal standards. His 9 blown saves are equivalent to the last three years combined and his 3.71 ERA is mind-boggling considering his ERAs added together from the last 3 seasons are 2.76. We're going to have to stick with him because the other options (Ed Pretty, Chris Williams) haven't been lights-out themselves. As for the rest of the game, Danny Romero went 7 9 4 4 3 5 to finish the year 13-5, 3.66 with 14 no-decisions, Jose Mendez drove in a pair and Jeff Baez hit HR #13.

Game 2: The Rays took the nightcap 7-1 behind another fine outing from Brad Jackson, who closes out the year as the Cy Young favorite having gone 23-3, 2.84 after today's 7 7 1 1 2 5 outing. Jackson tied Nate Thompson in 2036 for the club single-season win record of 23. A 5-run 6th won it for Tampa Bay with Josh Alexander hitting a 2-run shot (#34) and Andy Ruggles (#37) going back-to-back with him. Jon Callahan added his 2nd longball.

Game 3: Tampa Bay took a 7-6 win behind big games from Seth Williams and Josh Alexander. Williams, who should be the unanimous choice for rookie of the year, drove in 3 with a pair of doubles and went over the 100-RBI mark (to go with hitting .340 and 20 HR) and Alexander hit his 35th HR while knocking in 3 as well. Jordan Perez was terrible (4 9 5 5 4 1) but Vinny Willard got his 8th win with 3 innings of relief and Chris Williams got the final batter of the game for save #9.

Game 4: The way that the bullpen has gone this year, especially in the second half, it was fitting that the regular season finale ended with a blown lead in the late innings as Toronto took a 4-3 win. It was 3-2 Rays going into the 8th and we were hoping to give Kikuo Kawase a save opportunity to convert going into the playoffs, but Chris Williams and Ed Pretty beat him to blowing it by combining to allow 2 in the 8th. Their follies cost Jon Harbour a win as he turned in an excellent fill-in start (7 6 2 2 1 2). Jimmy Leonard (#25) and Tony Cordova (#3) homered. Mike Willis stole his 40th base to win the AL SB crown while Brad Jackson's 2.84 was also the best in the junior circuit.

Final Regular Season Team Record: 112-50. Next up: the ALDS against either the Yankees or Orioles.

MLB Playoff Race Update: The Mets won on Friday night to clinch the 2nd NL wild card, the only playoff spot up for grabs so it was a meaningless final weekend around the big leagues.

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The Astros are going to be a formidable opponent should we get to face them in the ALCS (I know, let's get past our ALDS bugaboo first). Danny Ayala had an incredible first year for them with his 166 RBI the most in a single season over the last 103 years and the 12th-best all-time.

The team stats:



This kind of looks like most of other seasons, with a dominant offense, solid pitching, and terrible defense. As has been chronicled, the defense was very good in the first half but terrible in the second, with the loss of gold glover Dan Gregory in CF the primary reason. Also we've always been #1 or #2 in bullpen ERA, but dropped to 5th as the those woes of late have been well-chronicled too. Also outside of our late 8-game win streak in September, we were only 3 games over .500 post-ASB.

The hitting stats:



How about Seth Williams? I saw him as a possible Jaiden Hardaway 2.0, and aside from J-Hard's otherwordly skill at drawing walks he was. Only Ichiro Suzuki and Shoeless Joe Jackson had more hits in their rookie seasons than Williams, and Ichiro was already an established pro. Speaking of effective rookies, Mike Willis had a nice maiden campaign as well while Josh Alexander followed up his MVP season with another MVP-worthy one (although he'll finished way down the list this year), joining Williams on 200 hits. Josh Beckett should have won the batting title if not for a late-season injury which left him just short of qualifying, another impressive turn in his first year as a regular. Finally how about Dan Gregory at 3.9 WAR despite playing less than half a season?

The pitching stats:



The Big 4 (Jackson, Brockman, Romero, Mendoza) were the envy of MLB (a combined 74-16) and although the 5th starter combo of Willard and Perez was mediocre, they pitched well in relief which is where they'll be for the playoffs.

Postseason roster: Tony Cordova, Doug Johns and Jordan Perez were left off, with Kevin Morley on as the backup catcher, which is where he would have been all season had Cordova not been out of options. Perez was the toughest cut but we already had Jon Harbour and Vinny Willard for long relief and I chose to go with Doug Combs instead.

And this happened for the third straight month:



Williams also won for April, giving him the award in 4 of the season's 6 months.

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Little's page:



He also was 10-4, 3.77 in the postseason for us with 165 whiffs in 112.2 IP and won 5 rings from 2025-2030 and pitched the third no-hitter in club history. He also won the 2028 and 2032 Cy Young awards with us before winning again in 2034 with the Angels.

Two other former Rays hung up the cleats today at season's end: Jasson Dominguez, who spent 4 1/2 years with the club and won 3 titles, hitting 293/324/580 with 186 HR and 495 RBI in 613 games, and Danny Ceja, a bit less notable but who pitched for us in 2030 and 2031.