Rays 3, Blue Jays 8
Final Record: 96-66. 30 games over .500.
Attendance: 25,738. Rogers Centre.
If Saturday's game was lackluster, Sunday's was lackadaisical, a half-hearted affair. Maybe on Saturday afternoon the players were still suffering the aftereffects of the champagne and beer party on Friday that celebrated their clinching a place in the playoffs. Maybe on Sunday they were thinking ahead to Oakland this coming Wednesday. Either way, both games were sub-par for this very good, if unpredictable, Tampa Bay Rays team.
Blake Snell seemed to take a step backward in his rehab work when he gave up three hits, two walks, and two runs in two and a third innings. He did strike out four, and he maintained after the game that he was happy with the outing, especially what he saw as his improved curve ball. "I just feel I'm going to get better and better," he told the press, "so yeah, it's encouraging."
Yonny Chirinos, who is also working his way back to reliable form after a long stretch on the IL, was even worse, giving up four hits and four runs in two and two-thirds. Anthony Banda and Jose De Leon, both in post-Tommy John mode, worked an inning each, Banda giving up three hits and two runs in his inning, while De Leon struck out the side in the eighth. The game seemed more like a spring training exercise than a real contest.
On the offensive side, it was good to see Ji-Man Choi return after fouling a ball off his foot a couple of nights back and missing the first two games of the final series against the Blue Jays. He doubled and homered. A healthy Choi is a good sign for the Oakland game on Wednesday.
And it was also good to see Yandy Diaz, activated for the last game of the season after missing two months with a fractured foot bone. He was the DH and hit leadoff. He hit the ball in typically hard Diaz fashion, both lineouts, but very encouraging.
The Rays finished with the best team ERA, .365, in the AL, narrowly edging out the Houston Astros, who finished at .366, according to a report in the Tampa Bay Times.
One final note: Traitor Joe Maddon was fired by the Chicago Cubs.
Saturday, September 28. Game 161: Post-party fizzle, Rays lose 4-1
Rays 1, Blue Jays 4
Record: 96-65
Attendance: 20,293. Rogers Centre.
In a day game after clinching a wild card berth and partying until way after normal bedtime, the Rays took the field hung over and worn out. Not surprisingly they were beaten in a lackluster affair, 4-1.
It was literally over in the bottom of the first when Ryne Yarbrough gave up a lead off home run to Teoscar Hernandez (25) and then followed that by giving up another three hits and two more runs. The Rays couldn't get on the board until the seventh when Matt Duffy, who had two of the Rays three hits, hit one over the left field fence, his first homer in his injury-shortened season, the first in fact in 427 at-best, according to Tampa Bay Times. Toronto got the run back in the bottom of the seventh, and that's how the game ended with the Rays players heading off the field and toward their rooms no doubt for more rest and more headache pills.
The Times reported that longtime Toronto clubhouse manager Kevin Malloy, who was in charge of cleaning up the mess, said "It was as bad as it's ever been." He needed to call in a professional cleaning crew to help. The clubhouse was finally cleaned up at 4 A.M. But carpets were still wet and smelly even with fans and dehumidifiers running all night. That's what nearly $10,000 of beer and champagne will cause. Maybe that's one part of baseball culture that can be changed for the better--maybe cutting back to $5,000 and a slightly toned down celebration would still be fun but not so damaging.
Yarbrough, now 11-6, put the wobbly first inning behind him and went on to pitch four more innings of solid baseball, so it's a bad-new, good-news situation. There's concern over Yarbrough's continuing troubles, and relief that he was able to right the ship.
In Sunday's game, the last of the season, Blake Snell will take the mound and hopefully regain the magic he lost in his last start. Yonny Chirinos will also get some work.
Record: 96-65
Attendance: 20,293. Rogers Centre.
In a day game after clinching a wild card berth and partying until way after normal bedtime, the Rays took the field hung over and worn out. Not surprisingly they were beaten in a lackluster affair, 4-1.
It was literally over in the bottom of the first when Ryne Yarbrough gave up a lead off home run to Teoscar Hernandez (25) and then followed that by giving up another three hits and two more runs. The Rays couldn't get on the board until the seventh when Matt Duffy, who had two of the Rays three hits, hit one over the left field fence, his first homer in his injury-shortened season, the first in fact in 427 at-best, according to Tampa Bay Times. Toronto got the run back in the bottom of the seventh, and that's how the game ended with the Rays players heading off the field and toward their rooms no doubt for more rest and more headache pills.
The Times reported that longtime Toronto clubhouse manager Kevin Malloy, who was in charge of cleaning up the mess, said "It was as bad as it's ever been." He needed to call in a professional cleaning crew to help. The clubhouse was finally cleaned up at 4 A.M. But carpets were still wet and smelly even with fans and dehumidifiers running all night. That's what nearly $10,000 of beer and champagne will cause. Maybe that's one part of baseball culture that can be changed for the better--maybe cutting back to $5,000 and a slightly toned down celebration would still be fun but not so damaging.
Yarbrough, now 11-6, put the wobbly first inning behind him and went on to pitch four more innings of solid baseball, so it's a bad-new, good-news situation. There's concern over Yarbrough's continuing troubles, and relief that he was able to right the ship.
In Sunday's game, the last of the season, Blake Snell will take the mound and hopefully regain the magic he lost in his last start. Yonny Chirinos will also get some work.
Friday, September 27. Game 160. WILD ONES!! Rays make the postseason, first time since 2013.
Rays 6, Blue Jays 2
Record: 96-64
Attendance: 16,348. Rogers Centre.
The Rays won for the 96th time this season and with the Indians' loss to the Washington Nationals it turned out to be the magic number putting them into MLB's postseason playoffs for the first time in six years, for the first time in the Kevin Cash Era, for the first time since Traitor Joe Maddon abandoned us. It was a sweet victory for everyone in the Rays family. And it was all done with the smallest payroll in all of baseball. Damn right we're proud of them!
They had a 90-win season in 2018, but it wasn't enough to earn a spot in the postseason hunt. That was the same year that began with a wholesale change of personnel that had sparked so much criticism it was hard even for the long-suffering faithful to root for them. It looked like the front office had written off the entire season even before it had even begun. But Cash managed to put together the players who survived the purge and turn them into a very competitive team that by season's end was so good that not many teams wanted to face them. Still, they fell short.
Not this time. This time they went into game 160 with 39 people on the roster, and they all seem to be contributors. Some of them had been on the IL so long that they had missed most of the season, people like Brandon Lowe, Tyler Glasnow, Blake Snell. Add Joey Wendle to the list of walking wounded who brought late life to the lineup.
Friday's game was typical of the Rays Way. Tommy Pham, the hard nosed tough guy who hates to smile, put them ahead in the third with his 21st home run with one man on. An inning later Willy Adames singled in another run. But in the seventh inning, Rays pitching gave up a two-run homer to Blue Jay center fielder Teoscar Hernandez to narrow the lead to 3-2. But the Rays, scoreboard watching as the Nationals were beating the Indians, scored two in the eighth for a more comfortable lead--and suddenly for the first time all year, it began feeling inevitable that they would win--the game and the postseason wildcard berth.
That inevitability showed itself in the eighth when the second run of the inning scored--on a strikeout. As Adames struck out to end the inning, the ball squirted past the catcher and went all the way to the backstop, which gave Adames just enough time to beat the throw to first, which squirted away again allowing Nate Lowe to score from third. Were the Rays destined to win the game and the postseason berth? After that play, even I was willing to entertain the possibility.
The Rays post game show continued late into the evening covering the champagne and beer party in the visitor's clubhouse interspersed with soggy interviews with young men being boisterous.
A one-game playoff with the Oakland A's will be hard-fought and unpredictable, but the Rays have definitely got the A's attention. They won't be looking forward to taking on Kevin Cash's crew.
The Rays aren't finished yet.
Record: 96-64
Attendance: 16,348. Rogers Centre.
The Rays won for the 96th time this season and with the Indians' loss to the Washington Nationals it turned out to be the magic number putting them into MLB's postseason playoffs for the first time in six years, for the first time in the Kevin Cash Era, for the first time since Traitor Joe Maddon abandoned us. It was a sweet victory for everyone in the Rays family. And it was all done with the smallest payroll in all of baseball. Damn right we're proud of them!
They had a 90-win season in 2018, but it wasn't enough to earn a spot in the postseason hunt. That was the same year that began with a wholesale change of personnel that had sparked so much criticism it was hard even for the long-suffering faithful to root for them. It looked like the front office had written off the entire season even before it had even begun. But Cash managed to put together the players who survived the purge and turn them into a very competitive team that by season's end was so good that not many teams wanted to face them. Still, they fell short.
Not this time. This time they went into game 160 with 39 people on the roster, and they all seem to be contributors. Some of them had been on the IL so long that they had missed most of the season, people like Brandon Lowe, Tyler Glasnow, Blake Snell. Add Joey Wendle to the list of walking wounded who brought late life to the lineup.
Friday's game was typical of the Rays Way. Tommy Pham, the hard nosed tough guy who hates to smile, put them ahead in the third with his 21st home run with one man on. An inning later Willy Adames singled in another run. But in the seventh inning, Rays pitching gave up a two-run homer to Blue Jay center fielder Teoscar Hernandez to narrow the lead to 3-2. But the Rays, scoreboard watching as the Nationals were beating the Indians, scored two in the eighth for a more comfortable lead--and suddenly for the first time all year, it began feeling inevitable that they would win--the game and the postseason wildcard berth.
That inevitability showed itself in the eighth when the second run of the inning scored--on a strikeout. As Adames struck out to end the inning, the ball squirted past the catcher and went all the way to the backstop, which gave Adames just enough time to beat the throw to first, which squirted away again allowing Nate Lowe to score from third. Were the Rays destined to win the game and the postseason berth? After that play, even I was willing to entertain the possibility.
The Rays post game show continued late into the evening covering the champagne and beer party in the visitor's clubhouse interspersed with soggy interviews with young men being boisterous.
A one-game playoff with the Oakland A's will be hard-fought and unpredictable, but the Rays have definitely got the A's attention. They won't be looking forward to taking on Kevin Cash's crew.
The Rays aren't finished yet.
Wednesday, September 25. Game 159. Morton wins 16th, Rays shut out Yankees, 4-0
Rays 4, Yankees 0
Record: 95-64
Attendance: 20,390. Tropicana Field. Last home game of the year. According to the Tampa Bay Times, the Rays drew a total of 1,178,735 this season. That puts the Rays attendance last in the American League, and last in MLB except for the Miami Marlins. Television viewership was up 15%.
With two outs in the sixth on Wednesday night, Charlie Morton left a ball a little too high in the strike zone to D. J. LeMahieu, who promptly slapped it into right field for a single. It was the only hit the mighty Yankees managed all night.
It wasn't all Morton, though he pitched with precision and confidence. He shared the workload with Diego Castillo, Oliver Drake, Nick Anderson (who struck out Aaron Judge with two on and two out in the eighth), and with Andrew Kittredge, who struck out the side in the ninth.
But it was Morton the Lion Hearted who was the star. He set personal records for games in a season, 33, for wins in a season, 16, for innings pitched in a season, 194.2, and for strikeouts in a season, 240, only 12 fewer than Chris Archer's franchise record of 252 in 2015.
Offensively, the Rays got just enough to win without much exertion because the Yankees were being hog tied all night. Joey Wendle opened the game with a homer and later in the first, they scored a second run on a Brandon Lowe single. It remained a little too close for comfort until the sixth when Matt Duffy doubled in Avisail Garcia for a third run--and then Garcia himself homered in the eighth. But the game was a lot closer than its 4-0 final score might suggest.
It's a good thing base running isn't figured in to determine if a team deserves to win. The Rays have been "atrocious" as base runners (Manager Kevin Cash's word at some point midseason). On Wednesday night Duffy doubled to left to drive in Garcia, but then wandered too far off second while the play on Garcia at the plate was being made. The Yankees alertly caught Duffy in a rundown, snuffing out another possible run. Earlier, Joey Wendle was on third with two out--and was nonchalant about getting back to the bag after a pitch. Yankee catcher Kyle Higashioka noticed and rifled the ball to third to pick him off, another rally snuffed out. Maybe the Rays need to hire a spring training base-running guru for next year's spring training, like maybe Ricky Henderson.
After Thursday's off day, the Rays finish off the season against the Blue Jays in Toronto. They are currently two games over the Indians for the second wild card spot, so any combination of two Rays wins and/or Cleveland losses will put them into the postseason. Tyler Glasnow will open against the Jays on Friday night.
Record: 95-64
Attendance: 20,390. Tropicana Field. Last home game of the year. According to the Tampa Bay Times, the Rays drew a total of 1,178,735 this season. That puts the Rays attendance last in the American League, and last in MLB except for the Miami Marlins. Television viewership was up 15%.
With two outs in the sixth on Wednesday night, Charlie Morton left a ball a little too high in the strike zone to D. J. LeMahieu, who promptly slapped it into right field for a single. It was the only hit the mighty Yankees managed all night.
It wasn't all Morton, though he pitched with precision and confidence. He shared the workload with Diego Castillo, Oliver Drake, Nick Anderson (who struck out Aaron Judge with two on and two out in the eighth), and with Andrew Kittredge, who struck out the side in the ninth.
But it was Morton the Lion Hearted who was the star. He set personal records for games in a season, 33, for wins in a season, 16, for innings pitched in a season, 194.2, and for strikeouts in a season, 240, only 12 fewer than Chris Archer's franchise record of 252 in 2015.
Offensively, the Rays got just enough to win without much exertion because the Yankees were being hog tied all night. Joey Wendle opened the game with a homer and later in the first, they scored a second run on a Brandon Lowe single. It remained a little too close for comfort until the sixth when Matt Duffy doubled in Avisail Garcia for a third run--and then Garcia himself homered in the eighth. But the game was a lot closer than its 4-0 final score might suggest.
It's a good thing base running isn't figured in to determine if a team deserves to win. The Rays have been "atrocious" as base runners (Manager Kevin Cash's word at some point midseason). On Wednesday night Duffy doubled to left to drive in Garcia, but then wandered too far off second while the play on Garcia at the plate was being made. The Yankees alertly caught Duffy in a rundown, snuffing out another possible run. Earlier, Joey Wendle was on third with two out--and was nonchalant about getting back to the bag after a pitch. Yankee catcher Kyle Higashioka noticed and rifled the ball to third to pick him off, another rally snuffed out. Maybe the Rays need to hire a spring training base-running guru for next year's spring training, like maybe Ricky Henderson.
After Thursday's off day, the Rays finish off the season against the Blue Jays in Toronto. They are currently two games over the Indians for the second wild card spot, so any combination of two Rays wins and/or Cleveland losses will put them into the postseason. Tyler Glasnow will open against the Jays on Friday night.
Tuesday, September 24. Game 158: Ji-Man wins the game with 12th inning walk-off homer
Rays 2, Yankees 1 12 innings
Record: 94-64
Attendance: 16,699. Tropicana Field.
In the third inning of Tuesday night's game, Yankee outfielder Cameron Maybin, who feasts on Rays pitching, hit a solo home run off Yonny Chirinos. And then in the bottom of the fifth, Kevin Kiermaier evened the game at one with a solo shot of his own.
The game stayed tensely tied for the next six scoreless innings. The Rays couldn't even score in the bottom of the 11th, their lucky inning. But leading off the 12th, Ji-Man Choi launched a game-winning, walk-off homer--and the Rays took the first of two games against the AL East winning New York Yankees, who have already won 102 games this year. The win put the Rays at 94-34, a full 30 games over .500.
The ever-diligent Marc Topkin from the Tampa Bay Times collected a few interesting numbers, as for example that this was the tenth walkoff win this year for the Rays, their eighth in their last 23 home games. He also pointed out that the Rays lost 12 of their first 17 games this year against the Yankees. Manager Kevin Cash was quoted after the game, "They've beat us up." He went on: "You can't take anything away from what New York has done. They've beat us, and there's a reason they beat us. It's because of the depth of their roster and how quality their players, position players and pitchers, are"
But it was a mutual admiration society because Yankee manager Aaron Boone likes Tampa's team too. "Run prevention. They're hard to score against. They have some really talented starting pitchers and a number of good arms that can match up in situations and a lineup that has some versatility, some power, and some speed. . . . It's one of the best teams in the league in my view."
But on this Tuesday night, the Rays squeezed out a win in 12 innings. It was a must-win game for the Rays--and so they found a way to do it--they willed it to happen. The Yankees despite having wrapped up the division, played their usual tough game, using 11 pitchers to smother the Rays for most of the game. The Rays used nine pitchers, and in the end, it was Pete Fairbanks who got the win, bringing his record to 2-3. They're peaking at the right time in the season--and with four more games to play, they know what they have to do--win, win, win, win. It's not very complicated.
Wednesday's game will feature traditional starter, Charlie Morton, shooting for his 16th win, a career high, while New York will counter with an opener who will give way to bulk man J. Happ. It should be another nail biter.
Record: 94-64
Attendance: 16,699. Tropicana Field.
In the third inning of Tuesday night's game, Yankee outfielder Cameron Maybin, who feasts on Rays pitching, hit a solo home run off Yonny Chirinos. And then in the bottom of the fifth, Kevin Kiermaier evened the game at one with a solo shot of his own.
The game stayed tensely tied for the next six scoreless innings. The Rays couldn't even score in the bottom of the 11th, their lucky inning. But leading off the 12th, Ji-Man Choi launched a game-winning, walk-off homer--and the Rays took the first of two games against the AL East winning New York Yankees, who have already won 102 games this year. The win put the Rays at 94-34, a full 30 games over .500.
The ever-diligent Marc Topkin from the Tampa Bay Times collected a few interesting numbers, as for example that this was the tenth walkoff win this year for the Rays, their eighth in their last 23 home games. He also pointed out that the Rays lost 12 of their first 17 games this year against the Yankees. Manager Kevin Cash was quoted after the game, "They've beat us up." He went on: "You can't take anything away from what New York has done. They've beat us, and there's a reason they beat us. It's because of the depth of their roster and how quality their players, position players and pitchers, are"
But it was a mutual admiration society because Yankee manager Aaron Boone likes Tampa's team too. "Run prevention. They're hard to score against. They have some really talented starting pitchers and a number of good arms that can match up in situations and a lineup that has some versatility, some power, and some speed. . . . It's one of the best teams in the league in my view."
But on this Tuesday night, the Rays squeezed out a win in 12 innings. It was a must-win game for the Rays--and so they found a way to do it--they willed it to happen. The Yankees despite having wrapped up the division, played their usual tough game, using 11 pitchers to smother the Rays for most of the game. The Rays used nine pitchers, and in the end, it was Pete Fairbanks who got the win, bringing his record to 2-3. They're peaking at the right time in the season--and with four more games to play, they know what they have to do--win, win, win, win. It's not very complicated.
Wednesday's game will feature traditional starter, Charlie Morton, shooting for his 16th win, a career high, while New York will counter with an opener who will give way to bulk man J. Happ. It should be another nail biter.
Monday, September 23. Game 157: 3 homers in the 4th push Rays over the top
Rays 7, Red Sox 4
Record: 93-64
Attendance: 8,779. Tropicana Field. The joint should have been rocking with fans.
With the wild card pressure heavy on the Rays, they entered Monday's game knowing they had to win. The A's and Tribe are not giving up, so every game from here on is a must-win game. But they were scoreless in the first three innings, aimless, and the worst part of it was Blake Snell's performance. After his last excellent performance (his first since returning from the IL), there were high hopes for this important game.
Snell, however, wasn't able to get through the second inning, giving up two hits and three walks before being yanked. Things looked bleak. Pete Fairbanks gave up a second run in the third, and Austin Pruitt gave up two more in the top of the fourth. The Red Sox were on the verge of busting the game open.
But it turned out it was the Rays who busted it open in the bottom of the fourth. A pair of singles brought Ji-Man Choi to the plate, and he promptly homered to make it 4-3. One batter later, Brandon Lowe, making only his second appearance since taking the summer off for medical reasons, hit a ball farther than the estimated 441 feet to right field. It was a monster. That tied the game. And finally, after Keven Kiermaier was hit by a pitch, Willy Adames hit his 20th home run of the season, and suddenly the Rays had turned a 4-0 deficit into a 6-4 lead.
After the fourth inning, Rays pitchers put together five scoreless innings, with Pruitt (despite his shaky work) getting the win and Poche getting the save, his second.
And so the Red Sox are finished for the year--and the Yankees come to town tomorrow for the final two home games of the year. Another must win game.
The Don Zimmer MVP of the Rays as voted on by the Tampa Bay chapter of the Baseball Writers' Association of America, came out a dead heat, the co-winners being Austin Meadows and Charlie Morton.
Record: 93-64
Attendance: 8,779. Tropicana Field. The joint should have been rocking with fans.
With the wild card pressure heavy on the Rays, they entered Monday's game knowing they had to win. The A's and Tribe are not giving up, so every game from here on is a must-win game. But they were scoreless in the first three innings, aimless, and the worst part of it was Blake Snell's performance. After his last excellent performance (his first since returning from the IL), there were high hopes for this important game.
Snell, however, wasn't able to get through the second inning, giving up two hits and three walks before being yanked. Things looked bleak. Pete Fairbanks gave up a second run in the third, and Austin Pruitt gave up two more in the top of the fourth. The Red Sox were on the verge of busting the game open.
But it turned out it was the Rays who busted it open in the bottom of the fourth. A pair of singles brought Ji-Man Choi to the plate, and he promptly homered to make it 4-3. One batter later, Brandon Lowe, making only his second appearance since taking the summer off for medical reasons, hit a ball farther than the estimated 441 feet to right field. It was a monster. That tied the game. And finally, after Keven Kiermaier was hit by a pitch, Willy Adames hit his 20th home run of the season, and suddenly the Rays had turned a 4-0 deficit into a 6-4 lead.
After the fourth inning, Rays pitchers put together five scoreless innings, with Pruitt (despite his shaky work) getting the win and Poche getting the save, his second.
And so the Red Sox are finished for the year--and the Yankees come to town tomorrow for the final two home games of the year. Another must win game.
The Don Zimmer MVP of the Rays as voted on by the Tampa Bay chapter of the Baseball Writers' Association of America, came out a dead heat, the co-winners being Austin Meadows and Charlie Morton.
Sunday, September 22. Game 156. A step back, Rays lose to Red Sox, 7-4
Rays 4, Red Sox 7
Record: 92-64
Attendance: 17,946. Tropicana Field.
The Rays probably lost Sunday's game because they couldn't get to the eleventh inning, which they own.
Or it could be because they played a bad game.
Ryan Yarbrough put them in a 4-0 hole in the first inning, the big blow a three-run homer coming from C turned 1B Christian Vazquez. The Rays chipped away with single runs in the first three innings, including an opposite field home run from Joey Wendle. But then Andrew Kittredge replaced Yarbrough with runners on first and second and hit Xander Bogaerts, loading the bases. Then he walked J. D. Martinez, forcing in a run. Then he uncorked a wild pitch to score another run, and the Red Sox took a 6-3 lead. It grew to 7-3 on Joey Wendle's error in the seventh.
If there was anything about the game that was promising for the Rays, it was two-way rookie Brandon McKay, who was called on as a pinch hitter in the ninth. He hit a 420-foot homer to right field. He has had nine at-bats, as a DH, PH, and as the pitcher in NL games where the pitchers hit, and he is now 2 for 9 (.222) with one long home run that got everyone's attention. For the first time it seems that McKay may in fact have a major league two-way player future.
Yarbrough pitched three and a third, gave up eight hits, one walk, and six earned runs. The loss brought his record to 11-5. Perhaps more scary, as reported in the Tampa Bay Times, he hasn't won since August 11, is 0-2 in his last seven starts, and has a 5.45 ERA over that stretch. It's hard to see how Manager Cash can trust him with the ball in the remaining games--but he probably will.
This was a loss when losses can't be tolerated if the Rays hope to make the postseason. It's time for the cliches: Their backs are against the wall. There's no tomorrow. Well, to be precise, there will be a pair of games against the Yankees when the Red Sox leave town on Monday night, and then after an off day on Thursday, the Rays travel to Toronto for a weekend series against the Blue Jays. The way things are playing out between the Rays, the Indians, and the Athletics, the postseason may not be settled until that last weekend. This is high drama, baseball style.
Record: 92-64
Attendance: 17,946. Tropicana Field.
The Rays probably lost Sunday's game because they couldn't get to the eleventh inning, which they own.
Or it could be because they played a bad game.
Ryan Yarbrough put them in a 4-0 hole in the first inning, the big blow a three-run homer coming from C turned 1B Christian Vazquez. The Rays chipped away with single runs in the first three innings, including an opposite field home run from Joey Wendle. But then Andrew Kittredge replaced Yarbrough with runners on first and second and hit Xander Bogaerts, loading the bases. Then he walked J. D. Martinez, forcing in a run. Then he uncorked a wild pitch to score another run, and the Red Sox took a 6-3 lead. It grew to 7-3 on Joey Wendle's error in the seventh.
If there was anything about the game that was promising for the Rays, it was two-way rookie Brandon McKay, who was called on as a pinch hitter in the ninth. He hit a 420-foot homer to right field. He has had nine at-bats, as a DH, PH, and as the pitcher in NL games where the pitchers hit, and he is now 2 for 9 (.222) with one long home run that got everyone's attention. For the first time it seems that McKay may in fact have a major league two-way player future.
Yarbrough pitched three and a third, gave up eight hits, one walk, and six earned runs. The loss brought his record to 11-5. Perhaps more scary, as reported in the Tampa Bay Times, he hasn't won since August 11, is 0-2 in his last seven starts, and has a 5.45 ERA over that stretch. It's hard to see how Manager Cash can trust him with the ball in the remaining games--but he probably will.
This was a loss when losses can't be tolerated if the Rays hope to make the postseason. It's time for the cliches: Their backs are against the wall. There's no tomorrow. Well, to be precise, there will be a pair of games against the Yankees when the Red Sox leave town on Monday night, and then after an off day on Thursday, the Rays travel to Toronto for a weekend series against the Blue Jays. The way things are playing out between the Rays, the Indians, and the Athletics, the postseason may not be settled until that last weekend. This is high drama, baseball style.
Saturday, September 21. Game 155: Another 11th inning miracle.
Rays 5, Red Sox 4 11 innings
Record: 92-63
Attendance: 18,179. Tropicana Field.
After winning two one-run games in the eleventh inning, one against the Dodgers and one against the Red Sox, one might have concluded that another such would be impossible. But one would have been very wrong!
Travis d'Arnaud and Joey Wendle singled home runs in the third, but d'Arnaud was caught at the plate by Mookie Betts. The Red Sox got one back on a home run from Xander Bogaerts in the top of the fourth. Willy Adames hit the longest homer of his career, estimated at 462 feet, which extended the Rays lead to 3-1. The Red Sox tied the game in the eighth on a two-run homer by Rafael Devers--and the teams drifted into extra innings. The Rays faithful figured they had the Red Sox right where they wanted them when the teams started the eleventh inning.
But the script seemed to have a new ending. Mitch Moreland, who hit two homers the night before, lofted another one in the top of the eleventh. Red Sox up 4-3. Unfazed, the Rays got a double from d'Arnaud in the bottom of the eleventh, which brought up Nate Lowe, already 0 for 4 in the game and in a 6 for 37 slump during which time he had struck out 13 times, as reported in the Tampa Bay Times.
Lowe managed to get enough on a Josh Smith pitch (the eleventh pitcher of the night for Boston) and sliced the ball down the left field line for an opposite field, walk-off home run. It was just another routine miracle for these Rays, these 2019 cardiac kids.
Tyler Glasnow had started the game about four hours earlier and done beautifully over the three innings he pitched: 2 hits, no runs or walks, and seven strikeouts. Almost as significant as Tyler's performance was the return to action of Yonny Chirinos, who had been on the IL since early August. He also did nicely in his one inning even though he gave up a homer to Xander Bogaerts. He seems ready to take his place in the bullpen over the next, and last, seven games of the season.
In all, Kevin Cash used nine pitchers, with Nick Anderson giving up the homer to Rafael Devers that tied the game in the eighth, and Diego Castillo giving up the eleventh-inning homer from Mitch Moreland. Castillo was the beneficiary of Lowe's homer and came away with the victory, making him 5-8.
Sunday afternoon's game begins at 1:10. Ryan Yarbrough, who has struggled of late, starts against ex-Ray Nathan Eovaldi.
Record: 92-63
Attendance: 18,179. Tropicana Field.
After winning two one-run games in the eleventh inning, one against the Dodgers and one against the Red Sox, one might have concluded that another such would be impossible. But one would have been very wrong!
Travis d'Arnaud and Joey Wendle singled home runs in the third, but d'Arnaud was caught at the plate by Mookie Betts. The Red Sox got one back on a home run from Xander Bogaerts in the top of the fourth. Willy Adames hit the longest homer of his career, estimated at 462 feet, which extended the Rays lead to 3-1. The Red Sox tied the game in the eighth on a two-run homer by Rafael Devers--and the teams drifted into extra innings. The Rays faithful figured they had the Red Sox right where they wanted them when the teams started the eleventh inning.
But the script seemed to have a new ending. Mitch Moreland, who hit two homers the night before, lofted another one in the top of the eleventh. Red Sox up 4-3. Unfazed, the Rays got a double from d'Arnaud in the bottom of the eleventh, which brought up Nate Lowe, already 0 for 4 in the game and in a 6 for 37 slump during which time he had struck out 13 times, as reported in the Tampa Bay Times.
Lowe managed to get enough on a Josh Smith pitch (the eleventh pitcher of the night for Boston) and sliced the ball down the left field line for an opposite field, walk-off home run. It was just another routine miracle for these Rays, these 2019 cardiac kids.
Tyler Glasnow had started the game about four hours earlier and done beautifully over the three innings he pitched: 2 hits, no runs or walks, and seven strikeouts. Almost as significant as Tyler's performance was the return to action of Yonny Chirinos, who had been on the IL since early August. He also did nicely in his one inning even though he gave up a homer to Xander Bogaerts. He seems ready to take his place in the bullpen over the next, and last, seven games of the season.
In all, Kevin Cash used nine pitchers, with Nick Anderson giving up the homer to Rafael Devers that tied the game in the eighth, and Diego Castillo giving up the eleventh-inning homer from Mitch Moreland. Castillo was the beneficiary of Lowe's homer and came away with the victory, making him 5-8.
Sunday afternoon's game begins at 1:10. Ryan Yarbrough, who has struggled of late, starts against ex-Ray Nathan Eovaldi.
Friday, September 20. Game 154: Rays are the latest version of baseball's "cardiac kids"
Rays 5, Red Sox 4 11 innings
Record: 91-63
Attendance: 17,117
This was a scoreless game through six innings, Charlie Morton and Rick Porcello matching scoreboard zeroes. But in the top of the seventh Morton blinked, giving up a one-out double to Brock Holt. Manager Kevin Cash went to the mound, but instead of pulling Morton, he gave him a well-earned opportunity to continue through the inning, despite his pitch count that was just about at the 100 mark. It was an act of respect--and everyone in the building and watching on television understood.
But the gesture backfired. On Morton's 103rd pitch, Mitch Moreland launched a home run to straightaway center.
The Red Sox pulled Porcello for the bottom of the seventh, however, and the Rays took advantage of the Bosox bullpen. Darwinzon Hernandez gave up a single to Travis d'Arnaud and then walked the next two batters. Marcus Weldon replaced Hernandez and gave up a slow chopper to third off the bat of PH Nate Lowe. The Red Sox tried for an around-the-horn, inning-ending double play, but the lumbering Lowe hustled and beat the throw to first. D'arnaud scored. Willy Adames got a key hit to right field that scored the tying run. The third run came in on a wild pitch. Then in the bottom of the eighth Austin Meadows walked and was driven in by Ji-Man Choi's double. 4-2 Rays.
Nick Anderson pitched a strong top of the eighth and gave way to Emilio Pagan. It was a seemingly perfect sequence that these two have earned, Anderson in the eighth and Pagan in the ninth. But this pitching decision backfired too when Pagan gave up a triple that was followed by another home run from Mitch Moreland. And the game was tied. The air suddenly got thicker for stunned Rays fans. But the players took it in stride.
In the eleventh, with two out, Mike Brosseau and Daniel Robertson walked bringing up Adames again, and again he came up with a clutch hit, a walk-off single to left, driving in PR Johnny Davis, who scored easily.
These Rays are a resilient group as the last two tough games show. They both ended up with the Rays winning in extra innings by a single run. Eight games to go and the Rays still have an uphill battle, but if their spunky play of the last two games is any indication, you don't want to rule them out quite yet.
Tyler Glasnow (as an opener who may go as many as four innings) gets the ball on Saturday at 6:10.
Record: 91-63
Attendance: 17,117
This was a scoreless game through six innings, Charlie Morton and Rick Porcello matching scoreboard zeroes. But in the top of the seventh Morton blinked, giving up a one-out double to Brock Holt. Manager Kevin Cash went to the mound, but instead of pulling Morton, he gave him a well-earned opportunity to continue through the inning, despite his pitch count that was just about at the 100 mark. It was an act of respect--and everyone in the building and watching on television understood.
But the gesture backfired. On Morton's 103rd pitch, Mitch Moreland launched a home run to straightaway center.
The Red Sox pulled Porcello for the bottom of the seventh, however, and the Rays took advantage of the Bosox bullpen. Darwinzon Hernandez gave up a single to Travis d'Arnaud and then walked the next two batters. Marcus Weldon replaced Hernandez and gave up a slow chopper to third off the bat of PH Nate Lowe. The Red Sox tried for an around-the-horn, inning-ending double play, but the lumbering Lowe hustled and beat the throw to first. D'arnaud scored. Willy Adames got a key hit to right field that scored the tying run. The third run came in on a wild pitch. Then in the bottom of the eighth Austin Meadows walked and was driven in by Ji-Man Choi's double. 4-2 Rays.
Nick Anderson pitched a strong top of the eighth and gave way to Emilio Pagan. It was a seemingly perfect sequence that these two have earned, Anderson in the eighth and Pagan in the ninth. But this pitching decision backfired too when Pagan gave up a triple that was followed by another home run from Mitch Moreland. And the game was tied. The air suddenly got thicker for stunned Rays fans. But the players took it in stride.
In the eleventh, with two out, Mike Brosseau and Daniel Robertson walked bringing up Adames again, and again he came up with a clutch hit, a walk-off single to left, driving in PR Johnny Davis, who scored easily.
These Rays are a resilient group as the last two tough games show. They both ended up with the Rays winning in extra innings by a single run. Eight games to go and the Rays still have an uphill battle, but if their spunky play of the last two games is any indication, you don't want to rule them out quite yet.
Tyler Glasnow (as an opener who may go as many as four innings) gets the ball on Saturday at 6:10.
Thursday, September 19. Off Day
After last night's 8-7 nail-biter against the Dodgers, the Rays took the off day to regularize their breathing and get set for the tomorrow's game against the Red Sox, who are out of the postseason conversation--except as a spoiler. For them the upcoming games are all for pride, and the Boston Red Sox franchise has plenty of that. These will be four hard-fought contests. Buckle up Rays fans.
Wednesday, September 18. Game 153. Rays rally late, beat L.A. in 11 innings. .
Rays 8, Dodgers 7 11 innings
Record: 90-63
Attendance: 48,253. Dodger Stadium
The Oakland Athletics pulled off a walk-off 1-0 win in the 11th inning against the weak Kansas City Royals. The Cleveland Indians won a 2-1 walk-off in the tenth against the even weaker Detroit Tigers. Keeping pace against the NL best L.A. Dodgers was going to be tough--and the Rays knew it going in.
Manager Kevin Cash played this one like the last game of the World Series--all hands on deck. Twenty-two hitters and pitchers found their way to the plate in this 4:40 marathon that began at 8:10 Eastern Time and didn't end till 12:50. He also paraded nine pitchers to the mound--as did the Dodgers. The game had no meaning for the Dodgers, unlike the Rays, who had a lot riding on the outcome, but the Dodgers played a ferocious game, getting key hits, rallying from deficits, and never conceding anything. Winning this one, in L.A., against an inspired team, in front of some 48,000 very involved fans, would be the perhaps the greatest challenge of the season for the 90-63 Rays.
The Rays fell behind 5-4 in the sixth on a Joc Pederson RBI single and a passed ball. Cody Bellinger's 45th homer in the eighth made it 6-4, but in the top of the ninth, the Rays tied it at 6 on a Ji-Man Choi single and a clutch sac fly by Travis d'Arnaud.
In the 11th, Austin Meadows picked out a breaking ball and drove it into the right field seats for his 32nd home run of the season. Tommy Pham followed that with a double to left, his fifth hit of the night. He went to third on a ground out and came home on Choi's sac fly. Rays up, 8-6. But the proud and tough Dodgers mounted a rally of their own in the bottom of the inning against Pete Fairbanks, who lost Tuesday's game.
Corey Seager singled and Will Smith put a high fly near the foul line in right. Avisail Garcia had a long run, but he caught up to the ball--and dropped it. After two outs were recorded, Edwin Rios singled to center driving in Seager. With runners on first and second, and the Rays leading by a single run, Dodger manager Dave Roberts called on backup catcher Russell Martin to pinch hit. This time Fairbanks was up to the task, getting Martin to swing and miss on a 3-2 count.
Colin Poche got the win (5-5) and Fairbanks got his second save.
In many ways the Rays pulled off a miracle in Dodger Stadium, one they can savor on their Thursday off day and build on for the upcoming four-game series against the Red Sox in St. Pete. If you can't feel the momentum swinging toward the Rays at this point, it's time to get a new antenna.
Tommy Pham wrapped it up for the press after the game: "We had a ton of fight in us tonight."
Record: 90-63
Attendance: 48,253. Dodger Stadium
The Oakland Athletics pulled off a walk-off 1-0 win in the 11th inning against the weak Kansas City Royals. The Cleveland Indians won a 2-1 walk-off in the tenth against the even weaker Detroit Tigers. Keeping pace against the NL best L.A. Dodgers was going to be tough--and the Rays knew it going in.
Manager Kevin Cash played this one like the last game of the World Series--all hands on deck. Twenty-two hitters and pitchers found their way to the plate in this 4:40 marathon that began at 8:10 Eastern Time and didn't end till 12:50. He also paraded nine pitchers to the mound--as did the Dodgers. The game had no meaning for the Dodgers, unlike the Rays, who had a lot riding on the outcome, but the Dodgers played a ferocious game, getting key hits, rallying from deficits, and never conceding anything. Winning this one, in L.A., against an inspired team, in front of some 48,000 very involved fans, would be the perhaps the greatest challenge of the season for the 90-63 Rays.
The Rays fell behind 5-4 in the sixth on a Joc Pederson RBI single and a passed ball. Cody Bellinger's 45th homer in the eighth made it 6-4, but in the top of the ninth, the Rays tied it at 6 on a Ji-Man Choi single and a clutch sac fly by Travis d'Arnaud.
In the 11th, Austin Meadows picked out a breaking ball and drove it into the right field seats for his 32nd home run of the season. Tommy Pham followed that with a double to left, his fifth hit of the night. He went to third on a ground out and came home on Choi's sac fly. Rays up, 8-6. But the proud and tough Dodgers mounted a rally of their own in the bottom of the inning against Pete Fairbanks, who lost Tuesday's game.
Corey Seager singled and Will Smith put a high fly near the foul line in right. Avisail Garcia had a long run, but he caught up to the ball--and dropped it. After two outs were recorded, Edwin Rios singled to center driving in Seager. With runners on first and second, and the Rays leading by a single run, Dodger manager Dave Roberts called on backup catcher Russell Martin to pinch hit. This time Fairbanks was up to the task, getting Martin to swing and miss on a 3-2 count.
Colin Poche got the win (5-5) and Fairbanks got his second save.
In many ways the Rays pulled off a miracle in Dodger Stadium, one they can savor on their Thursday off day and build on for the upcoming four-game series against the Red Sox in St. Pete. If you can't feel the momentum swinging toward the Rays at this point, it's time to get a new antenna.
Tommy Pham wrapped it up for the press after the game: "We had a ton of fight in us tonight."
Tuesday, September 17, Game 152. Rays fall again.
Rays 5, Dodgers 7
Record: 89-63
Attendance: 48,663. Dodger Stadium
While the 88-63 Cleveland Indians were beating the 45-105 Detroit Tigers 7-2, and while the 90-61 Oakland Athletics were beating the 56-95 Kansas City Royals, 2-1, the 89-63 Tampa Bay Rays were squaring off against the 97-54 Los Angeles Dodgers.
The game was tied at two in the seventh when the Dodgers scored five times against loser Pete Fairbanks (1-3), who pitched a third of an inning giving up three hits, one walk, and five runs (thee earned). The Rays launched a comeback in the eighth on an RBI single from Travis d'Arnaud and a two-run homer from Jesus Aguilar, but that was it and the Rays fell to the best team in the NL, 7-5.
And suddenly the flying high Rays have lost four of their last five and also lost their perch atop the wild card standings, which Oakland now leads by two and a half games.
Meantime, tomorrow the Rays take on the hot Dodgers once again while the A's and Indians continue their series against AL patsies in Detroit and Kansas City.
If there was an upside to this difficult defeat on Tuesday night in Los Angeles, it was the return of Blake Snell who tossed two perfect innings with four strikeouts over 27 pitches. He was followed by seven relievers who did a good job--except for Colin Poche, who gave up two runs in the fifth and Fairbanks.
As tough a game as Wednesday's is likely to be, this one against the Dodgers is a "must win."
Record: 89-63
Attendance: 48,663. Dodger Stadium
While the 88-63 Cleveland Indians were beating the 45-105 Detroit Tigers 7-2, and while the 90-61 Oakland Athletics were beating the 56-95 Kansas City Royals, 2-1, the 89-63 Tampa Bay Rays were squaring off against the 97-54 Los Angeles Dodgers.
The game was tied at two in the seventh when the Dodgers scored five times against loser Pete Fairbanks (1-3), who pitched a third of an inning giving up three hits, one walk, and five runs (thee earned). The Rays launched a comeback in the eighth on an RBI single from Travis d'Arnaud and a two-run homer from Jesus Aguilar, but that was it and the Rays fell to the best team in the NL, 7-5.
And suddenly the flying high Rays have lost four of their last five and also lost their perch atop the wild card standings, which Oakland now leads by two and a half games.
Meantime, tomorrow the Rays take on the hot Dodgers once again while the A's and Indians continue their series against AL patsies in Detroit and Kansas City.
If there was an upside to this difficult defeat on Tuesday night in Los Angeles, it was the return of Blake Snell who tossed two perfect innings with four strikeouts over 27 pitches. He was followed by seven relievers who did a good job--except for Colin Poche, who gave up two runs in the fifth and Fairbanks.
As tough a game as Wednesday's is likely to be, this one against the Dodgers is a "must win."
Sunday, September 15. Game 151: Rays flat, Pujols takes over
Rays 4, Angels 6
Record: 89-62
Attendance: 36,709. Angel Stadium
The Rays lost 6-4 on Sunday afternoon to the LA Angels, but they have a 7-3 record over the last ten games, which sounds pretty good--and is except that the Oakland A's are 8-2 and widening the gap between themselves and the Rays. As of Monday, the Rays are a game and a half behind the Athletics for the wild card spot, and they are a game and a half ahead of the Indians for the second wild card spot.
They need to step up their play over the last 11 games, which they have to win at least six of to remain in competition. But they've got the Dodgers coming up for two games in LA, the Red Sox for four games in Tampa, two games against the Yankees in Tampa and three final games against the Blue Jays in Toronto. Let's hope it doesn't depend on sweeping the very spunky Jays. All in all, the Rays need to play their best baseball over the next nine games.
Which means they can't play the way they did on Sunday against the Angels. Ryan Yarbrough wasn't sharp, giving up 10 hits, two walks, and six runs in five innings (93 pitches). The big blow was Albert Pujols three-run homer, his 23rd of the year, in the fifth, but he also had an RBI double, giving him four on the day.
It's right to pause for a moment to pay our respects to the great Albert Pujols, who at age 39 and a veteran of 19 big league seasons, won't be around much longer. His numbers: 656 home runs (6th all time); 1,332 extra base hits (5th); 2,071 RBIs (5th); 3,194 hits (15th); .300 B.A. (203rd); 311 intentional walks (2nd). It's no disgrace to be beaten by future Hall of Famer Albert Pujols.
And yet Pujols magic notwithstanding, the loss could not have come at a worse time.
The Rays offense which has played well over the year, at least when it wasn't in one of its comatose stretches, managed a first inning run on a Jesus Aguilar sac fly, but then put up goose eggs for the next six innings. Then in the eighth, all-star Austin Meadows launched a three-run homer (his 31st) to center, cutting the Angel lead to 6-4, the final score.
Rays pitching after Yarbrough was good, especially the performance of Anthony Banda, trying to work his way back into the Rays already deep relief corps. He pitched a perfect sixth and seventh with two strikeouts.
Monday the players and staff will enjoy Los Angeles on an off day, but Tuesday they will get back to work against the Dodgers.
These are hard days to live through as a fan, but they are also the meaningful games we all wanted the Rays to be playing in September. Enjoy it.
Record: 89-62
Attendance: 36,709. Angel Stadium
The Rays lost 6-4 on Sunday afternoon to the LA Angels, but they have a 7-3 record over the last ten games, which sounds pretty good--and is except that the Oakland A's are 8-2 and widening the gap between themselves and the Rays. As of Monday, the Rays are a game and a half behind the Athletics for the wild card spot, and they are a game and a half ahead of the Indians for the second wild card spot.
They need to step up their play over the last 11 games, which they have to win at least six of to remain in competition. But they've got the Dodgers coming up for two games in LA, the Red Sox for four games in Tampa, two games against the Yankees in Tampa and three final games against the Blue Jays in Toronto. Let's hope it doesn't depend on sweeping the very spunky Jays. All in all, the Rays need to play their best baseball over the next nine games.
Which means they can't play the way they did on Sunday against the Angels. Ryan Yarbrough wasn't sharp, giving up 10 hits, two walks, and six runs in five innings (93 pitches). The big blow was Albert Pujols three-run homer, his 23rd of the year, in the fifth, but he also had an RBI double, giving him four on the day.
It's right to pause for a moment to pay our respects to the great Albert Pujols, who at age 39 and a veteran of 19 big league seasons, won't be around much longer. His numbers: 656 home runs (6th all time); 1,332 extra base hits (5th); 2,071 RBIs (5th); 3,194 hits (15th); .300 B.A. (203rd); 311 intentional walks (2nd). It's no disgrace to be beaten by future Hall of Famer Albert Pujols.
And yet Pujols magic notwithstanding, the loss could not have come at a worse time.
The Rays offense which has played well over the year, at least when it wasn't in one of its comatose stretches, managed a first inning run on a Jesus Aguilar sac fly, but then put up goose eggs for the next six innings. Then in the eighth, all-star Austin Meadows launched a three-run homer (his 31st) to center, cutting the Angel lead to 6-4, the final score.
Rays pitching after Yarbrough was good, especially the performance of Anthony Banda, trying to work his way back into the Rays already deep relief corps. He pitched a perfect sixth and seventh with two strikeouts.
Monday the players and staff will enjoy Los Angeles on an off day, but Tuesday they will get back to work against the Dodgers.
These are hard days to live through as a fan, but they are also the meaningful games we all wanted the Rays to be playing in September. Enjoy it.
Saturday, September 14. Game 150. An efficient, low-energy win
Rays 3, Angels 1
Record: 89-61
Attendance: 39,056. Angel Stadium.
Tyler Glasnow in his second game back after nearly four months on the IL for right forearm strain, threw three good innings against the Angels on Saturday night. He gave up two hits and a walk but did not give up a run despite allowing a triple to Brian Goodwin with one out in the third, a jam he got out of by popping up David Fletcher and striking out red-hot Kole Calhoun on a fastball just a tick under 100 mph. It was a strong showing.
The Rays hitters meanwhile were quieted most of the evening with a grand total of five hits. One of them, however, was a bases loaded double by Travis d'Arnaud that scored all three of the Rays runs. The other eight Rays innings were scoreless.
But the Rays bullpen gave up but a single run, on a Nick Anderson wild pitch in the seventh. For the rest of the game, Rays pitchers were in total control: Trevor Richards pitched the fourth and fifth for the win, making him 6-12, and Peter Fairbanks worked a clean sixth. Then came the end-of-game boys, Anderson in the seventh, Oliver Drake in the eighth, and Emilio Pagan the ninth for his 20th save.
The last game against the Angels is Sunday afternoon. A sweep is what the Rays are after as they chase the postseason and need to win as many of the remaining 12 games as they can. With 89 wins so far, they have a fighting chance if they can get to 95 or 96, which would require winning five or six more. Seven or eight more would clinch it in all probability.
And still there is nothing to be done but play the games one at a time. The ones against the Red Sox and Yankees at the Trop between September 20 and 26 will give the fans yet another opportunity to root the Rays on--and drown out the hate-the-Rays crowd who will show up to root against their home team. It's disgraceful, frustrating, and demoralizing for the team. Regardless of how far the Rays go in the postseason if they get there at all, the out-of-towners who root against them will force Rays management to Montreal. Who can blame them?
Record: 89-61
Attendance: 39,056. Angel Stadium.
Tyler Glasnow in his second game back after nearly four months on the IL for right forearm strain, threw three good innings against the Angels on Saturday night. He gave up two hits and a walk but did not give up a run despite allowing a triple to Brian Goodwin with one out in the third, a jam he got out of by popping up David Fletcher and striking out red-hot Kole Calhoun on a fastball just a tick under 100 mph. It was a strong showing.
The Rays hitters meanwhile were quieted most of the evening with a grand total of five hits. One of them, however, was a bases loaded double by Travis d'Arnaud that scored all three of the Rays runs. The other eight Rays innings were scoreless.
But the Rays bullpen gave up but a single run, on a Nick Anderson wild pitch in the seventh. For the rest of the game, Rays pitchers were in total control: Trevor Richards pitched the fourth and fifth for the win, making him 6-12, and Peter Fairbanks worked a clean sixth. Then came the end-of-game boys, Anderson in the seventh, Oliver Drake in the eighth, and Emilio Pagan the ninth for his 20th save.
The last game against the Angels is Sunday afternoon. A sweep is what the Rays are after as they chase the postseason and need to win as many of the remaining 12 games as they can. With 89 wins so far, they have a fighting chance if they can get to 95 or 96, which would require winning five or six more. Seven or eight more would clinch it in all probability.
And still there is nothing to be done but play the games one at a time. The ones against the Red Sox and Yankees at the Trop between September 20 and 26 will give the fans yet another opportunity to root the Rays on--and drown out the hate-the-Rays crowd who will show up to root against their home team. It's disgraceful, frustrating, and demoralizing for the team. Regardless of how far the Rays go in the postseason if they get there at all, the out-of-towners who root against them will force Rays management to Montreal. Who can blame them?
Friday, September 13. Game 149. Fireworks display comes at a good time.
Rays 11, Angels 4
Record: 88-61
Attendance: 39,914. Angel Stadium
Off Friday night's 11-4 fireworks, there isn't anything wrong with the 88-61 Rays. Of course they have to keep it up one game at a time, but with 13 games to go there is a good chance they will win seven more for a 95-win season. It is still hard to imagine it will take more than that to make the playoffs--but it is still a possibility.
In Friday night's game against the Angels, the Rays were behind 1-0 going into the third inning, when they got three homers, from Willy Adames (18), Austin Meadows (31), and Jesus Aguilar (11)--4-1 Rays. The teams traded two-run innings to put the score at 6-3, but Rays hitting added five runs over the last four innings and Rays pitching stiffened, allowing only one more run over the last six innings.
The Rays run in the top of the ninth was started by newcomer Johnny Davis, who slapped a ball into the left-field corner. The speedster was standing on third by the time the ball got back into the infield. He came in with the last run of the game on a sac fly by Jesus Aguilar. When he got back to the dugout, it erupted with smiles, slaps, high fives, and hugs. This was 29-year-old Davis's first at-bat and first hit in the major leagues. Celebration all around.
There was cause for celebration too because Charlie Morton got the win, and is now 15-6 on the year. He extended his own personal records by reaching 182.1 innings and 223 strikeouts. Morton went six innings (94 pitches) and gave up a home run to Kole Calhoun in the third. In the eighth, Calhoun hit another HR off Andrew Kittredge, who pitched the seventh and eighth. Jalen Beeks mopped it up with a clean ninth.
The Rays slept better than they had in the previous two nights, but they've got another game tonight against the Angels. Tyler Glasnow is scheduled to be the starter tonight, so the hope is that he will go deeper than his two-inning outing last time. There are no guarantees with Glasnow considering how much time he has missed, but a good performance would make the remaining games a little less daunting. One game at a time.
Record: 88-61
Attendance: 39,914. Angel Stadium
Off Friday night's 11-4 fireworks, there isn't anything wrong with the 88-61 Rays. Of course they have to keep it up one game at a time, but with 13 games to go there is a good chance they will win seven more for a 95-win season. It is still hard to imagine it will take more than that to make the playoffs--but it is still a possibility.
In Friday night's game against the Angels, the Rays were behind 1-0 going into the third inning, when they got three homers, from Willy Adames (18), Austin Meadows (31), and Jesus Aguilar (11)--4-1 Rays. The teams traded two-run innings to put the score at 6-3, but Rays hitting added five runs over the last four innings and Rays pitching stiffened, allowing only one more run over the last six innings.
The Rays run in the top of the ninth was started by newcomer Johnny Davis, who slapped a ball into the left-field corner. The speedster was standing on third by the time the ball got back into the infield. He came in with the last run of the game on a sac fly by Jesus Aguilar. When he got back to the dugout, it erupted with smiles, slaps, high fives, and hugs. This was 29-year-old Davis's first at-bat and first hit in the major leagues. Celebration all around.
There was cause for celebration too because Charlie Morton got the win, and is now 15-6 on the year. He extended his own personal records by reaching 182.1 innings and 223 strikeouts. Morton went six innings (94 pitches) and gave up a home run to Kole Calhoun in the third. In the eighth, Calhoun hit another HR off Andrew Kittredge, who pitched the seventh and eighth. Jalen Beeks mopped it up with a clean ninth.
The Rays slept better than they had in the previous two nights, but they've got another game tonight against the Angels. Tyler Glasnow is scheduled to be the starter tonight, so the hope is that he will go deeper than his two-inning outing last time. There are no guarantees with Glasnow considering how much time he has missed, but a good performance would make the remaining games a little less daunting. One game at a time.
Thursday, September 12. Game 148: A dud and a thud, Rays fall out of first place in wild card race
Rays 4, Rangers 6
Record 87-61
Attendance: 18,222
The Rays needed to bounce back from Wednesday's crushing 10-9 defeat by taking the rubber game of the three-game set against the Texas Rangers and avoid a tailspin in the last two weeks of the season. They lost the game 6-4, their hitting falling short and their pitching falling even shorter. And the defense was charged with two errors though it was shakier than that. As to the tailspin, we'll have to wait now to see how they respond in the opening game against the L.A. Angels on Friday night.
If the game was a dud, there was also a loud thud as the team fell into second place in the wildcard race as the Oakland Athletics took over first place beating the AL West leading Astros for a third straight day. Unless the A's show some signs of fallibility in the last two weeks of the season, the Rays are not likely to take over first again.
The Rays tied the score at one in the top of the second, but they had bases loaded and no outs--and barely managed a single run to tie the game. Then a combination of no lock-down pitching and a suddenly porous defense gave the Rangers four runs in the fourth. The Rays came back with three in the fifth, the big blow a double from Austin Meadows, who continues the team's hottest hitter. Texas added a run in the seventh while the Rays went scoreless for the last four innings.
Rays pitching was led by Brandon McKay, who managed three and a third innings giving up six hits, two walks, and three runs. He also took the loss and is now 2-4 on the year. He was replaced by Pete Fairbanks, who was traded near the trade deadline in July for Rays farmhand Nick Solak. Solak has been hitting .385 over the last week with ten hits, two homers, eight RBIs, and five walks. He's hitting cleanup for the Rangers. And in the fourth inning against Fairbanks he hit a two-run home run. So not only did he effectively beat the Rays, he left management scratching its head how they could have missed the upside of Solak's bat.
A dud and a thud.
But the pennant race continues without missing a beat on Friday night against the Angels. The best way to get over two bad losses in a row to a barely .500 team is to win the next game. At this point every game is a must-win contest. The Rays have to keep the pressure on--and hope the A's and Cleveland Indians blink under the pressure.
Record 87-61
Attendance: 18,222
The Rays needed to bounce back from Wednesday's crushing 10-9 defeat by taking the rubber game of the three-game set against the Texas Rangers and avoid a tailspin in the last two weeks of the season. They lost the game 6-4, their hitting falling short and their pitching falling even shorter. And the defense was charged with two errors though it was shakier than that. As to the tailspin, we'll have to wait now to see how they respond in the opening game against the L.A. Angels on Friday night.
If the game was a dud, there was also a loud thud as the team fell into second place in the wildcard race as the Oakland Athletics took over first place beating the AL West leading Astros for a third straight day. Unless the A's show some signs of fallibility in the last two weeks of the season, the Rays are not likely to take over first again.
The Rays tied the score at one in the top of the second, but they had bases loaded and no outs--and barely managed a single run to tie the game. Then a combination of no lock-down pitching and a suddenly porous defense gave the Rangers four runs in the fourth. The Rays came back with three in the fifth, the big blow a double from Austin Meadows, who continues the team's hottest hitter. Texas added a run in the seventh while the Rays went scoreless for the last four innings.
Rays pitching was led by Brandon McKay, who managed three and a third innings giving up six hits, two walks, and three runs. He also took the loss and is now 2-4 on the year. He was replaced by Pete Fairbanks, who was traded near the trade deadline in July for Rays farmhand Nick Solak. Solak has been hitting .385 over the last week with ten hits, two homers, eight RBIs, and five walks. He's hitting cleanup for the Rangers. And in the fourth inning against Fairbanks he hit a two-run home run. So not only did he effectively beat the Rays, he left management scratching its head how they could have missed the upside of Solak's bat.
A dud and a thud.
But the pennant race continues without missing a beat on Friday night against the Angels. The best way to get over two bad losses in a row to a barely .500 team is to win the next game. At this point every game is a must-win contest. The Rays have to keep the pressure on--and hope the A's and Cleveland Indians blink under the pressure.
Wednesday, September 11. Game 147. Good hitting, bad pitching, horrible base running, Rays lose 10-9
Rays 9, Rangers 10
Record: 87-60
Attendance: 19,746. Global Life Park
As well as the Rays have been playing for the last two weeks, perhaps it was inevitable they should have a letdown. They did on Wednesday night in a game that could well have been one of their greatest successes.
In the first inning, which took almost a full hour to play, the Rays jumped out to a 2-0 lead on a Tommy Pham double and a Matt Duffy single. But in the bottom of the first, the Rangers scored seven times to take a 7-2 lead, which dissolved when the Rays scored five times in the top of the second to tie the game at seven. That's 14 runs in an inning and a half.
The Rays took a one-run lead on a Duffy sac fly in the fourth, which is how it remained until the bottom of the seventh.when Rougned Odor jerked a Nick Anderson fastball down the right field line for a three-run homer. Rangers up, 10-8. In the ninth, Ji-Man Choi hit his second home run of the night, a solo shot that tightened the game up, but that is how it ended with the Rangers eking out a one-run win over the red-hot Rays.
The Rays used eight pitchers on the night with Andrew Kittredge opening and giving up three runs without registering an out before being replaced by Jalen Beeks, who gave up four more runs and getting two outs before he was replaced by Austin Pruitt, who got them out of the first and settled things down with three more solid innings. Colin Poche started the seventh and had two men on when he was replaced by Anderson, who then threw the home run ball to Odor. Officially the loss went to Poche.
At various times during the season, Rays base running has been so bad that even Kevin Cash once called it "atrocious." Wednesday night it was the most atrocious it has ever been. Duffy was on third with two outs when he was caught napping. Guillermo Heredia was picked off first. Choi was caught off second by the catcher. And most galling of all, Johnny Davis, a 29-year-old base-stealing phenom from the Mexican League in his very first Rays game, was put in as a pinch runner--and was picked off. Ironic? Yes. Pathetic? Most definitely.
Almost every break has gone the Rays way over the last two weeks, but Wednesday night balanced the scales--and what could have been an inspiring win turned into a deflating and disheartening loss that will be hard to spring back from.
The rubber game of the series is Thursday night with Brandon McKay still working his way back into the rotation after late season arm fatigue and a stint at Durham working against lefty Kolby Allard, who came over to the Rangers from Atlanta at the trade deadline and has gone 3-0 with an ERA of 1.47 over his last three games. The Rays will have to put Wednesday's tough loss behind them very quickly.
Record: 87-60
Attendance: 19,746. Global Life Park
As well as the Rays have been playing for the last two weeks, perhaps it was inevitable they should have a letdown. They did on Wednesday night in a game that could well have been one of their greatest successes.
In the first inning, which took almost a full hour to play, the Rays jumped out to a 2-0 lead on a Tommy Pham double and a Matt Duffy single. But in the bottom of the first, the Rangers scored seven times to take a 7-2 lead, which dissolved when the Rays scored five times in the top of the second to tie the game at seven. That's 14 runs in an inning and a half.
The Rays took a one-run lead on a Duffy sac fly in the fourth, which is how it remained until the bottom of the seventh.when Rougned Odor jerked a Nick Anderson fastball down the right field line for a three-run homer. Rangers up, 10-8. In the ninth, Ji-Man Choi hit his second home run of the night, a solo shot that tightened the game up, but that is how it ended with the Rangers eking out a one-run win over the red-hot Rays.
The Rays used eight pitchers on the night with Andrew Kittredge opening and giving up three runs without registering an out before being replaced by Jalen Beeks, who gave up four more runs and getting two outs before he was replaced by Austin Pruitt, who got them out of the first and settled things down with three more solid innings. Colin Poche started the seventh and had two men on when he was replaced by Anderson, who then threw the home run ball to Odor. Officially the loss went to Poche.
At various times during the season, Rays base running has been so bad that even Kevin Cash once called it "atrocious." Wednesday night it was the most atrocious it has ever been. Duffy was on third with two outs when he was caught napping. Guillermo Heredia was picked off first. Choi was caught off second by the catcher. And most galling of all, Johnny Davis, a 29-year-old base-stealing phenom from the Mexican League in his very first Rays game, was put in as a pinch runner--and was picked off. Ironic? Yes. Pathetic? Most definitely.
Almost every break has gone the Rays way over the last two weeks, but Wednesday night balanced the scales--and what could have been an inspiring win turned into a deflating and disheartening loss that will be hard to spring back from.
The rubber game of the series is Thursday night with Brandon McKay still working his way back into the rotation after late season arm fatigue and a stint at Durham working against lefty Kolby Allard, who came over to the Rangers from Atlanta at the trade deadline and has gone 3-0 with an ERA of 1.47 over his last three games. The Rays will have to put Wednesday's tough loss behind them very quickly.
Tuesday, September 10. Game 146. Rays roll into Texas, win 5-3 in 11
Rays 5, Rangers 3. 11 innings
Record: 87-59. 16 games left.
Attendance: 18,467. Global Life Park.
The Rays rolled into Arlington, Texas having won five in a row and 11 of their last 12. It's a team that seems finally to have achieved its potential by grinding out games one at a time, never getting too high or too low. This is as good as they've been in years, better than last year's 90-win team, better than most of the glory years under Traitor Joe Maddon. This may be the best Rays team ever--if, that is, they can keep it up for the 16 games remaining on their schedule. They need to win seven more to reach 95 wins and a probable postseason position. Otherwise, the season goes up in smoke.
Tuesday night's game did not at first look promising. The teams traded scoreless innings until the bottom of the fourth when the Rangers scored all three of their runs, two coming on a home run by Nick Solak, a Rays prospect until he was traded in July to the Rangers for pitcher Pete Fairbanks. The Rays got one back in the top of the fifth, but with Ranger starter and Ray killer Lance Lynn efficiently buzzing through an injury-adjusted lineup, a sixth win in a row began to look unlikely--until the top of the eighth when Joey Wendle tripled off reliever Rafael Montero and Austin Meadows, reigning AL Player of the Week, hit one over the centerfield fence.
Locked at three, the teams got through a scoreless tenth before the Rays, with ample help from the Rangers, scored two runs for the win. The odd scoring came with two outs and Nate Lowe on first. Willy Adames hustled to beat out an infield single. Kean Wong hit a swinging bunt toward first. Reliever Emmanuel Chase fielded the ball but Wong had already passed him on the base path, which forced an awkward throw to first that turned into an error. When 2B Rougned Odor, who was covering first, threw to second, the ball sailed into left field and Lowe scored the go-ahead run. And then for good measure, Guillermo Heredia laced a hard single to left scoring Adames.
Pete Fairbanks was called on to pitch the bottom of the 11th and despite giving up a pair of hits, shut the door and locked up the Rays' 87th win--and his own first save.
In all Rays pitching only gave up five hits in 11 innings. Starter Ryan Yarbrough went seven strong innings giving up only three hits and striking out seven over 102 pitches. He was followed by Nick Anderson, Colin Poche, Emilio Pagan, who got the win and is now 4-2, and Fairbanks.
They won't win all 16 of their remaining games, of course, but at the moment they are definitely hard to beat. The Rangers get another chance Wednesday night.
Record: 87-59. 16 games left.
Attendance: 18,467. Global Life Park.
The Rays rolled into Arlington, Texas having won five in a row and 11 of their last 12. It's a team that seems finally to have achieved its potential by grinding out games one at a time, never getting too high or too low. This is as good as they've been in years, better than last year's 90-win team, better than most of the glory years under Traitor Joe Maddon. This may be the best Rays team ever--if, that is, they can keep it up for the 16 games remaining on their schedule. They need to win seven more to reach 95 wins and a probable postseason position. Otherwise, the season goes up in smoke.
Tuesday night's game did not at first look promising. The teams traded scoreless innings until the bottom of the fourth when the Rangers scored all three of their runs, two coming on a home run by Nick Solak, a Rays prospect until he was traded in July to the Rangers for pitcher Pete Fairbanks. The Rays got one back in the top of the fifth, but with Ranger starter and Ray killer Lance Lynn efficiently buzzing through an injury-adjusted lineup, a sixth win in a row began to look unlikely--until the top of the eighth when Joey Wendle tripled off reliever Rafael Montero and Austin Meadows, reigning AL Player of the Week, hit one over the centerfield fence.
Locked at three, the teams got through a scoreless tenth before the Rays, with ample help from the Rangers, scored two runs for the win. The odd scoring came with two outs and Nate Lowe on first. Willy Adames hustled to beat out an infield single. Kean Wong hit a swinging bunt toward first. Reliever Emmanuel Chase fielded the ball but Wong had already passed him on the base path, which forced an awkward throw to first that turned into an error. When 2B Rougned Odor, who was covering first, threw to second, the ball sailed into left field and Lowe scored the go-ahead run. And then for good measure, Guillermo Heredia laced a hard single to left scoring Adames.
Pete Fairbanks was called on to pitch the bottom of the 11th and despite giving up a pair of hits, shut the door and locked up the Rays' 87th win--and his own first save.
In all Rays pitching only gave up five hits in 11 innings. Starter Ryan Yarbrough went seven strong innings giving up only three hits and striking out seven over 102 pitches. He was followed by Nick Anderson, Colin Poche, Emilio Pagan, who got the win and is now 4-2, and Fairbanks.
They won't win all 16 of their remaining games, of course, but at the moment they are definitely hard to beat. The Rangers get another chance Wednesday night.
Monday, September 9. Off Day
Austin Meadows was named AL Player of the Week for the second time this season, as reported in the Tampa Bay Times on Tuesday, September 10. His line for the week: B.A. .522; runs, 9; hits, 12 (two doubles and four home runs); 8 RBIs; 26 total bases; and an OPS (on base plus slugging), 1.130. He couldn't be peaking at a better time, and with any luck at all, he'll keep it up for the last 17 games of the season.
Sunday, September 8. Game 145: Streaking Rays head west for eight games
Rays 8, Blue Jays 3
Record 86-59. If the Rays go 9-8 in the 17 games they have left, they will have 95 wins for the year--and a likely postseason spot.
Attendance: 14,071. Tropicana Field
So far in September, the Rays are 7-1. If you count the last three games in August, their record is 10-1, a late season charge that has put them a game ahead of the Oakland Athletics in the wild card race. This has turned into the team they thought they were--then began to doubt during June and July.. But baseball is the long, slow sport of the summer, the one that takes six months to sort out. They are now 27 games over .500, and with 17 games left to play, the Rays are in an excellent position to make their first postseason appearance since 2013.
Sunday afternoon's game against the Blue Jays was never in doubt, such is the confidence of this team at this point in the season. Tyler Glasnow opened the game with an adrenaline-driven return to the mound after almost four full months on the IL: he struck out the side with hundred-mile-an-hour fastballs and breaking balls in the 80s. In the bottom of the first, Austin Meadows put them ahead with his 28th home run of the year.
Perhaps exhausted from his long-anticipated return to the mound and his all-out first inning, Glasnow stumbled in the second, walking a man and surrendering a long home run to Randal Grichuk. But the Rays came back with two in the second, three in the fifth, and two in the seventh on a combination of 10 hits and two walks. The bullpen continued its sharp work with good performances from Trevor Richards, who got the win and is now 5-12, and then Chaz Roe, Diego Castillo (two innings, three Ks), newcomer Cole Sulser, and finally from Anthony Banda, making his return to action after June 2018 Tommy John surgery.
There was an unspoken inevitability to the final outcome, the final brush-off as the Rays swept the Blue Jays for their ninth sweep of the season. No one even seemed concerned when Kevin Kiermaier took himself out of the game in the fifth with a stiff neck. No matter. They'll just find someone else to replace him and he'll probably be ready to play on Tuesday in Arlington against the Rangers. The Rays feel in command.
Milestone: The Rays pitching staff struck out 10, giving them 1,438 on the season, breaking by one the previous high set in 2014, according to the Tampa Bay Times.
Record 86-59. If the Rays go 9-8 in the 17 games they have left, they will have 95 wins for the year--and a likely postseason spot.
Attendance: 14,071. Tropicana Field
So far in September, the Rays are 7-1. If you count the last three games in August, their record is 10-1, a late season charge that has put them a game ahead of the Oakland Athletics in the wild card race. This has turned into the team they thought they were--then began to doubt during June and July.. But baseball is the long, slow sport of the summer, the one that takes six months to sort out. They are now 27 games over .500, and with 17 games left to play, the Rays are in an excellent position to make their first postseason appearance since 2013.
Sunday afternoon's game against the Blue Jays was never in doubt, such is the confidence of this team at this point in the season. Tyler Glasnow opened the game with an adrenaline-driven return to the mound after almost four full months on the IL: he struck out the side with hundred-mile-an-hour fastballs and breaking balls in the 80s. In the bottom of the first, Austin Meadows put them ahead with his 28th home run of the year.
Perhaps exhausted from his long-anticipated return to the mound and his all-out first inning, Glasnow stumbled in the second, walking a man and surrendering a long home run to Randal Grichuk. But the Rays came back with two in the second, three in the fifth, and two in the seventh on a combination of 10 hits and two walks. The bullpen continued its sharp work with good performances from Trevor Richards, who got the win and is now 5-12, and then Chaz Roe, Diego Castillo (two innings, three Ks), newcomer Cole Sulser, and finally from Anthony Banda, making his return to action after June 2018 Tommy John surgery.
There was an unspoken inevitability to the final outcome, the final brush-off as the Rays swept the Blue Jays for their ninth sweep of the season. No one even seemed concerned when Kevin Kiermaier took himself out of the game in the fifth with a stiff neck. No matter. They'll just find someone else to replace him and he'll probably be ready to play on Tuesday in Arlington against the Rangers. The Rays feel in command.
Milestone: The Rays pitching staff struck out 10, giving them 1,438 on the season, breaking by one the previous high set in 2014, according to the Tampa Bay Times.
Saturday, September 7. Game 144: Rays come from behind, win 9th out of last 10
Rays 5, Blue Jays 3
Record: 85-59
Attendance: 12,663
With 85 wins, the Rays need to win nine or ten of their remaining 18 games to secure a postseason position, but even with their current hot streak (winning 9 of their last 10), they face a tough road to get to 95 wins. After Sunday's game against Toronto, the Rays play six against the Texas Rangers and LA Angels, both teams playing under .500 ball with nothing to lose--so playing spoiler should be fun for them. At this stage of their seasons, there will be a lot of talent evaluation for next season going on, which means players will be doing their best to show they belong on next year's major league roster. The games mean everything to them. The Rays had better not take anything for granted against either the Rangers or the Angels.
And then the schedule gets hard again. The following two games against the NL West leading Dodgers in Los Angeles will be important for them as they try to nail down enough wins to earn postseason home field advantage. They will not be resting their regulars. Then back at the Trop, the Rays play four against the Red Sox, who at 76 and 66, are still harboring hopes to sneak into the postseason. Needless to say, they will be playing hard against their rivals in the AL East. Then come two games against the Yankees, who have owned the Rays all year. If the Rays haven't picked up the necessary 9 or 10 wins by then, they end the season in Toronto where there are more talented rookies (like Cavan Biggio, Vladimir Guerrero, and Bo Bichette) to make every game against them a hard-fought contest. None of this will be easy.
But even with all those caveats, the Rays will have to go into a terrible tailspin to fall out of contention for a playoff spot. With 18 to go, they need to finish 10-8 to make it, maybe even 9-9. They are currently 26 games over .500.
Saturday's game was another they would have lost earlier in the season when they could not find the formula to win close games. They scored the first two runs of the game in the fourth on an Austin Meadows single and a bases loaded walk. The Blue Jays took the lead with three runs in the sixth, but the Rays came back to tie it in the seventh on hits by by rookie Kean Wong (his first game and first hit) and castaway Daniel Robertson who had rejoined the team from Durham on September 1. Then in the eighth with the score tied at three, Travis d'Arnaud put them ahead by a run and Robertson again came through with a run-producing single.
If there is a concern regarding Saturday's win, it is with Charlie Morton, who pitched a fine first five innings before giving up three runs and the lead in the sixth. Overall he allowed five hits and two walks. Not exactly a shabby performance, but everyone worries about how much Morton has left in the tank. At 35, he already has 30 games started (14-6), 176 1/3 innings, and 219 strikeouts. The Rays will be counting on him over the last three weeks of the season--and hopefully into the postseason.
Colin Poche pitched the seventh, Nick Anderson the eighth (for the win), and Oliver Drake closed it out for his second save of the year, striking out the side. Altogether another good performance from a team that is finally showing how good it can be, but whose record all year has been marked by streaks of good and bad baseball. And so there has to be some concern that they will not collapse one last time when the stakes are so high.
Sunday's game features Tyler Glasnow's return to the mound after missing nearly five months on the IL. When he left, he was among the league's best pitchers with a 6-1 record and an ERA of 1.86. Hopes will be running high.
Record: 85-59
Attendance: 12,663
With 85 wins, the Rays need to win nine or ten of their remaining 18 games to secure a postseason position, but even with their current hot streak (winning 9 of their last 10), they face a tough road to get to 95 wins. After Sunday's game against Toronto, the Rays play six against the Texas Rangers and LA Angels, both teams playing under .500 ball with nothing to lose--so playing spoiler should be fun for them. At this stage of their seasons, there will be a lot of talent evaluation for next season going on, which means players will be doing their best to show they belong on next year's major league roster. The games mean everything to them. The Rays had better not take anything for granted against either the Rangers or the Angels.
And then the schedule gets hard again. The following two games against the NL West leading Dodgers in Los Angeles will be important for them as they try to nail down enough wins to earn postseason home field advantage. They will not be resting their regulars. Then back at the Trop, the Rays play four against the Red Sox, who at 76 and 66, are still harboring hopes to sneak into the postseason. Needless to say, they will be playing hard against their rivals in the AL East. Then come two games against the Yankees, who have owned the Rays all year. If the Rays haven't picked up the necessary 9 or 10 wins by then, they end the season in Toronto where there are more talented rookies (like Cavan Biggio, Vladimir Guerrero, and Bo Bichette) to make every game against them a hard-fought contest. None of this will be easy.
But even with all those caveats, the Rays will have to go into a terrible tailspin to fall out of contention for a playoff spot. With 18 to go, they need to finish 10-8 to make it, maybe even 9-9. They are currently 26 games over .500.
Saturday's game was another they would have lost earlier in the season when they could not find the formula to win close games. They scored the first two runs of the game in the fourth on an Austin Meadows single and a bases loaded walk. The Blue Jays took the lead with three runs in the sixth, but the Rays came back to tie it in the seventh on hits by by rookie Kean Wong (his first game and first hit) and castaway Daniel Robertson who had rejoined the team from Durham on September 1. Then in the eighth with the score tied at three, Travis d'Arnaud put them ahead by a run and Robertson again came through with a run-producing single.
If there is a concern regarding Saturday's win, it is with Charlie Morton, who pitched a fine first five innings before giving up three runs and the lead in the sixth. Overall he allowed five hits and two walks. Not exactly a shabby performance, but everyone worries about how much Morton has left in the tank. At 35, he already has 30 games started (14-6), 176 1/3 innings, and 219 strikeouts. The Rays will be counting on him over the last three weeks of the season--and hopefully into the postseason.
Colin Poche pitched the seventh, Nick Anderson the eighth (for the win), and Oliver Drake closed it out for his second save of the year, striking out the side. Altogether another good performance from a team that is finally showing how good it can be, but whose record all year has been marked by streaks of good and bad baseball. And so there has to be some concern that they will not collapse one last time when the stakes are so high.
Sunday's game features Tyler Glasnow's return to the mound after missing nearly five months on the IL. When he left, he was among the league's best pitchers with a 6-1 record and an ERA of 1.86. Hopes will be running high.
Friday, September 6. Game 143: Another shutout: the Rays are charging!
Rays 5, Blue Jays 0
Record: 84-59
Attendance: 10,853. Tropicana Field. Better than yesterday, but not good. The Trop should be a sell-out every night, especially at this time of year with the Rays in serious contention for the postseason.
Tuesday night against the Baltimore Orioles, seven Rays pitchers combined for a shutout. Friday night against the Toronto Blue Jays, the Rays got a two-hit shutout with only five pitchers. Improvement of a sort. Not that the pitchers should be singled out for the recent rampage the Tampa Bay Rays have been on. They've also been getting great defense (mostly) and the timely hitting they have not always had this season. With 84 wins already in the bag (25 games over .500) and 19 left to play, the Rays chances at postseason baseball are very good, but there can be no drop off from here on out.
Brendan McKay showed that his time on the IL and at Durham rested him sufficiently to rediscover his command and arm strength. He pitched three and two-thirds innings, giving up one hit, no walks, and striking out seven over 59 pitches. Pete Fairbanks got the win following McKay with an inning and a third of perfect baseball. Cole Sulser, just called up for the first time at age 29, pitched a good eighth but got himself in a jam in the ninth, giving up a hit and two walks to load the bases, which brought on The Closer, officially designated or not,.Emilio Pagan, who shut the door and picked up his 19th save.
Offensively, Avisail Garcia knocked in the first run in the first inning, and then in the second, Mike Zunino hit a two-run homer. They added on with a run scoring on a passed ball in the fourth and another coming in on Austin Meadows single in the eighth.
Saturday's game will have Charlie Morton on the mound, and Sunday will feature the return of Tyler Glasnow as the opener. His last appearance was on May 10. He spent the entire summer on the IL for a right forearm strain. When he went down, his record was 6-1 with an ERA of 1.86. Heady stuff. Rays fans would do well, however, to temper unrealistically high expectations. But still, Glasnow might be the ingredient that seals the deal.
The Rays have two more games against the Blue Jays this weekend before going on a two-city road trip, taking them to Arlington, Texas (the Rangers), and Los Angeles (the Angels and the Dodgers). After that there are four games against the Red Sox and two against the Yankees at the Trop. The last three games of the year are against the Blue Jays again, but in Toronto. After their summer slump, it's hard to believe the Rays are actually up to their necks in very meaningful September games--a tight race for a wild card spot in the playoffs. If they had started this run a little earlier, they might have been in contention for first place in the AL East, but the Yankees have run away with that race, and at 92-50 they are 8.5 games ahead of second-place Tampa.
If you're a Rays fan, it doesn't get any better than this--but let's hope it does get a little better every day for the rest of the month.
Record: 84-59
Attendance: 10,853. Tropicana Field. Better than yesterday, but not good. The Trop should be a sell-out every night, especially at this time of year with the Rays in serious contention for the postseason.
Tuesday night against the Baltimore Orioles, seven Rays pitchers combined for a shutout. Friday night against the Toronto Blue Jays, the Rays got a two-hit shutout with only five pitchers. Improvement of a sort. Not that the pitchers should be singled out for the recent rampage the Tampa Bay Rays have been on. They've also been getting great defense (mostly) and the timely hitting they have not always had this season. With 84 wins already in the bag (25 games over .500) and 19 left to play, the Rays chances at postseason baseball are very good, but there can be no drop off from here on out.
Brendan McKay showed that his time on the IL and at Durham rested him sufficiently to rediscover his command and arm strength. He pitched three and two-thirds innings, giving up one hit, no walks, and striking out seven over 59 pitches. Pete Fairbanks got the win following McKay with an inning and a third of perfect baseball. Cole Sulser, just called up for the first time at age 29, pitched a good eighth but got himself in a jam in the ninth, giving up a hit and two walks to load the bases, which brought on The Closer, officially designated or not,.Emilio Pagan, who shut the door and picked up his 19th save.
Offensively, Avisail Garcia knocked in the first run in the first inning, and then in the second, Mike Zunino hit a two-run homer. They added on with a run scoring on a passed ball in the fourth and another coming in on Austin Meadows single in the eighth.
Saturday's game will have Charlie Morton on the mound, and Sunday will feature the return of Tyler Glasnow as the opener. His last appearance was on May 10. He spent the entire summer on the IL for a right forearm strain. When he went down, his record was 6-1 with an ERA of 1.86. Heady stuff. Rays fans would do well, however, to temper unrealistically high expectations. But still, Glasnow might be the ingredient that seals the deal.
The Rays have two more games against the Blue Jays this weekend before going on a two-city road trip, taking them to Arlington, Texas (the Rangers), and Los Angeles (the Angels and the Dodgers). After that there are four games against the Red Sox and two against the Yankees at the Trop. The last three games of the year are against the Blue Jays again, but in Toronto. After their summer slump, it's hard to believe the Rays are actually up to their necks in very meaningful September games--a tight race for a wild card spot in the playoffs. If they had started this run a little earlier, they might have been in contention for first place in the AL East, but the Yankees have run away with that race, and at 92-50 they are 8.5 games ahead of second-place Tampa.
If you're a Rays fan, it doesn't get any better than this--but let's hope it does get a little better every day for the rest of the month.
Thursday, September 5. Game 142: Tough game, good win.
Rays 6, Orioles 4
Record: 83-59
Attendance: 5,962. It isn't any wonder the Rays are looking into splitting their home games between Tampa Bay and Montreal. Attendance like this is shameful. The more so because the team is 24 games over .500 for the first time this year and sitting atop the wild card race. Locals will not support them. And yet they're proud of their "baseball culture" in St. Pete/Tampa. If you hear sarcasm there, you're paying attention.
The Rays won a close game Thursday night, 6-4, broadcast over YouTube with former Ray hero Carlos Pena part of the crew. It was sweet to see him back at the ballpark he starred in during the glory years under manager Joe Maddon. He saw an up and down game.
The Blue Jays drew first blood when super-rookie Bo Bichette hit his first of two home runs leading off the game, this one a blast to right center off starter Austin Pruitt on the 13th pitch of his at bat. With nicely distributed run production, the Rays took the lead in the fourth with two runs coming in on an Austin Meadows double, some sloppy Blue Jay defense, and an Avisail Garcia sac fly. Then they tacked on single runs in every inning thereafter, four in all.
Bichette's second HR tied the game at four in the seventh, but in the bottom of the seventh, Austin Meadows put the Rays ahead for good with a solo home run, his 27th. He followed that up with an RBI double in the eighth, giving him a team leading 75 on the year.
The top of the ninth was Emilio Pagan time, but this time he had to keep his fingers crossed when with two on and two out, he gave up a long fly ball to center that managed to stay in the park. It shows as his 18th save, but it was sloppy. The Rays were pleased to get out of the game with a win. Like the Orioles, the Blue Jays are playing the Rays tough, so don't be surprised to see more of the same types of games coming up, seven in all, including the last three of the season. Hang on for a bumpy ride Rays fans, all 5,962 of you.
Record: 83-59
Attendance: 5,962. It isn't any wonder the Rays are looking into splitting their home games between Tampa Bay and Montreal. Attendance like this is shameful. The more so because the team is 24 games over .500 for the first time this year and sitting atop the wild card race. Locals will not support them. And yet they're proud of their "baseball culture" in St. Pete/Tampa. If you hear sarcasm there, you're paying attention.
The Rays won a close game Thursday night, 6-4, broadcast over YouTube with former Ray hero Carlos Pena part of the crew. It was sweet to see him back at the ballpark he starred in during the glory years under manager Joe Maddon. He saw an up and down game.
The Blue Jays drew first blood when super-rookie Bo Bichette hit his first of two home runs leading off the game, this one a blast to right center off starter Austin Pruitt on the 13th pitch of his at bat. With nicely distributed run production, the Rays took the lead in the fourth with two runs coming in on an Austin Meadows double, some sloppy Blue Jay defense, and an Avisail Garcia sac fly. Then they tacked on single runs in every inning thereafter, four in all.
Bichette's second HR tied the game at four in the seventh, but in the bottom of the seventh, Austin Meadows put the Rays ahead for good with a solo home run, his 27th. He followed that up with an RBI double in the eighth, giving him a team leading 75 on the year.
The top of the ninth was Emilio Pagan time, but this time he had to keep his fingers crossed when with two on and two out, he gave up a long fly ball to center that managed to stay in the park. It shows as his 18th save, but it was sloppy. The Rays were pleased to get out of the game with a win. Like the Orioles, the Blue Jays are playing the Rays tough, so don't be surprised to see more of the same types of games coming up, seven in all, including the last three of the season. Hang on for a bumpy ride Rays fans, all 5,962 of you.
Tuesday, September 3. Double Header. Game 2. Game 141. The seven-pitcher shutout.
Rays 2, Orioles 0
Record: 82-59
Attendance: Same as Game 140, double header
The Rays bounced back almost nicely to take the second game of Tuesday's double header, 2-0. They got single runs in the fourth on Austin Meadow's home run, his 26th, and in the seventh on Ji-Man Choi's triple and Avisail Garcia's RBI single. It wasn't much after all as they went scoreless for six innings, plus eight more in the first game, and only managed seven hits, same as in the opener.
Pitching was the story of the second game with seven bullpen regulars combining for a seven-hit shutout. The winner was Diego Castillo, whose record improved to 3-8 and the save went to Emilio Pagan, his 17th. All of that was made possible by an inning in which the Rays sloppy defense put them in serious trouble with a run in and a man on third with no one out. Chris Davis led off with a single to right that Meadows played into a double. Richie Martin then bunted. Joey Wendle charged the ball but threw it wildly past first that scored Davis and put Martin on third, but the umpires decided to call it all back. Martin had run inside the base line, interference according to the MLB rule book. He was ruled out, Wendle's error was erased, and Davis's run was taken off the board as he returned to second base. Kevin Kiermaier could not make a play on Jonathan Villar's drive to the wall, but when the dust settled, Davis held up at third, which surprised Villar who rounded second and was caught between second and third with Davis standing on the bag. End of threat. The Rays misplayed three balls and the Orioles lost runs by horrible base running.
So in the end the Rays had themselves a seven-pitcher shutout and split the double header to put their record at 82-59.
If you put 94 wins as a goal, the number that would almost surely put them in the postseason, they would have to finish 12-9 at least. That sounds doable for a team that is 23 games over .500, but to get there they must do well against the Dodgers (the 11th and 12th of the month in L.A.), the Red Sox (the 20th to the 23rd at the Trop), and the Yankees (the 24th and 25th at the Trop). They also have 13 games left against Toronto (seven), Texas (three), and the Los Angeles Angels (three). But this is an achievable goal--unless the Rays fall into one of their extended batting slumps or the bullpen collapses or the defense springs a leak. And they have shown us all year that all those are possibilities. But if September runs even close to reasonable expectations, the Rays will grab a piece of the postseason pie, for the first time since 2013.
This is the best part of the season, meaningful games in September. Good job Rays.
Record: 82-59
Attendance: Same as Game 140, double header
The Rays bounced back almost nicely to take the second game of Tuesday's double header, 2-0. They got single runs in the fourth on Austin Meadow's home run, his 26th, and in the seventh on Ji-Man Choi's triple and Avisail Garcia's RBI single. It wasn't much after all as they went scoreless for six innings, plus eight more in the first game, and only managed seven hits, same as in the opener.
Pitching was the story of the second game with seven bullpen regulars combining for a seven-hit shutout. The winner was Diego Castillo, whose record improved to 3-8 and the save went to Emilio Pagan, his 17th. All of that was made possible by an inning in which the Rays sloppy defense put them in serious trouble with a run in and a man on third with no one out. Chris Davis led off with a single to right that Meadows played into a double. Richie Martin then bunted. Joey Wendle charged the ball but threw it wildly past first that scored Davis and put Martin on third, but the umpires decided to call it all back. Martin had run inside the base line, interference according to the MLB rule book. He was ruled out, Wendle's error was erased, and Davis's run was taken off the board as he returned to second base. Kevin Kiermaier could not make a play on Jonathan Villar's drive to the wall, but when the dust settled, Davis held up at third, which surprised Villar who rounded second and was caught between second and third with Davis standing on the bag. End of threat. The Rays misplayed three balls and the Orioles lost runs by horrible base running.
So in the end the Rays had themselves a seven-pitcher shutout and split the double header to put their record at 82-59.
If you put 94 wins as a goal, the number that would almost surely put them in the postseason, they would have to finish 12-9 at least. That sounds doable for a team that is 23 games over .500, but to get there they must do well against the Dodgers (the 11th and 12th of the month in L.A.), the Red Sox (the 20th to the 23rd at the Trop), and the Yankees (the 24th and 25th at the Trop). They also have 13 games left against Toronto (seven), Texas (three), and the Los Angeles Angels (three). But this is an achievable goal--unless the Rays fall into one of their extended batting slumps or the bullpen collapses or the defense springs a leak. And they have shown us all year that all those are possibilities. But if September runs even close to reasonable expectations, the Rays will grab a piece of the postseason pie, for the first time since 2013.
This is the best part of the season, meaningful games in September. Good job Rays.
Tuesday, September 3. Double Header. Game One. Game 140: Losing the edge
Rays 2, Orioles 4
Record: 81-59
Attendance: 6,844 (For both games, if you can believe it--not even the thrills of a pennant race can budge Rays fans from their Barco-Loungers.)
The Baltimore Orioles seem to be on a mission to keep the Rays out of the playoffs. They beat the Rays in back-to-back games on August 24 and 25, and they beat the Rays in the opening game of a double header on Tuesday. After 140 games, the Rays sit with an 81-59 record. With 22 games remaining, they need to finish 14-8 to win 94 games on the season and virtually seal a playoff spot, but 14-8 seems a long way off at this point.
The opening game saw them collect a mere six hits and go scoreless for eight of nine innings. But they did score first in the fourth with a two-run homer from Travis d'Arnaud, his 16th. But the Orioles came back with two in the fifth and one each in the sixth and ninth. The gaming winning blow was Anthony Santander's solo homer in the sixth off Oliver Drake, who took the loss and is now 3-2 on the year. Newly brought up Peter Fairbanks and Hoby Milner pitched two innings of shaky baseball, with Milner giving up the final run in the ninth inning.
The Rays five-game home winning streak came to a screeching halt. The Rays looked perilously close to going on one of their patented scoreless inning streaks. The whole team played like they were scared of losing and not like they were on a mission to win their way into the postseason. Very discouraging.
Record: 81-59
Attendance: 6,844 (For both games, if you can believe it--not even the thrills of a pennant race can budge Rays fans from their Barco-Loungers.)
The Baltimore Orioles seem to be on a mission to keep the Rays out of the playoffs. They beat the Rays in back-to-back games on August 24 and 25, and they beat the Rays in the opening game of a double header on Tuesday. After 140 games, the Rays sit with an 81-59 record. With 22 games remaining, they need to finish 14-8 to win 94 games on the season and virtually seal a playoff spot, but 14-8 seems a long way off at this point.
The opening game saw them collect a mere six hits and go scoreless for eight of nine innings. But they did score first in the fourth with a two-run homer from Travis d'Arnaud, his 16th. But the Orioles came back with two in the fifth and one each in the sixth and ninth. The gaming winning blow was Anthony Santander's solo homer in the sixth off Oliver Drake, who took the loss and is now 3-2 on the year. Newly brought up Peter Fairbanks and Hoby Milner pitched two innings of shaky baseball, with Milner giving up the final run in the ninth inning.
The Rays five-game home winning streak came to a screeching halt. The Rays looked perilously close to going on one of their patented scoreless inning streaks. The whole team played like they were scared of losing and not like they were on a mission to win their way into the postseason. Very discouraging.
Monday, September 2. Game 139. Rays win fifth in a row at the Trop, top Orioles 5-4 in 11
Rays 5, Orioles 4
Record: 81-58
Attendance: 10,566. Tropicana Field
It was Tommy Pham Day at the Trop on Sunday. He went 3 for 4 with three RBIs, including the walk-off single in the tenth inning. He was hit on the right knee in the eighth inning, and promptly stole second--as much a revenge gesture as a baseball strategy. But he didn't score in the eighth. When he got to the plate in the tenth with two out and Joey Wendle on second, Baltimore reliever Dillon Tate, brushed him back with a fastball. High heat. Chin music. The Baltimore bench cheered Tate on, which added a level of anger to Pham's usual high-grade intensity. He dug in and hit a sharp single through the left side, scoring Wendle who slid head first into home barely beating the tag. Pham was swamped by his teammates who had begun to wonder if their flatness over the previous four innings might bring them down just when they were beginning to feel a true pennant fever. But no, they managed to squeak out a victory. Tommy Pham Day.
After the game, Pham was interviewed on the field by Fox Sports Sun's Tricia Whitaker. What was he feeling in that final at-bat? "First pitch, he threw it at my head, and after that I just wanted to kill him." Pham's by now legendary intensity had tilted to overstatement, but Tate must have been concerned looking in at the plate and facing an angry Tommy Pham. "But," he went on, "success is revenge. And I got the game-winning hit for us."
But the game was hardly a cake walk for the Rays. The Orioles took the last two games of a four-game set on August 24 and 25, and they were intent on adding another W to spoil the Rays' chances. The Rays took a 2-0 lead on Austin Meadows home run in the second. They added on in the fifth with two more runs. With two out, Wendle was hit by a pitch and Meadows singled, which brought up Pham, who doubled home both runs.
But Baltimore got on the board in the sixth. Ryan Yarbrough had been skating through the Oriole lineup through the fifth, but in the sixth, he was responsible for four runs that tied the score. At that point the bullpens took over, both sides coming up with four scoreless innings. Cash selected Diego Castillo for the seventh, Oliver Drake for the eighth, and Emilio Pagan in the ninth. The win went to Colin Poche, now 4-4, who pitched the tenth. Adding to Pham's revenge, Dillon Tate (0-1) took the loss in the sixth game of his career.
Telling statistic from Marc Topkin in the Tampa Bay Times: In close games, the Rays were 1-7 early in the season, but they have won 10 of their last 11 and 18 of their last 26. Overall they are 19-15.
Tuesday, September 3: double header. The schedule originally called for single games on Tuesday and Wednesday, but Hurricane Dorian forced the teams to take precautionary measures and schedule the double header instead. Look for lots of pitchers on both sides--and probably names you aren't familiar with.
Record: 81-58
Attendance: 10,566. Tropicana Field
It was Tommy Pham Day at the Trop on Sunday. He went 3 for 4 with three RBIs, including the walk-off single in the tenth inning. He was hit on the right knee in the eighth inning, and promptly stole second--as much a revenge gesture as a baseball strategy. But he didn't score in the eighth. When he got to the plate in the tenth with two out and Joey Wendle on second, Baltimore reliever Dillon Tate, brushed him back with a fastball. High heat. Chin music. The Baltimore bench cheered Tate on, which added a level of anger to Pham's usual high-grade intensity. He dug in and hit a sharp single through the left side, scoring Wendle who slid head first into home barely beating the tag. Pham was swamped by his teammates who had begun to wonder if their flatness over the previous four innings might bring them down just when they were beginning to feel a true pennant fever. But no, they managed to squeak out a victory. Tommy Pham Day.
After the game, Pham was interviewed on the field by Fox Sports Sun's Tricia Whitaker. What was he feeling in that final at-bat? "First pitch, he threw it at my head, and after that I just wanted to kill him." Pham's by now legendary intensity had tilted to overstatement, but Tate must have been concerned looking in at the plate and facing an angry Tommy Pham. "But," he went on, "success is revenge. And I got the game-winning hit for us."
But the game was hardly a cake walk for the Rays. The Orioles took the last two games of a four-game set on August 24 and 25, and they were intent on adding another W to spoil the Rays' chances. The Rays took a 2-0 lead on Austin Meadows home run in the second. They added on in the fifth with two more runs. With two out, Wendle was hit by a pitch and Meadows singled, which brought up Pham, who doubled home both runs.
But Baltimore got on the board in the sixth. Ryan Yarbrough had been skating through the Oriole lineup through the fifth, but in the sixth, he was responsible for four runs that tied the score. At that point the bullpens took over, both sides coming up with four scoreless innings. Cash selected Diego Castillo for the seventh, Oliver Drake for the eighth, and Emilio Pagan in the ninth. The win went to Colin Poche, now 4-4, who pitched the tenth. Adding to Pham's revenge, Dillon Tate (0-1) took the loss in the sixth game of his career.
Telling statistic from Marc Topkin in the Tampa Bay Times: In close games, the Rays were 1-7 early in the season, but they have won 10 of their last 11 and 18 of their last 26. Overall they are 19-15.
Tuesday, September 3: double header. The schedule originally called for single games on Tuesday and Wednesday, but Hurricane Dorian forced the teams to take precautionary measures and schedule the double header instead. Look for lots of pitchers on both sides--and probably names you aren't familiar with.
Sunday, September 1. Game 138. Rays sweep Tribe, take over first in wild wild-card race
Rays 8, Indians 2
Record: 80-58
Attendance: 14,922. Tropicana Field
The Rays took game three against the Indians, sweeping the series, by a score of 8-2. The win put them half a game ahead of Cleveland in the AL wild card race, with 24 games left to play. If they can win at least 14 of them, they will finish the regular season with 94 wins, which ought to be enough to make the post season.
Once again the Rays offense came through, this time with 14 hits and eight runs. Newly called up Nate Lowe homered, his sixth, in the fourth, and the Rays scored in five of eight innings.
Thirty-five-year-old Charlie Morton picked up the win putting his record at 14-6. He gave up one run on four hits and three walks over five and a third innings and 108 pitches. He had eight strikeouts, which gives him 209 for the year, the most he's ever had in a single season over a twelve-year career. He also saw his innings pitched rise to 170, only one short of his career high set in Pittsburgh in 2011. And if he wins one more game, he will tie his record for wins in a season, 15 in 2018 when he was with Houston. Morton has led the way for his young Rays teammates all year, so it was only fitting that he should be on the mound Sunday finishing the sweep against Cleveland and putting his team atop the AL wild card race.
With so many more pitchers available after the September 1 call-up, manager Kevin Cash called on five relievers, including new guys Hoby Miller and Pete Fairbanks, who combined for one and two-thirds of perfect work. Kittredge and Roe tossed the next innings, and Ricardo Pinto, who had his season kick off yesterday when he gave up four runs, pitched a perfect final inning.
The Rays may stumble in the last month, but as a team they will never forget their clutch win over the Indians on September 1, 2019.
A baseball moment. Back on May 30, the traditional Memorial Day that kicks off the summer, Carlos Carrasco pitched for the Indians, but it was his last appearance until Sunday, the day before Labor Day. During the summer he was diagnosed with leukemia and has been under treatment ever since, but he has also been working to return and on Sunday Manager Terry Francona called on him to pitch the seventh inning. When he took the mound, he received a standing ovation from the fans at Tropicana Field and the players from both teams who left their dugouts to applaud. Afterward Carrasco was moved to say that "even the other team came out," according to the Tampa Bay Times, which also quoted catcher Kevin Plawecki: "That was one of the coolest moments that I've ever been a part of."
Record: 80-58
Attendance: 14,922. Tropicana Field
The Rays took game three against the Indians, sweeping the series, by a score of 8-2. The win put them half a game ahead of Cleveland in the AL wild card race, with 24 games left to play. If they can win at least 14 of them, they will finish the regular season with 94 wins, which ought to be enough to make the post season.
Once again the Rays offense came through, this time with 14 hits and eight runs. Newly called up Nate Lowe homered, his sixth, in the fourth, and the Rays scored in five of eight innings.
Thirty-five-year-old Charlie Morton picked up the win putting his record at 14-6. He gave up one run on four hits and three walks over five and a third innings and 108 pitches. He had eight strikeouts, which gives him 209 for the year, the most he's ever had in a single season over a twelve-year career. He also saw his innings pitched rise to 170, only one short of his career high set in Pittsburgh in 2011. And if he wins one more game, he will tie his record for wins in a season, 15 in 2018 when he was with Houston. Morton has led the way for his young Rays teammates all year, so it was only fitting that he should be on the mound Sunday finishing the sweep against Cleveland and putting his team atop the AL wild card race.
With so many more pitchers available after the September 1 call-up, manager Kevin Cash called on five relievers, including new guys Hoby Miller and Pete Fairbanks, who combined for one and two-thirds of perfect work. Kittredge and Roe tossed the next innings, and Ricardo Pinto, who had his season kick off yesterday when he gave up four runs, pitched a perfect final inning.
The Rays may stumble in the last month, but as a team they will never forget their clutch win over the Indians on September 1, 2019.
A baseball moment. Back on May 30, the traditional Memorial Day that kicks off the summer, Carlos Carrasco pitched for the Indians, but it was his last appearance until Sunday, the day before Labor Day. During the summer he was diagnosed with leukemia and has been under treatment ever since, but he has also been working to return and on Sunday Manager Terry Francona called on him to pitch the seventh inning. When he took the mound, he received a standing ovation from the fans at Tropicana Field and the players from both teams who left their dugouts to applaud. Afterward Carrasco was moved to say that "even the other team came out," according to the Tampa Bay Times, which also quoted catcher Kevin Plawecki: "That was one of the coolest moments that I've ever been a part of."
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