[Art Deco]

Game 1: Shane McClanahan was great until he lost it, and the offense couldn't generate enough runs, which all added up to a 5-3 loss to the Phillies. With a 2-0 lead Mac was excellent through 4 shutout innings but Philly got to him in the 5th for a couple of runs to tie it which scored on a balk and a wild pitch, and then Francisco Lindor led off the 6th with a homer. McClanahan ended a respectable if disappointing 6 5 3 3 2 7. The normally reliable Mitch Keller took over in the 7th and was terrible, allowing two runs and Aaron Ashby had to get the last out of the inning. Ashby then had to leave the game with biceps tendinitis and will be out about 3 weeks so he's headed to the IL. Dustin May mopped up with two scoreless innings. The offense did end up with 12 hits and 2 walks but couldn't get hits when they needed them with 2 on and 1 out in both the 8th and 9th. Keibert Ruiz drove in the first two runs with an RBI groundout in the 1st and a single in the 3rd, and they got a run in the 9th on a Philly error but with the tying runs on base Austin Meadows flew out to end the game. Boston lost for the eighth straight game (including yesterday) so the Rays are now 1 game up on them and even in the loss column. The bad news is that they lost to Baltimore, which has won 8 straight and is 3 behind. Toronto's also hot, winning 5 in a row and are within 5 as the AL East is best it's been in years.

June 21: Placed P Aaron Ashby on the 15-day IL with biceps tendinitis, recalled P Luke Little from AAA Durham.

Little is back up as I needed another lefty in the pen, especially with Daniel Lynch now in the rotation. Ashby will definitely been missed as he's been very good this year.

Game 2: Daniel Lynch and the bullpen were brilliant in a 3-2 nail-biter win over the Phillies. All the runs for both teams were scored in the second inning but after Scott Kingery homered and former Ray Randy Arozarena doubled in a run, Lynch allowed nothing the rest of the way, going 7 3 2 2 0 7 for two wins in two starts since returning to the rotation. Nick Anderson got two whiffs to get through the 8th and with lefties Bryce Harper and Nate Lowe due in the 9th, Jose Alvarado got the call. He whiffed Harper, allowed a single to Miguel Sano, and then got Lowe to pop out. With the righty Kingery due, Jasseel De La Cruz came in and got him on a popup as well to nail down save #18. The Rays' runs came on an extended rally in the second when Austin Meadows led off with a single, Keston Hiura doubled him to 3rd, Meadows scored on a Spencer Torkelson sac fly and after Renato Nunez whiffed, Hunter Bishop singled in Hiura, and Brandon Marsh doubled in Bishop. They had the bases loaded with 1 out in the 6th, but Marsh hit into a force at the plate and Vidal Brujan struck out looking. Boston finally snapped its 8-game losing streak with a 3-0 win over Baltimore on a 2-hit shutout from rookie Robinson Pina, who earlier in the year was their closer.

Game 3: Excitement at the Trop as a moribund offense came to life at the last possible moment to extend the game and allow the Rays to win 5-4 in 11 and take 2 of 3 from the NL East-leading Phillies. After only managing a couple of hits after getting 3 runs in the first inning the Rays looked doomed to defeat in the bottom of the 9th, especially after Phillies closer Michael Feliz struck out Keston Hiura and Spencer Torkelson to start the inning. But down to their last at-bat, the Rays tied it on a dramatic Hunter Bishop homer, his third of the year. And after Jasseel De La Cruz threw 2 strong innings with 4 whiffs to keep Philly off the board, the Rays greeted an old friend rudely in the bottom of the 11th as Colin Poche, making his Phillies debut, gave up an infield single to Hiura and Torkelson followed with a double to the LCF gap to score Hiura and give the Rays a walk-off win. Things looked good for the Rays early when with the help of a Phillies error they scored 3 in the first off Dakota Hudson on a Hiura RBI single and Torkelson's 2-RBI double. Tyler Glasnow was dealing with 8 strikeouts through 4, allowing only one run but things went bad for him in the fifth. With one out he loaded the bases with a couple of walks and then had to leave with back spasms, which aren't serious but will cause him to miss his next start. Mitchell Verburg came in and whiffed Miguel Sano but gave up a 2-run double to another former Ray, Nate Lowe, to tie the game. He struck out Gary Sanchez to end the threat and got through the 6th, but Luke Little got a chance to pitch the 7th and gave up a lefty-on-lefty homer to Bryce Harper to make it 4-3 Phillies. Little hung in to get the first man out in the 8th and gave way to Nick Anderson, who went 1 2/3 to get us to the bottom of the 9th. Rays pitchers ended up tallying 18 strikeouts in the 11 innings, including 5 of Sano. Baltimore beat Boston so we now have a 2-game lead.

Team record: 45-28. Next up: an off-day followed by 3 games in Atlanta.