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Art Deco · 03-11-2021, 07:59 PM

Game 1: The Rays overcame some shaky outfield play and a couple of 1st-inning Yankee homers to win going away 10-4 at Yankee Stadium. Nate Clark supplied the July 4 fireworks with a pair of homers, a 3-run shot in the 3rd which tied the game at 3 and solo shot in the 6th which tied the game at 4 and gave him 25 for the season. Joe Barker went back-to-back with him in the 6th with #15 to give the Rays a lead they wouldn't relinquish, and which they built upon with a 5-run 8th inning with Bobby Witt Jr's 2-run single the key hit there. Alec Sachais started and after striking out the first two Yankees walked Vlad Jr and served up a gopher ball to Ivan Vega, now leading the AL in both homers (27) and WAR (4.7), and then another one immediately after to Joe Allen. After Clark's first homer tied it up, he gave the run back in the 5th by dropping a fly ball for a two-base error to let the Yankees go ahead. And Alex Buitrago dropped a fly ball of his own in the 6th which Sachais pitched around, finishing 6.1 5 4 3 1 6 and improving to 9-4. Mike Mooney got him out of the 7th and was so efficient that he finished the game for his first save of the season, going 2 2/3 on only 23 pitches.

MLB Update: It took a year and a half but Vidal Brujan is finally back in MLB. The contract extension we signed him to ran out after 2029 and after we traded him to the Yankees, and he went all of 2030 without signing as he didn't come off his $9-10M demand, and although he reduced his demand to $3M this year he still sat on the shelf until the Angels signed him today to a minor league deal with a $300K bonus and immediately activated him, where he went 1-4. He's 33 now and "fragile", so I'm sure that had a lot to do with it.

July 5: Activated OF Jasson Dominguez from the 10-day IL, optioned OF Alex Buitragos to AAA Durham.

Buitragos impressed in his 9 games, hitting 324/378/471 with 1 homer. Like Caleb Picciotti last year, this might be a cameo for him with the big club since Jasson Dominguez is ahead of him and Omar Rodriguez is behind him.

Game 2: Another day, another rout as the Rays roughed up the Yankees 10-2 for their 8th straight win. A 5-run 4th inning consisting of a 3-run Victor de Jesus HR (#15) and a 2-run double from Dayle Jenkins sent them on their way, and Jenkins later added a 2-run homer (#6) for a 4-RBI day, Joe Barker was 3-4 with HR #16 and Connor Kirkley capped the scoring with HR #17 in the 7th. Like Alec Sachais yesterday Jon Hayes got off to a bit of a rough start, yielding a Vlad Jr homer in the first, another run in the second and 7 hits through 3 innings but once the Rays took the lead he took over and finished 6.2 9 2 2 1 5 to improve to 12-2 and win his eighth straight start. Jon Whiteleather retired all four batters he faced, and Rodolfo Rivas made another scoreless pitching cameo taking care of the 9th.

Game 3: The Rays swept the series and made it 9 straight with a 6-4 win in 11 innings. Nate Clark had a big day, driving in a pair in regulation (including the tying run in the 7th) and then 2 more in the 11th as he went 3-5 with 4 RBI. Ricky Widmar, whose average had slipped into the .260s, had the go-ahead RBI single as part of his own 3-hit day while Connor Kirkley also drove in a run. Marc Wagner started and pitched pretty well, except to Matt Thaiss who had an RBI double and a 2-run homer off him to account for the "3" in his 7 7 3 3 1 9 line. Jose Alvarado, who hadn't pitched for a while, went 2 perfect innings on only 18 pitches, Jordan Diaz pitched the 10th and picked up his 2nd win of the season, and Brad Ballmann got his first save even though he's constitutionally incapable of pitching a clean inning, today allowing a Joe Allen homer.

Team record: 70-14. Next up: An off-day, then four in Kansas City including a doubleheader on Tuesday.

03-11-2021, 07:59 PM	#735
Art Deco Hall Of Famer Join Date: May 2020 Posts: 7,611	July 4-6, 2031: at NY Yankees (3) Game 1: The Rays overcame some shaky outfield play and a couple of 1st-inning Yankee homers to win going away 10-4 at Yankee Stadium. Nate Clark supplied the July 4 fireworks with a pair of homers, a 3-run shot in the 3rd which tied the game at 3 and solo shot in the 6th which tied the game at 4 and gave him 25 for the season. Joe Barker went back-to-back with him in the 6th with #15 to give the Rays a lead they wouldn't relinquish, and which they built upon with a 5-run 8th inning with Bobby Witt Jr's 2-run single the key hit there. Alec Sachais started and after striking out the first two Yankees walked Vlad Jr and served up a gopher ball to Ivan Vega, now leading the AL in both homers (27) and WAR (4.7), and then another one immediately after to Joe Allen. After Clark's first homer tied it up, he gave the run back in the 5th by dropping a fly ball for a two-base error to let the Yankees go ahead. And Alex Buitrago dropped a fly ball of his own in the 6th which Sachais pitched around, finishing 6.1 5 4 3 1 6 and improving to 9-4. Mike Mooney got him out of the 7th and was so efficient that he finished the game for his first save of the season, going 2 2/3 on only 23 pitches. MLB Update: It took a year and a half but Vidal Brujan is finally back in MLB. The contract extension we signed him to ran out after 2029 and after we traded him to the Yankees, and he went all of 2030 without signing as he didn't come off his $9-10M demand, and although he reduced his demand to $3M this year he still sat on the shelf until the Angels signed him today to a minor league deal with a $300K bonus and immediately activated him, where he went 1-4. He's 33 now and "fragile", so I'm sure that had a lot to do with it. July 5: Activated OF Jasson Dominguez from the 10-day IL, optioned OF Alex Buitragos to AAA Durham. Buitragos impressed in his 9 games, hitting 324/378/471 with 1 homer. Like Caleb Picciotti last year, this might be a cameo for him with the big club since Jasson Dominguez is ahead of him and Omar Rodriguez is behind him. Game 2: Another day, another rout as the Rays roughed up the Yankees 10-2 for their 8th straight win. A 5-run 4th inning consisting of a 3-run Victor de Jesus HR (#15) and a 2-run double from Dayle Jenkins sent them on their way, and Jenkins later added a 2-run homer (#6) for a 4-RBI day, Joe Barker was 3-4 with HR #16 and Connor Kirkley capped the scoring with HR #17 in the 7th. Like Alec Sachais yesterday Jon Hayes got off to a bit of a rough start, yielding a Vlad Jr homer in the first, another run in the second and 7 hits through 3 innings but once the Rays took the lead he took over and finished 6.2 9 2 2 1 5 to improve to 12-2 and win his eighth straight start. Jon Whiteleather retired all four batters he faced, and Rodolfo Rivas made another scoreless pitching cameo taking care of the 9th. Game 3: The Rays swept the series and made it 9 straight with a 6-4 win in 11 innings. Nate Clark had a big day, driving in a pair in regulation (including the tying run in the 7th) and then 2 more in the 11th as he went 3-5 with 4 RBI. Ricky Widmar, whose average had slipped into the .260s, had the go-ahead RBI single as part of his own 3-hit day while Connor Kirkley also drove in a run. Marc Wagner started and pitched pretty well, except to Matt Thaiss who had an RBI double and a 2-run homer off him to account for the "3" in his 7 7 3 3 1 9 line. Jose Alvarado, who hadn't pitched for a while, went 2 perfect innings on only 18 pitches, Jordan Diaz pitched the 10th and picked up his 2nd win of the season, and Brad Ballmann got his first save even though he's constitutionally incapable of pitching a clean inning, today allowing a Joe Allen homer. Team record: 70-14. Next up: An off-day, then four in Kansas City including a doubleheader on Tuesday. Last edited by Art Deco; 03-12-2021 at 02:50 PM.