[Art Deco]

Game 1: Rich Hill was brilliant again in leading the Rays to a 3-1 win over Oakland, but unfortunately he had leave with a strained hamstring and will be out for six weeks. Hill stuck around long enough to qualify for the win, leaving with 2 out in the 6th after going 5.2 4 0 0 0 8 in his best outing yet as he'll go on the shelf with a 4-1, 2.23 record. Andrew Kittredge took over for him and was greeted with a Matt Olson homer, but that's all the bullpen yielded as Kittredge pitched through the 7th, Diego Castillo the 8th and Nick Anderson the 9th for save #8. Austin Meadows doubled in the 2nd and Willy Adames singled him home for the first run, Kevin Kiermaier took lefty Sean Manaea deep for HR #2 in the 3rd, and Brandon Lowe came through with some insurance on an RBI double in the 8th off former Ray Adam Kolarek. And the news got better with the Yankees losing, moving the Rays to within 2 of the division lead, and the Royals falling as well putting the Rays into sole possession of the second wild card. But they're going to need a new starter next time through.

May 8: Placed P Rich Hill on the 15-day IL with a hamstring strain, recalled P Ryan Thompson from AAA Durham.

Thompson will give us an extra arm in the pen the next few days, and will probably go back for Brendan McKay or Shane McClanahan to start in Hill's next turn.

Game 2: The Rays continued their successful west coast trip with a 6-3 come-from-behind win in Oakland to make it four wins in five (and it should have been 5 in a row if not for that ridiculous bullpen meltdown in Anaheim). Trailing 3-2 after 6, Mike Zunino drilled a solo HR (#4) in the top of the 7th to tie it, and they broke it open with 3 in the 8th to win it. Randy Arozarena doubled in Yandy Diaz (who had 4 hits in a ballpark he loves hitting in after homering twice in the 2019 wild card game) to give them the lead and then Kevin Kiermaier had a 2-run single to make it 6-3. The win went to Cody Reed, who pitched 2 perfect innings in middle relief. Pete Fairbanks had a scoreless 8th and Nick Anderson a scoreless 9th for save #9. Chris Archer started and was decent, victimized for a 2-run homer in the 4th which was unearned due to a Diaz error, and he finished 5 6 3 1 1 5. The Rays scored early on Ji-Man Choi's sac fly after Austin Meadows led off the game with a double, and Yoshi Tsutsugo homered for the second time in 3 days (#3) to give them an early 2-1 lead. The Yankees lost again to Washington so the Rays creep to within 1 game of the AL East lead. The only negative today is that Arozarena had to come out of the game on his 8th-inning double with patellar tendinitis, and will be sidelined for a week. He'll likely go on the IL.

Game 3: When you score 8 runs and have Tyler Glasnow starting, you expect to win but that wasn't the case today as the Rays' ace had a rough game and although they kept making it close they fell short 10-8 in the end. Glasnow had a rough first inning, giving up a 2-run homer to Matt Chapman and it didn't get much better from there as he allowed 2 in the 3rd and 2 more in the 4th on a Matt Olson homer, leaving with a 4 8 6 6 2 6 line. Collin McHugh came on and gave up a couple of unearned runs in his 2 innings of work thanks to Willy Adames' second error of the game, and Ryan Thompson made his season debut and gave up a 2-run homer of his own in the 8th which proved in the end to be the difference when the Rays' 9th inning rally came up short. Ji-Man Choi had a 2-run HR (#3) in the 3rd while Kevin Kiermaier and Brandon Lowe were each 3-5 with an RBI. They pulled within 8-6 in the 7th and then with the tying run on in the 9th and two out, Oakland closer Trevor Rosenthal came in and got Choi to fly to center to end it. The Yankees lost yet again so still 1 back in the AL East, but Kansas City won to tie them again for the second wild card.

Team record: 21-15. An off-day then it's New York week at the Trop as the Yankees come in for 3 followed by 3 with the Mets.