[Art Deco]

This should say 4 games above, I just realized after playing the 3rd game it's a wraparound series including a Monday game.

Game 1: The Rays scored 6 times in the 5th to erase a 4-0 deficit and held on to beat the Blue Jays in Toronto 6-4 as Chris Archer picked up his first Rays win in 3 years. It was a rough go for Archer early, especially when it came to Teoscar Hernandez. Twice with two outs Archer needed to get the Jays OF, but twice he burned him, first on an RBI single in the 1st and then with a 3-run homer in the 3rd. But the Rays bided their time against Trent Thornton and pounced in the 5th, first with a Yandy Diaz RBI single and then Brandon Lowe stepped up and drilled a 3-run homer (#9) to tie it up. They kept the rally going with two more men on and Willy Adames brought them home with a double. Archer hung in through the 6th and finished 6 8 4 4 0 3, nothing to write home about but enough to get it done tonight. Ryan Thompson, Cody Reed and Chaz Roe got them through the next two innings, and Nick Anderson pitched around a couple of walks in the 9th to grab save #12. The Yankees won so the lead stays a slender 1/2 game.

Note: Colorado claimed Brett Phillips off waivers, so farewell to the Maverick. We'll always have Game 5 of the 2020 World Series. "The fan interest decreased notably".

Game 2: The Rays took a 5-1 win over Toronto today behind solid pitching from Michael Wacha and the bullpen. Wacha wasn't exactly dominant but got the job done, going 5.2 8 1 1 1 6 and is now 6-1, 3.26 as he's been the most effective of the veteran retreads brought in to take the place of Blake Snell and Charlie Morton. Ryan Thompson, Peter Fairbanks and Andrew Kittredge combined for 3 1/3 innings of 1-hit relief to keep any thoughts of a Toronto comeback in check. Randy Arozarena's 2-run double in the first proved all the offense they'd need but Francisco Mejia hit a solo homer (#3) and Brandon Lowe and Ji-Man Choi added RBI singles in a 3-run 5th. The Yankees lost so the Rays get a bit of breathing room, now up 1 1/2 in the division.

Game 3: Ryan Yarbrough pitched the game of his life, 2-hitting the Blue Jays in a complete game shutout which saw him strike out 8 and walk nobody. And it wasn't one of those sit-back-with-a-big-lead shutouts either as the Rays won 3-0. The lefty threw 110 pitches, getting Rowdy Tellez looking to end the game and improving to 5-2, 3.99. The bats managed 13 hits and had runners on base all game long, but could only score via the solo homer. Mike Zunino broke the ice in the 3rd with HR #9 and then Randy Arozarena hit a pair in the 6th and 8th, giving him 8 for the season. Combined with a Yankees loss the Rays now have their biggest division lead of the season at 2 1/2 games.

Game 4: When we acquired veteran Alex Wood to join the rotation our one concern was his propensity to give up the longball. He escaped unscathed in his debut against Baltimore, but he ended up quite scathed today as the Jays blasted 4 homers off him in 3 innings, including a pair from Vladimir Guerrero Jr., in a 9-4 Blue Jays beatdown of the Rays. Wood got through the 1st without incident and when Willy Adames hit a 2-run homer (#2) in the 2nd to give them a brief lead it looked like the good times would continue to roll. But then the ball started leaving the park after it left Wood's hand and by the end of the third it was 7-2 Toronto and Wood was an ugly 3 6 7 7 2 1. Trevor Richards went 3 1/3 and allowed a couple of runs and Andrew Kittredge went the final 1 2/3 scoreless. Brandon Lowe hit a 2-run homer (#10) for the other 2 Rays runs. With the Yankees idle, the lead is now 2 games.

Team record: 29-20. Next up: 3 at home vs Kansas City.