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Art Deco · 02-05-2022, 04:19 PM

A series with the Alamos always seems to be a cure for whatever ails the Rays and this time was no exception as Tampa Bay swept San Antonio at Alamo Park to go 6-0 against the Texas club this season. Toronto meanwhile dropped 2 of 3 in Houston so the Rays have halved the division lead to 2, and they're currently in the top wild card slot, 1 game up on 4 other teams.

The opener saw the Rays jump out to an early 5-0 lead before taking a 5-2 win. The struggling Wander Franco had a 2-run HR (#5) in the 3rd and they added 3 more in the 4th on two wild pitches and a Franco sac fly. Tarik Skubal pitched decently but couldn't finish the 5th to qualify for the win as he had men on 2nd and 3rd and was at 99 pitches. Jonathan Loaisiga got him out of the inning and picked up his 3rd Rays win despite allowing the two Alamo runs (one unearned). Skubal finished 4.2 7 0 0 1 6 and lowered his ERA to 2.53. DL Hall took the ball in the 9th for his 2nd save.

The second game couldn't have started off any worse as Slade Cecconi gave up a homer to leadoff man, put another on, and had to leave with back spasms. An unprepared Levi Stoudt came in and promptly gave up 2 more homers to put the Rays behind 4-0 after 1. But Tampa Bay struck back, putting up 3 in the second on a 2-run Heston Kjerstad homer (#10) and a solo shot from Andrew Greckel (#4), tied it in the 5th on a 2-run Alex Kirilloff single, and took the lead in the 6th on an Ed Howard RBI hit. Kjerstad then hit his second of the game (#11), a 3-run shot in the 7th, to give him a 5-RBI day and the team some breathing room. That homer turned out to be necessary when JT Ginn gave up a 3-run blast in the 9th and the Rays held on to prevail 10-8. Levi Kelly picked up his first win of the year despite allowing a run in his two innings of work.

The Rays completed the sweep with a 6-4 win in another comfortable game turned into a nail-biter. Tyler Glasnow was his usual excellent self, going 6 5 1 1 3 6 and improving to 6-2, 2.26 with an MLB-best 2.5 pitcher WAR, but Alex Vesia had a rough 7th allowing 3 runs (2 earned). DL Hall got into some 9th-inning trouble with two on and two out so Osvanni Gutierrez was called upon to get the final out for save #3. The offense was once again led by the red-hot Heston Kjerstad, who blasted HR #12 in the 1st with a man on and went 3-4, while they also got homers from Marcell Ozuna (#3, a 2-run job) and Carter Kieboom (#6, solo).

Team record: 30-21. Next up: 3 at home vs Detroit.

02-05-2022, 04:19 PM	#457
Art Deco Hall Of Famer Join Date: May 2020 Posts: 7,603	May 24-26, 2026: at San Antonio (3) A series with the Alamos always seems to be a cure for whatever ails the Rays and this time was no exception as Tampa Bay swept San Antonio at Alamo Park to go 6-0 against the Texas club this season. Toronto meanwhile dropped 2 of 3 in Houston so the Rays have halved the division lead to 2, and they're currently in the top wild card slot, 1 game up on 4 other teams. The opener saw the Rays jump out to an early 5-0 lead before taking a 5-2 win. The struggling Wander Franco had a 2-run HR (#5) in the 3rd and they added 3 more in the 4th on two wild pitches and a Franco sac fly. Tarik Skubal pitched decently but couldn't finish the 5th to qualify for the win as he had men on 2nd and 3rd and was at 99 pitches. Jonathan Loaisiga got him out of the inning and picked up his 3rd Rays win despite allowing the two Alamo runs (one unearned). Skubal finished 4.2 7 0 0 1 6 and lowered his ERA to 2.53. DL Hall took the ball in the 9th for his 2nd save. The second game couldn't have started off any worse as Slade Cecconi gave up a homer to leadoff man, put another on, and had to leave with back spasms. An unprepared Levi Stoudt came in and promptly gave up 2 more homers to put the Rays behind 4-0 after 1. But Tampa Bay struck back, putting up 3 in the second on a 2-run Heston Kjerstad homer (#10) and a solo shot from Andrew Greckel (#4), tied it in the 5th on a 2-run Alex Kirilloff single, and took the lead in the 6th on an Ed Howard RBI hit. Kjerstad then hit his second of the game (#11), a 3-run shot in the 7th, to give him a 5-RBI day and the team some breathing room. That homer turned out to be necessary when JT Ginn gave up a 3-run blast in the 9th and the Rays held on to prevail 10-8. Levi Kelly picked up his first win of the year despite allowing a run in his two innings of work. The Rays completed the sweep with a 6-4 win in another comfortable game turned into a nail-biter. Tyler Glasnow was his usual excellent self, going 6 5 1 1 3 6 and improving to 6-2, 2.26 with an MLB-best 2.5 pitcher WAR, but Alex Vesia had a rough 7th allowing 3 runs (2 earned). DL Hall got into some 9th-inning trouble with two on and two out so Osvanni Gutierrez was called upon to get the final out for save #3. The offense was once again led by the red-hot Heston Kjerstad, who blasted HR #12 in the 1st with a man on and went 3-4, while they also got homers from Marcell Ozuna (#3, a 2-run job) and Carter Kieboom (#6, solo). Team record: 30-21. Next up: 3 at home vs Detroit.