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Game 2:
Game 3:
The Rays' incredible in-season turnaround continued as they swept their third straight series and made it 9 consecutive wins after breaking out the lumber to sweep the Angels. Tampa Bay scored 27 runs in the sweep on 11 homers, and I've never been so glad to not have completed the fire sale. And there are reinforcements on the way, the first one via trade:
After unfortunately trading him to Minnesota while a pitching prospect,
Joe Ryan returns to the Rays to solidify the rotation. He's been one of the AL's most consistent pitchers over the last few seasons and although his 2026 ERA in 4.35, that's mainly due to a high BABIP as he's on pace for 3.1 WAR. He'll take over for Mason Englert, who has struggled to say the least. The price wasn't bad either as Monzon is a mid-level prospect.
And more pitching help is on the way sooner than expected as ace
Shane McClanahan will now be returning three weeks sooner than expected as he'll be ready to pitch around the 1st of August. With a couple of rehab starts he should be ready to rejoin the rotation down the stretch as we push for a wild card (barring another bad run like the one which preceded this win streak).
We've now pulled to within 1/2 game of the third wild card behind both Boston and Cleveland, although we've got a tough week ahead with 4 games in Yankee Stadium and 3 more in Philly.
Players of the Week:
AL: Gunnar Henderson (BAL), 14-23, 1 HR, 4 RBI
NL: Bryce Harper (PHI), 12-27, 3 HR, 8 RBI