The 2021 (and only 2021) Tampa Bay Rays

[Art Deco]

The Rays pulled off the sweep of Cleveland with three close wins and extended their win streak to 5 but the big news came during the series with a massive trade.

Tampa Bay turned around a 3-0 6th-inning deficit in the opener and came back to beat Cleveland 6-3. It was the red-hot Jeremy Begley who kick-started the comeback with a 2-run double in the 6th with Tony Fisher singling him home to tie it. And after the go-ahead run scored in the 7th on a wild pitch Danny Rodriguez belted a 2-run homer (#5) to give us the final score. Sergio Espinoza (4-1) was solid at 7.1 5 3 3 1 5 for the win and Walt Kelly pitched around a walk in the 9th for save #4.

Despite things perking up of late, I've been kind of underwhelmed with the offense since the second half of last season and thought it needed a jolt. And a jolt it was given:



Just who is Rogelio Fitzgerald? Only one of the top all-around hitters in baseball, as you can see by his career numbers coming into this season:



That's a career OPS of 1.003 with a 162-game average of 48 HR and 113 RBI. He entered his second year of arbitration and is making $23M which made him expensive for the Brewers, although they're picking up 70% of his salary. In return we sent them Danny Perez, who had a nice first full season in the bigs with us hitting 274/325/499 with 31 HR and who of course is making the minimum (but was off to a brutal 5 for 50 start with 0 HR this year), and Malave, who projects as a 5th starter in MLB. Fitzgerald will be our full-time DH since his defense is average to slightly-below in RF where we have a Gold Glover in Danny Rivera.

Fitzgerald made his Rays debut in the second game, and although he went 0-4 his new teammates picked him up in a 7-6 win. It was a strange affair as Tampa Bay jumped out to a 7-1 lead thanks to a monster game from who other than Jeremy Begley as the Rays superstar SS and reigning AL MVP was 3-3 with a walk, steal, two homers (#7 & 8) and 4 RBI. We're not even done with April and he's already accumulated 2.5 WAR thanks to a 378/435/684 batting line and his usual Gold Glove defense. Also going deep with solo shots were Danny Rodriguez and Victor Gonzalez, the 6th of the year for each. Meanwhile Brad Paquette was rolling along with 1 run allowed through 5. Then it all went to hell in the 6th as he could hardly get anyone out and the Guardians put 5 on the board to make it 7-6. Fortunately the bullpen held from there although Walt Kelly made it an adventure as usual, loading the bases with two out but getting a popup to end it for his 5th save and preserving the first Rays win for Paquette (1-1), who finished with an ugly 5.2 9 6 6 1 3 line.

Rogelio Fitzgerald came through for the Rays in the finale, singling in what proved to be the winning run in the 3rd inning as Tampa Bay got by Cleveland 2-1 thanks to an excellent Danny Morales start. Billy Doughty doubled in the first run in the 3rd and Fitzgerald singled him home and that was enough for Morales (2-4), who looked like his old self at 7.2 5 1 1 0 6. With Eric Lewis and Walt Kelly having been used the previous two days Moises Baca got the call in the 9th and allowed only a single in a drama-free 9th for his 1st save.

Team record: 15-9. With the sweep we've pulled within 1 1/2 of the division-leading Yankees. Next up: Back on the road after an off-day, starting with 3 in Oakland.

Also to nobody's surprise, we heard the following from the league office:

[Art Deco]

The Rays took 2 of 3 in Oakland but suffered about as big an injury loss as they could - at least for a while.

A couple of former Rays teamed up to give Oakland a win in the opener but it was the news about a former Athletic which overshadowed the 5-2 A's win. Reigning AL MVP Jeremy Begley strained his back going into 2nd base and will be lost for a month, creating a big hole in the Tampa Bay lineup both offensively and defensively. As for the game the A's got a pair of homers and 4 RBI from Duk-yoon Ko and 5 solid innings from Dwayne Marion who improved to 5-1, 2.38. Ko and Marion were dealt to Oakland in a pair of separate deals two winters ago with Marion the key piece the A's received for Begley. Ko's homers came off Leo Gutierrez (0-3), who went 5.2 5 5 2 1 5 while the Rays got a solo homer from Willis Ramirez, his first of the year.

Transaction: Begley goes on the 10-day IL and we'll hopefully see him around the first of June. In his place 2B of the future Luis Solorzano becomes the SS of the present, and IF Jim Vroom, our first-round pick in 2034 out of a Canadian high school, is called up to serve as the 2B/SS backup. Vroom was hitting 338/394/569 at Durham and is a fine defender with Gold Glove potential at 2B.

Tampa Bay overturned a 3-0 deficit to edge Oakland 4-3 in the second game and it was primarily thanks to the guy pressed into duty to replaced the injured Begley as Luis Solorzano drove in 3 runs including a 2-run single in the 6th which was the game-winning hit. Ruben Cerrillo had a subpar start at 4.1 5 3 3 3 4 and put the Rays in that 3-0 hole but they fought back with 2 in the 4th on Victor Gonzalez's RBI single and a Solorzano sac fly. Jerry Baylor earned his first MLB win by retiring all 5 men he faced including 4 via the whiff and Walt Kelly had a 2-strikeout 1-2-3 9th for his 6th save.

Runs were scarce in the rubber game but the Rays got 2 of the 3 scored to beat the A's. It was a scoreless duel between the Rays' Sergio Espinoza and Oakland's Jordan Ramirez until Victor Gonzalez came up with another big hit in the early going this year, a 2-run homer (#7) in the 7th. Gonzalez has hit an impressive 300/352/540 and has made Rays fans forget longtime 3B Danny Arroyave, who had a big first week in Milwaukee after signing as a free agent but is now only hitting 220/262/420 with 5 HR. Espinoza improved to 5-1 after an excellent 7 5 1 1 1 8 performance and Walt Kelly saved again (#7), although this time after putting two men on and getting the last man to fly out on a 3-0 pitch.

Team record: 17-10. Unfortunately the Rays the Yankees aren't cooling off and swept Minnesota to extend their division lead to 2 1/2 games. Next up: Back home for 3 against the Angels.

[Art Deco]

A rare home series lost by the Rays, who saw the Angels take 2 of 3 at Tropicana Field with some rough pitching the culprit.

Nothing rough about the opener though as Tampa Bay handled the Angels 8-2. They raced out to a quick 5-0 lead after 2 with Rogelio Fitzgerald belting his first Rays homer (and 9th overall), a 2-run shot in the first while Tony Fisher, off to a slow start this season, added a 2-run double as part of a 3-RBI day. That was more than enough for Brad Paquette (2-1) who was in control at 8 6 2 2 1 5.

Danny Morales signed the biggest contract in club history in the offseason and has apparently decided to stop pitching like an ace, or even a mid-to-back end rotation starter as he was hit hard again in a 6-3 loss to LA. Morales dropped to 2-5, 5.45 after an ugly 5.1 9 6 6 2 3 outing and although it was made worse by Jerry Baylor allowing two of his men to score it was still pretty bad. Three times the Angels scored a single run in the first five innings and each time the Rays equalized in the bottom of the frame but the three runs in the sixth were a bridge too far. Danny Rodriguez knocked in a pair including a solo homer (#7).

The Rays dropped the rubber game to the Angels 6-5 but the final score was a bit misleading as Danny Rivera hit a 3-run homer (#3) in the 9th to cut the lead from 6-2. Leo Gutierrez fell to 0-4, 4.75 and again gave up the key homer, a 2-run shot in a 3-run 5th which saw LA wipe out a 2-0 Tampa Bay lead. Gutierrez finished 5.2 6 4 4 2 4 and has allowed 7 homers in only 30 innings this season. The first two Rays runs came on a 2-run homer from Rogelio Fitzgerald, his 2nd with the club and 10th of the year.

Team record: 18-12. With the Yankees sweeping their weekend series the Rays dropped two games in the standings to fall 3 1/2 back. Next up: Detroit rolls into town for 3 games.

[Art Deco]

The Rays pulled off a sweep of a bad (8-23 coming in) Detroit team, although it wasn't easy as they had to come back in all three games.

There wasn't much scoring in the opener as the Rays trailed 2-1 in the bottom of the 7th but Willis Ramirez came through with a bases-clearing double and the Rays hung on for a 4-3 win over the Tigers. Ruben Cerrillo was solid although he allowed runs in each of the first two innings, finishing 6 9 2 1 1 6 while it was Eric Lewis (1-0) who picked up the win in relief. Walt Kelly breezed through the 9th on 10 pitches for his 8th save, and Justin Blackwell put the Rays on the board with a solo homer (#5).

The second game saw the bullpen blow a 9-2 lead after 7 innings capped by Walt Kelly allowing 3 runs in the top of the 9th to give Detroit a 10-9 lead, but Luis Solarzano came through with his biggest hit as a Ray, a 2-run double in the bottom of the inning to save the day and make Tampa Bay 11-10 walk-off winners. Solo homers from Tony Fisher (#4) and Victor Gonzalez (#8), along with a 3-run shot from Danny Rivera (#4) helped the Rays to that big lead and Sergio Espinoza was cruising before putting two men on to start the 8th. Jamie Arnold came on and was horrendous, allowing both of Espinoza's men to score along with 3 of his own and it was suddenly 9-7. Then Kelly (3-1) gave up 3 more runs on 4 hits to complete the collapse in the 9th and it looked like an epic loss. But the Rays got two men on in the 9th and Solarzano's double into the RF corner sent everyone home happy.

Brad Paquette was excellent and Danny Rodriguez hit a pair of two-run homers over consecutive innings to give the Rays a 4-1 win over Detroit and a series sweep. Paquette (3-1) went 7 6 1 1 2 6 and hung in for 115 pitches in his gem but trailed 1-0 until the bottom of the 6th when D-Rod homered with after the leadoff man reached. The Rays threatened to score more but didn't, which meant that once again in the 7th when Justin Blackwell reached with two out, Rodriguez was up again and he repeated the feat to give him a team-leading 9 homers. Eric Lewis closed things out for his second save despite giving up a couple of singles in the 9th.

Team record: 21-12. It took until the third of the wins but the Rays finally gained ground on the Yankees, who saw an 8-game win streak end in their series finale with Cleveland, and they're now within 3 1/2 of 25-9 New York. Next up: A day off then we head to Chicago for 3 against the White Sox.

[Art Deco]

Many teams would kill right now for a 22-14 record but for the Rays the first month and a half of the season has been a trying time with injuries, underperformances, and frustrating losses and this series in Chicago saw them lose 2 of 3 with both defeats coming after late blown leads. Meanwhile it doesn't help that the Yankees are 27-10, putting them in a 4 1/2-game hole.

The opener was a microcosm of things as the Rays were held to only three hits on the day but one of them was a 2-run Danny Rivera homer (#5) which gave them a 2-0 lead into the 7th. But they couldn't hold it and lost a 3-2 walk-off to the White Sox in the bottom of the 9th. Danny Morales looked more like the Danny Morales we know, shutting Chicago down but they got to him for two runs in the 7th to tie it as he finished 6.2 4 2 2 2 5. And then Walt Kelly (3-2) gave up four singles in the 9th to lose it with the fourth coming with two out.

The Rays struggled mightily on offense again and didn't even score a run until the 8th but somehow they eked out a 2-1 win over Chicago in the second game. Tony Fisher came off the bench to deliver both runs, first on a pinch-hit solo homer (#5) in the 8th and then on a sac fly in the 9th, which broke a 1-1 tie. Leo Gutierrez (1-4) was outstanding in finally picking up his first win, going 8 4 1 1 1 4 and Eric Lewis got save #3 without incident.

Transaction: Jim Vroom was optioned back to Durham and replaced as the backup MI by Ray Green, who was acquired during the winter. Green provides a righty bat to go with the lefty Solarzano while Vroom was also a lefty and not a great defensive shortstop. Not that Green is much better with the glove, but should provide a bit more offensive spark when called upon. Jeremy Begley remains sorely missed.

The bats finally showed up in the finale, putting seven runs on the board but the Rays couldn't hold leads of 2-0, 4-2, and 7-4 and succumbed to Chicago 10-7 in a maddening affair. Justin Blackwell was 3-4 with a 2-run homer (#6) and the team banged out 14 hits, but Ruben Cerrillo wasn't able to take advantage going 5.2 8 4 4 2 2 but did leave with a 7-4 lead. Disaster struck in the name of Moises Baca (1-1), who gave up 5 runs on 5 hits in the Chicago 7th and that was all she wrote. Also to add injury to insult Tony Fisher hyperextended his ankle and will go on the IL but will be ready to return once his time is up.

Team record: 22-14. Next up: An off-day then home for 3 against Miami.

[Art Deco]

The Rays took 2 of 3 from their cross-state rivals and managed to gain a game on the Yankees, who dropped 2 of 3 for a change and now lead by 3 1/2 games.

Rogelio Fitzgerald hasn't done a lot since coming over in the big trade a few weeks back but he was the hero today as he drove in 3 runs, including a tie-breaking 2-run single in the 7th, as the Rays mastered Miami 5-2 at Tropicana Field. Sergio Espinoza pitched well at 6.2 6 2 2 1 7 but ended up with a no-decision as they put 3 on the board in the 7th to win. Danny Mauricio took his first decision of 2040 and Eric Lewis handled the 9th for his 4th save.

Danny Morales may be finally rounding into his classic form after a rough start to the season as he went 7 shutout innings to lead Tampa Bay to a 6-0 win over the Marlins. Morales (3-5) was an outstanding 7 2 0 0 2 6 for the win and had ample support. Melvin Olvera has been in a deep slump after a hot first couple of weeks but broke out today with a 2-run homer (#5), Danny Rodriguez was on base all 4 times with two hits, two walks, three runs scored, and an RBI, and Danny Rivera contributed a 2-run single.

The Rays couldn't quite pull out the finale, erasing the first two deficits they faced but unable to overcome the third as they fell 6-5 to Miami. Brad Paquette, who normally keeps the ball in the park, couldn't today as he allowed a pair of two-run homers to put them behind 4-2 and after Tampa Bay surged ahead 5-4 in the 6th he put two more men on base in the 7th who came around to score leaving him with a 6 6 6 6 1 2 line and a 3-2 record. Billy Doughty was the man on offense today with an RBI single and then a 3-run homer (#3) to give them that sixth-inning lead. The Rays did load the bases in the 9th with two out but Victor Gonzalez whiffed to end the game.

Team record: 24-15. Next up: More interleague play as the Phillies roll into town for 3 games.

[Art Deco]

The Rays stayed hot by sweeping the Phillies, although they pretty much had to eke out all three wins. The Yankees finally dropped a game so Tampa Bay creeps within 2 1/2 of the division lead.

The opener was the easiest of the three for the Rays as they rode a fine Leo Gutierrez outing to a 5-2 win over Philadelphia. The lefty went to 2-4 after a dominant 7 5 1 1 0 10 outing and Eric Lewis nabbed his 5th save with a 1-2-3 9th. Melvin Olvera was the offensive star, belting a pair of solo homers (#6 & 7) and Rogelio Fitzgerald took a moment off from a sputtering start to his Rays career with a solo shot (#3/11).

Tampa Bay squandered a 3-0 lead in the second game but managed to salvage a 5-3 win in 10 innings on Melvin Olvera's 2-run walk-off homer, his 8th of the year and third in two days. Justin Blackwell's 3-run homer (#7) in the 4th gave the Rays that early lead but Ruben Cerrillo was unable to hold it, finishing 6.2 8 3 3 2 5. Olvera's deciding blast made a winner of Moises Baca (2-1) in relief.

The Rays received a fine pitching performance from Sergio Espinoza and the bullpen and made a couple of early runs stand up in a 2-1 win to complete the sweep of the Phillies. Espinoza won his league-leading 6th decision against one loss going 5 3 1 1 0 6 before having to leave with a sore back which won't keep him from his next start. Walt Kelly, the fourth Rays reliever to keep Philly off the board, earned his 9th save. The Dannys came through for needed runs with Rodriguez doubling one run and Rivera singling in the other in the first and third respectively.

Team record: 27-15. Next up: 3 big games with those Yankees in the Bronx over two days as we make up an earlier rainout with a Monday doubleheader.

[Art Deco]

The Rays accomplished what they set out to do: gain ground on the Yankees, doing so by taking two of three and nearly pulling off the sweep. As a result they're within 1 1/2 of New York.

The teams played a doubleheader on Monday to make up an April rainout and Tampa Bay laid waste to the Yankees in the opener, bombarding the Bombers 16-3 behind six homers. Two of those came off the bat of Danny Rivera, whose 3-run shot in the 3rd opened the day's scoring and added a solo shot (#7) later as part of a 3-hit day. Willis Ramirez was 4-6 with a double, homer (#2) and 4 RBI, Victor Gonzalez had three hits including a 3-run shot (#9) and Melvin Olvera (a 3-run homer, #9) and Billy Doughty (#4, solo) also found the seats. Danny Morales (4-5) coasted at 6 5 2 2 1 5 and Chad Montgomery went the final 3 innings for his first save.

With no off-days surrounding this series and no viable starting option to call up from Durham, longman Sebastian Burns got the spot start in the nightcap. While he didn't pitch well at all (4 3 4 4 3 4) and put his team in a 4-0 hole the Rays rallied to take a 6-5 win and a doubleheader sweep. A 4-run 6th keyed by Billy Doughty's 2-run double got them even and then they went ahead with a pair in the 7th including another homer from Melvin Olvera (#10). Chris Ericson (1-0) went two scoreless for the win and Eric Lewis closed it out for save #6.

Brad Paquette pitched the equivalent of a complete game shutout but because the Rays couldn't push across a run it was neither as the Yankees scored off Walt Kelly and Moises Baca in the bottom of the 10th to salvage the finale 1-0. Paquette was masterful, going 9 7 0 0 0 9 on 109 pitches to save a tired bullpen but received no support at all (Tampa Bay hitters could only manage 4 hits after scoring 22 runs in a doubleheader the day before). And in the 10th Kelly (3-3) put a man on then exited with a mild oblique strain (he'll miss 4 days) and Baca yielded a double to let him score as the Rays missed an opportunity to take over first place.

Team record: 29-16. Next up: Back home for a pair against Baltimore.

[Art Deco]

The Rays put Baltimore to the sword in their 2-game mini-series at Tropicana Field, sweeping them by a combined score of 23-4.

Leo Gutierrez took a no-hitter into the 6th inning and five different Rays homered in a 12-2 rout of the Orioles in the first of their two-game set. Gutierrez (3-4) ended up going 7 1 0 0 1 7 as he coasted with more than ample run support. That support came in large part from longballs off the bats of Danny Rodriguez (#10), Victor Gonzalez (#10), Billy Doughty (#5), Rogelio Fitzgerald (#4/12) and Ray Green (his first as a big-leaguer). Green had the biggest day overall, going 3-4 with a double, the homer and 2 RBI.

We made a trade:



Farrior is a 23-year-old rookie who was serving as the Cincinnati closer (5 SV, 1.35 ERA, 18 K in 13.1 IP) and has 80 stuff to go with 55 movement and 45 (50 potential) control. He's a groundball guy which will serve him well with our infield D (especially when Begley returns) and will probably be our 7th-inning guy. The price was Lopez, a quality prospect but not a future star. To make room for Farrior Sebastian Burns was sent to Durham where he'll work on being a starter.

In addition to the trade, Tony Fisher was activated off the 10-day IL and Willie Maldonado was returned to Durham.

Danny Rodriguez had a monster game and Tampa Bay bats unloaded once again on Baltimore pitching as the Rays romped 11-2. Oriole pitching could not retire D-Rod, who was 3-3 with 2 walks, 2 homers (#11 & 12) and 4 RBI. Also going yard twice and hopefully finally heating up was Rogelio Fitzgerald, who now has 6 as a Ray (and half of those in the last two days) and 14 overall and drove in 4 runs. And also homering for the second straight night was Victor Gonzalez (#11) who had a 2-run shot plus an earlier RBI double. This all made life easy for Ruben Cerrillo who went to 5-0 after going 6 8 2 2 1 5.

Team record: 31-16. The Yankees lost one of their two games meaning they're only 1/2 game up on the Rays as the teams get ready to meet 3 more times at Tropicana Field this weekend.

[Art Deco]

The Rays came out on top in their big series with the Yankees, taking 2 of 3 and moving into first place by 1/2 game over New York.

Sergio Espinoza was brilliant in the opener as he and three relievers combined on a four-hit shutout of the Yankees as the Rays prevailed 4-0. Espinoza took over the AL lead in pitching wins with his seventh in eight decisions after going a tidy 7 2 0 0 2 4 and Eric Lewis got the last two outs for his 7th save. Tony Fisher was the man on offense, belting a first-inning solo homer (#6) and then adding a 2-run double in the 5th.

New York turned the tables on Tampa Bay in the second game as they were ones shutting the other team out in a 5-0 victory. Danny Morales' up-and-down season continued as he was tagged for a trio of homers in a 6.2 9 4 4 0 7 outing which dropped him to 4-6. The Rays did get 8 hits on the day but couldn't do anything with them.

Brad Paquette dominated the Yankees for the second time in less than a week and once again had nothing to show for it, but at least his teammates came through as the Rays took the rubber game 4-2 on a 2-run 8th inning homer from Danny Rodriguez (#13). Paquette, who pitched 9 shutout innings in New York five days earlier only to see the Rays lose in extras, took another shutout into the 8th only to walk a man with one out. New late-inning acquisition Stephen Farrior came on for his Tampa Bay debut and made the worst first impression possible by surrendering a 2-run homer to the first man he faced allowing the Yankees to tie it up, leaving Paquette with a 7.2 3 1 1 3 4 line. Fortunately D-Rod took him off the hook in the bottom of the inning and gave Farrior the vultured win. Eric Lewis closed the door again in the 9th for save #8. After a lousy season the year before Lewis has been lights-out with an 0.82 ERA and a 4/27 BB/K ratio in 22 IP. Earlier the Rays built that 2-0 lead on solo homers from Melvin Olvera (#11) and Ray Green (#2).

Team record: 33-17. Next up: Texas comes to town for 3 games.