The 2021 (and only 2021) Tampa Bay Rays - Page 35

Art Deco · 06-13-2022, 08:30 PM

Seattle is on to the ALDS to play Detroit after shocking the Angels with two wins in Anaheim, and Gleyber Torres' 3-run 8th-inning homer has kept the Yankees alive and forces a deciding Game 3 tomorrow despite a 3-homer game from San Antonio's Josh Naylor. Meanwhile the road teams thrived in the NL with defending champ Atlanta and San Francisco winning.

Art Deco · 06-13-2022, 08:41 PM

In the end the Alamos were not ready for prime time as the Yankees annihilated them in the deciding game with Gleyber Torres picking up where he left off in Game 2 with a 3-run homer in the first. So it will be New York to play the Rays in the ALDS.

And excitement reigns supreme in the NL as both of those series are going to a decisive third game:

Spencer Torkelson's 2-run homer in the 8th gave the Cubs a win in a wild Game 2, and Jhoan Duran went 7 6 2 2 0 9 to keep the Mets alive.

Art Deco · 06-13-2022, 08:55 PM

There will no repeat World Series winner as Atlanta falls to the Cubs, who will take on Washington in the NLDS:

And in the other decisive NL Wild Card Game, Luis Castillo took a no-hitter into the 7th for the Mets and they escaped a bases-loaded jam in the 8th to hang on for a 1-0 win and a date with the Padres in the NLDS:

Art Deco · 06-13-2022, 09:17 PM

James Hays reached back for his 2027 form and dominated the Yankees in Game 1 of the ALDS, leading the Rays to a 2-1 win. Hays was in cruise control outside of a Luke Voit homer in the 3rd before putting men on 1st and 3rd in the 8th with 2 out and his pitch count exceeding 100. With the red-hot Gleyber Torres due, Yasunari Uehara came on and got him to ground out to end the threat and then Uehara dispatched New York 1-2-3 in the 9th to preserve the win. There was a down note to the victory, though: Wander Franco had to leave the game after singling in a run and then stealing second in the 3rd with back spasms; it's a "moderate" 5-day injury. His replacement JP Crawford came through with the game-winning hit in the 5th after Ed Howard singled and stole second. Since we won Game 1 we'll err on the side of caution and keep Franco out of Game 2, and if we win that one, he'll sit Game 3. Otherwise he'll pressed into action if we feel we need him.

Meanwhile Detroit won a Game 1 slugfest over Seattle:

Art Deco · 06-13-2022, 09:47 PM

The Rays hung on for another one-run win over New York to take a commanding 2-0 lead in their ALDS. They jumped all over Yankee starter Nick Neidert in the 1st with a Victor Robles homer and an Andrew Greckel 2-run single, then Greckel added a 2-run homer to respond after the Yankees got 2 off Pablo Lopez in the top of the 3rd. JT Realmuto's homer answered another Yankee run but Tylor Megill and Yasunari Uehara surrendered solo homers late to make it way too interesting yet they hung on. We got the win while resting Wander Franco, so he'll sit again in Game 3 in New York.

Meanwhile in the other DS games:

Seattle evened up their ALDS with Detroit in another high-scoring affair, Merandy Gonzalez pitched the Cubs to a Game 1 win, and the Padres easily dispatched the Mets behind MacKenzie Gore.

Art Deco · 06-13-2022, 09:56 PM

The Cubs shocked the Nationals once again in Washington with Yordan Alvarez belting a grand slam in the 9th to turn a 9-6 loss into a 10-9 win and a 2-0 series lead while the Mets pounded the Padres to even up their series:

Art Deco · 06-13-2022, 10:17 PM

So close...

The Rays were two outs away from an ALDS sweep before Raimfer Salinas belted a grand slam off Jose Crespo to give the Yankees a 9-6 win. The Rays jumped out to a 6-2 lead early behind Kelly Crumpton who had an RBI double and a 2-run homer, but Joe Ryan was awful and let the Yankees within 6-5, which is where we stayed until the 9th with the Rays bullpen holding the Yankees and the Yankees' pen holding the Rays. Crespo, with Yasunari Uehara tired from multi-inning appearances in the first two games, then put the first two men on in the 9th and made the ill-fated decision to try to get the lead runner at 3rd on a bunt, and he was safe. Crespo did get Gleyber Torres to pop up but he couldn't get Salinas who has hit 86 homers the past two seasons, and now we'll play a Game 4 tomorrow with Jackson Baumeister taking the mound.

Elsewhere Seattle took a 2-1 lead over Detroit behind a great game from Sixto Sanchez:

Art Deco · 06-13-2022, 10:49 PM

Phew...

It wasn't pretty but the Rays took an 8-5 victory at Yankee Stadium to advance to the ALCS after a 3-1 series win. It came down to the bottom of the 9th once again as despite going into it with an apparent safe 8-4 lead and ace closer Yasunari Uehara, the Yankees managed to load the bases, score a run, and bring the tying run to the plate before pinch-hitter Victor Fuentes grounded out to 2nd to end the game. The win sets things up nicely for the ALCS with James Hays now available to start Game 1 and Wander Franco recovered from his back spasms. The longball won the game for Tampa Bay with series MVP Kelly Crumpton bashing a pair of 2-run dingers and Alex Kirilloff delivering the big hit of the game, a grand slam in the 5th after Yankee reliever Edwar Colina loaded the bases with 2 walks and a hit batter. Jackson Baumeister was unsurprisingly awful tonight but JT Ginn was heroic in relief, getting a well-deserved win with 3 1/3 innings of 1-hit ball. It was a terrible regular season for Ginn, our ace reliever in 2026 and a decent third starter last year who couldn't get straightened out until later in the year, but he could be a postseason weapon.

Who we will play? It remains to be seen as former Yankee Miguel Andjuar blasted a couple of homers against Seattle to help force a deciding Game 5 in Detroit. Meanwhile the Cubs, who spent big in the offseason on Spencer Torkelson, Yordan Alvarez and Jared Kelenic and had to get hot in September to eke out a division win at 87-75, completed the sweep of Washington while the Padres regained homefield advantage in their series by winning at CitiField against the Mets:

Art Deco · 06-13-2022, 10:57 PM

The Padres were one out away from a rematch of the 1984 NLCS with the Cubs when Edwin Arroyo cleared the bases with a double and gave the Mets a win to send the series back to San Diego for a decisive Game 5.

Art Deco · 06-13-2022, 11:12 PM

So for the third straight year it's going to be Tigers-Rays in the ALCS (and I just realized it was the second straight year the Tigers and Mariners met in the ALDS and it went the full 5 games). Hopefully the Rays will get off to a better start in this year's ALCS as in 2026 they had to pull of a historic comeback from 3-0 down to win it and last year the Tigers beat them in 5 games.

Art Deco · 06-13-2022, 11:19 PM

Hogan was the hero for the Mets as Hogan Harris no-hit the Padres through 5 and pitched 8 innings of 2-hit ball to send New York to the NLCS to take on the Cubs. Our old friend Adley Rutschman went deep for the first Mets run, the only one they'd need.

Art Deco · 06-14-2022, 04:57 PM

A miracle comeback for naught...

The Rays pulled off an in-game comeback for the playoff ages, scoring 7 times in the bottom of the 9th to tie Detroit at 9, only to lose in 12 innings 12-9 and fall behind 0-1 in the ALCS, which is nothing new for this team the last two years at this stage against the Tigers. Things looked good for an inning when Ed Howard doubled and scored and James Hays had a quick 1-2-3 1st but it went bad for Hays after that and by the time he was done the Rays were down 6-2. Had I known a miracle comeback was in the offing I would haven't left Shane Panzini in to give up 3 runs in the 9th but after it was 9-2 the excitement began with a bases-clearing triple by Howard to make it 9-6, a Wander Franco infield single to score Howard, and an Alex Kirilloff 2-run homer to tie it. They weren't done there either as they put men on 1st and 3rd with 2 out but Dom Scavone struck out to end the threat, and then Jose Crespo gave up his second soul-crushing homer of the playoffs after allowing an RBI double in the 12th so they ended up losing after all. Pablo Lopez will try to get things even tomorrow.

Art Deco · 06-14-2022, 05:34 PM

Evened it up...

The Rays took a rare early-series 8-4 win to even the ALCS at 1 with Detroit after having fallen behind 3-0 and 3-1 in this round the last two years against the Tigers. It was largely a two-man show on offense as Andrew Greckel haunted his old team with a first-inning slam, and after Pablo Lopez squandered the early 4-0 lead Dom Scavone (whom I was thisclose to benching) went deep to lead off the bottom of the 5th to put them ahead to stay and added a key 2-run single in the 8th to provide insurance with the Rays' top relievers fatigued from Game 1's extra innings. Matt Cronin made his postseason debut with 2 scoreless as the "B" pen kept Detroit off the board for the final 4 innings. Joe Ryan will hope to pitch better in Comerica in two days than he did at Yankee Stadium in the ALDS.

Over in the NL the Cubs' big free-agent signings came through again as Yordan Alvarez tied it with a 2-run double and Spencer Torkelson won it with a 3-run homer as they came back with a big 8th to beat the Mets:

Art Deco · 06-14-2022, 06:30 PM

Michael Conforto had one of the great individual games in postseason history, setting an NL record with 8 RBI and tying it with 3 HR in an obliteration of the Cubs to tie the NLCS at 1.

Art Deco · 06-14-2022, 06:46 PM

A lousy but not unexpected start from Joe Ryan and having to go up against Detroit ace (and Cy Young frontrunner) Francis Martes were too much for the Rays to overcome as they were handily beaten 9-2 to fall behind 2-1 in the ALCS. Rays-killer Marcelo Mayer had a 2-run homer off Ryan and the game was effectively over from there. To avoid a repeat of this unfavorable matchup in Game 7 the Rays might want to win the next 3 games and that would start tomorrow with Jackson Baumeister on the mound, who also didn't distinguish himself in the ALDS. It seems that losing the James Hays start (Game 1) has likely doomed the Rays.

Art Deco · 06-14-2022, 07:07 PM

Another great comeback pissed away...

When the obituary is written on the 2028 Rays season (likely to be very soon), terrible pitching is going to be listed as the cause of death as once again the offense valiantly came back in what looked like a sure loss only to have the bullpen (and especially Jose Crespo) make that loss sure again. I expected Jackson Baumeister to be horrible and he didn't disappoint, but the offense fought back from 6-2 down to eventually tie it in the 9th thanks to a Detroit error and then go ahead in the top of the 10th on a JT Realmuto homer. But Yasunari Uehara didn't have in the bottom of the frame after throwing 19 pitches in the 9th, putting the first two men on and Crespo once again came up small when needed the most as he loaded the bases and gave up a walk-off sac fly to that man Marcelo Mayer (who earlier homered off Baumeister) again. So now the Rays are down 3-1 and on life support. James Hays gives them their best chance to win one tomorrow assuming he doesn't pitch like Game 1, but the offense is probably going to have score in double digits to overcome this staff. Part of it's a matchup problem as Detroit has a lefty-heavy lineup and we don't have any lefty starters, but that's only part of it as our lefty relievers (especially Crespo) haven't exactly shut them down.

Speaking of bad pitching it was another high-scoring affair in the NLCS as the Cubs got a big game from Yordan Alvarez and smoked the Mets to go up 2-1 over there. Michael Conforto followed up his 3-homer Game 2 with another shot today but it was a mere footnote:

Art Deco · 06-14-2022, 07:45 PM

Still alive, if just barely...

I'm not sure how they did it but the Rays prevailed 9-5 over Detroit in 15 innings to stave off elimination and bring the series back to St. Pete for a Game 6. Victor Robles, having a great series and with 8 hits in his last 3 games, delivered a 2-out RBI single in the top of the 15th to break the tie and Ed Howard made sure the Rays' lead would hold up by blasting a 3-run homer. James Hays started and was down 2-0 after the first two batters but the Rays rallied to take a 4-2 lead. Hays gave up a run in the 7th and then ill-advisedly was brought out for the 8th only to give up a leadoff homer. Tampa Bay regained the lead in the top of the 10th, but with a man on 3rd, 2 out and Rays owner Marcelo Mayer at the plate, I thumbed my nose at the baseball gods and brought in Jose Crespo, and sure enough Mayer singled in the tying run. Crespo actually then pitched a couple of scoreless innings to prolong the game but Mayer was due up in the 14th with men on 1st and 3rd and 1 out (notice that spike in the win probability chart) but Landon Knack got him to foul out to shallow left and struck out the next man, setting the stage for the 4-run 15th. Pablo Lopez, who won Game 2 for us (albeit not impressively), will try to get us to a Game 7 in two nights' time.

The Cubs have taken a 3-1 lead in the NLCS with another win in New York, coming back on a tying homer in the 9th from rookie slugger Jace LaViolette and winning it in the 10th:

Gonna take a break from this intense ALCS and play some low-stakes 2020-save games before coming back to it, for those refreshing the forum.

Art Deco · 06-15-2022, 09:08 AM

The Cubs are going to the World Series for the first time since 2016 thanks largely to Yordan Alvarez, who had a huge NLCS and was named Series MVP:

Art Deco · 06-15-2022, 09:13 AM

We're going the distance!

Like this series, Game 6 didn't start off too well for the Rays as they fell behind 2-0 after 2 and Pablo Lopez had to pitch out of a jam in the 3rd. But the Rays' bats stormed back with Dominic Scavone's 2-out grand slam in the bottom of the inning put them ahead to stay and Heston Kjerstad blasted a 2-run shot, his first of the postseason, to give the Rays a very healthy lead and send them to victory. Lopez settled into a groove after his early struggles, and we'll now play a Game 7 tomorrow at the Trop. Joe Ryan will hope to turn things around after a pair of dreadful starts this postseason but we all know the offense will have to come up big.

Art Deco · 06-15-2022, 09:35 AM

We did it!

Joe Ryan did not want this to be the last game he pitched as a Ray and the impending free agent reached back for his best performance of the postseason leading the Rays to a tense 3-2 win over the Tigers in Game 7 and a date with the Chicago Cubs in the World Series. Thanks to Ryan it turned out that the Rays wouldn't have to win a slugfest and that was a good thing as despite early homers from Alex Kirilloff and Andrew Greckel off Tiger ace Francis Martes (and JT Realmuto's RBI single, which proved to be the difference in the end), the bats only squeaked out 4 hits. As a result Detroit crept back in the game and we had to sweat out an incredibly nail-biting 9th when the Tigers led off the inning with a double off closer Yasunari Uehara. The runner went to third on a fly ball, but Uehara got a grounder at the drawn-in infield for out #2 and then retired pinch-hitter (and former Rays property) Orlando Martinez on a grounder to Ed Howard to set off the celebrations. It marked the second time in three seasons the Rays came back from a huge deficit to beat Detroit in the ALCS as in 2026 they pulled off the historic feat of coming back from 0-3 down (and 5-0 after the first inning in Game 4). Coming back from 1-3 down isn't as incredible but a difficult feat nonetheless.

06-13-2022, 08:30 PM	#681
Art Deco Hall Of Famer Join Date: May 2020 Posts: 7,607	October 4, 2028: AL Wild Card Game 2 & NL Wild Card Game 1 Seattle is on to the ALDS to play Detroit after shocking the Angels with two wins in Anaheim, and Gleyber Torres' 3-run 8th-inning homer has kept the Yankees alive and forces a deciding Game 3 tomorrow despite a 3-homer game from San Antonio's Josh Naylor. Meanwhile the road teams thrived in the NL with defending champ Atlanta and San Francisco winning.

06-13-2022, 08:41 PM	#682
Art Deco Hall Of Famer Join Date: May 2020 Posts: 7,607	October 5, 2028: AL Wild Card Game 3 & NL Wild Card Game 2 In the end the Alamos were not ready for prime time as the Yankees annihilated them in the deciding game with Gleyber Torres picking up where he left off in Game 2 with a 3-run homer in the first. So it will be New York to play the Rays in the ALDS. And excitement reigns supreme in the NL as both of those series are going to a decisive third game: Spencer Torkelson's 2-run homer in the 8th gave the Cubs a win in a wild Game 2, and Jhoan Duran went 7 6 2 2 0 9 to keep the Mets alive.

06-13-2022, 08:55 PM	#683
Art Deco Hall Of Famer Join Date: May 2020 Posts: 7,607	October 6, 2028: NL Wild Card Game 3 There will no repeat World Series winner as Atlanta falls to the Cubs, who will take on Washington in the NLDS: And in the other decisive NL Wild Card Game, Luis Castillo took a no-hitter into the 7th for the Mets and they escaped a bases-loaded jam in the 8th to hang on for a 1-0 win and a date with the Padres in the NLDS:

06-13-2022, 09:17 PM	#684
Art Deco Hall Of Famer Join Date: May 2020 Posts: 7,607	October 7, 2028: ALDS Game 1 James Hays reached back for his 2027 form and dominated the Yankees in Game 1 of the ALDS, leading the Rays to a 2-1 win. Hays was in cruise control outside of a Luke Voit homer in the 3rd before putting men on 1st and 3rd in the 8th with 2 out and his pitch count exceeding 100. With the red-hot Gleyber Torres due, Yasunari Uehara came on and got him to ground out to end the threat and then Uehara dispatched New York 1-2-3 in the 9th to preserve the win. There was a down note to the victory, though: Wander Franco had to leave the game after singling in a run and then stealing second in the 3rd with back spasms; it's a "moderate" 5-day injury. His replacement JP Crawford came through with the game-winning hit in the 5th after Ed Howard singled and stole second. Since we won Game 1 we'll err on the side of caution and keep Franco out of Game 2, and if we win that one, he'll sit Game 3. Otherwise he'll pressed into action if we feel we need him. Meanwhile Detroit won a Game 1 slugfest over Seattle:

06-13-2022, 09:47 PM	#685
Art Deco Hall Of Famer Join Date: May 2020 Posts: 7,607	October 8, 2028: ALDS Game 2 & NLDS Game 1 The Rays hung on for another one-run win over New York to take a commanding 2-0 lead in their ALDS. They jumped all over Yankee starter Nick Neidert in the 1st with a Victor Robles homer and an Andrew Greckel 2-run single, then Greckel added a 2-run homer to respond after the Yankees got 2 off Pablo Lopez in the top of the 3rd. JT Realmuto's homer answered another Yankee run but Tylor Megill and Yasunari Uehara surrendered solo homers late to make it way too interesting yet they hung on. We got the win while resting Wander Franco, so he'll sit again in Game 3 in New York. Meanwhile in the other DS games: Seattle evened up their ALDS with Detroit in another high-scoring affair, Merandy Gonzalez pitched the Cubs to a Game 1 win, and the Padres easily dispatched the Mets behind MacKenzie Gore.

06-13-2022, 09:56 PM	#686
Art Deco Hall Of Famer Join Date: May 2020 Posts: 7,607	October 9, 2028: NLDS Game 2 The Cubs shocked the Nationals once again in Washington with Yordan Alvarez belting a grand slam in the 9th to turn a 9-6 loss into a 10-9 win and a 2-0 series lead while the Mets pounded the Padres to even up their series:

06-13-2022, 10:17 PM	#687
Art Deco Hall Of Famer Join Date: May 2020 Posts: 7,607	October 10, 2028: ALDS Game 3 So close... The Rays were two outs away from an ALDS sweep before Raimfer Salinas belted a grand slam off Jose Crespo to give the Yankees a 9-6 win. The Rays jumped out to a 6-2 lead early behind Kelly Crumpton who had an RBI double and a 2-run homer, but Joe Ryan was awful and let the Yankees within 6-5, which is where we stayed until the 9th with the Rays bullpen holding the Yankees and the Yankees' pen holding the Rays. Crespo, with Yasunari Uehara tired from multi-inning appearances in the first two games, then put the first two men on in the 9th and made the ill-fated decision to try to get the lead runner at 3rd on a bunt, and he was safe. Crespo did get Gleyber Torres to pop up but he couldn't get Salinas who has hit 86 homers the past two seasons, and now we'll play a Game 4 tomorrow with Jackson Baumeister taking the mound. Elsewhere Seattle took a 2-1 lead over Detroit behind a great game from Sixto Sanchez:

06-13-2022, 10:49 PM	#688
Art Deco Hall Of Famer Join Date: May 2020 Posts: 7,607	October 11, 2028: ALDS Game 4 & NLDS Game 3 Phew... It wasn't pretty but the Rays took an 8-5 victory at Yankee Stadium to advance to the ALCS after a 3-1 series win. It came down to the bottom of the 9th once again as despite going into it with an apparent safe 8-4 lead and ace closer Yasunari Uehara, the Yankees managed to load the bases, score a run, and bring the tying run to the plate before pinch-hitter Victor Fuentes grounded out to 2nd to end the game. The win sets things up nicely for the ALCS with James Hays now available to start Game 1 and Wander Franco recovered from his back spasms. The longball won the game for Tampa Bay with series MVP Kelly Crumpton bashing a pair of 2-run dingers and Alex Kirilloff delivering the big hit of the game, a grand slam in the 5th after Yankee reliever Edwar Colina loaded the bases with 2 walks and a hit batter. Jackson Baumeister was unsurprisingly awful tonight but JT Ginn was heroic in relief, getting a well-deserved win with 3 1/3 innings of 1-hit ball. It was a terrible regular season for Ginn, our ace reliever in 2026 and a decent third starter last year who couldn't get straightened out until later in the year, but he could be a postseason weapon. Who we will play? It remains to be seen as former Yankee Miguel Andjuar blasted a couple of homers against Seattle to help force a deciding Game 5 in Detroit. Meanwhile the Cubs, who spent big in the offseason on Spencer Torkelson, Yordan Alvarez and Jared Kelenic and had to get hot in September to eke out a division win at 87-75, completed the sweep of Washington while the Padres regained homefield advantage in their series by winning at CitiField against the Mets:

06-13-2022, 10:57 PM	#689
Art Deco Hall Of Famer Join Date: May 2020 Posts: 7,607	October 12, 2028: NLDS Game 4 The Padres were one out away from a rematch of the 1984 NLCS with the Cubs when Edwin Arroyo cleared the bases with a double and gave the Mets a win to send the series back to San Diego for a decisive Game 5.

06-13-2022, 11:12 PM	#690
Art Deco Hall Of Famer Join Date: May 2020 Posts: 7,607	October 13, 2028: ALDS Game 5 So for the third straight year it's going to be Tigers-Rays in the ALCS (and I just realized it was the second straight year the Tigers and Mariners met in the ALDS and it went the full 5 games). Hopefully the Rays will get off to a better start in this year's ALCS as in 2026 they had to pull of a historic comeback from 3-0 down to win it and last year the Tigers beat them in 5 games.

06-13-2022, 11:19 PM	#691
Art Deco Hall Of Famer Join Date: May 2020 Posts: 7,607	October 14, 2028: NLDS Game 5 Hogan was the hero for the Mets as Hogan Harris no-hit the Padres through 5 and pitched 8 innings of 2-hit ball to send New York to the NLCS to take on the Cubs. Our old friend Adley Rutschman went deep for the first Mets run, the only one they'd need.

06-14-2022, 04:57 PM	#692
Art Deco Hall Of Famer Join Date: May 2020 Posts: 7,607	October 15, 2028: ALCS Game 1 A miracle comeback for naught... The Rays pulled off an in-game comeback for the playoff ages, scoring 7 times in the bottom of the 9th to tie Detroit at 9, only to lose in 12 innings 12-9 and fall behind 0-1 in the ALCS, which is nothing new for this team the last two years at this stage against the Tigers. Things looked good for an inning when Ed Howard doubled and scored and James Hays had a quick 1-2-3 1st but it went bad for Hays after that and by the time he was done the Rays were down 6-2. Had I known a miracle comeback was in the offing I would haven't left Shane Panzini in to give up 3 runs in the 9th but after it was 9-2 the excitement began with a bases-clearing triple by Howard to make it 9-6, a Wander Franco infield single to score Howard, and an Alex Kirilloff 2-run homer to tie it. They weren't done there either as they put men on 1st and 3rd with 2 out but Dom Scavone struck out to end the threat, and then Jose Crespo gave up his second soul-crushing homer of the playoffs after allowing an RBI double in the 12th so they ended up losing after all. Pablo Lopez will try to get things even tomorrow. Last edited by Art Deco; 06-14-2022 at 04:59 PM.

06-14-2022, 05:34 PM	#693
Art Deco Hall Of Famer Join Date: May 2020 Posts: 7,607	October 16, 2028: ALCS Game 2 & NLCS Game 1 Evened it up... The Rays took a rare early-series 8-4 win to even the ALCS at 1 with Detroit after having fallen behind 3-0 and 3-1 in this round the last two years against the Tigers. It was largely a two-man show on offense as Andrew Greckel haunted his old team with a first-inning slam, and after Pablo Lopez squandered the early 4-0 lead Dom Scavone (whom I was thisclose to benching) went deep to lead off the bottom of the 5th to put them ahead to stay and added a key 2-run single in the 8th to provide insurance with the Rays' top relievers fatigued from Game 1's extra innings. Matt Cronin made his postseason debut with 2 scoreless as the "B" pen kept Detroit off the board for the final 4 innings. Joe Ryan will hope to pitch better in Comerica in two days than he did at Yankee Stadium in the ALDS. Over in the NL the Cubs' big free-agent signings came through again as Yordan Alvarez tied it with a 2-run double and Spencer Torkelson won it with a 3-run homer as they came back with a big 8th to beat the Mets:

06-14-2022, 06:30 PM	#694
Art Deco Hall Of Famer Join Date: May 2020 Posts: 7,607	October 17, 2028: NLCS Game 2 Michael Conforto had one of the great individual games in postseason history, setting an NL record with 8 RBI and tying it with 3 HR in an obliteration of the Cubs to tie the NLCS at 1.

06-14-2022, 06:46 PM	#695
Art Deco Hall Of Famer Join Date: May 2020 Posts: 7,607	October 18, 2028: ALCS Game 3 A lousy but not unexpected start from Joe Ryan and having to go up against Detroit ace (and Cy Young frontrunner) Francis Martes were too much for the Rays to overcome as they were handily beaten 9-2 to fall behind 2-1 in the ALCS. Rays-killer Marcelo Mayer had a 2-run homer off Ryan and the game was effectively over from there. To avoid a repeat of this unfavorable matchup in Game 7 the Rays might want to win the next 3 games and that would start tomorrow with Jackson Baumeister on the mound, who also didn't distinguish himself in the ALDS. It seems that losing the James Hays start (Game 1) has likely doomed the Rays.

06-14-2022, 07:07 PM	#696
Art Deco Hall Of Famer Join Date: May 2020 Posts: 7,607	October 19, 2028: ALCS Game 4 & NLCS Game 3 Another great comeback pissed away... When the obituary is written on the 2028 Rays season (likely to be very soon), terrible pitching is going to be listed as the cause of death as once again the offense valiantly came back in what looked like a sure loss only to have the bullpen (and especially Jose Crespo) make that loss sure again. I expected Jackson Baumeister to be horrible and he didn't disappoint, but the offense fought back from 6-2 down to eventually tie it in the 9th thanks to a Detroit error and then go ahead in the top of the 10th on a JT Realmuto homer. But Yasunari Uehara didn't have in the bottom of the frame after throwing 19 pitches in the 9th, putting the first two men on and Crespo once again came up small when needed the most as he loaded the bases and gave up a walk-off sac fly to that man Marcelo Mayer (who earlier homered off Baumeister) again. So now the Rays are down 3-1 and on life support. James Hays gives them their best chance to win one tomorrow assuming he doesn't pitch like Game 1, but the offense is probably going to have score in double digits to overcome this staff. Part of it's a matchup problem as Detroit has a lefty-heavy lineup and we don't have any lefty starters, but that's only part of it as our lefty relievers (especially Crespo) haven't exactly shut them down. Speaking of bad pitching it was another high-scoring affair in the NLCS as the Cubs got a big game from Yordan Alvarez and smoked the Mets to go up 2-1 over there. Michael Conforto followed up his 3-homer Game 2 with another shot today but it was a mere footnote:

06-14-2022, 07:45 PM	#697
Art Deco Hall Of Famer Join Date: May 2020 Posts: 7,607	October 20, 2028: ALCS Game 5 & NLCS Game 4 Still alive, if just barely... I'm not sure how they did it but the Rays prevailed 9-5 over Detroit in 15 innings to stave off elimination and bring the series back to St. Pete for a Game 6. Victor Robles, having a great series and with 8 hits in his last 3 games, delivered a 2-out RBI single in the top of the 15th to break the tie and Ed Howard made sure the Rays' lead would hold up by blasting a 3-run homer. James Hays started and was down 2-0 after the first two batters but the Rays rallied to take a 4-2 lead. Hays gave up a run in the 7th and then ill-advisedly was brought out for the 8th only to give up a leadoff homer. Tampa Bay regained the lead in the top of the 10th, but with a man on 3rd, 2 out and Rays owner Marcelo Mayer at the plate, I thumbed my nose at the baseball gods and brought in Jose Crespo, and sure enough Mayer singled in the tying run. Crespo actually then pitched a couple of scoreless innings to prolong the game but Mayer was due up in the 14th with men on 1st and 3rd and 1 out (notice that spike in the win probability chart) but Landon Knack got him to foul out to shallow left and struck out the next man, setting the stage for the 4-run 15th. Pablo Lopez, who won Game 2 for us (albeit not impressively), will try to get us to a Game 7 in two nights' time. The Cubs have taken a 3-1 lead in the NLCS with another win in New York, coming back on a tying homer in the 9th from rookie slugger Jace LaViolette and winning it in the 10th: Gonna take a break from this intense ALCS and play some low-stakes 2020-save games before coming back to it, for those refreshing the forum.

06-15-2022, 09:08 AM	#698
Art Deco Hall Of Famer Join Date: May 2020 Posts: 7,607	October 21, 2028: NLCS Game 5 The Cubs are going to the World Series for the first time since 2016 thanks largely to Yordan Alvarez, who had a huge NLCS and was named Series MVP:

06-15-2022, 09:13 AM	#699
Art Deco Hall Of Famer Join Date: May 2020 Posts: 7,607	October 22, 2028: ALCS Game 6 We're going the distance! Like this series, Game 6 didn't start off too well for the Rays as they fell behind 2-0 after 2 and Pablo Lopez had to pitch out of a jam in the 3rd. But the Rays' bats stormed back with Dominic Scavone's 2-out grand slam in the bottom of the inning put them ahead to stay and Heston Kjerstad blasted a 2-run shot, his first of the postseason, to give the Rays a very healthy lead and send them to victory. Lopez settled into a groove after his early struggles, and we'll now play a Game 7 tomorrow at the Trop. Joe Ryan will hope to turn things around after a pair of dreadful starts this postseason but we all know the offense will have to come up big. Last edited by Art Deco; 06-15-2022 at 09:36 AM.

06-15-2022, 09:35 AM	#700
Art Deco Hall Of Famer Join Date: May 2020 Posts: 7,607	October 23, 2028: ALCS Game 7 We did it! Joe Ryan did not want this to be the last game he pitched as a Ray and the impending free agent reached back for his best performance of the postseason leading the Rays to a tense 3-2 win over the Tigers in Game 7 and a date with the Chicago Cubs in the World Series. Thanks to Ryan it turned out that the Rays wouldn't have to win a slugfest and that was a good thing as despite early homers from Alex Kirilloff and Andrew Greckel off Tiger ace Francis Martes (and JT Realmuto's RBI single, which proved to be the difference in the end), the bats only squeaked out 4 hits. As a result Detroit crept back in the game and we had to sweat out an incredibly nail-biting 9th when the Tigers led off the inning with a double off closer Yasunari Uehara. The runner went to third on a fly ball, but Uehara got a grounder at the drawn-in infield for out #2 and then retired pinch-hitter (and former Rays property) Orlando Martinez on a grounder to Ed Howard to set off the celebrations. It marked the second time in three seasons the Rays came back from a huge deficit to beat Detroit in the ALCS as in 2026 they pulled off the historic feat of coming back from 0-3 down (and 5-0 after the first inning in Game 4). Coming back from 1-3 down isn't as incredible but a difficult feat nonetheless.