The 2021 (and only 2021) Tampa Bay Rays

[Art Deco]

A good start to the season for the Rays of course, on pace to win approximately 100 games. The moves to remodel the team with more of a defense emphasis (Seise & Gutierrez) seem to be working, as reflected in our ERA if not the zone rating/DE without too much sacrifice of offense:





Not bad at all here with 8 of our 9 starters on pace for roughly at least 3 WAR over a full season and JT Realmuto has been a big difference this year with his outstanding defense, good hitting and great work with the pitching staff. His contract is up at the end of the year and despite his being 38 I'd like to bring him back.



Good work all around from the staff with the exception of the unfortunate Jose Crespo.

[Art Deco]

On the surface the weekend couldn't have gone any better for the Rays as they swept the hapless Blue Jays while Baltimore was beaten three times by the Yankees to balloon the division lead to 8 games. But the second victory against Toronto was costly as #2 starter Jackson Baumeister was lost for the season with shoulder inflammation so while this weekend made them almost a sure thing for the playoffs, it also hurt their chances once they get there.

It was the Joshua Baez show in the opener as the young RF, who has clearly won the job from the struggling Andy Kelley, blasted a team record-tying 3 homers in an 11-6 win at Rogers Centre over the Jays. Baez had a 2-run homer in the 1st, a 3-run shot in the 6th and a 2-run blast in the 7th to give him a 7-RBI day and 14 taters on the year. With a chance to make history in the 9th he had to settle for a single and a 4-hit day. Before Baez's first blast Kelly Crumpton had a 3-run homer of his own (#26) as the Rays scored early and often. James Hays (6-4) didn't have his best stuff but gutted through to go 6 7 3 3 1 3 and a 3-run homer allowed by Cody Adcock in the 8th kept the score semi-respectable for Toronto.

The Rays took a 6-2 win in the second game but as alluded to above, they lost Jackson Baumeister for the season. At least they got a great start from him as he no-hit the Jays for 5 innings and went 6 2 1 1 2 5 for the win before having to leave. His season prematurely ends at 8-4, 4.20 with 101 whiffs in 90 IP and 2.5 WAR. Tampa Bay hitters continued to play longball at Rogers Centre as all 6 runs came on 5 homers. Andrew Greckel (#22) and Dong-hwan Kim (#13/17) had solo shots in the first two innings, JT Realmuto hit a 2-run jack (#10) in the 4th and the struggling Andy Kelley tripled his season total by hitting solo homers in the 7th and 9th innings.

Transaction: Baumeister went on the 60-day IL and for now Vinny Bianchi was called up to give us an extra bullpen arm. Bianchi had a 1.59 ERA and a 9/29 BB/K ratio in 22 IP for the Bulls and is also on the 40-man (although we now have an opening). We're going to give one-time top prospect Dave Cedeno first shot at the open rotation slot and see if he can hold it as he did alright in a spot start earlier this year. We'll also be monitoring the trade market.

With JT Realmuto having an all-star season behind the plate, Corey Collins doesn't get much of a chance to play but he made the most of it today, driving in 4 runs in a 9-5 Rays win over Toronto to sweep the series. Collins had an RBI double in the 4th, a 2-run homer (#2) in the 6th and a bases-loaded walk in the 9th to cap his big day. Kelly Crumpton had 4 hits and amazingly none were homers as he doubled 3 times and drove in a run while Wander Franco had a late 2-run round-tripper for insurance (#13). Robinson Ortiz (8-2) was solid at 6.2 7 4 4 0 3 with the final run against him scoring after he left, and Dax Fulton put out a fire in the 8th and got to finish after the lead expanded in the 9th, enabling him to record his 3rd save.

Team record: 52-31. Next up: It's off to Texas for 3 including a July 4 game.

[Art Deco]

The Rays are really in a groove now as they beat Texas all three times for the second straight series sweep and now have won 7 straight games overall. The division lead is now 9 games.

Shane Panzini can be effective when he keeps the ball in the park (or at least lets it only leave the park once) and he was in good form today as the Rays edged the Rangers 4-3 at Globe Life Field in the series opener. Panzini (7-5) was 6 3 2 2 2 6 with a 2-run homer in the 6th the only damage against him. The bullpen escaped a couple of jams and Yasunari Uehara had a perfect 9th for save #23. Joshua Baez was once again the big story with the bat as on the heels of his 3-homer game over the weekend he blasted two more, driving in 3 and giving him 16 dingers on the year.

The Rays were dominated by Texas's Sergio Caruci in the second game but took advantage of the Rangers pen after he left to score a 5-3 comeback win in the second game. Caruci was dominant (6 2 1 1 0 10) with Ed Howard to only one to touch him with a double and solo homer (#4) and Tampa Bay trailed 3-1 after 6. But they got a run back in the 7th on a Dong-hwan Kim double, and in the 8th Jose Aguilar came off the bench to deliver a pinch-double to tie it before Wander Franco drilled a 2-run homer (#14) to win it. Michael Prosecky turned in another solid start (5 5 2 1 2 6), Jose Crespo (2-2) picked up the win with a rare scoreless inning, and Yasunari Uehara saved again (#24).

No comeback necessary in the finale as the Rays routed Texas 10-4. They put up an 8-run third inning which saw Ranger starter Tommy Burpee walk three consecutive batters with the bases loaded before Jose Aguilar delivered a 2-run single and Andy Kelley smashed a 2-run double. James Hays (7-4) was the beneficiary as he faced his old team and kind of pitched to the score at 6 4 4 3 1 8 with a pair of homers allowed. Vinny Bianchi made his season debut and only second MLB appearance and was impressive, striking out a pair in a 1-2-3 9th.

Team record: 55-31. Next up: An off-day to fly home where Cleveland visits for a 3-game series.

We made our July 2 signing, and it's honkbal for the win!



Hoppenbrouwers (I look forward to regularly typing out his name in 5-6 seasons) is the best Dutch prospect I've seen and was one of the best hitters in the class.

[Art Deco]

The Rays' starting pitching has been mostly excellent this season but they were terrible this weekend against Cleveland, putting the team in holes of 6-2, 5-0 and 6-1 in the series. But credit to the Rays' bats, which actually pulled out two of these games with thrilling comeback wins as we head into the All-Star break.

The opener wasn't one of those comebacks as the bullpen added gasoline to the fire in an 11-5 loss. Robinson Ortiz (8-3) has been great this year but today he wasn't, going 2.2 6 6 6 2 3, and rookies Vinny Bianchi and Cody Adcock combined to allow 5 more. Jose Aguilar had a 2-homer game (#2 & 3) and Kelly Crumpton added one (#27) in a losing cause.

Transactions: Bianchi and Adcock were optioned to Durham, Kendall Williams was activated from his rehab assignment, and Gavin Bruni was recalled. Bruni is a lefty who was our 5th round pick in 2025 and has pitched decently in the minors both as a starter and reliever.

It was high drama in the second game as the Rays came back from 5-0 down to tie it at 6 in the bottom of the 9th on a 2-run Wander Franco (#15) homer and walked it off in the bottom of the 14th 7-6 on Dong-hwan Kim's second RBI double of the day. Shane Panzini struggled although not with the longball this time, going 6 5 5 4 1 5 but the comeback started with RBI doubles from Ed Howard and Kim, along with a solo shot from Joshua Baez (#15). The just-reactivated Kendall Williams (3-1) picked up the win in relief.

The Rays pulled off another stirring comeback but this time in regulation with another 7-6 win. It was Michael Prosecky's turn to struggle against his old team, although he didn't get much help from his defense as a couple of errors left him with a 3.2 9 6 2 0 4 line. They trailed 6-1 going into the 7th before three two-run homers got them the win. Corey Collins had the first of them (#3) in the bottom of the 7th, Dong-hwan Kim (#14/18) had the next in the 8th to get them within 6-5 and then pinch-hitter extraordinaire Jose Aguilar delivered again off the bench with his third round-tripper of the series and 4th of the season to win it. Tylor Megill (3-3) notched the win while Yasunari Uehara only needed six pitches in a 1-2-3 9th for save #25.

Team record: 57-32, 9 up on the now-second place Yankees. Next up: The All-Star break then we return Thursday to start a 4-game series with Baltimore at the Trop.

[Art Deco]

The rosters:





The nods are the 2nd for Crumpton and Greckel, 3rd for Hays and Franco, first for Prosecky and Baez, and 8th for Realmuto as we send 7 to the game.

The home run derby:



At least Kelly Crumpton won a round.

The game itself:



The AL took it on the chin but don't blame the Rays who played. James Hays and Michael Prosecky each pitched scoreless innings while their all-star teammates were getting hammered, and while his hitting brethren weren't putting up much of a fight, Andrew Greckel homered for one of the two junior circuit runs.

[Art Deco]

Brace:



A Canadian high-schooler? Sure, why not. Brace could be a front-of-the-rotation starter if everything works out.

Rodriguez:



Another high-schooler with ace potential, although Rodriguez is going to have to work on his control. I'll note that my scout Metzler is higher on him than OSA.

Troutman:



A bit of a project here, a high-school catcher who should be good defensively with a great eye, some power but a lousy hit tool.

Shipp:



Shipp is listed as a starting pitcher, and he has the potential to be a back-half of the rotation guy. But take a look all the over to the right at those hitting ratings. 70 contact, 55 power potential make him a real 2-way threat and a potentially really good hitter if the pitching thing doesn't work out.

Mejia:



Another lottery-ticket high school starter, seems like a decent gamble for the end of the 5th round.

Headrick:



Saved the most intriguing for last, or at least the 6th round. Headrick is the first college guy I took, out of Stanford, and he has exciting two-way potential. The control will probably doom him as a pitcher, but again look at those hitting ratings - potential 70 contact, 50 power, 55 eye, and an excellent defensive outfielder who could be a potential 65 in CF. He quickly signed and in his first game pitched a 2-hit shutout and doubled in 3 at-bats. It was in the DSL where he obviously overmatched the teenagers and he'll get promoted to a higher affiliate immediately.

[Art Deco]

The Rays resumed action after the All-Star break and split a 4-game series at home against the Orioles. The Yankees meanwhile have gotten extremely hot, sweeping Boston in their 4-game series and making it 9 consecutive wins overall and they've shaved the Rays' division lead to 7. Too early for concern, but something to keep an eye on. Losing another starting pitcher doesn't help either as that's what also happened to Tampa Bay in this series.

And the starter lost was Robinson Ortiz, who left the opener with recurring back spasms which will apparent recur for another seven weeks, putting him out until early-mid September. Ortiz and Slade Cecconi, who will take his place in the rotation, combined to put the Rays in an early 4-0 hole but as they did before the break they overcame bad starting pitching and won anyway, downing the Orioles 8-5. Wander Franco's 2-run homer in the 5th (#16) put them ahead to stay and Joshua Baez added a 2-run double as he knocked in three on the day. Meanwhile they got a brilliant long relief outing from rookie Gavin Bruni who went 3.2 1 0 0 0 6 and picked up a deserved first MLB win. After Jose Crespo made a mess with a 4-run lead in the 9th, Yasunari Uehara came in for the final two outs and save #26.

Transaction: Ortiz went on the 15-day IL and Dave Cedeno was recalled as he'll be starting the third game of the series. This will be the former elite prospect's best chance at an extended run in the rotation with all the injuries.

Shane Panzini's season of inconsistency continued as he struggled in a 5-3 loss to Baltimore. The righty was 4.2 4 3 3 5 5 to drop to 7-6, 5.70 although Wennington Romero giving up a couple of runs in relief of him didn't help either. With the injuries in the rotation Panzini's job is not in jeopardy though. Wander Franco homered for the second straight day (#17) and Jose Aguilar came through with yet another pinch hit with an RBI single but it wasn't enough.

Dave Cedeno was up for a spot start earlier this season and won it, and he was even better the second time around now that he'll be given a run as he threw six shutout innings in a 4-0 Rays win. The righty, who seems like he's been around forever but is still 24, went 6 4 0 0 2 6 in an outstanding performance and is 2-0. The bats scuffled some today with only four hits, but two of them were homers to account for all the scoring with Ed Howard's solo shot in the 4th (#5) their first hit of the game and Joshua Baez's 3-run shot in the 7th (#18) the key blow.

The bats struggled again today as they fell 4-2 in the finale to end up with a split with the Orioles scoring twice in the 9th off Yasunari Uehara (0-3) to win it. James Hays started and although he pitched well (6 7 2 2 2 8) he couldn't hold a 2-0 lead. Gavin Bruni impressed again with a scoreless 7th and 8th and has gone 8 3 0 0 0 10 over his first three MLB appearances.

Team record: 59-34. Next up: A quickie 2-game series at home vs the struggling Blue Jays (28-64) who actually have won 7 of their last 10 games.

Minor league note: AA Montgomery's Alonzo Tredwell pitched a no-hitter over the weekend, walking 6 and fanning 7 in a 120-pitch gem. Tredwell was our 2nd round pick in 2022 but isn't considered a real prospect; he could probably make a lesser team as a bullpen arm but is a longshot to ever see action with our club, especially as he's an MiLB free agent at season's end.

[Art Deco]

The Rays took both games from the foundering Blue Jays and have the division lead back up to 8 games over the Yankees.

Michael Prosecky made his first start since pitching in the All-Star Game and showed All-Star form in a 4-1 win in the opener at Tropicana Field. The lefty improved to 10-4, 3.03 after going 5.2 6 0 0 1 4, and Dax Fulton fanned a pair in the 9th for his 4th save. All the offense came in the first three innings with the highlight being Wander Franco's 2-run first-inning homer (#18).

Slade Cecconi was horrible in his return to the rotation, blasted to the tune of 2.1 6 8 8 2 1 and putting the Rays in holes of 5-0 and 8-4, but it didn't matter as the bats battled back and enabled Tampa Bay to take an 11-8 win and mini-series sweep. Wander Franco stayed hot, going 3-5 with an RBI single and a 3-run homer (#19) in the 5th which put them ahead to stay, his 4th round-tripper in his last 6 games. Ed Howard was 3-5 with a double, triple and RBI and Chris Gutierrez went 3-4 with a triple and 2 RBI. Kendall Williams (4-1) was brilliant in long relief, tossing 3 2/3 scoreless to earn the win and Yasunari Uehara, the sixth Rays pitcher of the day, earned save #27 with a scoreless 9th.

Team record: 61-34. Next up: Another mini-series with 2 games in Baltimore.

MLB News: Ronald Acuna Jr. of Atlanta hit his 400th career homer.

[Art Deco]

The Rays dropped both games to Baltimore and coupled with the Yankees taking a pair from toothless Toronto, the division lead is down to six games.

Toothless could be the adjective to describe the Rays' offense in this series as they lost the opener 4-0 and managed only 4 hits. Shane Panzini (7-7) gave up a homer to the first batter he faced, because of course he does, but gave the Orioles nothing after that at 5 5 1 1 2 4. Gavin Bruni surrendered his first runs as a big leaguer, but all three were unearned thanks to an Ed Howard error.

The second game wasn't much of a better showing for the bats as they lost a 2-1 squeaker. Joshua Baez's 19th homer, a solo shot in the second, gave them a brief lead. Dave Cedeno (2-1) pitched decently (5.1 6 2 2 2 4) and the bullpen got out of a few late-inning jams, but it didn't matter as the Rays were held to five hits. Might have to start thinking about that Jose Ramirez trade again.

Team record: 61-36. Next up: Boston visits the Trop for 3.

[Art Deco]

The offense's struggles continued this weekend to the point where they were no-hit in the finale but they still managed to win 2 out of 3 while the Yankees lost 2 of 3 so the division lead is back up to 7.

The Rays could only manage 3 hits through 11 innings in the opener but great pitching kept them in it and they pulled out a 2-1 win in 12 over the Red Sox. Ed Howard led off the 12th with a walk, stole second, advanced to third on a single and then Kelly Crumpton squeaked a hit through the drawn-in infield to walk it off. James Hays was in fine form (6 5 1 1 0 8) and the pen contributed 6 scoreless with Jose Crespo (3-2) going the final 1 1/3 for the win.

The struggling offense caught a break in the second game as Boston sent former Ray Dustin May to the mound. May, whose double-digit ERA this year has been chronicled before, still had one coming and going today as they scored all 5 of their runs off him in 4 1/3 in a 5-1 win. Andy Kelley led off the game with HR #4, Kelly Crumpton followed later in the inning with a man on for his 28th and Kelley singled in another one later. Meanwhile Michael Prosecky, who is a pitch-to-contact guy who doesn't strike out a ton of batters and keeps the walks down, turned into Bobby Witt Sr. today with a bizarre 5 2 1 1 8 7 line today, the 8 walks being a career high. He improved to 11-3, 2.97 in a most uncharacteristic fashion.

And then this happened in the finale



as the offense reached its nadir. Giddens walked 3 and fanned 3 in the no-no which took him 106 pitches. He was helped by a weaker-than-normal Tampa Bay lineup which saw Wander Franco, Dong-hwan Kim and JT Realmuto rested with fatigue, but a no-hitter is still a no-hitter. Slade Cecconi (6-2) was awful for the second straight start since joining the rotation (4 8 5 3 2 2) and may find himself out of it if he doesn't improve soon.

Team record: 63-37. Next up: An off-day then the Yankees visit for 3 games, a series New York will have to sweep if they really want to make a run at the division.

[Art Deco]

The Yankees came into this series 7 games behind the Rays in second place so it was a big series for their faint division hopes. And those faint hopes disappeared into the ether as the Rays pulled off a sweep at Tropicana Field, giving them a 10-game lead with two months to go.

The opener was one of the more remarkable games of the year, and that's saying something after coming off being no-hit. The offense struggled again through 9 innings with the game at 1-1 but they'd come to life in extras, erasing three Yankee leads to take an 8-7 win in 16. Shane Panzini was great for a change (5.2 4 1 1 3 7) but the bats were dead in regulation. The Yankees scored in the 10th off Yasunari Uehara to go up 2-1, but the Rays tied it in the bottom of the frame. We stayed at 2-2 until the 14th when New York scored 4 times off Jose Crespo, but the Rays amazingly equalized on 2-run homers from Andrew Greckel (#23) and JT Realmuto (#11). Two innings later the Yanks pushed another one across against Gavin Bruni to make it 7-6 before Joshua Baez finally put an end to the nonsense with a 2-run shot (#20) to walk it off at 1:10 AM local time. Bruni (2-0) picked up the win.

The second game saw the Rays come back again although in less dramatic fashion to take a 7-4 win over the Yankees. New York scored 3 times off Dave Cedeno to take an early 3-0 lead, but the Rays erased it with a Kelly Crumpton solo shot in the 4th (#29) and a 4-run 5th highlighted by a 2-run Andrew Greckel double. Cedeno recovered nicely from his early struggles to improve to 3-1 and finish 6 6 3 3 2 7 on the day and Dax Fulton handled the 9th for save #5.

The finale featured yet another Rays come-from-behind win as a 4-1 Yankee lead off James Hays in the 6th turned into a 9-4 Tampa Bay laugher. Hays was far from his best today at 4.2 7 4 4 3 5 but Gavin Bruni got him out of further damage in the 5th and stuck around through the 6th to pick up his 3rd win and second in three days as the Rays put 4 on the board in the bottom of the 6th, including a 2-run Joshua Baez homer (#21). They then tacked 4 more on in the 8th to blow it open. Chris Gutierrez had a big day, driving in 3 on a pair of hits and Andrew Greckel was 3-4 with an RBI triple. Landon Knack pitched the final two innings for his first save of the season.

Team record: 66-37. Next up: The Angels visit Tropicana Field for 3 games.

[Art Deco]

Another successful series on the field for the Rays as they took 2 of 3 and nearly pulled out a sweep, but one of their key regulars suffered a season-ending injury putting a damper on the weekend.

A 5-run 5th propelled the Rays to a comfortable 6-2 win over the Angels in the opener at Tropicana Field as Michael Prosecky was on his game once again. The lefty was sharp at 6 4 1 1 2 3 and he improved to 12-4, 2.90 to take over the AL lead in wins and ERA. Wennington Romero pitched the final 3 innings for his 2nd save of the season. Although Andrew Greckel's RBI single in the 5th was technically the game-winner since it put the Rays ahead to stay, the big blow came one batter later when Kelly Crumpton delivered a grand slam (#30).

The Rays pulled off one of their patented comeback wins in the second game as they turned a 5-1 deficit in the 8th into a 6-5 win in 10 innings. But it was a costly win as Dong-hwan Kim collided with LA's SS Luis Guerra on a play at second in the 2nd inning, suffering a dislocated shoulder which will shelve him for three months putting him out through the end of October. As for the game itself Slade Cecconi had some issues, both with his pitching and his defense as he went 5 6 4 2 1 6 and they were down big but a 3-run 8th got them back in it, Ed Howard's RBI single tied it in the 9th, and JT Realmuto walked it off with an RBI single of his own in the 10th. Way back in the 1st Andrew Greckel had a solo shot (#24), and the win went to Landon Knack (4-0) with two scoreless innings.

Sunday's finale starter much like the previous day's game with the Rays going down 5-0 but this time their rally fell short in a 5-4 loss. Shane Panzini kept the deficit 1-0 through 5 but things fell apart in the 6th as the Angels scored four times and the righty finished 5 8 5 2 3 4 and fell to 7-8, 5.22. Joshua Baez had an immediate response in the bottom of the inning with a 3-run shot (#22) but they could only push one more across the rest of the way.

Team record: 68-38. Next up: We head to New York for 3, but we're playing the Mets instead of the Yankees. The Mets are an impressive 64-40, trail Washington by 3 1/2, and feature former Rays like Adley Rutschman, Hunter Bishop and Alex Kirilloff so there'll be quite a few reunions in batting practice.

[Art Deco]

Like Michael Corleone at the end of The Godfather, today I settled all family business with three almost simultaneous trades. If not for our spate of injuries to key players like Dong-hwan Kim and Jackson Baumeister, I would have been content to be quiet at the deadline. But even though we're running away with the AL East and won't need much help to secure it, these deals are to help us win in the playoffs when we get there. (Spoiler alert: none of them involve Jose Ramirez. I just couldn't suspend disbelief enough to figure Milwaukee would trade him in the thick of a pennant race even if he is a free agent after the season and they have him on the block. We'll see if the AI deals him elsewhere.)

I'll start with the least of them first, a Rays reunion:



Welcome home Aaron Fletcher! The lefty, who pitched for us from 2022-25 and won a couple of rings, has been one of the game's top closers the last 2 2/3 years with Washington, Houston and Seattle as he's saved 115 games in that span. He'll go back to the role he filled for us the first time around as a setup man and will be an upgrade over Jose Crespo. Fletcher, like the next two players we're acquiring, is a free agent at year's end. The price was Gutierrez, a decent infield prospect whom we acquired from the Cincinnati in the same deal last year that brought us Baumeister. I was more excited about him last year as he's gone from a B/B+ prospect to more of a B-/C+ guy.

Deal #2:



(I forgot to capture a screenshot of the trade initiation on the Fletcher deal but rest assured my AGM liked it.)

Adios Jose Crespo. Acquired around this time last year the power lefty never really fit in, had a disastrous playoff and then was pretty bad this regular season with a 5.54 ERA (albeit with a decent 11/44 BB/K ratio in 37 innings). In return (with Ayala, a C- prospect at best) we get one of the league's top starters - when healthy - in Luis Severino. Of course the "when healthy" does a lot of heavy lifting here as Severino is currently not healthy, out two more weeks with a herniated disc. And he's also rated as "wrecked". But when he does pitch he will pitch very well (9-4, 2.46 this season with 2.8 WAR in only 91 IP) and we really don't need him until the playoffs. So we'll baby him with a rehab assignment and limit his September starts so we can pencil him in behind Hays and Prosecky in the playoff rotation. As great as Robinson Ortiz has been (when healthy also), he hasn't proven he can hold up under a starter's workload and I'm unwilling to leave the team's playoff fate in the hands of Panzini, Cecconi and Cedeno.

The third deal:



This one was necessitated by the injury to The Donger as we needed an impact bat to replace him. The 37-year-old longtime former Met McNeil isn't really a LF (although he's rated 55 there) but he will take Kim's spot in the batting order, either playing LF, DHing or playing some 1B or 2B as he remains versatile and at least a 50 at each of those positions. But his best position is his bat, as he's a pure .300 hitter with great gap power and moderate HR power. He was hitting 301/380/490 this year with 11 HR and that's right in line with his career 314/376/489 numbers so we know what we're getting. While Kim has more power, McNeil's .870 OPS is slightly better than Kim's .861 since joining us. Andrew Greckel will get a little more PT in LF as a result. Meanwhile the guy we're sending to Texas, Gabe Grundstrom, is a soft-tossing righty control specialist (12 walks in 100 IP at AA Montgomery) who has poor-to-mediocre 40 stuff but could pitch in the bigs as a 5th starter as long as he has a good defense behind him. He has advanced quickly after being drafted in the 8th round in 2027 as he's the prototypical high-floor, (very) low-ceiling type.

[Art Deco]

The Rays kept rolling, sweeping a very good Mets team in their own park and taking over the best record in MLB from Washington.

They had to work overtime in the opener, taking a 7-5 win over the Mets in 11 innings. Kelly Crumpton's solo homer in the extra frame (#31) clinched it before Andy Kelley added an insurance run with an RBI double. We were only in extras because Yasunari Uehara blew a save against his old team thanks to two walks, a hit batter and an error in an ugly inning. Gavin Bruni pitched the 10th and 11th to go to 4-0, 0.57 since being called up early in the month and Dave Cedeno was adequate at 5 4 2 2 2 5. Joshua Baez had a 2-run shot earlier in the game (#23).

James Hays was sharp and the Rays romped over the Mets 8-0 in the second game. The righty (8-4) was a tidy 7 4 0 0 1 5 and Kendall Williams completed the shutout with 2 perfect innings featuring 4 whiffs. They were up 5-0 by the 2nd thanks to Joshua Baez's grand slam (#24) and Andy Kelley added a 2-run shot (#5). Jeff McNeil, who was 1-3 off the bench last night in his Rays debut against his longtime team, added an run-scoring double for his first Rays ribbie.

Tampa Bay completed the sweep with a tight 2-1 in the finale. Michael Prosecky was outstanding at 6 5 0 0 2 4 but Aaron Fletcher gave up a triple which came in to score to blow the lead in his Rays return in the 7th. But the Rays (and Fletcher) won it with a manufactured run in the 8th when Brad Manross reached on a two-base error to lead off the inning, Carlos Colmenarez bunted him over to third, and Chris Gutierrez lined a single to center to score Manross. Yasunari Uehara was sharp this time out, striking out a pair of Mets in a 1-2-3 9th for save #28.

Team record: 71-38. Next up: An off-day then we head south to take on Atlanta for a 3-game set over the weekend.

Lookie here:



Bruni has been a revelation since being recalled and should have a place in next year's pen as well.

[Art Deco]

It was a wild series which saw the teams combine for 47 runs over the three games but the Rays did end up getting the better of Atlanta by winning two of them.

Transaction: Chris Seise was activated from his rehab assignment and will resume his role as the starting 3B while Carlos Colmenarez returns to Durham.

The one they didn't win was the opener as Slade Cecconi was roughed for the third time in three starts since rejoining the rotation and Atlanta won 9-3. Three strikes out and you're out, so he'll go back to the pen and Kendall Williams will get a shot. Cecconi (6-3) was 4.2 8 6 6 2 2 and while Williams wasn't much better in relief allowing a pair of runs he'll get a shot. Ed Howard's 2-run homer in the 3rd (#7) was the Rays highlight.

The Rays took the second game 7-1, although until they scored 4 times in the 9th it was something of a nail-biter. Shane Panzini (8-8) was solid for the win, going 5 5 1 1 2 5 and has actually allowed 2 earned runs or fewer in his last four starts. Joshua Baez belted a 2-run homer (#25) to give them the early lead and JT Realmuto had a double and a triple among his 3 hits and 2 RBI.

The finale turned out to be a crazy game as the Rays fell behind 4-0 after 2, scored 6 in the 3rd to take the lead, fell behind again 9-7 after 5 and then went on to score the final 11 runs of the game in an 18-9 rout. Andrew Greckel had a massive game, going 3-5 with a 3-run homer (#26) in the 6th which put them back ahead to stay, a 2-run double in the 7th and then an RBI double in the 9th to give him 6 batted in. Joshua Baez added another 2-run homer (#26), Jeff McNeil had a bases-clearing double, and Wander Franco and Kelly Crumpton also drove in 3 apiece. Dave Cedeno had a brutal start (4.2 8 7 7 3 5) and Gavin Bruni faltered for the first time since being recalled by allowing one of Cedeno's runners to score on a double and then another on a 2-run homer. Despite only getting one out and giving up the homer and double Bruni (5-0) was still given the win when the Rays went ahead in the 6th even though Landon Knack followed with 2 perfect innings, surely a case for Knack to get the official scorer's nod for the win over Bruni, who pitched "briefly and ineffectively".

Team record: 73-39. Next up: We visit Yankee Stadium for 4 games and hold a 10-game lead over New York so really only a Yankee sweep would make things interesting.

[Art Deco]

Considering the Rays came in 10 games up on the Yankees and came out of the series 10 games up on the Yankees with four games off the schedule, it wasn't a bad result to split but it was still a bit of a disappointment after taking the first two games.

James Hays was outstanding and the Rays broke open a close game to cruise to an 8-0 win at Yankee Stadium in the opener. Hays (9-4) was 7 6 0 0 2 8 and lowered his ERA to 2.88, second-best in the AL behind his teammate Michael Prosecky. It was a 2-0 game through 5 as the Rays took advantage of a pair of Yankee errors in the first to score their runs and then 2-run homers from Wander Franco (#20), JT Realmuto (#12) and Jeff McNeil, his first as a Ray and 12th overall, salted it away.

JT Realmuto homered twice including a tie-breaking solo shot in the 9th to lead the Rays to a 4-3 win over New York in the second game. He had a solo homer in the 5th as well and the pair gave him 14 for the year. Chris Seise's RBI single in the 5th tied it up, and the win went to Tommy Doyle in relief, his first as a Ray while Yasunari Uehara fanned a pair in a perfect 9th for save #29. Michael Prosecky started and went 5 4 3 3 3 3, hit for a couple of homers.

The Yankees turned the tables in the third game, getting a walkoff homer in the 9th from brief former Ray Luke Voit off current and once former Ray Aaron Fletcher (1-1), to take a 5-4 win over Tampa Bay. 2-run homers from Kelly Crumpton (#32) and Jeff McNeil (#2/13) got the game even, but Fletcher did his best impression of the man he replaced in the pen (Jose Crespo) in giving up the winner. It was a bit of a bullpen day as starter Kendall Williams had to leave after one batter with a blister, but Gavin Bruni gave them a 5 4 2 1 1 4 outing to save the rest of the pen.

The Rays dropped the finale 3-1 to New York to end up with a split as their offense had its issues with men on base, leaving 10 on. Shane Panzini (8-9) took the loss going 5 8 3 3 1 4 and allowing a pair of homers in the first. Chris Gutierrez was today's LOB culprit, leaving 6 on the sacks.

Team record: 75-41. Next up: Back home for 3 vs Toronto.

[Art Deco]

The Rays took 2 of 3 from the cellar-dwelling Blue Jays this weekend, but saw another starting pitcher go down (just for a week or two).

The opener saw Dave Cedeno hit hard, putting the Rays in a 5-0 3rd-inning hole. But the bullpen held and the bats fought back and you could see why the teams were separated by 40 games in the standings as the Rays prevailed 7-5. There's no sugar-coating Cedeno's 2 8 5 5 1 2 line but Slade Cecconi followed with 3 perfect innings as he always seems to be brilliant in long relief but terrible when starting, and Landon Knack (5-0) ended up with the win when they went ahead. Yasunari Uehara finished up for save #30. They went ahead thanks to Wander Franco's 3-run homer (#21) in the 7th, capping a 4-RBI game that including an earlier RBI double.

The Rays took a 7-3 win in the second game as they broke up a scoreless affair with 4 runs in the 6th. James Hays (10-4) was solid until running out of gas in the 7th and finished 6.2 6 3 3 1 5. The Rays hit four doubles in that 6th inning with Wander Franco and Jeff McNeil driving in runs with theirs and Joshua Baez following with a 2-run single. Ed Howard was 3-5 with a double and RBI as well.

The Rays should have had a sweep but Yasunari Uehara blew a 2-run lead in the 9th and Toronto finally broke through in the 14th to take a 6-5 win in the finale. The Rays took a 5-3 lead into the 9th but Uehara served up a pair of solo homers, uncharacteristic as he had only allowed 3 all season coming in. Wennington Romero (0-2), the 7th Rays pitcher of the day, gave up the winner in the 14th. Michael Prosecky started and pitched well as usual going 5.2 5 3 2 3 3 but had to leave with a herniated disc and will be out a little over a week. We have an off-day coming up so we may get by without needing another starter. The Rays were beneficiaries of Toronto pitchers' wildness drawing 12 walks in total, including a team-record 5 by Wander Franco. Jose Aguilar drove in 3 with a pair of hits to lead the offense.

Team record: 77-42. Next up: 3 games in Boston.

[Art Deco]

The march to the playoffs continued as the Rays rolled through Fenway and the result was a mini-Boston Massacre as they swept the Sox by a combined 25-8 score.

Transaction: Michael Prosecky went on the IL and will be back when eligible. Since we have an off-day looming and can skip his spot, the bullpen gets an extra arm in rookie Kevin DiCostanzo who has been considered the "closer of the future" in the system. A 2nd-round pick in 2025, he's worked his way up the minor league ladder and has pitched well including 31 saves between Montgomery and Durham this year with a 23/77 BB/K ratio in 58 IP.

They took a 7-3 win in the opener at Fenway Park behind a decent start from Kendall Williams and a massive game from Wander Franco. Williams (5-1) struggled in the first couple of innings but settled down to go 5 6 2 2 2 6 and four relievers pitched an inning apiece including Kevin DiCostanzo, who made an impressive MLB debut with a 1-2-3 inning featuring a pair of whiffs. Meanwhile all Wander did was go 4-4 with a double, homer (#22) and 4 RBI. Joshua Baez added HR #27 and Ed Howard was 1-3 with an RBI double, 2 walks, a steal and 3 runs scored.

The Rays blitzed Boston 12-4 in the second game with a balanced offensive attack and a good start from Shane Panzini. Panzini (9-9) took a shutout into the 6th before giving up his obligatory homer, a 3-run shot as he finished 6.1 7 4 4 2 8. JT Realmuto was 3-5 with HR #15 and 3 RBI, Ed Howard was 3-5 with a 2-run homer (#8), Andrew Greckel added a 2-run shot (#26) and Brad Manross joined the 3-5, 2 RBI club with 3 doubles as every starter except Joshua Baez had a hit.

Tampa Bay completed the sweep with a 6-1 that featured the best start of Dave Cedeno's young career. The rookie righty came off a horrible start last time out to shut the Red Sox out through 7 before giving up a homer to lead off the 8th and exiting. Cedeno (4-1) finished a sparkling 7 4 1 1 1 6 and fellow freshman Kevin DiCostanzo went the final two scoreless. Andrew Greckel was the man on offense, hitting a 3-run homer around the Pesky Pole in the first off battered-in-2029 former teammate Dustin May, Chris Seise hit a 454-foot moonshot over the monster, only his 2nd homer of the year, and Jose Aguilar chipped in a 2-run double.

Team record: 80-42. Next up: An off-day then we return home to take on Baltimore for 3 games.

Team news: Luis Severino, acquired at the deadline and out with injury, made his first rehab start with Durham and was a busy 5 7 1 1 4 6 on 104 pitches (way to baby him, Bulls manager). He'll get another start or two there and join us for September.

[Art Deco]

Another series sweep for baseball's best team.

James Hays was in dominating form and Kelly Crumpton broke out of a slump to bash a pair of homers in a closer-than-it-should-have-been 6-4 win over the Orioles in the series opener at Tropicana Field. The reigning two-time Cy Young winner is making his case for a third straight, going 7 4 1 0 0 9 today to take over the ERA lead from his teammate Michael Prosecky at 2.79 and improve to 11-4. Dax Fulton gave up a 3-run homer to Baltimore's 2-way star Billy Carlow to make it 5-4 before Ed Howard singled in an insurance run to make Yasunari Uehara's job easier in picking up save #31. Earlier Crumpton, who had the dreaded snowflake next to his name, hit a 3-run homer to cap a 4-run first and then added a solo shot in the 5th to give him 34 HR and 93 RBI on the season.

Rotation fill-in Kendall Williams turned in another solid start as the Rays cruised to a 6-2 win over Baltimore in the second game. The righty battled baserunners throughout but improved to 6-1 with 5 5 1 0 4 8, throwing a season-high 112 pitches. Wander Franco provided the support with an RBI single and RBI double and Chris Seise extended his hitting streak to 13 by going 2-4 with an RBI.

The bats were hot in the finale as the Rays completed the sweep of Baltimore with an 11-4 thumping. Kelly Crumpton capped a big weekend by going 3-5 with 3 RBI, including a 2-run homer (#35) off Billy Carlow who doesn't pitch as well as he hits. Joshua Baez had 4 RBI including 3 on his 28th homer, and JT Realmuto kept it real by going 3-5 with HR #16. Shane Panzini turned in his usual mediocre homer-laden start going 5.1 7 4 4 3 6 with a pair of longballs surrendered, but improved to 10-9, 5.18 with the usual generous run support.

Team record: 83-42. Next up: A decent chance to sweep a third straight series with 3 games at 39-85 Toronto.

[Art Deco]

As sort of expected, the Rays made it three series sweeps and nine wins in a row after sending the hapless Blue Jays to defeat three times at Rogers Centre.

The Rays took a 2-2 game in the 5th in the opener and kept scoring the rest of way to cruise to a 9-3 win over Toronto. Kelly Crumpton had a big day with two RBI singles and an RBI double, Wander Franco added a 2-run homer (#23) and Ed Howard was 3-5 with a double and RBI. Dave Cedeno (5-1) struggled early but sailed afterwards for the win, allowing only 1 hit in a 7 1 2 2 3 6 line and finishing with a flourish by striking out the side.

The second game was the toughest for Tampa Bay as they needed an Ed Howard RBI double in the 8th to take a 3-2 win over the Jays. Slade Cecconi pitched well in the rotation for a change (6 5 2 2 1 4) making a spot start and Kevin DiCostanzo earned his first MLB win with a scoreless 7th while Yasunari Uehara did his thing in the 9th for save #32. Kelly Crumpton kept on with the hot bat, homering (#36) and singling for the first two Rays runs.

It's Kelly Crumpton's world and we're all just living in it as the Rays first-sacker capped a massive series with a pair of homers to lead the Rays to an 8-3 win in the finale and another series sweep. Crumpton bookended the game with a 2-run homer in the first and after the Jays crept within 5-3 in the 8th he put the game away with a 3-run shot in the 9th. The brace gave him 38 homers and 107 RBI, tops in the AL in both categories. Meanwhile James Hays kept rolling along, going 6 5 1 1 1 4 to improve to 12-4, 2.73. Chris Gutierrez added a solo shot (#6) and Wander Franco drove in a pair.

Team record: 86-42. Next up: An off-day then we head far south to take on San Antonio for 3 at Alamo Park. The Alamos are another team we've had lots of success against so why not four straight sweeps?