The 2021 (and only 2021) Tampa Bay Rays

[Art Deco]

The Rays series sweep streak came to an end when they dropped the finale in San Antonio, which of course also brought an end to their win streak of 11 games. The magic number is down to 15 with over a month left in the season, so it's avoiding injuries and trying to play decently the rest of the way out. We did get one bit of bad injury news, though: Robinson Ortiz had a setback in his recovery from back spasms and is now out 4 weeks, or essentially until the end of the regular season making bringing him back in the playoffs after missing the whole second half of the season quite problematic.

Transaction: Michael Prosecky was activated from the IL and Kevin DiCostanzo returned to Durham.

DiCostanzo was impressive in his first MLB stint and should be a part of our 2030 bullpen. He may need an injury to return to the big club since our expanded pitching spot will go to Luis Severino, who just pitched his third start at Durham without incident and will be activated on 9/1.

Michael Prosecky didn't miss a beat after going on the IL for a couple of weeks as he pitched the Rays to a 4-2 win over the Alamos in the opener. The lefty was 7 5 2 2 2 5, keeping his ERA right at 2.86 and improving to 13-4. Joshua Baez's 6th-inning solo shot (#29) broke a 2-2 tie and Kelly Crumpton was 2-4 with a ribbie. Yasunari Uehara finished for save #33.

The Rays came from behind to take a 5-4 win in 11 over San Antonio to make it 11 wins in a row, twice scoring in extras to win it. JT Realmuto's 17th homer in the top of the 10th gave them a 4-3 lead, but Tylor Megill couldn't hold it in the bottom of the frame. They then loaded the bases in the 11th and an Eddie Yean balk brought home the winner as Dax Fulton did his job for save #6. Megill (4-3) vultured the win. Wander Franco tied a team record by banging out 5 hits and drove in a pair, adding a steal for good measure while the team overcame a poor start from Kendall Williams (3.1 7 3 3 2 3).

The Rays nearly swept their fourth straight series and looked like they would before Tommy Doyle had a rare bad outing and blew the save by allowing two runs in the 9th for a 6-5 loss. Dave Cedeno's mediocre start (5.2 8 4 4 2 5) put them in a 4-2 hole but a 3-run rally in the 8th capped by a 2-run Kelly Crumpton single (giving him 111 RBI) put Tampa Bay on top. Aaron Fletcher got through the 8th but with Yasunari Uehara tired, Doyle (1-2) got a rare save opportunity. He'd been lights-out in his usual 8th-inning role (33 holds and a 6/59 BB/K ratio) but faltered in the 9th, with a pair of rare walks and two hits allowed including a 2-run single to Carlos Correa to let San Antonio walk it off.

Team record: 88-43. Next up: An off-day then we return home to face Washington for 3 games. The Nats continue to be one of MLB's elite teams sporting an 82-48 record but are in a dogfight with the Mets for the NL East lead as the teams are tied.

[Art Deco]

Baseball media was referring to this matchup as a possible World Series preview, but for the Rays' sake let's hope not as losing 2 of 3 at home in the Series would be problematic, which is what happened at the Trop.

The Rays were up against their teammate from last year Pablo Lopez and his catcher of last year JT Realmuto (#18) took him deep for a 3-run homer in the 2nd and they held that lead through 4 with James Hays on the mound. But Hays ran out of gas trying to get through the 5th, stayed in one batter too long, and the Nationals came back to beat the Rays 6-4 in the opener. Hays (12-5) went up over 100 pitches and ended up giving up a 3-run homer on his 109th pitch trying to get through that 5th and finished 4.1 6 4 4 3 9. Kelly Crumpton added a solo shot (#39) to get them back within one but they couldn't get any closer.

Tampa Bay evened up the series thanks in part to a good outing from Shane Panzini in a 6-3 win over Washington. The righty improved to 11-9 after a solid 5.1 4 2 2 1 7 outing and the bullpen pitched well with Yasunari Uehara notching save #34. Andrew Greckel drove in a pair with HR #28 and an RBI single while JT Realmuto and Joshua Baez each had 2 hits and a ribbie. Kelly Crumpton's 11-game RBI streak, which saw him drive in 23 over that stretch, ended in this game

The Rays had a 2-0 lead into the 6th into the finale but like in the first game a big Washington inning turned the game around and this time it was a really big inning as the Nationals scored 8 times and ended up romping 11-4. Jose Aguilar's 2-run shot (#5) gave them that lead and Michael Prosecky was rolling along until he got into big-time trouble, loading the bases with two men in before Landon Knack came in and completely lost the plot, walking in the go-ahead run and giving up three straight hits to let it get out of hand. Prosecky (13-5) ended up 5.2 6 5 5 2 3 but deserved better. Kelly Crumpton started what he hopes will be a new RBI streak with a consolation solo homer, his 40th of the year.

Team record: 89-45. Next up: Miami comes to town for 3.

[Art Deco]

The Rays had their way with their neighbors from the south, sweeping the Marlins and crossing the 90-win mark.

A 7-run 6th broke open a close game in the opener and the Rays went on to maul the Marlins 11-4 at Tropicana Field. Joshua Baez joined the 30-homer club with a 2-run shot in the 6th and Andrew Greckel capped the inning with a 3-run blast to put him at 29. Chris Gutierrez had perhaps his best game as Ray, going 3-4 with 2 doubles, a triple, and 4 RBI. Kendall Williams (7-1) was solid for the win at 5 7 2 2 2 5 and four relievers held Miami to 1 hit the rest of the way.

Transactions: September Roster Expansion time and on the pitching side Luis Severino was activated to make his Rays debut tonight and on the hitting side we went off the board and purchased the contract of 36-year-old veteran "OF" Kyle Schwarber who was having a decent season at Durham having signed as a MiLB free agent.

The big story tonight was the long-awaited Rays debut of starter Luis Severino, acquired in July from Arizona while injured and who spent the last few weeks rehabbing at Durham. Severino was solid as the Rays put 4 on the board in the 1st and went on to a 6-3 win over the Marlins. The righty was 5 4 3 3 2 8 with all the damage coming on a 3-run homer in the 4th as he flashed electric stuff. Kelly Crumpton had a 2-run triple and Joshua Baez followed with another 2-run homer (#31). Crumpton then went deep with the bases empty his next time up, now giving him 41 HR and 116 RBI with still almost a month to go. Dax Fulton went the final two innings perfect for his 7th save.

The Rays completed the sweep thanks to an outstanding Dave Cedeno start in a 3-1 win. The rookie righty went to 6-1 with a fine 6 3 1 1 2 7 outing and Yasunari Uehara fanned 3 in the 9th for save #35. Kelly Crumpton (who else?) came through with the game's big hit, a 2-run double to break a 1-1 tie in the 5th. Kyle Schwarber made his Rays debut and was 0-4.

Team record: 92-45. Next up: We head out west on Labor Day to Oakland to play 3 against the A's.

With a month to go, here's a look at the standings and leaders:



In the wild card races not shown here (I wish OOTP had a way to export the entire standings page), it's Houston & the Yankees 1-2 in the AL with Baltimore and Cleveland tied for the third spot and San Antonio 3 1/2 behind them. In the NL it's Mets #1, San Diego #2 and the Cubs with a 2 1/2 game on Atlanta for the third spot.

Also, some news from the league office:

[Art Deco]

With little to play for, the Rays dropped 2 of 3 to Oakland which is in a dogfight with Houston for the AL West lead.

The Rays labored a bit on Labor Day as they lost a 4-3 walk-off to the A's in the series opener. JT Realmuto single-handedly kept them in the game, driving in all 3 runs including a game-tying RBI double in the 8th but Oakland broke through against Dax Fulton (0-2) in the bottom of the 9th to take the win. James Hays was fair at 6 6 3 3 0 7 but allowed a couple of homers.

It was another struggle at the plate in the second game as the Rays fell 3-1 to Oakland. They only managed 4 hits on the day with Wander Franco's RBI single in the 8th averting a shutout. Michael Prosecky (13-6) was decent but unsupported at 6.1 5 3 3 1 3.

Shane Panzini pitched one of his best games of the season and Wander Franco supplied the offense in a 4-0 blanking of Oakland to salvage a game from the series. Panzini took a no-hitter into the 6th and finished 6.2 2 0 0 2 4 to improve to 12-9 and finally get his ERA below 5 at 4.88. Landon Knack fanned 4 over the final 2 innings to close it out. Franco's 3-run homer (#24) in the 3rd was all the offense they'd need.

Team record: 93-47. Next up: An off-day then we're back home for 3 against Oakland's competition, the Astros.

[Art Deco]

After a rare series drop the Rays came back to the Trop and swept Houston.

The opener was the most dramatic of the three games as Andrew Greckel blasted a 2-run homer (#30) in the bottom of the 9th to tie the game at 3 and then Kelly Crumpton walked it off in the 10th with an RBI single, his 120th of 2029 to give the Rays a 4-3 win. Luis Severino was solid at 5.2 5 2 2 2 6 but didn't get much support as Ed Howard's 6th-inning solo shot (#6) was all the Rays could manage through 8 before the late-game heroics made a winner of Dax Fulton (1-2).

The Rays took another one run win over Houston in the second game although this time they led all the way and held on to prevail 6-5. Joshua Baez's 2-run triple in the 3rd put them ahead to stay and Andrew Greckel added a 2-run single to support Dave Cedeno (7-1), who turned in a quality start at 6 7 3 3 3 7. Dax Fulton gave up a couple of runs in the 8th to let the Astros within one but Yasunari Uehara had a perfect 9-pitch 9th for save #36.

James Hays turned in MLB's best pitching performance this season by Game Score (94), pitching a complete game 3-hit shutout over Houston in a 2-0 win. The righty improved to 13-5, 2.80 by going 9 3 0 0 0 13 in a performance reminiscent of his historic 2027 season and he dominated the Astros so completely he pitched a Maddux as well, needing only 98 pitches. Hays didn't get much support nor did he need it, with Chris Seise's sac fly in the 2nd and Andy Kelley's bases-loaded walk in the 8th providing the only scoring.

Team record: 96-47. Next up: The homestand continues with 3 against Detroit. Sometime over the weekend we officially clinched a playoff spot and the magic number for the division is down to a mere 2 with three weeks left in the season.

[Art Deco]

The Rays clinched the AL East and made it a clean sweep of the decade atop the division thanks to taking 2 of 3 from the Tigers at Tropicana Field.

It was maximum drama in the opener as Corey Collins belted a 3-run homer (#4) with two out in the 9th to give the Rays a 5-4 walk-off win. Michael Prosecky was solid at 6 8 1 1 1 8 but Tommy Doyle gave up 3 runs in the 7th to put the Rays behind 4-2 after Chris Seise had knocked in both Tampa Bay runs. But Collins' clutch blast made a winner of Gavin Bruni (6-0), who seems to be a good luck charm in games the Rays are tied or trailing.

The Rays couldn't get much offense going in the second game and lost a tough one to Detroit 2-1. Shane Panzini deserved better than a no-decision after going 6.1 1 1 1 4 3, leaving with game tied. Parker Meadows then homered off Dax Fulton (1-3) in the 8th to break the deadlock and a possible 9th inning rally was cut short when Wander Franco was picked off first after leading off with a single. Ed Howard's solo homer (#10) was all they ended up managing.

The Rays clinched the division with another late-inning win in the finale, scoring three times in the 8th to pull out a 5-2 win. Jose Aguilar's 2-run double brought home the winning runs and JT Realmuto singled him home for insurance. Joshua Baez knocked in the first two runs with a pair of sac flies. Luis Severino turned in a fine start (7 4 2 2 2 6) and who else but Gavin Bruni (7-0) got the win. Yasunari Uehara got all three outs in the 9th via the whiff for save #37.

Team record: 98-48. Next up: An off-day then 3 games in Toronto.

[Art Deco]

Playing out the string the Rays dropped 2 of 3 to the cellar-dwelling Jays who came into the series a mere 49 1/2 games back of Tampa Bay.

Dave Cedeno was knocked around in the opener and the Rays fell 6-4 to the Jays. Cedeno (7-2) gave up 3 in the 3rd and although the Rays immediately responded in the 4th with 3 of their own to tie it, Cedeno then gave up a pair in the bottom of the frame and left 3.1 8 5 4 1 3 with a pair of homers allowed. Ed Howard hit a solo shot (#11) and Kelly Crumpton a 2-run homer (#42) in that 4th inning.

James Hays was masterful once again as he bids for a third straight AL Cy Young and he finished one out shy of a complete-game shutout in a 4-0 win over Toronto. The righty was on an efficient pitch count through most of the game but labored in the 9th, finally pulled after loading the bases with two out and throwing 121 pitches. Nevertheless he went to 14-5 with the 8.2 2 0 0 3 9 performance and Aaron Fletcher got Rowdy Tellez on a fly ball to end the game for his first save since rejoining the Rays. Chris Seise supplied all the offense with a 7th-inning grand slam to break a scoreless tie, only his 3rd longball of the season.

The Rays came back with a couple of late-inning runs and tied the finale at 4 in the 9th but Toronto walked it off in the bottom of the 11th to take a 5-4 win and the series. Michael Prosecky had one bad sequence in the 4th in which he gave up a bases-clearing double and ended up 5 4 4 4 3 4 to put the Rays behind 4-2, but Andrew Greckel's RBI single in the 7th and pinch-hitter extraordinaire Jose Aguilar's RBI knock in the 9th got him off the hook before Aaron Fletcher (1-2) loaded the bases with nobody out in the 11th, got a strikeout, and then balked home the winning run. Earlier in the game Joshua Baez hit HR #32 with the bases empty.

Team record: 99-50. Next up: The hunt for win #100 now turns to Baltimore, where the Rays will play the Orioles three times. Baltimore is in a 3-way fight for the final AL wild card, tied with Cleveland and one game up on San Antonio.

[Art Deco]

This was a series which meant much more to the Orioles, who came in as part of a 3-way tie for the third and final wild card spot, than it did for the Rays but Tampa Bay took 2 of 3 anyway, routing Baltimore twice and losing the middle game in extras. When the dust settled the Orioles found themselves on the outside looking in, a game behind Cleveland and San Antonio.

The Rays recorded their 100th win of 2029 in grand fashion by scoring a pair of touchdowns and holding the Orioles to a field goal in a 14-3 series-opening win. They belted five homers, including a pair from AL leader Kelly Crumpton, numbers 43 and 44. Also going yard were Jose Aguilar (#6, a 3-run shot in the 1st), Wander Franco (#25, a slam in the 6th), and Joshua Baez (#33, a 2-run blast in the 8th). Baez ended 4-5 with 3 RBI and Crumpton drove in 3 as well. This was all more than enough for Shane Panzini (13-9), who went 6 3 3 3 1 3, allowing a pair of homers as usual. Kendall Williams pitched the final 3 innings to pick up his first save of the year.

Baltimore took the second game 3-2 in 10 innings but not after the Rays tied it with a pair of late runs. Andrew Greckel came off the bench to double in a run in the 8th to cut the lead in the half, and Kelly Crumpton hit a majestic shot to center leading off the 9th to up his AL-leading total to 45. But Tommy Doyle's recent struggles continued and he loaded the bases in the 10th. Landon Knack got a strikeout, but then gave up a fly ball to center which scored the winner, dropping Doyle to 1-3. Luis Severino started and had to leave in the 4th with a blister after going 3.1 2 2 0 0 4 with Crumpton committing a pair of errors leading to both runs. The blister will not keep Severino from his next start.

The finale was pretty much a rerun of the opener as the Rays once again routed the Orioles 13-3. They scored in five consecutive innings from the 2nd to the 6th, putting up 12 of their 13 runs. Andy Kelley had a 3-run homer (#6) in the 2nd to start them on their way, Kyle Schwarber hit his first Rays homer in the 3rd, and Brad Manross went deep (#5) for the final run in the 9th. In between JT Realmuto was 3-4 with a double and 2 RBI while Chris Gutierrez drove in 3 with a pair of doubles. Dave Cedeno (8-2) coasted with the support, going 6.1 6 3 3 2 8, bookending his outing with a pair of homers allowed.

Team record: 101-51. Next up: 4 games in Boston.

[Art Deco]

Can the playoffs just hurry up and get here? Meanwhile we had to play four in Fenway against a Red Sox team far out of it, and ended up with a split (and a minor injury).

James Hays' bid for a third straight Cy Young took a slight hit today as the Red Sox beat the Rays 4-3 in the opener. Hays was 5 6 4 4 3 6 and dropped to 14-6, 2.78. He still leads the league in ERA (by half a run), strikeouts and WAR so he should still be good but one more win in his final start should cinch it. Jeff McNeil (#3/14) and Kelly Crumpton (#46) had solo homers.

The Rays nearly pulled out a comeback for the ages as they fell behind 12-1 before pulling to within 12-9 in the 9th and had the bases loaded, but Andy Kelley struck out and Boston took its second straight over Tampa Bay. Michael Prosecky had a rough start (4.1 10 8 8 2 3) and Slade Cecconi didn't do him any favors by letting two of Prosecky's men score then two more of his own in an 8-run Boston 5th. Prosecky saw his ERA jump from 3.17 to 3.51 in the rout as he dropped to 13-7. The Rays did score 8 times over the final 4 innings to get back in it, led by Wander Franco's 3-RBI which gave the Rays superstar entry into the 100-RBI club. Jeff McNeil also knocked in 3 with a bases-clearing double and Kelly Crumpton homered yet again (#47).

Tampa Bay was staring at a third straight defeat in Fenway before tying the game in the 9th and winning it 3-2 with a run in the 10th. JT Realmuto's sac fly evened things up and then Kelly Crumpton delivered an RBI single, his third hit and second RBI of the game, to win it. Crumpton now has a whopping 47 HR and 132 RBI on the season and should get MVP votes from voters who like big shiny numbers (he's at 3.9 WAR for the season, less than half of AL leader Francisco Lindor's 8.5). Shane Panzini was solid (5.1 7 2 2 3 7, 0 homers!), Tommy Doyle (2-3) collected the win in relief, and Yasunari Uehara recorded save #38.

The Rays salvaged a split with more late-inning magic, scoring three times in the 9th to take a 6-5 win over Boston in the finale. Pinch-hitter deluxe Jose Aguilar came off the bench to tie it with a single, and Wander Franco's sac fly was the difference. Franco had earlier homered (#26) and ended up with 3 knocked in. Luis Severino started in what will be his final tuneup for the playoffs (given his "fragile" status and time missed this year I'm not going to risk him in a meaningless game on the final weekend) and went 5 6 3 3 2 6. Kendall Williams (8-1) picked up the relief win and Yasunari Uehara closed again for his 39th save despite putting a couple of men on in the 9th. One down note, though: Jeff McNeil suffered a foot contusion and is done for the regular season. He went on the IL but will but ready for the playoffs. McNeil was what we expected after acquiring him (328/392/453) and finishes the year at 309/383/479 with 14 HR and 69 RBI.

Team record: 103-53. Next up: An off-day then our final road series at the year with 3 in Kansas City.

Playoff race update: Cleveland took control of the final AL wild card spot after Baltimore and San Antonio had bad weeks with the only suspense being who wins the West as Houston and Oakland are tied (the loser has a wild card in the bag). The Rays and Twins will win the other two divisions. In the NL the divisions look set (Washington, Milwaukee, LA) as well as two wild cards (Mets & Padres) but the third wild card sees Atlanta and Chicago tied and San Francisco and Arizona both 2 games back of them.

Minor League playoff update: I hadn't been updating these like normal but Durham was an impressive 85-55 before bowing out in the first round of the IL playoffs to St. Paul in 5 games after winning the first two. Montgomery, on the other hand, were champions of the Southern League:



The Biscuits got two great outings from pitching prospect and #1 pick in 2026 Parker Detmers, including a complete-game 4-hit shutout in the clincher. Detmers had an up-and-down year which saw him get demoted from Durham but he's still considered a top-notch prospect (#93 overall) and will get big-club consideration next season.

[Art Deco]

This turned out to be a two-game series since Thursday's third game was rained out, but OOTP just won't let meaningless games be canceled so now we have to go back to KC to play a pointless game on the Monday after the regular season ends for everyone else.

Transaction: Jeff McNeil went on the IL with his foot contusion and we purchased the contract of veteran Dominic Smith from Durham, whom we had signed as an MiLB free agent about a month ago. McNeil will be on the playoff roster though.

Dave Cedeno was rocked by the Royals in the opener, putting the Rays behind 7-0 after 5, but they nearly came all the way back to win before falling to Kansas City 8-7. Cedeno was 4.2 8 7 7 2 6 as he fell to 8-3, 5.27 and will get another start at the end of the season. Kelly Crumpton's 2-run HR (#48) got them on the board in the 6th and Andrew Greckel was 4-5 with an RBI triple while Jose Aguilar did his pinch-hitting thing again and had a 2-run single.

James Hays had his final tuneup before the playoffs and a last chance to bolster his already-strong Cy Young case and was decent in a 9-3 Rays win. The righty was 6 7 3 3 1 10 allowing a pair of homers as he finishes the regular season 15-6, 2.84 with 224 whiffs and only 40 walks which were good for 5.8 WAR, only 0.1 lower than last year's Cy Young campaign. He was supported by Wander Franco who had a 2-run homer (#27) and an RBI double, Joshua Baez drove in a pair and Andrew Greckel was 3-4 with an RBI. We were also treated to the sight of a 2-run Kyle Schwarber triple as the big man rumbled around the bases.

Team record: 104-54. Next up: 3 games against the Yankees at the Trop as we close out the home portion of the regular season schedule before we're forced to return to KC for a makeup game. This could be an ALDS preview as the Yanks will be the #1 Wild Card and would face the Rays if they prevail in the opening round.

Playoff Update: Cleveland is 2 up on San Antonio for the final AL Wild Card so they're looking good. Houston holds a 1-game lead on Oakland for the AL West with the loser claiming the second wild card. Over in the NL the Dodgers lead San Diego by a game in the NL West and like in the AL the loser has a wild card sewn up. The big race is for the third wild card with the defending champion Cubs holding a 1-game lead on Atlanta and 2-game lead on Arizona.

[Art Deco]

We played out the string with a final series against the Yankees at the Trop and then a 1-game makeup from last week at Kansas City which itself had to be made up when it was rained out on Monday, so the playoffs got pushed back a day.

The Rays downed the Yankees 7-5 in the opener in 10 innings after Aaron Fletcher blew a 5-1 lead in the 9th. Michael Prosecky closed out his regular season in fine fashion, going 7 4 1 1 2 3 to finish 13-7, 3.43. When we acquired him in the Victor Robles salary dump deal last offseason I was only expecting a 4/5 starter with an ERA in the low-mid 4s. Instead we got a #2 starter who made the All-Star Game. Yasunari Uehara finally picked up a win in 2029 by pitching the 10th and it was Joshua Baez's 2-run HR (#34) which walked it off. The dinger gave him 96 RBI as he tries to get to 100 in the team's final 3 games. Another milestone in reach is 50 homers for Kelly Crumpton after he hit #49 tonight, and Chris Gutierrez went yard with #7.

It was another blown lead in the 9th for the Rays but this time the Yankees prevailed in extras, taking a 6-5 win in 12. Tylor Megill was today's culprit, losing a 5-4 lead in the 9th, and Gavin Bruni suffered his first loss against seven wins after giving up a run in his 3rd inning of relief. Shane Panzini was 5 4 4 4 2 4 with 2 more homers allowed and finishes the year 13-9, 4.75; he'll still be our #4 starter in the playoffs. Kelly Crumpton didn't get his 50th homer but was 3-6 with his 137th RBI of the season while Jose Aguilar was 3-5 with 2 RBI.

Transaction: Elvis Garcia was recalled from Durham to start the finale against the Yankees and Gavin Bruni was optioned to Durham in a paper move as he'll be on the postseason roster.

Elvis Garcia was cruel to the Yankees as he had them all shook up in a 10-2 Rays win in the Trop's regular season finale. Garcia, who was up and down last year but spent all of this year at Durham, was an excellent at 6.1 4 1 1 3 8 in his spot start and has a shot at the big club next year as after Hays, Prosecky and probably Robinson Ortiz the rotation is wide open. Joshua Baez had a big game with an RBI double in the 1st and then a grand slam (#35) which capped an 8-run 5th and also got him in the 100-RBI club at 101. Kelly Crumpton is still looking for HR #50 though.

We finally closed out the regular season with our twice-postponed game at Kansas City which the Royals took 5-3. Most importantly Kelly Crumpton fell short of 50 homers, while Slade Cecconi got the start and continued to prove he can't handle the rotation after going 4 7 4 4 1 4 to drop to 6-4. Dominic Smith had a 3-run homer in the 6th, his first (and probably only) as a Ray, to provide all the Tampa Bay scoring.

Final Regular Season Record: 106-56. Next up: The ALDS against the winner of the A's-Yankees wild card series, commencing at the Trop.

Playoff Race Update: Houston held off Oakland to take the AL West (and a bye), Atlanta held off the Cubs for the 3rd wild card in the NL so we will have a new champion this year, and LA held off San Diego in the NL West. The playoff tree:

[Art Deco]

Kelly Crumpton won the MLB HR title even if he didn't reach 50 and ended up tied for the MLB lead in RBIs with former Ray Bret Baty. We traded Baty to Cincinnati in early 2027 for Wennington Romero after he flopped in a couple of opportunities with us. Baty didn't do much for the Reds that year nor last year (0.8 WAR) but suddenly broke out this season, giving Cincinnati the edge in that deal.



What an excellent all-around regular season for the Rays, who were 1st in runs scored and runs allowed and just about the best in every category in the AL. Our shift to a more defensive emphasis (Seise and Gutierrez) helped bring our team defense into the respectable if not above-average catgeory.



Coming into the season Andy Kelley was the big pickup coming off a rookie of the year campaign in the NL while fellow acquisition Joshua Baez was kind of the afterthought but those roles reversed when Kelley struggled and all Baez did was hit, never stopping. Crumpton also took a great leap forward this year after two solid but unspectacular seasons and JT Realmuto was so good at age 38 that we had no qualms about giving him enough at-bats to vest his contract for 2030.



He'd been gone for so long that I forgot how good Jackson Baumeister was before he got hurt - hopefully he recovers fully for 2030 from his shoulder inflammation. We had to piece together a rotation when he and Ortiz went down for the season and the replacements had their moments. One guy who had a sneaky-great under-the-radar season was Landon Knack. Although he wasn't used in the highest of leverage situations like Doyle/Fulton/Uehara, he was outstanding whenever called upon, often in a multi-inning situation. He has the capability to start and will get a shot at the rotation next year. We should have enough guys returning from injury and other internal candidates that we probably won't need to acquire someone. Ditto goes for the bullpen - although Uehara and Doyle are free agents guys like Kevin DiCostanzo and relief prospect Mike Moore are more than ready to step in.

[Art Deco]

[Art Deco]

Not only did the Yankees' Victor Fuentes go 5-for-5 to lead New York to 1-0 series lead, he hit for the cycle in the process. Some quick Googling indicates that Brock Holt in 2018 for the Red Sox was the only other player to ever cycle in a playoff game.

[Art Deco]

It'll be the Yankees against the Rays in the ALDS:



All the wild cards were settled today as Minnesota takes on Houston in the other ALDS while in the NL San Diego will face Washington and the Dodgers will play Milwaukee in the NLDS.

[Art Deco]

Momentum won out over rest as both the wild-card winners took Game 1 NLDS wins fresh off their previous series:

[Art Deco]

Not great, Bob:



Luke Voit, who spent one half-season and postseason with the Rays between stints with the Yankees, did his former team in today with a 3-run homer off Landon Knack in the 7th to give New York a 5-2 win and a 1-0 advantage in the ALDS. Aside from that though, the big story was Yankee pitching, which held the Rays to only 5 hits. Brennan Malone came on in the 5th and dominated the Rays over 2 1/3 while the Yankees came back to tie it up off James Hays, who turned in a pretty good start. Michael Prosecky will now be trying to keep the Rays from falling into a deep hole in this series tomorrow.

Elsewhere the wild card teams continue to win with only Washington recording a win after getting a bye:

[Art Deco]

Welp...



Deja vu all over again - the Rays get another excellent start, take an early lead, and then a reliever gives up the game-winning homer in the 7th. It was a bad rerun for the Rays as Tommy Doyle served up a 2-run Khalil Lee homer to turn a 2-1 Rays lead into a 3-2 Yankees advantage, and then Gleyber Torres put the game away with another longball, a 3-run shot off Dax Fulton in the 9th. It's a shame for Michael Prosecky, who was brilliant today but once again the bats were largely AWOL and it's hard to win games when you only score 2 runs, today with the unlikeliest of Rays to homer Chris Gutierrez accounting for all the offense. Now the Rays have to win 3 straight starting with Luis Severino taking a very familiar mound at Yankee Stadium looking to dispatch his old team in a couple of days.

And this is the year it didn't pay to win your division and get a bye through the Wild Card Round as Minnesota has also gone up 2-0 on Houston:

[Art Deco]

[Art Deco]

We live to fight another day, just barely:



JT Realmuto to the rescue as the Rays were staring down the barrel of a series sweep before he blasted a grand slam off former Ray Diego Castillo to turn a 4-1 deficit into a 5-4 lead as the Rays staved off elimination with a 6-4 win. Luis Severino did not have it against his old team, giving up a couple of homers and putting the Rays behind 4-0. But Ed Howard started the comeback with a 6th-inning homer, and then Realmuto struck his blow. Jeff McNeil added a homer for insurance and the bullpen, which let them down in the two games at Tropicana Field, saw 6 relievers combine for 5 scoreless innings. Now the real trick will be winning Game 4 with Shane Panzini starting. Do that and I like our chances with James Hays in Game 5.

Elsewhere, Houston followed our lead and stayed alive with a road win as well, LA and Milwaukee are going to a Game 5, and the Nationals are the first team in a CS, thanks to 3 more homers from - you guessed it - Randy Arozarena, who in this save is now the all-time postseason HR leader with 33: