The 2021 (and only 2021) Tampa Bay Rays

[Art Deco]

November 29: I have officially lost my mind:



So not only did I trade not 1 - not 2 - but 3 top 30 MLB prospects, I also added $25M in salary for the next four years. But sometimes that's the price to pay if you want to acquire the best player in baseball, and one who fills a great need for the team. So welcome to Tampa Bay, former MVP Jeremy Begley - let's hope you're worth it. I talked about Begley in the previous post under MVP consideration and he did finish 2nd this year. Here's his profile page:



The man does it all (except maybe draw walks) - and not shown on this page is that he had 9.8 and 6.8 WAR seasons in 2033 and 2034; he's averaged 8.4 WAR/season over the last five. And as also mentioned in the previous post, he's not just a gold glover - he's a platinum glover. Last year he had a +26.4 ZR and that's no fluke as he's had previous years of 26.8, 27.1 and 29.6. Plus we get him for the next five years and while he'll be expensive he'll be a relative bargain with the 40% of salary Oakland is picking up. With his addition and the other moves we've made to address the defense without sacrificing offense we're now one of the best fielding teams in the league after being one of the worst.

But yes the price was very, very steep. Marion was the one it hurt the most to let go of since he was on the verge of stepping into the rotation. Right now what's holding him back is 40 control but he has the potential for 60 and if he gets there he's a potential 65/60/60 starter - in other words, an ace. And Route has similar potential although he's much farther away. Brown meanwhile was a 6th-round pick who blossomed into one of the game's better prospects and has a broad-based set of skills. But now I'm more comfortable with Mario Urizar as the fifth starter, given he was the pitcher most hurt by our bad D last year and should now thrive with Gold Glovers added at SS and RF. This also gives us a bit of a glut in the middle infield with Justin Blackwell and the newly-acquired Isaiah Jackson fighting for the 2B job with Blackwell the better bat and Jackson the far better glove.

Now back to the regularly-scheduled offseason:

December 19: Added Cs Dan Tolliver and Willie Barahona to the 40-man roster.

Really didn't have any prospects to add to the 40-man this year, mainly because those drafted in 2033 were either traded away recently or haven't been good enough for me to worry about being claimed in the Rule 5 Draft. Tolliver could have a future as a backup catcher and Barahona is nominally a catcher but is really future DH with decent power. We still have a couple of 40-man spots open so if someone in the Rule 5 draft catches our eye (especially a reliever) we can make a move.

December 21: The Rule 5 Draft pool was underwhelming so we didn't take anyone and only lost veteran OF Luis Matos off Durham's roster. A non-event.

December 31: Former Rays lefty Joe Scheu, last seen helping pitch Memphis to a World Series victory over us, signed a 5/78 deal with San Diego. Scheu is a groundball/contact guy who was badly hurt by our defense last year (although the 10 HR in 63 IP despite being a 70 movement guy didn't help, though he only gave up 2 in 61 for Memphis) before we dealt him for Tony Alicea, but ironically would probably be really good for us next year.

January 6: The Hall of Fame voting is in:



Mookie sailed in while Yelich came agonizingly close again. Surprise showing for Yoshimoto who was a really good closer for 10 years but hardly HoF material to me. Also Harper should be in by now but there seems to be some resistance for whatever reason. Former Rays star Brandon Lowe was one and done, receiving 0.0% of the voting.

January 7: Time to make another deal, this one to bolster the bullpen:



That's NL Reliever of the Year Stan LeVea, although I still contend he was a questionable choice for the award, earning 1.0 WAR with 6 saves (albeit with a 1.60 ERA). Still he's a very good reliever who will fill a need in our pen and could close for us, rated 60/75/50. In exchange we part with Quintanilla, a borderline prospect with 45/45/50 potential as a starter who had one of the worst pitching seasons I've ever seen at Class-A Charleston: 2-14, 8.37, 147 hits and 73 walks in 95.2 IP with only 48 whiffs. He at least kept the ball in the park (9 HR) and suffered a .387 BABIP but oof. LeVea is a free agent after 2038 and was on the trading block which explains the low price.

January 9: As it is in many early-20s OOTP saves, 38-year-old Spencer Torkelson is a power-hitting legend and he took his 587 career homers to Milwaukee on a 2/49 deal.

January 20: It's international amateur free agent signing season and we inked a 16-year-old Italian, Lamberto Benizi, to a deal. He's a slugging 1B with 75 potential power.

January 22: Vlad Guerrero Jr. is still kicking around and after spending 18 years in Toronto followed by one with Boston, the 38-year-old was dealt to the Nationals. He has 422 career homers and a lifetime 291/355/488 slash line.

January 24: Jadon Smith signed a 1-year deal with Houston for $10.7M. Here's hoping he blows a bunch of saves for the Astros, our direct rival for the AL pennant, like he did for us this past season.

January 25: And another bullpen piece from last year finds a new home. Ruben Abeyta inked a 3/12.6 pact with the Cubs. I had made him an offer of 3/12 but didn't want to go higher, especially after acquiring LeVea.

February 4: Owner Jon Paige decided to boost our payroll budget $12M so I might just go after an ace reliever (Tony Alicea from our club last year and former Ray and veteran star closer Eric Lewis are both out there).

Also our old friend Wander Franco has found a new home in Boston. The 36-year-old signed a whopping 3/76 deal which seems like a massive overpay considering he's been barely a 2-WAR player the last couple of seasons. The fan interest "almost crashed" after his signing elsewhere but they'll get over it.

February 8: And there it is:



Welcome back, Tony. We now have our closer with LeVea and Gammage to set him up as the bullpen should now be set. We've spared no expense in money or prospects this offseason to build a champion for 2038 and I look forward to getting the season started.

March 7: We won our first spring training game 17-2. Maybe it's an omen.

[Art Deco]

We went 15-7-2 in Spring Training and suffered no injuries of consequence, so it was a good March. After all the money spent and players brought in, we got a very muted set of expectations from the owner after making the World Series and bringing in multiple star players:



Uh sure Jon, I think we can eke out a winning record.

Anyway here's the Opening Day roster:

C-Doughty, Bing
1B-Charlton
2B-I.Jackson
SS-Begley
3B-Arroyave
IF-A.Lopez, Blackwell
LF-Fisher
CF-D.Rodriguez
RF-Rivera
DH-Berumen
OF-Rivas

SP-Marlette, D.Morales, Bryant, L.Gutierrez, Urizar
LR-J.Rodriguez (L)
MR-Bridgewater, Coggin, Battle (L), Mauricio, Baca
SU-Gammage (L), LeVea
CL-Alicea

A look at these handsome devils:



I always forget to include the team picture but remembered this time. There were a few painful cuts: Luis Cisneros, who manned 3B much of last season with Arroyave hurt, had to go to Durham as well as some young guys like Willie Maldonado and Ines Monts, who both would not only be in the bigs but starting for most other teams but we have a considerable MLB-caliber depth of talent on the Bulls this year so injuries should not derail us (although there isn't a lot backing the starting rotation).

And the preseason predictions like our chances, as they should:



Interesting that they see L.Gutierrez taking the next stop to becoming one of the league's better pitchers.

[Art Deco]

The Rays got off to the start they and their fans expected, sweeping the 2-game mini-series from Boston to open the new season. Here's the Opening Day box:



Everything went to plan as ace Joe Marlette struck out 11 and new acquisition Danny Rivera belted a grand slam in the 3rd to break open a 1-0 game as they cruised to victory. The only down note was that new mega-acquisition Jeremy Begley was 0-5 in his Rays debut. He'll be fine.

And it only took one day for Begley to get fine as he slammed a 2-run homer in the first inning of the second game to propel the Rays to a 7-3 win over Boston. Meanwhile welcome back Tony Fisher as his RBI double got things going in a 4-run 3rd that also saw lefty-killer Agustin Lopez deliver a 2-run triple. This was more run support than Danny Morales was accustomed to last season and he picked up the win going 6 5 3 3 1 8, his only blemish a 3-run homer allowed in his final inning of work. The new/old-look bullpen got the job done as well with Stan LeVea, Branden Gammage and Tony Alicea each pitching a scoreless inning to close it out.

Team record: 2-0. Next up: Another quickie 2-gamer at home against Baltimore, which also started the season 2-0.

Transaction: Also another familiar face is back in the Rays bullpen as we claimed lefty Jamie Arnold off waivers from the Yankees, who brought him back as a free agent for a modest $1.1M this winter but couldn't find room on the Opening Day roster for him. It was Arnold whom we took from New York the winter before in the Rule 5 Draft so he's been passed back and forth. To make room we optioned Jordan Rodriguez to Durham.

[Art Deco]

And through 4 games of the new season the Rays look like a juggernaut, taking both from Baltimore. We'll see how it goes once they hit the road.

While they have won all four they've played, game #3 was the toughest as they had to come back with 3 runs in the 8th to get by Baltimore 4-2. The winning blow was Danny Charlton's first homer of the year, a 2-run shot, and it was followed later in the inning by Danny Rivera's 2nd solo homer of the game and third in as many games as a Ray. Jamie Arnold picked up the win in his first appearance and Tony Alicea notched his first save of the year after Gabe Bryant gave them a good start at 6 6 2 2 3 4.

The Rays were firing on all cylinders in the second game, overpowering the Orioles 11-0 behind a complete-game, 5-hit shutout from Leo Gutierrez. The young lefty, touted in the preseason predicitions as one of the league's top pitchers, backed up that prognostication by going 9 5 0 0 1 5 and extended to 117 pitches. Needless to say there was plenty of offense, led by Tony Fisher, who was 4-5 with 3 RBI including a 2-run single, and Billy Doughty, 2-3 with a pair of doubles including one which cleared the bases. Not to be overlooked was Agustin Lopez, 4-5 with a pair of doubles as he continues to be death to lefties, and Danny Arroyave, who hit the game's only homer (a solo shot that made it 11-0, his 1st of the year).

Team record: 4-0. They'll look to continue the hot start at home with 3 against San Antonio before they finally embark on the road.

[Art Deco]

The Rays were never going to go 162-0 and that became a reality in the first game of this series but they did bounce back to take the next two and are off to a roaring 6-1 start.

If the bullpen had held in the opener they might very well be talking about 7-0 but it didn't and a 4-3 lead after 6 ended up a 5-4 loss in 10 innings to the Alamos. Stan LeVea gave up a pair of doubles in the 7th to let San Antonio tie and then Danny Mauricio (0-1) served up a solo homer in the 10th to reigning AL MVP Darius Williams. Before that they got the typical Mario Urizar start - 6 4 3 3 2 4. The offense came courtesy of Tony Fisher's 1st homer of the year, a 2-run shot, and the first Rays homer from Isaiah Jackson, a solo blast after he had earlier doubled in a run.

The Rays took losing the first game of 2038 personally and proceeded to make like Santa Ana and overrun the Alamos 13-2. San Antonio started a lefty and you know what that means - hits galore from Agustin Lopez, who was 4-5 with 3 RBI to lead the way and making it 9-for-13 to start the season. The damage came in a 9-run 2nd inning highlighted by a 3-run Luis Berumen blast (#1) and Jeremy Begley had a 2-run single. Tony Fisher also went yard again (#2) while Joe Marlette (2-0) pitched from a hammock and went 6 4 0 0 0 9. Moises Baca made his Rays debut in relief and fanned 4 over 2 scoreless innings.

The Rays took the rubber game from San Antonio, scoring in every inning but the 1st and 3rd and kept padding their lead with single runs in the 5th, 6th, 7th and 8th. Billy Doughty was 3-4 with a homer (#1) and 2 RBI, Danny Rodriguez went solo (#2) and Tony Fisher made it 3 homers in 3 days with a bases-empty blast in the 7th. Danny Morales went to 2-0 and is enjoying this new-found run support, going 7 6 3 2 1 3.

Team record: 6-1. The rubber will hit the road literally as we'll see if the Rays can duplicate their first-week success outside the Trop starting with 3 games at Yankee Stadium. New York is tied with Baltimore at 4-3, 2 games behind the good guys.

[Art Deco]

The Rays proved that their show could play on the road as well, taking the first 3 in Gotham before losing the finale.

The opener was a tense affair in which the Rays prevailed 3-1 behind a gutty effort from Gabe Bryant and just enough offense. Bryant pitched today without his best stuff but won his first decision after going 6.2 5 1 1 3 2. Tony Alicea closed it out for save #2 and Tony Fisher went deep for the fourth straight game and fourth time this young season while Danny Rodriguez's RBI single in the 5th proved to be the winner.

The offense showed up in the second game as a result Tampa Bay had an easier time with a 9-3 win over the Yankees. Rays batters knocked out 17 hits in the romp with Luis Berumen, Justin Blackwell and Danny Rodriguez picking up 3 apiece. Berumen homered for the 2nd time this year as did Jeremy Begley and D-Rod knocked in a pair. Leo Gutierrez went 3.2 3 1 1 0 4 before having to leave with back tightness which will push his next start back a day so Jamie Arnold won his second game in relief and Moises Baca went the final 2 1/3 perfect, fanning 5 and giving him 9 whiffs in 4 1/3 IP over his first two outings.

After piling up 17 hits the day before the Rays could only manage 3 hits in the third game but two of them were homers and enough to give them a 4-3 win over New York. Yankee starter Sean Granfield no-hit them through 5 before giving up an infield single to Danny Rivera and a walk to Alex Rivas, setting the table for Luis Berumen who blasted a 3-run homer (#3) to put Tampa Bay up 3-2. And after the Yankees tied it in the bottom of the 6th, Danny Rivera's solo shot in the 8th (#4) won it. Mario Urizar turned in a quintessential Mario Urizar start, going 6 4 3 3 2 5 and leaving Branden Gammage (1-0) to pick up the win and Tony Alicea to earn save #3.

With Joe Marlette on the mound coming off two brilliant starts to begin the season a sweep looked to be in the cards, but Marlette hit his first rough patch of 2038 and the Yankees went on to salvage the finale 7-4. Isaiah Jackson gave the Rays a quick 2-0 lead in the 4th with his 2nd homer and Marlette went into the bottom of the 5th up 2-1. But he gave up a homer and another run and had two men on. He was left in to face lefty-hitting Yankee slugger Ernesto Rodriguez and it was a mistake as Rodriguez took him deep for his 6th homer of the year and made it 6-2 New York. Danny Arroyave (#2) and Tony Fisher (#5) had consolation solo shots in the 8th and 9th and Marlette dropped to 2-1 after going 4.2 5 6 5 1 7.

Team record: 9-2. Next up: A real tough test for the Rays as they head to Houston for 3 games in a matchup of the last two AL pennant winners. The Astros are off to a good 7-3 start themselves.

Down on the farm: Durham got its season underway this week and young OF Danny Arevalo, acquired in the first trade with Oakland last winter which saw Duk-yoon Ko head west, already has 3 HR and 10 RBI in the Bulls' first three games including a 2-HR, 8-RBI game.

MLB News: You might think the Rays' 9-2 record is the best in MLB but it's not - it's not even the best in the AL where Cleveland is 9-1. But the Guardians aren't the team off to the best start either - that would be the Mets who have started the season 10-0. And old friend Joe Stack is off to a decent start for his new team with 2 HR and 8 RBI.

[Art Deco]

Another road test passed as the Rays took 2 of 3 in Houston against a very good Astros squad.

The Rays scored early and often in the opener against the Astros, putting up 8 runs through the first 6 innings and coasting to an 8-4 win. Rookie Danny Rodriguez continued his scorching start to the season, going 3-4 with a double, RBI and a steal while Tony Fisher, Jeremy Begley and Luis Berumen each had 2 hits and a ribbie with Berumen's coming on HR #4. Danny Morales (3-0) wasn't his sharpest today going 5.1 7 4 4 2 5 for the win but this makes up for last season when he pitched great with little run support.

It looked like business as usual when Luis Berumen hit a 2-run homer (#6) and Danny Arroyave added a solo shot (#3) to give the Rays a 3-0 first-inning lead, but Gabe Bryant and the bullpen couldn't hold it and Houston took a 6-4 win. Bryant allowed the Astros to chip away at the lead and was in trouble in the 5th before giving way to Jon Coggin (0-1), who proceeded to give up 4 hits to score Bryant's men and two of his own, leaving Bryant with a 4.1 5 3 3 3 4 line.

The Rays made it 5 series wins out of 5 to start the season by taking the rubber game from the Astros 7-2. A close one (2-1 Tampa Bay after 6) was broken open with a 5-run 7th highlighted by Danny Rodriguez's bases-clearing triple. Earlier Luis Berumen homered (#6) for the third straight day and fifth time in six games, and Isaiah Jackson added a pair of run-scoring doubles. Leo Gutierrez (2-0) earned the win, keeping the Astros off the board but doing it the hard way, going 5 2 0 0 5 5 on 97 pitches. Ken Battle took over in the 7th and finished things out for his first save.

Team record: 11-3. Next up: The long and winding road continues with 3 in Seattle after a travel day off. We're 2 1/2 up on the Yankees in the early going.

MLB News: The Mets finally lost after starting the year 11-0.

[Art Deco]

The Rays continue to run roughshod on the American League, sweeping the Mariners by an aggregate score of 22-3, improving to 14-3 and making it six series win from six so far in 2038.

The opener was a tense affair, with the Rays clinging to a 1-0 lead through 8 on Jeremy Begley's RBI single before they put three on the board in the 9th to take a 4-0 win. Isaiah Jackson's RBI double was the big hit in the late rally and he helped back Mario Urizar who won his first decision of 2038 after going 6 4 0 0 3 5.

In a somewhat similar game to yesterday's the Rays erupted late, breaking a 2-2 tie in the 8th with 4 runs to beat the Mariners 6-2. Billy Doughty's RBI double broke the deadlock, Tony Fisher added a 2-run homer (#6) and superstar Jeremy Begley had the best game of his brief Rays career to date, going 4-4 with a 2-run homer (#3) to get them on the board and 3 RBI. Joe Marlette improved to 3-1 after a typically-excellent 6 3 2 1 0 7 outing.

The Rays didn't dilly-dally in the finale, scoring 7 runs by the third and mauling the Mariners 12-1 to complete the sweep. Tampa Bay batters banged out 18 hits with Danny Charlton leading the way going 4-5 with a double, homer (#3) and 3 RBI. Tony Fisher (#7) and Danny Rodriguez (#3) also went deep while Fisher, Luis Berumen and Justin Blackwell each knocked in a pair. Danny Morales cruised to 4-0 after a 6 6 1 1 2 2 and Jake Bridgewater notched a 3-inning save finishing out the game.

Team record: 14-3. Next up: The Rays complete their 2-week road trip with 3 games against the Twins who are off to a middling 8-8 start.

[Art Deco]

The Rays faced their first adversity of the season, losing 2 of 3 in Minnesota thanks to some bad pitching and also suffered a couple of injuries as their 2-week road trip mercifully came to an end.

It was business as usual in the opener though as the Rays rode four homers to a 5-3 win over the Twins to maintain their hot start to the season. Two of them came from Tony Fisher, who took over the MLB lead with 9, including a 2-run blast in the 7th to expand the lead to 3. Also going yard were Jeremy Begley (#4) and Luis Berumen (#7) back-to-back in the 6th to put them into the lead. As a result Gabe Bryant went to 2-0 after a 6.2 7 3 3 1 4 outing and Tony Alicea earned a very shaky fourth save after loading the bases with one out in the 9th and getting a line-drive double play to center to end the game.

Things started off decently in the second game when Danny Rodriguez hit his 3rd homer to give the Rays a 1-0 lead in the 3rd but not only did the bottom fall out for Leo Gutierrez in the Twins' half of the frame, he herniated a disc in his back and will miss five weeks. Gutierrez gave up 5 runs and finished 3.1 5 5 5 2 3. He didn't get the loss because the offense fought back to tie the game by the 8th with 3 of the runs knocked in by Billy Doughty, who hit a 442-ft homer to center (#2) that was a no-Doughter. Unfortunately Moises Baca (0-1) failed in the high-leverage situation in the bottom of the inning, giving up a 2-run homer and the Rays suffered a 7-5 loss to the Twins.

Transaction: Gutierrez went on the IL and two-way prospect Sergio Espinoza was recalled from Durham. Espinoza was our first-rounder back in 2032 and is more advanced as a pitcher (rated 50/60/60 as a starter) than hitter (40s mostly with 50s potential) and will get a shot at Gutierrez's rotation spot.

The offense fought gamely in the finale despite some horrid pitching and nearly came back all the way, losing 10-9 to Minnesota. Mario Urizar (1-1) was absolutely dreadful at 1 7 7 7 2 2 and Ken Battle later gave up 3 runs in relief which proved to be the difference. In the meantime the bats kept cooking with 2-run shots from Billy Doughty (#3), Danny Arroyave (#4), a solo shot from Danny Charlton (#4) and an inside-the-parker from Luis Berumen (#8) in the 9th which shaved the Twins' lead to a run. It was exciting but alas not enough. Also unfortunately Arroyave strained his oblique and will miss the next 4 games.

Team record: 15-5, 3 1/2 games up on Baltimore. Next up: A welcome return home to play 4 against Toronto; sadly after that we're back on the road.

[Art Deco]

After starting 15-3 the Rays lost their last two in Minnesota. How would they fare returning home for 4? Not well at all as the Jays shockingly swept the series from the Rays whose offense went AWOL, scoring only 7 runs in the four games.

Joe Marlette pitched well but the bats took a holiday as they dropped the opener to Toronto 3-1 in 11 innings. Marlette went 6 3 1 1 3 5 but the team only scratched out two hits, one of which was Justin Blackwell's 5th-inning triple on which he scored but that was it and Tony Alicea (0-1) gave up a couple of runs in the 11th to which the offense had no answer of course.

Danny Morales did not have it, putting the Rays into a 5-0 hole from which they tried to climb back before falling short 5-3. Morales (3-1) went 3 8 5 4 1 2 with most of the damage coming in a 4-run 4th where he couldn't retire anyone. Billy Doughty had a 2-run homer (#4) to get them on the board and they loaded the bases in the 9th with one out but a fly ball and Danny Rivera's third strikeout of the game ended it.

More misery at the plate in third game as the pitching was brilliant but the bats were silent as they lost 1-0 in another 11-inning game. Gabe Bryant pitched perhaps his best game as a Ray (6.2 3 0 0 1 11) but it went for naught and Ken Battle (0-1) coughed up a run in the 11th. Again they had a chance to win or tie at the death with runners on 2nd and 3rd and two out but Danny Rivera whiffed for the fifth time in as many at-bats and second time in two games to make the final out.

Filling in for the injured Leo Gutierrez, rookie starter Sergio Espinoza wasn't ready for prime time in his MLB debut and the Rays concluded a miserable series by losing 8-3 to the Jays in the finale. Justin Blackwell had a 2-run double in the 2nd to put the Rays up 2-0 but Espinoza could not get the third out in the 3rd and allowed 4 runs to score, then put 2 more on in the 5th who were also later plated in the inning to finish with an ugly 4 4 6 6 4 4 line.

Team record: 15-9. Still a very good record but not what one would want after starting 15-3 and they're still barely in first place (1/2 game up on the Yankees and 1 on Baltimore). Next up: Back on for road for 3 in Anaheim against the Angels. This starts a 9-game road trip meaning they'll have played 22 of 26 on the road before they return home again.

[Art Deco]

The Rays bounced back from their 6-game losing streak to win 2 of 3 in Anaheim, only losing the finale in extra innings.

They could be forgiven if they viewed the opener as more of the same, as after taking a 4-0 lead they fell behind 5-4 in the 7th. But the Rays were resilient this night, scoring 5 times in the 8th and coming through with a 9-6 win to snap the losing streak. Danny Rodriguez had the big hit, a bases-clearing double in that key 8th inning to break a 5-5 tie and Agustin Lopez did his lefty-mashing thing again with a pair of doubles and 3 RBI. Jeremy Begley also added an earlier solo homer (#5). Mario Urizar gave them a passable start at 5.2 5 3 2 2 1 but the bullpen after him was shaky including Stan LeVea (1-0) who got the win despite allowing the hit that put Anaheim ahead. Thankfully Tony Alicea was not shaky in picking up his 5th save, striking out the side in the 9th.

The bullpen was much better in the second game, preserving a 3-2 lead for four innings and making that the final margin of victory over the Angels. Joe Marlette (4-1) was pretty good at 5 5 2 2 2 7 but needed 101 pitches to get through his outing but three relievers held the fort with Tony Alicea again saving (#6). The winning run came courtesy of an Isaiah Jackson solo shot (#3) in the 6th to break a 2-2 deadlock. Tony Fisher also went deep with the bases empty, hitting double digits on the young season.

Extra innings and Rays just don't seem to agree this year as they fell to 0-4 in overtime, losing a 5-4 decision in 11 to LA. Danny Mauricio (0-2) was tagged for a solo homer in the bottom of the 11th to let the Angels walk it off, wasting a big game from Danny Arroyave who doubled and hit a pair of solo homers (#5 and #6) including a 462-foot mammoth blast. Danny Morales hasn't been as sharp this year and was hit for 3 in the first before settling down and finishing 6.1 7 4 4 5 4 with all the walks unusual.

Team record: 17-10, still 1/2 game up on the Yankees. Next up: the endless road trip continues with 3 in Detroit.

A monthly honor for a Ray:

[Art Deco]

The Rays continue to turn things around on the road, winning another series as after scoring once in the opener and losing they put 24 combined on the board in the final two in Motown which they won.

Luis Berumen homered in the first (#9) but that was it for the offense in the opener as they fell 4-1 to the Tigers. Gabe Bryant (2-1) wasn't his best at 5.1 5 4 4 3 7 while Berumen was 4-4 on the day including his homer.

It looked bleak early in the second game when the Tigers hit Sergio Espinoza for a 5-spot in the 2nd and took a 5-1 lead, but the bats responded immediately with 5 in the third and the Rays went on to take an 8-6 win over Detroit. Espinoza, who had struggled in his MLB debut start, wasn't much better today although he did managed to give them a couple more innings and finish 3.2 6 5 5 2 3. Jake Bridgewater (1-0) earned the win in relief and Tony Alicea picked up save #7. But of course it was the offense that won them today's game with the key knock a 3-run Isaiah Jackson homer (#4) in the 3rd that put them up to stay at 6-5. And Jeremy Begley, who had 3 hits, added a 2-run homer (#6) in the 7th to give them some cushion.

The Rays took advantage of some bad Tiger fielding as well as some bad Tiger pitching to destroy Detroit 16-3 in the finale. They scored all but one of their runs in two innings - a 7-run 2nd and an 8-run 9th. The former saw the Tigers make two key errors with the big blow a 3-run Billy Doughty homer (#5) which erased an early 2-0 Tiger lead. Then Tony Fisher went to work in the 9th, homering twice in the inning - once to lead it off and later to cap it with a grand slam, giving him an AL-best 12 homers to go with 27 RBI. Luis Berumen was 3-6 with 3 RBI and Jeremy Begley 4-6 with a pair knocked in. All Mario Urizar (2-1) had to do to get a win was stand there and throw the ball over the plate, which he did to the tune of 5.2 6 3 3 3 4, your standard Urizar start.

Team record: 19-11, as they remain 1/2 game ahead of the Yankees. Next up: The seemingly-neverending journey finally does end with 3 games in Chicago against a struggling 9-20 White Sox team.

[Art Deco]

The Rays took care of business against a struggling White Sox team, taking 2 of 3 from them in Chicago.

The bats were largely silent in the opener but thanks to Joe Marlette they didn't have to do much as the Rays prevailed 2-0 over the Pale Hose. Marlette (5-1) was typically brilliant at 7.1 4 0 0 0 8 and lowered his ERA to 2.36 with Tony Alicea handling the 9th for save #8. It only took one swing of the bat to provide the winning margin and that was courtesy of Danny Rodriguez in the 7th, who homered (#5) with a man on.

Last year Danny Morales wasn't getting the wins but pitched brilliantly; this year so far he's getting the wins but pitching not-so brilliantly and today he did neither as the Rays fell to Chicago 5-4. Morales (4-2) was hit hard at 5.1 9 5 5 2 6 and homers from Luis Berumen (#10, a 2-run shot) and Danny Charlton (#5, solo) were not enough.

Jake Bridgewater came to the rescue in the finale as Gabe Bryant departed in the first inning with rotator cuff tendinitis and he was backed by five homers in his long relief stint as Tampa Bay topped Chicago 7-1. The injury should shelve Bryant three weeks and marks the second member of the Rays rotation to be sidelined as Leo Gutierrez is still out a couple of weeks with a herniated disc. Bridgewater though pitched way longer than expected and went 6.1 4 0 0 1 5 for the win. His outing will give him a crack at Bryant's rotation spot in the interim. Meanwhile the bats were thunderous led by Danny Arroyave, who went yard twice, driving in 3 and giving him 8 homers on the season. Also finding the seats were Luis Berumen (#11), Isaiah Jackson (#5) and Danny Rodriguez (#6)

Team record: 21-12. The Yankees swept their series so the Rays slipped into 2nd place for the first time, 1/2 behind New York. Next up: Finally back home for 3 against Kansas City.

[Art Deco]

Finally back at home, the Rays took advantage of the friendly surroundings to sweep the Royals and re-take first place in the AL East.

And they outslugged Kansas City in the opener 9-5, responding every time the Royals made it close. Part of the reason KC kept making it close was the continued struggles of Sergio Espinoza, as the Rays rookie did notch his first MLB win despite a rough 5 8 5 5 1 2 which actually lowered his ERA to 11.37. Luckily he had plenty of support led by Jeremy Begley (2-5, double, 3 RBI) and Danny Rodriguez (2-3, 2 runs scored, 2 RBI). Unfortunately the Rays lost 2B Isaiah Jackson to a herniated disc in his neck and he'll miss a little more than two weeks.

Transaction: Jackson goes on the 10-day IL and a familiar face returns as IF Luis Cisneros is up from Durham after spending most of the last two seasons with the big club.

I don't think too many people had Mario Urizar pitching the Rays to a 1-0 win in the second game on their bingo card but congrats if you did as Tampa Bay prevailed in a game which was the polar opposite of yesterday's. Danny Arroyave's sac fly in the 4th put the Rays ahead and that run held up for the duration thanks to Urizar (3-1) who went 6.2 5 0 0 0 7 and the bullpen culminating in Tony Alicea's 7th save.

The finale was a schizophrenic affair as it looked like the Rays would cruise to victory behind Joe Marlette, who was perfect through the first 5 innings with a 3-0 lead, only to see Marlette and Mario Baca lose the lead in the 7th before the Rays came back to tie and then win it in the 8th 7-4 on Billy Doughty's 3-run homer (#6). Marlette was brilliant but put the first two men on in the 7th and Baca gave up 4 hits to score those two and one of his own to saddle Marlette with a 6 5 3 3 0 8 line. But Jeremy Begley led off the 7th with a tying solo shot (#7) and Doughty's blast made a winner of Stan LeVea (2-0). Tony Alicea then shut the door in emphatic fashion by striking out the side in the 9th for save #8.

Team record: 24-12, now 1 1/2 up on New York. Next up: You didn't think we'd get an actual homestand, did you? Nope, we're off to Cleveland for 3 after an off-day.

[Art Deco]

The Rays went into Progressive Field, home of the 25-10 Guardians and swept them to extend their winning streak to 7.

Danny Rivera came into the game in a deep slump and things were going so badly for the RF that he had the dreaded snowflake next to his name. But he came out of it in a big way in the opener, homering twice to lead the Rays to an 11-5 win over Cleveland. Rivera belted two-run homers in consecutive innings (the 4th & 5th) to break the game open and give him 6 on the season while former Guardian Danny Charlton was 3-4 with 2 doubles and 2 RBI and catcher Billy Doughty went 3-5 with 3 RBI. Once again Danny Morales (5-2) was the beneficiary of healthy run support and once again he wasn't sharp, going 6 1 3 3 6 4 with the one hit allowed nice but the 6 walks not.

The second game looked like it would be a Rays rout as they opened up a 9-2 lead in the 5th before Cleveland got 3 in the 5th and 6th to climb back within 9-8, forcing the Rays to get some additional runs and hang on for a wild 12-9 win. Luis Berumen led the attack, going 3-6 with a double, homer (#12) and 4 RBI, Danny Charlton had a big 3-run homer early (#6), and Danny Arroyave added a solo shot (#9) in the 8th to provide some welcome insurance. Jake Bridgewater's fill-in start went well for a while before it fell apart, and he ended up 4.2 9 5 5 0 0 as he defined "pitching to contact". Stan LeVea (3-0) ended up with the win in relief and Tony Alicea put an end to the nonsense by getting Cleveland 1-2-3 with a pair of whiffs in the 9th for his 11th save.

After the teams combined for 37 runs in the first two games of this series they could only score one between them in the finale and of course that lone run came courtesy of Tampa Bay in a 1-0 victory. And what made it even more unlikely than the previous two games was that the Rays started rookie Sergio Espinoza, who came into the game with a ERA in double digits. But Espinoza (2-1) was brilliant today, going 6.2 4 0 0 1 5 and combining with Branden Gammage on a 4-hit shutout as the lefty went the final 2 1/3 for his first save of 2038. As a result Danny Rivera's RBI single in the 2nd stood up as the game's only run and gave the Rays an impressive sweep.

Team record: 27-12. You'd have good reason to think that the Rays might have MLB's, or least the AL's, best record but no the Houston Astros are now 29-10 and winners of 13 straight and counting. Nevertheless Tampa Bay has opened up a 3 1/2-game lead on New York in the AL East and after an off-day their next action is back home where they'll start an honest-to-goodness homestand with 3 against those Yankees.

[Art Deco]

The 25-12 Mets faced off against the 27-12 Rays in a clash of the titans at Tropicana Field and New York came away with a series win after taking two of three.

Joe Marlette had an off game and the Rays dropped the opener to New York 5-3. The ace lefty was tagged for a couple of homers in a 6 7 4 4 1 7 outing and dropped to 5-2 on the year. Danny Arroyave had an 8th-inning solo homer (#10) to get them within 2 but that was as good as it got. The game marked Joe Stack's return to Tropicana Field after 4 seasons as the Tampa Bay 1B but he went 0-4.

The second game was a topsy-turvy affair that saw the Rays go up 4-0, fall behind 6-5, and then walk off a 7-6 win in the 9th inning over the Mets. Danny Arroyave's RBI single was the walk-off winner after Luis Berumen had tied it in the 7th with his own run-scoring knock. Danny Charlton earlier had a 3-run homer (#7) and Tony Fisher went solo (#13). Mario Urizar turned in a typical Mario Urizar start at 6 7 3 3 0 4 before Branden Gammage gave up a 3-run homer in the top of the 7th to lose the lead. Tony Alicea (1-1) earned the win in relief.

The Rays couldn't hit in the finale and Danny Morales' 2038 woes continued as the lost the rubber game 4-1 to New York. Morales (5-3) went 6 5 4 4 2 5 and saw his ERA rise to 5.29. Billy Doughty's solo homer (#7) in the 7th kept them from being blanked as the bats had a mere 5 hits on the day. Joe Stack ended up 0-12 against his old team in the series but his new one came away with a pair of wins.

Team record: 28-14. The Yankees took 2 of 3 to shave a game off Tampa Bay's division lead and are now 2 1/2 back. Next up: More interleague action as Washington visits for 3 games.

MLB News: Houston's win streak was snapped at 14 games.

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A great weekend for the Rays, who swept the Nationals thanks to some late magic in all three games while the Yankees were swept at home by Phily enabling Tampa Bay to open up a 5 1/2-game lead in the AL East.

Washington's Gray Thomas held the Rays to only one run on three hits into the 7th inning of the opener but Tampa Bay feasted on the Nationals bullpen, scoring 5 times in the 8th to pull out a 6-3 win. Danny Rivera's 2-run single was the big one putting them ahead and Billy Doughty added some insurance with a 2-run single of his own. The rally made a winner of Jamie Arnold (3-0) and Tony Alicea got the final two outs for save #12. Jake Bridgewater turned in a much better fill-in start this time around, going 6 4 2 2 2 2 and keeping them in the game.

Had they held on to a 4-1 lead through 6 they wouldn't have needed late magic to win, but they didn't so they did and took a 7-4 win over Washington in the second game. Danny Charlton had a 2-run homer (#8) and Danny Rivera went solo (#7) to help them to that initial lead, and Sergio Espinoza was spinning a fine start. Unfortunately Espinoza gave up a 2-run homer in the 7th and then Stan LeVea coughed up a solo shot two batters after coming on and the game was tied. No problem for Tampa Bay though as Jeremy Begley capped a 4-hit day with a 2-run homer (#8) in the 8th to break the tie and Tony Fisher went back-to-back with him (#14). Braden Gammage (2-0) picked up the win and Tony Alicea saved again (#13). Espinoza finished a still-decent 6 6 3 3 0 4.

Danny Rodriguez was the star as he woke up a slumbering Rays offense in the late innings and Tampa Bay completed the sweep with a 3-2, 10-inning win over Washington. D-Rod tied the game at 2 with an 8th-inning double and then walked it off with 2 out in the 10th by blasting a solo homer (#7) well into the LF seats. Tony Fisher had a 1st-inning solo shot (#15) for the first Rays run and Joe Marlette turned in a typically-excellent start at 6 5 2 2 2 9. The win went to Stan LeVea (4-0), who pitched the top of the 10th.

Team record: 31-14. Next up: The homestand concludes with 3 against Texas.

[Art Deco]

The Rays' express train was derailed slightly this week as after winning the opener they dropped the next two to the Rangers. And with the Yankees winning 3 of 4 Tampa Bay's lead was cut to 4 games in the AL East.

It was a typical day at the office of late in the opener though as the Rays handled the Rangers 7-2. Tampa Bay did all of its scoring in the 3rd and 4th innings and leading the charge was Luis Berumen who went deep in both frames. He had a solo shot in the 3rd and then a 3-run homer (#14) in the 4th, while Jeremy Begley's 2-run round-tripper (#9) got them going in the 3rd. Mario Urizar (4-1) was excellent for the win at 7 6 2 2 1 6.

Pitching let the Rays down in the second game as they fell to Texas 10-6. Danny Morales' bafflingly-poor start to 2038 continued as he let a 2-1 game get away from him in the 6th (although not without help from Jon Coggin, who gave up a double which cleared the bases of Morales' runners) and finished 5.2 7 6 6 1 2, dropping to 5-4, 5.72. That ERA is 3 runs higher than what Morales put up for the season last year. The Rays climbed back within 6-5 after 7, but Danny Mauricio and Stan LeVea combined to allowed 4 Ranger runs in the 8th to put it out of reach. They did get homers from Luis Cisneros (#1), Jeremy Begley (#10) and Danny Charlton (#9).

The finale was a bitter pill to swallow as closer Tony Alicea (1-2) gave up a tying homer in the 9th and then a 2-run shot in the 10th to let Texas take a 6-4 win over the Rays. Before that they had rallied with 3 in the 6th to take the lead with Billy Doughty's 2-run double the big hit. Jake Bridgewater went 6 4 3 3 2 4 but Alicea's first blown save of the season denied him the win. Danny Arroyave was 3-5 with a double, solo homer (#11) and 2 RBI.

Team record: 32-16. Next up: An off-day then a trip to Fenway for 3 against Boston.

[Art Deco]

The Rays Meat Loafed the Red Sox at Fenway, maintaining their win percentage at an impressive .667 and are now 5 games up on the Yankees in the AL East.

Transactions: We got a couple of regulars back as 2B Isaiah Jackson and SP Gabe Bryant returned from the IL. As a result IF Luis Cisernos and SP Sergio Espinoza were sent to Durham.

The opener was one of those games, though, as the Rays seem to have a runner or two on every inning but couldn't score until Justin Blackwell hit a solo homer (#1) with two out in the 9th and they fell 2-1 to the Red Sox. Gabe Bryant made an impressive return from the IL going 5 3 0 0 3 4 but Jamie Arnold (3-1) and Danny Mauricio each gave up a run in relief and that was enough to lose it today.

Joe Marlette did Joe Marlette things in the second game and the Rays took a 4-1 win over Boston. The lefty improved to 6-2, 2.81 after a sterling 7.1 3 1 1 1 8 outing and Tony Alicea finished for save #14. All of the offense came in the 4th inning with Danny Rivera's 2-run double the big hit.

The Rays took the rubber game from the Red Sox 6-3 behind Billy Doughty and a trio of homers. The young catcher, in his first full big-league season, was 4-5 with an RBI double and Tampa Bay got longballs from Danny Rodriguez (#8, a 2-run shot), Tony Fisher (#16, solo) and Alex Rivas (#1, a solo pinch-hit job) to round out the offense. Mario Urizar (5-1) turned in his typical neither great nor terrible start at 5 3 2 2 4 3 for the win and four relievers finished it off with Tony Alicea saving again (#15).

Team record: 34-17. Next up: An off-day before returning home to face those Yankees for 3 games.

Injury woes: The news wasn't all good this weekend as star LF/DH Luis Berumen was beaned in the Beantown finale and suffered a concussion that will sideline him for 3-4 weeks. Also SP Leo Gutierrez left his first rehab game after a single batter having strained his shoulder so he'll remain on the shelf for another 6-7 weeks.