Catching Some Rays: 4/24-4/30

The final week of April brought the Rays their toughest challenge to date as the defending World Series champs brought their talents to St. Pete for a three-game set to test just who the best team in the American League is. It's an early season test as the Rays looked to prove that they are just as good as their record indicates. They would then travel to the south side of the Windy City to face the White Sox four more times after a weekend sweep last weekend. With a big pitcher going down, the Rays needed the rest of their rotation to step up to earn them some wins. 

Monday 4/24

Rays 8, Astros 3

WP- Taj Bradley (3-0), LP- Jose Urquidy (1-2)

Two heavyweight teams came together for the first time this season in St. Petersburg as the Rays welcomed the defending champs to the Trop for a three-game set. The Rays sent their top prospect out for one of his biggest tests yet and it didn't get off to a great start. Houston jumped on Taj Bradley early for two runs on a sac fly by Kyle Tucker and a solo home run by Alex Bregman. The Rays' offense responded in their turn with an RBI triple by Randy Arozarena and an RBI double by Harold Ramirez to tie the game. Jeremy Pena put Houston back ahead in the third inning with a solo shot. The Rays once again responded, scoring four runs in the third inning on a sac fly by Arozarena, an RBI single by Josh Lowe, and a two-run single by Christian Bethancourt. Bradley would calm down, throwing five strong innings and striking out six. Wander Franco made an amazing barehanded catch in the fifth inning as he tracked down a pop-up. Isaac Paredes extended the lead with an RBI single and Franco got the job done with his bat in the seventh with an RBI single of his own, one of his four hits in the game. This would be more than enough for the Rays as they took the first game. The only downer for the Rays was seeing their home run streak come to an end at 22 games. 

Player of the Game- Wander Franco (TB) (4-for-5, 2 runs, 2 doubles, 1 RBI, 1 stolen base)

Tuesday 4/25

Astros 5, Rays 0

WP- Luis Garcia (2-2), LP- Drew Rasmussen (3-2)

The Rays ran into some good pitching tonight as Luis Garcia had some of his best stuff going tonight. To Drew Rasmussen's credit, he pitched well through four innings before hitting a wall in the fifth inning. Once he hit that wall, the Astros teed off on him. Jeremy Pena, Kyle Tucker, Jose Abreu, Corey Julks, and Jake Meyer each drove in runs with hits in the fifth inning to put up five runs on the Rays. Rasmussen failed to make it out of the fifth inning as a result. From there, Houston's pitching staff took over. Garcia pitched six scoreless innings and three relievers kept the shutout alive as the Rays failed to score for the first time this season. They managed just five hits in the loss as Houston evened the series. 

Player of the Game- Luis Garvia (HOU) (6.0 innings, 3 hits, 0 runs, 2 walks, 7 strikeouts)

Wednesday 4/26

Astros 1, Rays 0

WP- Hunter Brown (3-0), LP- Calvin Faucher (0-1)

The Rays' offense went quiet for the second straight game, only this time, so did Houston's. The game's only run came all the way back in the first inning as Wander Franco flubbed a ball and allowed Jeremy Pena to scamper home. After that, no one managed anything else. Hunter Brown was a big reason for that. Brown dominated the Rays' lineup for seven innings, allowing just two hits and two walks. The Rays' pitchers pitched very well too. Calvin Faucher started things and pitched two solid innings before Josh Fleming went six innings, allowing four hits and a walk. It's hard to win a game with just two hits as Manuel Margot was the only Ray to record a hit as the team dropped their second series of the season. 

Player of the Game- Hunter Brown (HOU) (7.0 innings, 2 hits, 0 runs, 2 walks, 8 strikeouts)

Series Review

• The Astros beat the Rays, 2-1
• The Astros outscored the Rays, 9-8
• The Rays were held scoreless for 20 innings to end the series
• These were the Rays' first two losses at home this season, breaking their 14-0 start
• Series MVP- Wander Franco (5-for-13, 2 runs, 3 doubles, 1 RBI, 1 stolen base)

Thursday 4/27

Rays 14, White Sox 5

WP- Shane McClanahan (5-0), LP- Dylan Cease (2-2)

After two games without a run, the Rays needed to remind everyone just how lethal they can be. They did that in a big way against the White Sox. Playing for the second time in three series, the Rays didn't miss a beat as they scored three runs in the third inning to get off and running. Isaac Paredes drove in the first run with a single and Luke Raley drove in two more with a double. Chicago got one back in the bottom half of the second. Brandon Lowe and Jake Burger traded home runs in the third and fourth innings before the Rays really broke it open. They put up another three spot in the fifth on a two-run single by Lowe and a groundout by Paredez. They then put up five in the sixth inning, highlighted by a bases-clearing double by Paredes. Yandy Diaz homered in the seventh and Raley added a blast in the ninth as the Rays put up a season-high 14 runs to cruise to a 14-5 victory. Lost in it all was the start of Shane McClanahan. He remained perfect for the season, allowing two runs on five hits and striking out five over five innings for his fifth win of the season. 

Player of the Game- Brandon Lowe (TB) (3-for-4, 3 runs, 1 triple, 1 home run, 1 walk, 3 RBIs)

Friday 4/28

Rays 3, White Sox 2

WP- Colin Poche (2-0), LP- Kendall Graveman (1-2), SV- Kevin Kelly (1)

Things were a little tighter in the second game of the series and it went down to the wire. Brandon Lowe stayed hot by driving in the opening run on a sac fly after some excellent base running by Randy Arozarena and Yandy Diaz. Chicago hit a home run in each of the first two innings with Andrew Vaughn and Jake Burger taking Zach Eflin deep in his second start after returning from his injury. Manuel Margot tied things up in the fourth with an RBI single and the score would hold that way until the ninth inning. A lot of that is due to the starters. Both Eflin and Lucas Giolito went at least six innings and both only allowed two runs in their starts. In the bottom of the eighth, Burger almost had his second home run of the night and it had the distance to leave the year. Arozarena couldn't allow it to happen as he leaped and brought the ball back to make sure the game remain tied. In the top of the ninth, Isaac Paredes took Kendall Graveman deep to break the tie and after Pete Fairbanks allowed two base runners to reach, Kevin Kelly came in and recorded the final out as the Rays ensured at least a split by taking the first two games of the series. 

Player of the Game- Isaac Paredes (TB) (3-for-4, 2 runs, 2 doubles, Go-ahead Solo HR in the 9th)

Saturday 4/29

Rays 12, White Sox 3

WP- Yonny Chirinos (1-0), LP- Lance Lynn (0-4)

Through six innings, the Rays were being shut down by Lance Lynn. They were yet to record a hit and were in a 3-0 hole thanks to a two-run single by Elvis Andrus in the fourth and an RBI double by Eloy Jimenez in the sixth. Wander Franco stepped up to start the seventh and hit a solo home run to break the no-hitter and the shutout. What we didn't realize was that it was about to unload a historic inning. The Rays proceeded to add nine more runs to the Franco home run. Isaac Paredes continued his solid series by knocking in a run with an RBI double. Manuel Margot tied the game with an RBI single. Jose Siri gave the Rays the lead with an RBI double. Franco drove in two more runs with a single. Randy Arozarena drove a three-run home run to make it nine runs and Josh Lowe followed him by hitting a solo shot to make it an even ten. Francisco Mejia hit a solo shot in the eighth and Arozarena added his second of the night with a solo shot in the ninth as the Rays scored all 12 of their runs in the final three innings to win the series. 

Player of the Game- Wander Franco (TB) (2-for-4, 2 runs, 1 home run, 3 RBIs, 1 walk, 1 stolen base)

Sunday 4/30

White Sox 12, Rays 9

WP- Aaron Bummer (1-1), LP- Jalen Beeks (0-2)

The Rays were on the receiving end of it this afternoon after handing the White Sox some major offense on Saturday night. There were some major swings in the final innings. The two sides jockeyed for most of the game with Chicago scoring in the first before Taylor Walls and Luke Raley went back-to-back in the fourth inning. Yasmani Grandal slugged a two-run shot and Eloy Jimenez drove in a run with a double as Chicago held a 4-2 lead after the seventh. The Rays put together a big eighth inning, scoring five runs on an RBI single by Isaac Paredes, a two-run home run for Raley, a solo shot from Christian Bethancourt, and Manuel Margot scoring on an error as the Rays took a 7-4 lead. Chicago got one back in their half as the Rays added two more on an RBI single by Walls and a sac fly by Bethancourt. With the team up 9-5, they turned the ball over to Jalen Beeks to close it out. Things didn't quite go to plan. Chicago's bats destroyed him. The White Sox chipped away at the lead, eventually chasing Beeks for Garrett Cleavinger. Adam Haseley would tie the game with an RBI single to guarantee at least extra innings but Andrew Vaughn had other ideas. He smashed a three-run walk-off home run to win the game and complete a seven-run ninth inning to deny the Rays of the sweep. 

Player of the Game- Andrew Vaughn (CWS) (2-for-4, 1 run, walk-off 3-run home run, 1 walk, 1 hit by pitch)

Series Review

• The Rays beat the White Sox, 3-1
• The Rays outscored the White Sox, 38-22
• After not hitting a home run against Houston, the Rays hit 13 home runs in this series
• 23-6, 3.5 games ahead of Baltimore, 3.0 games ahead of Pittsburgh for the best record
• +103 run differential this season, +31 better than any other team
• One of two teams (Atlanta) to allow fewer than 100 runs this season
• Series MVP- Isaac Paredes (9-for-19, 6 runs, 4 doubles, 1 home run, 6 RBIs)

Injury Report & Other News

The week was a rare positive week on the injury front as the Rays activated both Jose Siri and Ryan Thompson this week from the injured list. No new players are on the list from what I can remember. 

The Rays also made an early-season trade, acquiring Javy Guerra from the Brewers for a player to be named later. Guerra had been designated for assignment earlier in the week by the Brewers after walking nine and allowing eight runs in 8.1 innings before the Rays traded for him. He pitched in 17 games for the Rays last season, going 2-1 with a 3.38 ERA. 

The Week Ahead

The top team teams in the league based on record will meet for a three-game set beginning on Tuesday after the Rays get Monday off. The Pittsburgh Pirates will make the trip to Tropicana Field as the two best stories in the league in April will face each other to begin the month of May. After that, the Rays will host a weekend set with the New York Yankees, meaning The Trop is going to be overflowing with New York fans. This set with the Yankees will go a long way in seeing where exactly the Rays are in the grand picture of the playoffs.