Thoughts From My Couch

It's another weird week for the Rays. After an off day on Monday, the Rays will battle the Baltimore Orioles in a two-game set mid-week as the division's top two teams battle to provide a little clarity to the division race. They'll then face the Kansas City Royals in a four-game set between two teams at opposite ends of the spectrum this season. While this shouldn't be looked at as an easy series win, the Rays should be able to do some serious damage.  Tuesday 6/20 Orioles 8, Rays 6 WP- Kyle Bradish (3-3) , LP- Tyler Glasnow (2-1) , SV- Felix Bautista (20) The long ball was Baltimore's friend early in this one as they jumped out to a big lead. The Orioles put up four runs in the first inning on an RBI single by Anthony Santander and a three-run home run by Aaron Hicks. Santander added to the lead with a two-run shot of his own in the second and Ryan O'Hearn made it 7-0 in the fifth with a solo home run. Not known for giving up, the Rays mounted a serious comeba...

It's time for the Rays to head West as they prepare to spend the entire week in California. The league-leading team from Tampa Bay would start with a four-game set against the league's worst team in Oakland. For as bad as their record is, the Athletics have been playing some good baseball, so it wasn't going to be easy. They would then travel to San Diego for their first visit in three years in a weekend set with the San Diego Padres. The pitching matchups for the weekend made this one an exciting affair to finish the trip.  Monday 6/12 Athletics 4, Rays 3 WP- James Kaprielian (2-6), LP- Zach Eflin (8-2), SV- Ken Waldichuk (1) It wasn't an ideal day in Oakland for the Rays as they dropped their first game of the series. All it took was one bad inning for Zach Eflin to sink the ship. Through four innings, things were going well for Eflin. Shea Langeliers cleared the bases with a three-run double in the bottom of the fifth and Ryan Noda singled him home to make it 4-0 as ...

Two months of battling culminated in two franchises meeting in the Stanley Cup Final in pursuit of their first Stanley Cup win. The Florida Panthers made quick work of the Carolina Hurricanes in the Eastern Conference Final, sweeping the series with four one-goal wins. The Vegas Golden Knights advanced to their second Stanley Cup Final in their six-year history after taking down the Dallas Stars in six games. The Panthers would be coming in after a long layoff, while Vegas was a little more battle-tested. A first-time champion was going to be guaranteed, meaning one franchise was going to finally become known as a championship city.  Stanley Cup Final- Florida Panthers v. Vegas Golden Knights (Vegas wins 4-1) Game 1- Vegas 5, Florida 2- The opening game of the series featured some good back-and-forth action for two periods before becoming one-sided in the third. The Panthers opened the scoring while short-handed as veteran Eric Staal buried a wrap-around to silence the Vegas crowd....

It was a bit of a weird week for the Rays. Due to inclement weather last week, they had to start their week by finishing up business against the Red Sox before heading home for two series against the other two division leaders in the American League. They would begin with a mid-week tangle with the Minnesota Twins before hosting the Texas Rangers in a very exciting battle between the American League's two best teams.  Monday 6/5 Rays 4, Red Sox 1 WP- Shane McClanahan (9-1), LP- Brayan Bello (3-4), SV- Jason Adam (9) It was a very weird Monday finale for the Rays and the Red Sox after Friday's contest was rescheduled to this afternoon. The Rays sent Shane McClanahan out for the fourth game of the series after losing his first game of the season in his last start with the Red Sox countering with Brayan Bello. Both starters were solid and Bello got some help from his outfield. Both Kike Hernandez and Alex Verdugo took home runs off the board in the early innings to ensure the game...

The Rays came off a tough week with two strong series victories over the Blue Jays and the Dodgers. It's time for them to hit the road again as they visit two of the league's most historic. The week starts in Chicago at Wrigley Field for a three-game set against the Cubs. They'll then travel to Boston and Fenway Park for a four-game battle with the Red Sox. They've taken some of the toughest teams down and now they need to follow it up with a strong showings against teams they should beat.  Monday 5/29 Cubs 1, Rays 0 WP- Marcus Stroman (5-4), LP- Taj Bradley (3-2) Memorial Day brought us a great pitching performance. Unfortunately, that amazing start was against the Rays instead of for them. Chicago starter Marcus Stroman shut the Rays down for nine innings en route to a complete-game shutout win. Stroman no-hit the Rays through six innings before Wander Franco blooped a single into left field to lead off the seventh inning. Otherwise, Stroman was nearly perfect. Chicag...