Catching Some Rays- 6/19-6/25

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 comeback. Francisco Mejia broke the shutout with an RBI double and Wander Franco singled home another in the bottom of the fifth. Three RBI singles knocked in four runs as Isaac Paredes, Yandy Diaz, and Manuel Margot brought the Rays back within a run in the sixth. The comeback would come up short as Hicks drove in another in the eighth and the Orioles' bullpen shut the Rays down to hold on for the win. 

Player of the Game- Aaron Hicks (BAL) (2-for-4, 1 run, 1 home run, 4 RBIs)

Wednesday 6/21

Rays 7, Orioles 2

WP- Taj Bradley (5-3), LP- Tyler Wells (6-3)

The Rays returned the favor to the Orioles in the second game of the two-game set, scoring four runs in the second inning to get off to a hot start. Randy Arozarena and Isaac Paredes went back-to-back to open the scoring. Tyler Wells shot himself in the foot by making two errors, the latter of which led to Jose Siri driving in two more runs. Ramon Urias got one back for Baltimore with a solo shot in the third. This would be Taj Bradley's only mistake of the afternoon. Bradley pitched six strong innings, allowing one run on three hits while walking none and striking out eight. Wander Franco hit a sac fly and Arozarena drove in another with an RBI single in the seventh and Yandy Diaz made it 7-1 with an RBI single in the eighth. While Gunnar Henderson did hit another home run for the Orioles in the ninth, it was far from enough as the Rays dominated their way to a 7-2 win to earn a split. 

Player of the Game- Randy Arozarena (TB) (3-for-3, 1 run, 1 double, 1 home run, 2 RBIs, 1 walk)

Series Review

• The Rays split with the Orioles, 1-1
• The Rays outscored the Orioles, 13-10
• Tampa Bay maintains a five-game lead over Baltimore in the AL East
• Series MVP- Isaac Paredes (3-for-6, 3 runs, 1 home run, 2 RBIs, 2 walks, 1 hit by pitch)

Thursday 6/22

Royals 6, Rays 5

WP- Aroldis Chapman (3-2), LP- Pete Fairbanks (0-2), SV- Scott Barlow (9)

A few familiar bugs struck the Rays in this one. First, the injury bug reared its ugly head for the Rays' pitching staff as their ace Shane McClanahan was forced out in the fourth inning. Second, the bullpen couldn't hold a tight lead late in the game, ultimately costing them the game. The Rays' bats started early with Randy Arozarena knocking in one with an RBI single and Isaac Paredes getting a sac fly. The Royals responded in the third with RBI singles by Maikel Garcia and MJ Melendez. This 2-2 tie lasted through McClanahan's exit and into the seventh inning before Drew Waters knocked a solo home run to give the Royals the lead. The Rays made some noise in their half of the seventh with Francisco Mejia tying it with a solo home run of his own before Arozarena knocked in two with a single to take a 5-3 lead into the eighth. Jason Adam took the mound for the Rays and the lead evaporated as a two-run single tied things up once again. After they failed to score in the eighth, the Rays turned to Pete Fairbanks to get them into the bottom of the ninth tied. That wouldn't come to fruition as Melendez singled home the go-ahead run and that would be the Rays' undoing.

Player of the Game- MJ Melendez (KC) (3-for-4, 1 run, 2 RBIs, 1 walk)

Friday 6/23

Rays 11, Royals 3

WP- Zach Eflin (9-3), LP- Zach Greinke (1-8)

The Rays woke up for the second game of the series, delivering some major pain to the Kansas City pitching staff. It was tight in the early going. Nick Pratto led off the game with a solo home run. Jose Siri shot the Rays ahead with a three-run home run in the second. Salvador Perez tied it up with a two-run homer in the third. After that, it was all Tampa Bay. Siri drove in another with an RBI single in the fourth. The floodgates opened in the fifth as the Rays struck for four runs on an RBI single by Harold Ramirez, a two-run single by Taylor Walls, and an RBI double by Christian Bethancourt. The offense slightly overshadowed a strong start from Zach Eflin. Eflin pitched six innings, allowing three runs and striking out seven to earn the win. To add some insurance, the Rays added three more runs in the eighth inning as they soared to an easy win to even the set. 

Player of the Game- Jose Siri (TB) (3-for-4, 2 runs, 1 home run, 4 RBIs)

Saturday 6/24

Royals 9, Rays 4

WP- Jordan Lyles (1-11), LP- Yonny Chirinos (3-3)

After two innings, it looked like the Rays were going to win another game in runaway fashion. Wander Franco, who'd been benched for the last two games, made a major statement by homering in the first inning before Josh Lowe drove in another with an RBI double. Franco drove in another run in the second with an RBI single, as did Luke Raley. With a 4-0 lead, the Rays were in cruise control. That's until the wheels fell off. Kansas City struck for three runs in the third inning and four more in the fourth inning against Yonny Chirinos to turn the tides back in their favor. The Rays would never be able to recover from this as the Royals added two more runs in the later innings to make it nine unanswered runs as they earned at least a split against the best team in the league. 

Player of the Game- Freddy Fermin (KC) (3-for-3, 2 runs, 1 home run, 3 RBIs, 1 walk)

Sunday 6/25

Rays 3, Royals 1

WP- Colin Poche (5-2), LP- Taylor Clarke (1-2), SV- Pete Fairbanks (8)

The score made it look like it was a close game and in most ways, it was. When you take a closer look at the box score, it tells a different story. Pitching was the story of the game and the Rays were on the right side of the battle. Daniel Lynch and Tyler Glasnow went to war to try and find a win for their team. Each only made one big mistake during their start. Jose Siri hit a solo home run in the third inning to open the scoring and Maikel Garcia got it back with an RBI single in the fourth. Glasnow would pitch five strong innings, allowing one run on four hits with one walk and 12 strikeouts and while he didn't earn the win, he was the biggest part of it. The score would sit tied at 1-1 until the seventh inning. Siri would score the go-ahead run on a wild pitch by Taylor Clarke and Harold Ramirez would hit a sac fly to make it 3-1. The bullpen would hold strong this time. After Glasnow's exit, four pitchers would combine to allow just two walks in four innings as the staff ended the game with 17 strikeouts and a series split. 

Player of the Game- Tyler Glasnow (TB) (5.0 innings, 4 hits, 1 run, 1 walk, 12 strikeouts)

Series Review

• The Rays split with the Royals, 2-2
• The Rays outscored the Royals, 23-19
• Yandy Diaz and Randy Arozarena entered the second part of the All-Star voting
• Series MVP- Jose Siri (4-for-13, 4 runs, 2 home runs, 5 RBIs, 2 walks)

Injury Report & Other News

Shane McClanahan left his start on Thursday against the Royals in the fourth inning with mid-back tightness, though the thought is that he'll likely avoid the IL, though he'll miss his next start. Kevin Cash announced his next start will be on Friday. 

The Week Ahead

The Rays are going to be back on the West Coast this week. After another Monday off-day, they'll face off with rookie sensation Corbin Carroll and the Arizona Diamondbacks for three games. Over the weekend, it'll be a three-game set with the Seattle Mariners with McClanahan expected to return for the first game.