Catching Some Rays- 6/5-6/11

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 stayed scoreless. It wasn't until the fifth inning that anyone got on the board. The Rays struck for three in the fifth on RBI singles by Manuel Margot and Francisco Mejia and a fielder's choice by Josh Lowe. McClanahan's only mistake in the game came when Justin Turner hit a solo home run in the sixth. The Rays' ace pitched six strong innings with Turner's home run being his only run allowed while striking out five. Taylor Walls drew a bases-loaded walk in the seventh inning to get the one run back and it would be more than enough. The bullpen pitched three nearly-perfect innings as the Rays earned the series win over their division rival. 

Player of the Game- Francisco Mejia (TB) (2-for-4, 1 run, 1 double, 1 RBI)

Series Review

• The Rays beat the Red Sox, 3-1
• The Rays outscored the Red Sox, 19-13
• The Rays scored first in all four games in the series
• Series MVP- Harold Ramirez (5-for-11, 2 runs, 2 doubles, 4 RBIs, 1 walk, 1 stolen base)

Tuesday 6/6

Rays 7, Twins 0

WP- Zach Eflin (8-1), LP- Louie Varland (3-2)

The Rays returned home to kick off a series between division leaders. It started as a solid pitching battle between Zach Eflin and Louie Varland before the Rays really opened it up in the fourth inning. Randy Arozarena and Christian Bethancourt each singled home a run and Vidal Brujan laid down a beautiful bunt to get a third run home. Luke Raley, following his triple in the fourth inning, mashed a two-run home run in the fifth inning to push the lead to 5-0. Eflin continued to dominate the Twins with all of this support. He would pitch 6.2 scoreless innings and allow just three hits and a walk as he sat down nine batters via the strikeout. To add some insurance, Jose Siri destroyed a ball 459 feet and Arozarena pushed one more run across in the seventh inning. Jalen Beeks and Jake Diekman each pitched well out of the bullpen as the Rays cruised to another big win at home. 

Player of the Game- Luke Raley (TB) (2-for-3, 2 runs, 1 triple, 1 home run, 2 RBIs, 1 walk)

Wednesday 6/7

Rays 2, Twins 1

WP- Jason Adam (2-1), LP- Jhoan Duran (1-2)

I'm going to say that it's becoming a theme just yet but it's hard to ignore what's going on with the Rays' bullpen to this point in the season. There wasn't a lot of action for eight innings as the Rays scored the game's first run in the second inning on a solo shot by Isaac Paredes. Through eight innings, the Rays' bullpen combined to allow one hit batter, two hits, and three walks. Jason Adam took over in the ninth inning and the game suddenly got interesting. After recording the first out of the ninth, Adam hit Donovan Solano, who was then replaced by Michael A. Taylor. Taylor stole second and third and Adam walked Max Kepler. With runners on the corner, Royce Lewis drove a line drive into left field to tie the game. Will Castro was then hit by a pitch, loading the bases for the Twins with still only one out. Ryan Jeffers laced a ball to third base and if not for a beautiful stop by Paredes, things could've gotten out of hand. Paredes started a 5-4-3 double play to escape what could've been a terrible situation. They wouldn't have to wait long for a response as Randy Arozarena drove the second pitch of the inning over the fence to walk it off and earn the win. 

Player of the Game- Randy Arozarena (TB) (2-for-4, Walk-off home run in the 9th)

Thursday 6/8

Rays 4, Twins 2

WP- Yonny Chirinos (3-1), LP- Bailey Ober (3-3), SV- Jason Adam (10)

For the first time in a while, the Rays didn't score the first run of the game. Carlos Correa drove a solo home run in the fourth inning to get things going. The Rays responded quickly as Luke Raley tripled home the first run of the game before Harold Ramirez knocked a ball out to center field for a two-run shot as the Rays took a 3-1 lead. Wander Franco stole a run, both figuratively and literally. He stole third base and would get home after the throw got away from the third baseman. Michael A. Taylor, following his heroics on Wednesday, drove a ball over the fence to bring the Twins back within two runs but it wouldn't be enough. The Rays held on to complete the sweep, beating Minnesota 4-2 behind a strong start by Yonny Chirinos. 

Player of the Game- Yonny Chirinos (TB) (5.2 innings, 5 hits, 1 run, 0 walks, 4 strikeouts)

Series Review

• The Rays swept the Twins, 3-0
• The Rays outscored the Twins, 13-3
• The Rays are now 10-1 in their series at Tropicana Field
• Series MVP- Randy Arozarena (3-for-9, 3 runs, 1 home run, 3 RBIs, 2 walks)

Friday 6/9

Rays 8, Rangers 3

WP- Tyler Glasnow (1-0), LP- Andrew Heaney (4-4)

The opener for the series was a one-sided affair as the Rays took it to Andrew Heaney and the Rangers. It was "The Isaac Paredes Show" and it got started early as Paredes drove in the game's first run with a double in the first. He followed this up by hitting a three-run homer in the third and a two-run home in the sixth as the Rays jumped out to a 6-1 lead. Manuel Margot and Taylor Walls each added RBI singles and it would propel the Rays to their seventh straight victory. Tyler Glasnow made one small mistake, allowing a solo home run to Leody Tavares. Otherwise, he was fantastic, going six innings and allowing one hit as he struck out six. The Rays' staff only allowed three hits in the game, all solo home runs, two from Tavares and one from Jace Jung. Glasnow earned his first win since coming back from his injury. 

Player of the Game- Isaac Paredes (TB) (3-for-4, 2 runs, 1 double, 2 home runs, 6 RBIs)

Saturday 6/10

Rangers 8, Rays 4

WP- Nathan Eovaldi (9-2), LP- Taj Bradley (4-3)

The Rangers' offense finally found some magic against the Rays, shelling rookie Taj Bradley for one of his worst starts of the season. Texas got to him for three runs in the second inning and three more in the fourth inning, highlighted by a two-run shot from Corey Seager, who had a massive game. The Rays pushed back for four runs in the fourth inning against Nathan Eovaldi. Luke Raley doubled home the first run before Francisco Mejia drove a three-run home run to bring the Rays back within two. Adolis Garcia got two back in the sixth inning on a double and that would be more than enough for the Rangers as they snapped the Rays' seven-game win streak. Eovaldi earned his ninth win, tying him with Shane McClanahan for the MLB lead. 

Player of the Game- Corey Seager (TEX) (5-for-5, 2 runs, 1 double, 1 home run, 4 RBIs)

Sunday 6/11

Rays 7, Rangers 3

WP- Shane McClanahan (10-1), LP- Martin Perez (6-2)

The Rays took the series win with a strong start to the game, scoring twice in the first and second innings. Randy Arozarena hit an RBI single to get the scoring started and Isaac Paredes added to the lead with a fielder's choice in the first. In the second inning, Taylor Walls doubled home the third run and Harold Ramirez drove him in with a single. Texas mounted some pressure with Robbie Grossman hitting a home run and both Marcus Semien and Corey Seager stayed hot with RBI hits. Wander Franco made their good feeling short-leed, driving a three-run blast in the fourth inning to restore the four-run lead. From there, it was all Shane McClanahan. Outside of the one bad inning, the Rays' ace shut the Rangers down, pitching seven strong innings en route to his league-leading tenth win of the season. The bullpen made things interesting in the ninth inning but they got out of a bases-loaded jam with a game-ending double play to seal the deal.  

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

Series Review

• The Rays beat the Rangers, 2-1
• The Rays outscored the Rangers, 19-10
• The Rays' stolen base streak was broken on Sunday
• The Rays hold the largest division lead in the league (5.5 games over Baltimore)
• Series MVP- Isaac Paredes (3-for-11, 2 runs, 1 double, 2 home runs, 7 RBIs, 1 walk)

Injury Report & Other News

It was not an ideal week for the Rays on the injury front. Brandon Lowe found himself on the IL as he continues to deal with some back issues that forced him to miss some time earlier in the season. Calvin Faucher also landed on the IL with elbow inflammation. The Rays moved Josh Fleming to the 60-Day IL after it initially looked like his elbow injury wasn't going to be too serious. He's the third Rays pitcher to have a long-term injury like this. 

Speaking of pitchers, the Rays lost Joe La Sorsa to the waiver wire as he was picked up by Washington. La Sorsa made the first two appearances of his MLB career with the Rays, allowing one run over 4.1 innings. 

The Week Ahead

The Rays are heading out West for the week. It'll start with a four-game set against the Oakland Athletics. Oakland currently resides in the cellar of the entire league with a measly 17-50 record. However, they've won their last five games. The weekend series will be with another team trying to turn things around as they battle the San Diego Padres. San Diego is trying to fight back in the NL West after a disappointing start. They have the star power to make a run, as evidenced in their postseason run last October.