Catching Some Rays- 7/31-8/6

The road trip continues for the Rays with two more stops. First, they head to the Bronx for a battle with, arguably, their biggest rival, the New York Yankees. It'll be a three-game tilt to open the week with Wednesday sporting a huge pitcher's duel between Gerrit Cole and Shane McClanahan. After an off day on Thursday, the team will travel to Detroit for three games with the Tigers. These are the last two stops before the team heads back to Florida for a few games. 

Monday 7/31

Rays 5, Yankees 1

WP- Tyler Glasnow (5-3), LP- Jhonny Brito (4-5)

The long ball and outstanding pitching propelled the Rays to a series-opening win at Yankee Stadium. The team slugged four home runs with Brandon Lowe hitting a two-run shot in the first and solo home runs coming from Wander Franco, Isaac Paredes, and Josh Lowe as the Rays controlled a 5-1 lead through four innings. From there, Tyler Glasnow took over. He pitched seven innings, allowing three hits, walking two, and striking out eight. His only real blemish was a solo home run by former Ray Jake Bauers in the second inning. Robert Stephenson and Pete Fairbanks closed the door on the Yankees over the final two innings to clinch the victory. 

Player of the Game- Tyler Glasnow (TB) (7.0 innings, 3 hits, 1 run, 2 walks, 8 strikeouts)

Tuesday 8/1

Rays 5, Yankees 2

WP- Zach Eflin (12-6), LP- Carlos Rodon (1-4), SV- Pete Fairbanks (14)

The recipe for success was very similar to Monday's victory for the Rays. Manuel Margot got the scoring going with an RBI double in the second inning before Yandy Diaz hit a solo home run and Randy Arozarena hit a two-run shot in the third inning to jump ahead 4-0. Brandon Lowe singled home another run in the fifth inning. Zach Eflin followed Tyler Glasnow's example and shut the Yankees down at the plate. Over six scoreless innings, Eflin allowed just three hits and struck out five. The game got a little interesting in the ninth inning as Colin Poche allowed two runs. With two outs and Giancarlo Stanton representing the tying run, Pete Fairbanks struck him out to seal the win and the series victory on the road. 

Player of the Game- Zach Eflin (TB) (6.0 innings, 3 hits, 0 runs, 0 walks, 5 strikeouts)

Wednesday 8/2

Yankees 7, Rays 2

WP- Gerrit Cole (10-2), LP- Shane McClanahan (11-2)

In a battle between two of the league's best arms, Gerrit Cole got the better of Shane McClanahan. After Wander Franco hit a two-run home run in the first inning, Cole settled into the game. McClanahan pitched two strong innings before the Yankees exploded for five runs in the third inning. Lo and behold, there was a little more to it. After four innings and 82 pitches, McClanahan exited the game with some arm discomfort. The damage had already been done. New York added two runs in the seventh to cruise to a 7-2 victory to salvage one game in the series. 

Player of the Game- Giancarlo Stanton (NYY) (2-for-4, 1 run, 1 home run, 4 RBIs)

Series Review

• The Rays beat the Yankees, 2-1
• The Rays outscored the Yankees, 12-10
• Series MVP- Isaac Paredes (3-for-9, 2 runs, 1 double, 1 home run, 1 RBI, 3 walks)

Friday 8/4

Rays 8, Tigers 0

WP- Zack Littell (2-2), LP- Reese Olson (1-5)

Ladies and gentlemen, the Rays may have found a solid arm to add to the rotation. After a strong start against Houston last weekend, Zack Littell returned to the mound and shoved it to the Tigers. The offense did too. A two-run double from Isaac Paredes in the first inning and a two-run homer by Jose Siri in the second got the Rays out to a quick 4-0 lead. After they quieted down for a few innings, the Rays struck for three more in the sixth on RBI singles by Siri, Christian Bethancourt, and Yandy Diaz. That would be more than enough for Littell. Though he only struck out one Tiger, Littell pitched a career-high six scoreless innings to earn the victory. An RBI single in the seventh by Harold Ramirez would be the icing on the cake as the Rays shut out the Tigers to take the first game. 

Player of the Game- Zack Littell (TB) (6.0 innings, 3 hits, 0 runs, 1 walk, 1 strikeout)

Saturday 8/5

Tigers 4, Rays 2

WP- Tarik Skubal (2-1), LP- Aaron Civale (5-3), SV- Beau Brieske (1)

The Aaron Civale era didn't get off to the best start on Saturday. In his team debut, he was hit around a little bit. Manuel Margot singled to open the scoring in the second, but Jake Rogers answered immediately in the bottom of the second with his own RBI single. Rogers did the job again in the fourth, driving in two more with a double. Civale would only last 4.1 innings, allowing three runs on nine hits. A solo home run by Akil Baddoo would extend the lead to three runs and while the Rays would get one back in the seventh, it wouldn't be enough to win the game as the Tigers got the job done, setting up the rubber match on Sunday. 

Player of the Game- Jake Rogers (DET) (2-for-4, 1 double, 3 RBIs)

Sunday 8/6

Rays 10, Tigers 6

WP- Colin Poche (9-3), LP- Matt Manning (3-4)

The Rays made the most of a tough situation with Tyler Glasnow being scratched from his start a few hours before the first pitch. The offense jumped on the Tigers early, scoring three runs in the first, highlighted by a two-run single from Josh Lowe, and two in the second inning on a two-run homer by Yandy Diaz. The Tigers picked up one in the second inning, but Brandon Lowe's solo home run pushed the lead back to five runs. For every push the Rays made to put the game away, the Tigers answered. They scored twice in the fourth to pull back within three and after the Rays picked up a couple of runs with two outs in the sixth to make it 8-3, the Tigers pulled back within two runs by the end of the seventh. The final dagger came from Wander Franco as his two-run homer in the eighth put the game out of reach to earn the series victory. Erasmo Ramirez took the spot start, going three strong innings, before six relievers combined to get the job done. 

Player of the Game- Yandy Diaz (TB) (3-for-5, 3 runs, 1 double, 1 home run, 2 RBIs)

Series Review

• The Rays beat the Tigers, 2-1
• The Rays outscored the Tigers, 20-10
• Top prospect Curtis Mead recorded his first MLB hit in his first AB on Friday
• The Rays finished 6-3 on their 9-game road trip
• Series MVP- Wander Franco (6-for-13, 2 runs, 1 home run, 2 RBIs, 1 walk)

Injury Report and Other News

While the Rays made a few trades at the deadline, only one of them was really worthwhile, that being the trade for Aaron Civale in exchange for Kyle Manzardo. They made a couple of small moves, trading Luis Patino to the White Sox for cash, acquiring Alex Jackson from Milwaukee for Evan McKendry, and acquiring Manuel Rodriguez, Adrian Sampson, and future considerations from the Cubs for Josh Roberson and international signing money.

Tyler Glasnow was named the AL Pitcher of the Month for July. In six starts, Glasnow went 3-2 with a 2.11 ERA, 51 strikeouts, and an opponent average of .186 in 38.1 innings.

On the injury front, it was not a fun week for the starters. Shane McClanahan left his start on Wednesday with arm pain and he lands on the 15-day IL as a result. Tyler Glasnow was scratched from his start on Sunday with back tightness with more news likely in the coming days. 

The Week Ahead

The Rays will get a travel day on Monday to get back to the Trop. They'll then play six straight at home, starting with the St. Louis Cardinals on Tuesday. The weekend series will see the Cleveland Guardians come to town with there being a high likelihood that Aaron Civale will be pitching against his former team at some point during this series. 

In the Hunt

Baltimore (70-42, +3.0 for 1st in the AL East)

Last Week- 3-1 at TOR, 3-0 v. NYM. This Week- 3 games v. Houston, 3 games at Seattle

Houston (64-49, 3.5 GB for the 1st Wild Card)

Last Week- 3-0 v. CLE, 2-2 v. NYY. This Week- 3 games at Baltimore, 3 games v. Los Angeles (AL)

Toronto (63-50, 4.5 GB for 2nd in the AL East & 1st Wild Card)

Last Week- 1-3 v. BAL, 3-0 at BOS. This Week- 4 games at Cleveland, 3 games v. Chicago (NL)