Catching Some Rays- 8/14-20

The Rays are heading out to California for two series on the west coast. The beginning of the week will feature a three-game interleague battle with the San Francisco Giants as the Rays look to keep pace with Baltimore in the AL East. The weekend series will be interesting in more ways than one. The best player in the world, Shohei Ohtani, will lead the Angels for three games against the Rays, but the weather could be a major factor as a hurricane makes its way to the mainland. Regardless, the Rays need to pick up two series wins here against teams they don't get to see often. 

Monday 8/14

Rays 10, Giants 2

WP- Tyler Glasnow (6-3), LP- Tanner Beck (3-2), SV- Jacob Lopez (1)

After missing some time, Tyler Glasnow stepped back onto the mound and delivered a quality start for the Rays in the opener against the Giants. The offense took a few innings to get going, but once they did, it was an explosion of runs. Osleivis Basabe got it going by driving in the first two runs of his career with a two-run single in the fourth inning. Yandy Diaz drove him in with an RBI double. In the fifth inning, Christian Bethancourt and Manuel Margot each connected for RBI singles. The Giants scraped one across in the fifth and that's all they'd get against Glasnow. He went six innings, allowing three hits and three walks as he struck out seven. Bethancourt got the run back with a solo blast in the seventh. An RBI single by Isaac Paredes and an RBI double by Jose Siri padded the lead in the eighth. Harold Ramirez would triple home a run and score on a passed ball to get the Rays into double digits. Making his MLB debut, Jacob Lopez would come in and pitch three innings to record the save as the Rays cruised to a 10-2 victory. 

Player of the Game- Christian Bethancourt (TB) (3-for-5, 2 runs, 1 home run, 2 RBIs)

Tuesday 8/15

Giants 7, Rays 0

WP- Sean Manaea (4-3), LP- Zack Littell (2-4)

The Giants returned the favor in Game 2, holding the Rays to three hits in a shutout loss. The game didn't start lopsided with neither team scoring through five innings. Zack Littell was having another strong outing until he ran into trouble in the sixth inning. Thairo Estrada broke the shutout with a solo home run. Wilmer Flores added two more runs with a homer of his own later in the inning. A throwing error by Rene Pinto in the seventh would help the Giants push two more in the seventh. The Giants padded their lead in the eighth on an RBI double by Michael Conforto and an RBI single by Patrick Bailey. It was an ugly night overall for the Rays, striking out 15 times, committing a few errors, and finding no offense with Wednesday's game set to decide the series. 

Player of the Game- Sean Manaea (SFG) (3.1 innings, 1 hit, 0 runs, 2 walks, 5 strikeouts in relief)

Wednesday 8/16

Rays 6, Giants 1

WP- Aaron Civale (6-3), LP- Ryan Walker (4-2)

All of the bad things we saw on Tuesday were swept away on Wednesday as the Rays controlled the final game from the beginning. An RBI single by Isaac Paredes in the first put the Rays ahead early, and they never looked back. Then, the partnership of Lowe and Lowe went to work. In the fourth inning, Josh Lowe hit a solo bomb to center field that cleared the fence. In the fifth, Brandon Lowe went to the same part of the ballpark, knocking a two-run shot to make it 4-0. Paredes would drive in another run in the fifth, but wouldn't be credited with an RBI because of a fielding error. To add to the madness, Luke Raley got one of the most amazing bounces I've ever seen on a drive in the sixth. The ball hit the brick wall in right-center field, bounced off the top of the center-field wall, and shot away from the outfielders. Raley rounded the bases and scored standing up, making it 6-0. This would be more than enough for Aaron Civale, who pitched six shutout innings to earn his first win as a Ray. The game wasn't without its drama. In the seventh, a bases-loaded walk got the Giants on the board, but the rally was killed by one of four double plays the Rays turned in the game. Tampa Bay would close out the series on a high note, taking the first of their two series in California. 

Player of the Game- Aaron Civale (TB) (6.0 innings, 5 hits, 0 runs, 1 walk, 5 strikeouts)

Series Review

• The Rays beat the Giants, 2-1
• The Rays outscored the Giants, 16-10
• 18 hits on Monday are their most in the game this season
• Brandon Lowe reached 100 home runs in his career on Wednesday
• Series MVP- Harold Ramirez (4-for-9, 3 runs, 1 triple, 1 RBI, 1 hit by pitch)

Friday 8/18

Rays 9, Angels 6 (10)

WP- Pete Fairbanks (1-4), LP- Carlos Estevez (5-4), SV- Andrew Kittredge (1)

Everything that happened in this game should've guaranteed a loss for the Rays, but they never gave up. The Rays and Angels traded RBI doubles in the first inning from Isaac Paredes and Mike Moustakas. The Angels broke the game open with one swing of the bat from Shohei Ohtani as he blasted a grand slam off Erasmo Ramirez to stake the Angels to a 5-1 lead after two. The Rays clawed back into the fray with a three-run fourth inning, with Josh Lowe hitting a two-run double and Rene Pinto singling home another. The game would be tied again in the fifth inning with Harold Ramirez hitting an RBI double. Ramirez would strike again in the seventh with an RBI single, but it was met in the bottom half by Brandon Drury's RBI double to tie the game at six. In the ninth, the Rays had runners on the corners with no one out. Ramirez hit a grounder to short for an easy double play. However, Yandy Diaz decided to break for home and was shot down at the plate, turning it into an inning-ending triple play. Pete Fairbanks would run into a little trouble in the ninth, with runners on first and second, but he managed to get out of it, sending the game to extras. In the tenth, the Rays strung together some big hits, with Luke Raley, Josh Lowe, and Pinto all driving in runs with singles, making it a 9-6 game. Andrew Kittredge would take the mound for the first time after coming off the IL and closing the door, earning the save to win this ridiculous game. 

Player of the Game- Josh Lowe (TB) (2-for-5, 1 run, 1 double, 3 RBIs)

Saturday 8/19

Game 1

Angels 7, Rays 6

WP- Griffin Canning (7-4), LP- Tyler Glasnow (6-4), SV- Reynaldo Lopez (6)

With Hurricane Hillary set to make landfall over the weekend, the final two games of the series were converted to a doubleheader on Saturday. The first game started well for the Rays, with Josh Lowe driving in two runs with the bases loaded in the first inning. Just like on Friday, the Rays found themselves in a big hole. The Angels got both runs back in the second inning before exploding for four runs in the third, aided by two passed balls by Tyler Glasnow. Also like on Friday, the Rays quickly tried to get back into the game immediately. A solo home run by Lowe and a two-run homer by Rene Pinto in the fourth inning pulled the Rays back within a run. Brandon Drury would hit a massive home run in the fifth inning to put the Angels back ahead by two runs. Jonathan Aranda knocked his first home run of the season in the sixth to make it a one-run game again, but that's as close as the Rays would get. The Angels' bullpen closed the door to even the series, setting up an important night game. 

Player of the Game- Brandon Drury (LAA) (3-for-4, 2 runs, 1 home run, 1 RBI)

Game 2

Rays 18, Angels 4

WP- Zach Eflin (13-7), LP- Patrick Sandoval (6-10)

For three innings, things were very quiet. Zach Eflin and Patrick Sandoval had kept base runners to a minimum as the game remained scoreless. Even after Osleivis Basabe hit an RBI single and Josh Lowe's groundout drove in another run, it was still a close game. The game turned on its head in the top of the fifth inning when Jordyn Adams dropped a pop-up with two outs to keep the inning going. The Rays proceeded to score four runs, with an RBI singly by Isaac Paredes, a two-run double by Curtis Mead, and another RBI double by Basabe. Hunter Renfroe's solo home run got the Angels on the board in the fifth. Soon, the long ball started to make this a blowout. After a two-run double from Harold Ramirez, Paredes drove a three-run shot and Jose Siri added a two-run homer in a seven-run sixth for the Rays to make it 13-1. In the seventh, Randy Arozarena added a two-run home run and Ramirez hit a two-run single as the lead swole to 17-1. Brandon Drury drove a three-run home in the eighth and Christian Bethancourt rounded out the scoring with a sac fly to give the Rays a season-high 18 runs to destroy the Angels in the nightcap to seal the series win. 

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

Series Review

• The Rays beat the Angels, 2-1
• The Rays outscored the Angels, 33-17
• In Friday's win, the Rays became the 2nd team since the AL/NL split to win a game after giving up a grand slam and hitting into a triple play
• Series MVP- Josh Lowe (6-for-13, 3 runs, 1 double, 1 home run, 7 RBIs, 1 walk, 1 hit by pitch)

Injury Report & Other News

Two more Rays hit the IL this week. Manuel Margot was placed on the 10-day IL with loose bodies in his elbow. He's expected to miss 3-4 weeks. Kevin Kelly hit the 15-day IL with an ankle sprain. The team did get Andrew Kittredge back for the weekend series as he made his season debut. 

The Week Ahead

With the weird change in schedule, the Rays have a rare two-day break. They'll use this time to travel back to Florida for two series at home. The mid-week series will begin on Tuesday as the Rays host the Colorado Rockies for three games. The weekend series will be a big one as the New York Yankees come to Tropicana Field for three more games. 

In the Hunt

Baltimore (77-47, +3.0 games in the AL East)

Last week- 1-2 @ SD, 3-0 @ OAK. This week- 3 games v. Toronto & 3 games v. Colorado. 

Houston (70-55, 3.5 GB for the 1st Wild Card Spot)

Last week- 2-1 @ MIA, 0-3 v. SEA. This week- 4 games v. Boston & 3 games at Detroit.