Catching Some Rays: 8/21-27

After a successful trip out west, the Rays return home as they continue to chase the Baltimore Orioles in AL East. Their journey this week would feature two teams at the bottom of their respective divisions. The mid-week series would be a three-game interleague series with the Colorado Rockies before they welcome their division rivals, the New York Yankees, for the weekend. There always seem to be sparks when the two sides come together, and with the Yankees entering as cold as ice, they should have plenty of fight in them to turn things around. 

Tuesday 6/22

Rays 12, Rockies 4

WP- Andrew Kittredge (1-0), LP- Brent Suter (4-1)

Everything that happened before the eighth inning feels insignificant. Through six innings, the Rays and Rockies traded the lead. Isaac Paredes drove one in with a fielder's choice in the first. A sac fly and a Michael Toglia home run shifted the lead to Colorado in the second. RBI singles by Jose Siri in the third and Yandy Diaz in the fourth put the Rays back ahead. Elias Diaz tied the game with an RBI single in the sixth and scored on a passed ball to regain the lead again. Colorado's 4-3 lead remained in place when the Rays stepped up to the plate in the bottom of the eighth as Brent Suter took the mound. Two singles and a walk loaded the bases to open the inning, and Christian Bethancourt singled home the tying run. After Suter got a strikeout, Diaz knocked a ball to left field to retake the lead while keeping the bases loaded. This hit would bring Daniel Bard into the game. Randy Arozarena smoked a single off the glove of the left fielder, driving in two more runs. Paredes hit his second double of the game to score another run. After Jose Siri was hit by a pitch to load the bases again, Osleivis Basabe unloaded on a ball, hitting a grand slam for his first home run in the big leagues. This would culminate a nine-run inning for the Rays, putting them ahead 12-4. Robert Stephenson pitched a perfect ninth inning to complete a wild win for the Rays. 

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

Wednesday 6/23

Rays 6, Rockies 5 (10)

WP- Pete Fairbanks (2-4), LP- Brent Suter (4-2)

The Rays' Twitter page put it best once the game ended, posting three simple words; "Ball don't lie." Randy Arozarena put the team ahead with his 20th home run in the third inning. Elias Diaz put the Rockies back even with a solo shot in the fifth, but Yandy Diaz singled home a run in the bottom of the inning to put the Rays back ahead. Colorado gave the Rays some of their own medicine in the sixth, scoring four runs to take a big 5-2 lead. Elias Diaz drove in two more runs with a single, Elehuris Montero was hit by a pitch with the bases loaded, and Brenton Doyle singled home another but was denied a second run when Arozarena threw out a run at home. Isaac Paredes hit a solo home run in the sixth to pull the Rays within two runs, but that's as close as they got heading into the ninth inning. With Justin Lawrence on the mound, the Rays went to work. After Curtis Mead struck out, two singles and a walk would load the bases for Yandy Diaz. He'd knock a ball into center field, driving in two runs and tying the game. The bases would be loaded again a few batters later with two outs for Paredes. He hit a grounder to third, and the throw clearly pulled the first basemen off the bag. Paredes was called out, but the Rays challenged the play. Everyone in the world knew Paredes was safe because the foot was not on the bag. The umpires saw it differently, and the call stood as called. It was the wrong call. There's no other way to look at it. However, ball don't lie. Pete Fairbanks sat down the Rockies in order to open the tenth, and Brandon Lowe needed just three pitches to drive in Osleivis Basabe to walk it off and win the series. 

Player of the Game- Yandy Diaz (TB) (2-for-4, 3 RBIs, 1 walk)

Thursday 6/24

Rays 5, Rockies 3

WP- Jason Adam (4-2), LP- Matt Koch (2-2), SV- Pete Fairbanks (16)

As has been the case in the last two games, the victory didn't come easy for the Rays. The long ball factored into almost every run of the afternoon. Luke Raley knocked a solo shot in the second inning to get the Rays ahead. Osleivis Basabe added to the lead with an RBI single in the fourth inning. The Rockies scored all three of their runs at once when Nolan Jones knocked a three-run shot in the fifth inning to get the Rockies on the board. Isaac Paredes homered in the bottom of the sixth to even the game as it remained 3-3 heading into the bottom of the eighth. With two outs, Randy Arozarena singled and Josh Lowe followed him with a blast into right-center that cleared the fence to put the Rays back ahead with three outs left to get. Pete Fairbanks came in and shut the door on the Rockies, striking out three batters to finish the sweep and earn the save. 

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

Series Review

• The Rays swept the Rockies, 3-0
• The Rays outscored the Rockies, 23-12
• Outscored the Rockies 14-0 after the 7th inning
• Pete Fairbanks recorded his 200th strikeout on Thursday
• Series MVP- Isaac Paredes (5-for-12, 3 runs, 2 doubles, 2 home runs, 4 RBIs, 1 walk, 1 hit by pitch)

Friday 6/25

Yankees 6, Rays 2

WP- Gerrit Cole (11-4), LP- Zach Eflin (13-8)

With one win in their last 11 games, the Yankees got some timely offense to take the first game. Gerrit Cole and Zach Eflin went head-to-head in the opening game, and both were going strong through four innings. Eflin broke first, allowing a solo home run to DJ LeMahieu in the fifth inning. An RBI single by Everson Pereira in the sixth gave the Yankees a two-run lead, but Yandy Diaz responded with a solo home run in the bottom half of the inning. The Yankees broke the game open in the seventh, getting an RBI double from Gleyber Torres and a two-run double from Giancarlo Stanton to make it 5-1. LeMahieu added a second solo home run in the eighth inning, and Brandon Lowe singled home one more for the Rays, but Cole would get the best of the Rays tonight, striking out 11 to get his 11th win. 

Player of the Game- DJ LeMahieu (NYY) (3-for-4, 3 runs, 2 home runs, 2 RBIs, 1 walk)

Saturday 6/26

Rays 3, Yankees 0

WP- Tyler Glasnow (7-4), LP- Clarke Schmidt (8-8), SV- Pete Fairbanks (17)

After a strong performance from Gerrit Cole on Friday, Tyler Glasnow one-upped him on Saturday. All of the offense the Rays needed would come in the first three innings. A pair of sac flies by Harold Ramirez and Jonathan Aranda in the second inning and an RBI double by Josh Lowe put the Rays up 3-0. This was more than enough for Glasnow. Though five innings, Glasnow had only allowed two walks. His no-hitter would be broken up by DJ LeMahieu, but that's all he would allow in his six innings of work. While the Rays couldn't muster any more runs, neither could the Yankees. LeMahieu would pick up a second hit in the ninth inning, but that would be it. Four pitchers combined for a two-hit shutout as the Rays evened the series. 

Player of the Game- Tyler Glasnow (TB) (6.0 innings, 1 hit, 0 runs, 2 walks, 4 strikeouts)

Sunday 6/27

Rays 7, Yankees 4

WP- Zack Littell (3-4), LP- Ian Hamilton (2-2), SV- Jason Adam (12)

If we've learned anything about the Rays this week, it's that they have a flair for the dramatic. It started well for the Rays, scoring twice in the first inning. On a steal attempt from Randy Arozarena, the Yankees committed two throwing errors, allowing him to score from first base. Brandon Lowe followed that with a solo home run as the Rays held a 2-0 lead. The Yankees would tie the game in the third inning with solo home runs from Kyle Higashioka and DJ LeMahieu, then take the lead in the fourth on a two-run homer by Anthony Volpe. The sixth inning would be a wild one for the Rays. With the bases loaded, Harold Ramirez flared a ball over second base, allowing two runs to score as the Rays tied it again. After Ramirez stole second base, Lowe stepped up and delivered a go-ahead two-run single to push the Rays back ahead by two runs. Things got testy in the eighth inning. After Arozarena was hit by a pitch, the two sides came together for a little meeting at home plate. When he stole second and third, the same would happen. Fortunately, no one would be ejected from either of these incidents. Lowe would double home Arozarena to add to his fantastic day, and with Jason Adam coming in to close the door, the Rays managed to take the final two games of the series, giving them five straight series victories. 

Player of the Game- Brandon Lowe (TB) (3-for-4, 1 run, 1 double, 1 home run, 4 RBIs, 1 walk)

Series Review

• The Rays beat the Yankees, 2-1
• The Rays outscored the Yankees, 12-10
• Aaron Judge in this series- 0-12, 1 BB, 8 K
• The Rays are the 3rd team to hit 80 wins this season
• The Rays now have the AL's best run differential (+174)
• Series MVP- Brandon Lowe (6-for-12, 1 run, 1 double, 1 home run, 5 RBIs, 1 walk)

Injury Report & Other News

The Wander Franco saga continued this week as he was placed on administrative leave amid the ongoing investigation. There doesn't seem to be a resolution coming anytime soon, so it's time to prepare for the idea that he won't be back this season. 

Francisco Mejia was activated from the IL and immediately DFA'd as the duo of Christian Bethancourt and Rene Pinto continues to lead the team. 

The Week Ahead

The Rays will hit the road, but won't need to leave Florida for their mid-week series in Miami against the Marlins. It's a two-game clash with off days on Monday and Thursday. Their weekend tilt will be a three-game set in Cleveland against the Guardians. It'll be the second meeting in three weeks for the two sides. 

In the Hunt

Baltimore (81-49, +2.0 games in the AL East)

Last Week- 2-1 v. TOR & 2-1 v. COL. This Week- 3 games v. Chicago (AL) & 3 games at Arizona. 

Texas (73-57, 6.0 GB for the 1st WC)

Last Week- 0-2 at ARZ & 1-3 at MIN. This Week- 3 games at New York (NL) & 3 games v. Minnesota. 

Houston (74-58, 6.0 GB for the 1st WC)

Last Week- 2-2 v. BOS & 2-1 at DET. This Week- 3 games at Boston & 3 games v. New York (AL)