Catching Some Rays: 9/11-9/17

The Rays hit the road for the most consequential week of the season. They start the week with a three-game set against a postseason team, the AL Central-leading Minnesota Twins. A good series could be important as they head to Baltimore to battle the Orioles with the fate of the AL East on the line. The work they put in against the Twins could get them in a good position to lead the division once the week it finished. 

Monday 9/11

Rays 7, Twins 4

WP- Tyler Glasnow (9-5), LP- Sonny Gray (7-7), SV- Pete Fairbanks (23)

As we remember a solemn day in American history, the Rays took their talents to Minnesota to begin a three-game set. They did so in a convincing fashion. The offense exploded early to aid another great start from Tyler Glasnow. RBI singles by Josh Lowe and Jose Siri got the Rays ahead 2-0 after three innings. Max Kepler homered in the bottom of the fourth, but Taylor Walls' three-run homer in the fifth extended the lead to four runs. Yandy Diaz hit his 20th home run of the season in the sixth, and Vidal Brujan pushed one more across with a bunt as the Rays held a 7-1 lead. Royce Lewis knocked a three-run shot off Glasnow in the sixth to make it 7-4, but that's as close as the game got. The bullpen combined for three near-perfect innings as the Rays took the opening game of the series. 

Player of the Game- Yandy Diaz (TB) (4-for-6, 2 runs, 1 double, 1 home run, 1 RBI)

Tuesday 9/12

Twins 3, Rays 2

WP- Louie Varland (4-3), LP- Zack Littell (3-6), SV- Jhoan Duran (26)

The offense dried up a little, and it cost the Rays dearly. Minnesota scored first on a solo home run in the third inning by Edouard Julien, but the Rays jumped ahead with an RBI single by Josh Lowe in the fourth and a solo home run in the fifth by Rene Pinto. It felt like this would be enough of a cushion with the way Zach Littell was pitching. Through six innings, he was masterful. All it took was one big mistake to turn the tides. Will Castro stepped up in the seventh inning and knocked a two-run to give Minnesota the lead. There was no comeback in this one as the Twins closed the game down, forcing a big rubber game on Wednesday. 

Player of the Game- Will Castro (MIN) (1-for-3, 1 run, 1 home run, 2 RBIs)

Wednesday 9/13

Rays 5, Twins 4

WP- Kevin Kelly (5-2), LP- Griffin Jax (6-10), SV- Robert Stephenson (1)

This had the potential to be a massive disappointment. Thankfully, Randy Arozarena had a different idea. The Rays jumped out to a 4-0 lead in the third inning. They scored three times in the second inning on an Oslevis Basabe fielder's choice and a two-run double by Yandy Diaz. Curtis Mead added another run on an RBI double in the third. Slowly, Minnesota got back into the game. Matt Wallner and Kyle Farmer went back-to-back in the third inning to pull within two runs. In the fifth, Max Kepler hit a two-run double to knot the game. Neither bullpen would break as the game entered the ninth inning tied at four. With two outs in the top of the ninth, Arozarena put the team on his back. He destroyed a baseball into the third deck in left field to give the Rays a 5-4 lead. Working around a walk, Colin Poche and Robert Stephenson combined to close the series in the bottom of the ninth, earning the series win to give Tampa Bay some momentum before their series with Baltimore. 

Player of the Game- Randy Arozarena (TB) (2-for-5, Go-Ahead Home Run in the 9th)

Series Review

• The Rays beat the Twins, 2-1
• The Rays outscored the Twins, 14-11
• This is the Rays' 9th 90-win season in the last 15 seasons and 2nd in the last 3
• Series MVP- Yandy Diaz (6-for-13, 2 runs, 2 doubles, 1 home run, 3 RBIs, 1 walk)

Thursday 9/14

Rays 4, Orioles 3

WP- Colin Poche (12-3), LP- Kyle Bradish (11-7), SV- Pete Fairbanks (24)

The Battle for the AL East began on Thursday night and it was as exciting as we'd hoped it'd be. Baltimore struck first in the second inning as Ryan O'Hearn hit a solo home run. The Rays responded with a big third inning. Brandon Lowe singled home Yandy Diaz and Randy Arozarena hit a two-run triple to put the Rays ahead 3-1 early. Baltimore chipped away at the lead, getting a solo home run from Gunnar Henderson in the fourth and a fielder's choice in the fifth with the bases loaded to tie the game. Much like Arozarena the day before, Luke Raley told the team he had it. In the top of the seventh, Raley stepped up and gave the Rays the lead again with a solo home run. The bullpen took control from there. After five solid innings from Aaron Civale, Colin Poche, Shawn Armstrong, and Robert Stephenson pitched three perfect innings to set up Pete Fairbanks in the ninth. The closer had something extra in the ninth inning, emphatically striking out the side to close it out, bringing the Rays within one game of the division lead. 

Player of the Game- Luke Raley (TB) (2-for-3, 2 runs, Go-ahead Home Run in the 7th)

Friday 9/15

Rays 7, Orioles 1

WP- Zach Eflin (15-8), LP- Jack Flaherty (8-9)

The second game of the weekend wasn't as close as the first. Once the Rays took the lead, they were there for good. They waited until the fourth inning to get on the board as Brandon Lowe cracked his 20th home run of the season to break the scoreless tie. In his first game back from the IL, Manuel Margot added to the lead in the fourth with an RBI single. Lowe knocked in another run with a sac fly in the fifth. The game really broke open in the sixth. Margot knocked his third hit of the night, an RBI double, to make it 4-0. Harold Ramirez came off the bench and destroyed a three-run home run to extend the lead to seven runs. In the meantime, Zach Eflin was spinning a gem. He hadn't allowed a hit through five innings, with the only baserunner reaching on an error. The no-hitter was broken in the sixth as Heston Kjerstad recorded his first MLB hit. This hit also happened to break the shutout as he drove it over the fence, making it 7-1. After seven innings from Eflin, the Orioles managed just one walk and one hit as the Rays locked themselves into a virtual tie for the division lead, and earned Eflin his AL-leading 15th win of the season. 

Player of the Game- Zach Eflin (TB) (7.0 innings, 1 hit, 1 run, 0 walks, 8 strikeouts)

Saturday 9/16

Orioles 8, Rays 0

WP- Grayson Rodriguez (6-4), LP- Tyler Glasnow (9-6)

Baltimore got a measure of redemption against the Rays, blowing them out of the water in the third game of the series. The Orioles started early and poured it on from there. Ryan O'Hearn knocked an RBI single in the first inning. Baltimore opened it up in the second inning, scoring three runs to take a 4-0 lead, with Gunnar Henderson hitting a two-run shot. Henderson added another run in the fifth with an RBI single. The Orioles would add three more runs over the course of the game from Adley Rutschman, Cedric Mullins, and Ramon Urias to finish their 8-0 shutout victory. Grayson Rodriguez was phenomenal on the mound, pitching eight shutout innings and striking out seven Rays. 

Player of the Game- Gunnar Henderson (BAL) (3-for-5, 2 runs, 1 home run, 3 RBIs)

Sunday 9/17

Orioles 5, Rays 4 (11)

WP- D.L. Hall (2-0), LP- Jake Diekman (0-2)

This was a painful way for the series to end. The series victory was right there for the Rays to take. Brandon Lowe put the Rays on the board first with a solo home run in the first inning, but it was met in the fourth inning by an RBI single in the fourth inning by Austin Hays. In the fifth, Tristan Gray knocked his first MLB hit with a single. He'd up the ante in the eighth inning by hitting his first MLB home run to put the Rays ahead. Christian Bethancourt stepped up a homered to make it back-to-back for the Rays as they took a 3-1 lead. Kevin Cash knew the situation was dire, so he sent Pete Fairbanks to the mound in the eighth for a six-out save. Adley Rutschman hit a solo home run to pull the Orioles within one run, but the Rays got the ninth inning needing three outs for a series win. Fairbanks wasn't able to shut the door as Adam Frazier knocked an RBI double with two outs to send the game to extras. The two sides traded runs in the tenth inning, and after the Rays failed to score in the eleventh, the Orioles finished the job, as Cedric Mullins hit a walk-off sac fly to earn the split and regain their two-game lead in the AL East. 

Player of the Game- Adley Rutschman (BAL) (3-for-5, 2 runs, 1 double, 1 home run, 2 RBIs)

Series Review

• The Rays split with the Orioles, 2-2
• The Orioles outscored the Rays, 17-15
• The Rays clinched a postseason berth with the Rangers' loss on Sunday
• It's the 9th postseason berth in franchise history and the 5th consecutive
• The Rays have 5 20+ home run players for the first time in franchise history
• Baltimore owns the tiebreaker over the Rays by winning the season series
• Series MVP- Zach Eflin (TB) (7.0 innings, 1 hit, 1 run, 0 walks, 8 strikeouts)

Injury Report and Other News

Jose Siri left Monday's game in the fifth inning after being hit in the hand by a pitch. Kevin Cash estimated he'd be out for three weeks. In his place, Manuel Margot was activated from the IL on Thursday. Taylor Walls was placed on paternity leave on Saturday, leading to Tristan Gray being called up to make his debut. 

The Week Ahead

The Rays will get a much-needed day off on Monday after completing 17 games in 17 days. Once they get back to action, they'll be at home for three games against the Angels and three games against the Blue Jays to close out their home schedule for the regular season. 

In the Hunt

Baltimore (93-56, +2.0 games in the AL East)

Last week- 1-2 vs. STL & 2-2 vs. TB. This week- 3 games at Houston & 4 games at Cleveland.

Toronto (83-67, 8.5 GB for the 1st Wild Card spot)

Last week- 0-4 vs. TEX & 3-0 vs. BOS. This week- 3 games at New York (AL) & 3 games at Tampa Bay.

Texas (82-67, 0.5 GB for the 2nd Wild Card spot)

Last week- 4-0 at TOR & 0-3 at CLE. This week- 3 games vs. Boston & 3 games vs. Seattle.

Seattle (81-68, 1.0 GB for the 3rd Wild Card spot)

Last week- 2-1 vs. LAA & 0-3 vs. LAD. This week- 3 games at Oakland & 3 games at Texas.