Are you worried about the Tampa Bay Rays' bullpen all over again?
And it not, why not.
The Rays' relief corps exploded loudly in Sunday's 10-5, 10-inning loss to Miami Sunday After a stellar start by Nick Martinez (seven innings, no runs), the pen collapsed in giving up nine runs in the Marlins' final two at-bats.
Byron Baker gave up the go-ahead run in the ninth. Then, in the ninth, Hunter Bigge was ravagtee for six hits and seven earned runs.
Palacios had two hits./KIM HUKARI
The Rays scored three times in the botom of the 10th, but it was nowhere near enough.
The Rays took a 1-0 lead in the third when Chandler Simpson singled in Taylor Walls of Marlins' starter Sandy Alcantara. But in the seventh, Hiriberto Hernandez homered off of Garrett Cleavinger to tie he game.
Javier Sanojo doubled in the go-ahead run in the ninth off off Baker. But the Rays forced extra innings when Nick Fontes, a former Marlin, singled to left off Pete Fairbanks, a former Ray.
The 10th inning was a nightmare for Bigge, who saw the Marlins blew open the game. Sonoja had the big hit with a bases-loaded double to drive in three runs.
The Rays scored three runs runs on doubles by Junior Caminero and Jonathan Aranda in the bottom of the inning.
Caminero and Richie Palacios each had two hits for the Rays.
The teams play again at Tropicana Field at 12:15 p.m. Drew Rasmussen will start for the Rays against Eury Perez.
A former All-Star, Mullins has flailed mightily in his first season with the Tampa Bay Rays. He entered Friday night's game hitting .150 while headlines wondered how safe his position was with the Tampa Bay Rays.
Ah, but on Friday night, Mullins was a star again.
He had four hits -- including a home run-- to drive his average up 26 points. Two of the hits were bunts. It was his first four-hit game in three years.
It led the Rays to a 7-2 victory over the Florida Marlins.
Chandler Simpson and Richie Palacios had two hits. Taylor Walls. drove in three runs.
Jesse Scholtens, who pitched in the bulk role, went five innings to increase his record to 4-2.
The Rays and Marlins play again at Tropicana Field at 4:10 p.m. Nick Martinez will start for the Rays against Sandy Alcantara.
Uh-oh. The bullpen of the Tampa Bay Rays is aflame again.
The relief pitchers of the Rays were the culprits in the Rays' 5-3, 10-inning loss to the Toronto Blue Jays Wednesday night at the Rogers Centre.
Twice, the Rays were in position to close out a win, leading 1-0 in the eighth and 3-1 in the 10th. But neither time could the bullpen -- effective as of late -- slam the door.
In the eighth, usual closer Bryon Baker could not find the strike zone. He walked four batters in two-thirds of an inning, giving up the tying run when Kazuma Okamoto hit a sacrifice fly.
The Rays regained the lead in the 10th when Ben Williamson singled in a run, then scored on a single by Yandy Diaz.
But reliever Aaron Brooks let the two-run lead slip away. He managed to get one batter out, walked two and gave up a walk-off grand slam to Daulton Varsho.
The Rays walked 10 batters in all. They were bailed out with four double plays and the Blue Jays going one-for-10 with runners in scoring position.
Griffin Jax went five innings and allowed just four hits.
The Rays got two hits from Diaz. Richie Palacios drove in a run in the seventh.
The Rays are off today, then play home against the Florida Marlins. They play Friday night at 7:10 p.m. Jesse Scholtens will start for the Rays against Janson Junk.
Sometimes, the sweetest wins can be the ones you almost let get away.
The Tampa Bay Rays pulled out a 7-6 win over Toronto in 10 innings Tuesday night at the Rogers Centre. Taylor Walls singled in a tie-breaking run in the top of the 10th, then scored on a deep fly by Jonathan Aranda.
Earlier in the game, the Rays blew a five-run lead in the seventh inning.
Shane McClanahan had another impressive start, going five innings and giving up just one hit and no runs. The Rays led 5-0 in the seventh inning.
McClanahan is 3-0 in his last four starts and has held opposing batters to a .147 average and no runs,
It's been a while since the bullpen faltered, but it had a horrible inning. Relievers Casey Legumina and Cole Susler each gave up two earned runs (they combined for only five outs). The tying run scored on Junior Caminero’s second error of the night.
The Rays did get 13 hits. Jonny DeLuca had three hits and Aranda, Caminero and Ryan Vilade all had two.
Vilade had a double and a triple.
Aranda continues to lead the American League with 33 RBI.
The Rays and Jays play again tonight at 7:07 at the Rogers Centre, Griffin Jax will start for the Rays against Dylan Cease.
Tuesday, 4 a.m. Maybe, just maybe, the Tampa Bay Rays knew what they were doing when they let relief pitcher Pete Fairbanks walk. Fairbanks is off to a stumbling start with his new team, the Miami Marlins. He was 0-2 with an ERA of 10.00 as he recently headed to the injured list. His primary […]
Monday, 4 a.m. Don’t look now, but the young lad is getting stronger. Junior Caminero, the budding star of the Tampa Bay Rays, homered again Sunday afternoon to lead the Rays to a 4-1 victory over the Boston Red Sox. And, once again, it was impressive. This time, Caminero drove a pitch 404 feet over […]
Saturday, 4 a.m. No, winning streaks don’t last forever. The Tampa Bay Rays lost a rare game Friday night, 2-0 to the Boston Red Sox in Fenway Park. The Rays had won seven in a row, and they had won 13 of 14 games. The Red Sox cooled all that down in their shutout win. […]
Friday, 4 a.m. The Tampa Bay Rays showed a national audience just what they have going on Thursday night. In an 8-4 victory over the Boston Red Sox at Fenway Park, the Rays showed off their stars. You’ve heard of Junior Caminero? That was him, launching a 449-foot home run to clinch the victory. Caminero […]
Thursday, 4 a.m. Turns out, the Tampa Bay Rays are going to need a bigger broom. The Rays pulled off their second straight series sweep — and their fifth of the season — with a 3-0 victory over the Toronto Blue Jays at Tropicana Field. It was another positive stride for Shane McClanahan, who had […]
Wednesday, 4 a.m. He is not a regular hero. He just plays one every now and then. Ben Williamson, the middle-infielder of the Tampa Bay Rays, snuck a single up the middle to drive his team to a 4-3 victory over Toronto at Tropicana Field Tuesday night. It was the Rays’ fifth straight win, and […]
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About Gary Shelton
• No one covers Tampa Bay like Gary Shelton.
• No one has seen as many moments, as many athletes, as many coaches as he has over the last quarter of a century.
• No one has won more awards, including two national Associated Press Sports Editors Best Columnist awards and eight top 10 finishes. He also just received his sixth Sportswriter of the Year award for Florida by the NSSA.
• No one has seen more big events, including 29 Super Bowls, 10 Olympics and 11 Final Fours. Gary still goes into the locker rooms to obtain his stories.
• No one has made you angrier, or laugh louder, or think harder about what he has written.
Now, he begins a website designed to keep him in touch with the readers who have grown up on his words.
