For the Tampa Bay Rays, the first seven days of the basball season was an uphill walk across broken glass. It was hard to look at, hard to find clues that anything will be different.
Then came Saturday, and a welcome easy victory.
The Rays, 3-5, had a day when everything worked in a 7-1 victory over Minnesota at Target Field. To illustrate how different it was, consider this: In the first seven games of the season, Rays' pitching allowed 48 runs. This time, one run on three hits.
The Rays got a two-hitter out of starting pitcher Stephen Matz (six innings). They also got two shutout innings (one hit) from Cole Sulser and a one shutout inning Mason Englert.
The Rays had 10 hits (and five walks) on the day.
Cedric Mullins and Chandler Simpson each had two hits for the Rays. Yandy Diaz had a triple and Jonathan Aranda had a double.
The Rays play the Twins again today at 2:10 p.m. at Target Field. Nick Martinez will pitch for the Rays against Simeon Woods Richardson.
Even indoors, the Boston Bruins can't keep the Lightning out of the passing lane.
The Lightning capped off a successful home stand (5-1-1) with a 3-1 win over Boston at Benchmark International Arena. It wasn't quite as dramatic as the Bolts 6-5 win over Boston in the outdoor game at Raymond James Stadium, but it had highlights.
-- Defenseman Darren Raddysh set a record for scoring by a Lightning defenseman, scoring a tie-breaking goal in the third period. It was his 21st goal of the year.
-- Forward Nikita Kucherov scored his 42nf goal, an empty netter.
-- Forward Charle-Edouard D'Astous scored the Bolts' first goal, his sixth of the year.
-- Goaltender Andrei Vasilevskiy won his 37th game by stopping 21 of 22 shots.
The Bolts have clinched the playoffs for the ninth straight season.
The Bolts now go on the road, starting with a game in Buffalo on Monday night at the KeyBank Center.
It was cold. It was wet. Most of all, it was ugly.
The Tampa Bay Rays spent another evening Friday embracing bad baseball. They were clobbered 10-4 by the Minnesota Twinw -- who haven't been very good, either.
Along the way, they:
-- Blew a 3-0 lead.
-- The bullpen was rotten again, giving up seven runs in the seventh.
-- The defense was sloppy, committing three errors.
-- They walked six batters, two with the bases loaded.
-- They gave up a grand slam.
-- In their last five at-bats, they scored just one run.
In the process, they fell to 2-5. How in the world have they won two?
Despite their record, the Rays have had decent starting pitching this year. But the bullpen has been dreadful. Kevin Kelly gave up five runs while recording just one out and has an ERA of 27.0.
The Rays play the Twins again today at Target Field at 7:10 p.m. Steven Matz will start for the Rays against Mick Abel.
There are brighter stars in the Tampa Bay Lightning's constellation.
He lacks the vision of Nikita Kucherov. He lacks the reach of Andre Vasilevskiy. He isn't as potent as Brandon Hagel or Jake Guentzel.
All Anthony Cirelli does is provide the heart for his team.
Cirelli registered the second hat trick of his career in Thursday's 6-3 victory over the Pittsburgh Penguins at Benchmark International Arena.
It was a win that allowed the Bolts to pull into a first-place tie with Buffalo in the Atlantic Division.
Cirelli scored the game's opening goal, a short-handed goal and an empty netter. He now has 23 goals on the season. Cirelli has the second-most goals in a season in his career, behind only the 27 he scored in 2024-25,
Also scoring for the Bolts were Brayden Point (18th), Zemgus Girgensons (9th) and Nikita Kucherov (41st). Kucherov also had two assists, giving him 124 points (second in the league's scoring race).
Andrei Vasilevskiy stopped 21 of 24 shots for his 36th win of the year (most in the league).
The Bolts are home at Benchmark at 5 p.m. Saturday against Boston.
Thursday, 4 a.m. No, that isn’t the Tampa Bay Rays’ bullpen. It’s the Towering Inferno. Once more, the relievers of the Rays were tossing batting practice Wednesday afternoon at American Family Life Field in an 8-2 loss to Milwaukee. Consider. In six games, Rays’ starters have given up 13 runs, an acceptable total. But the […]
Wednesday, 4 a.m. If you are measuring the Rays’ loss to Milwaukee on Tuesday night, it’s understandable if you are disappointed. The team blew a 2-0 lead. They managed just six hits. They allowed the go-ahead run on a sloppy play where they were unable to tag a runner out as he lay prone in […]
Wednesday, 3 a.m. These days, the Lightning seem to be focused on Buffalo, the team in front of them in the standings. Perhaps they should pay a little more attention to Montreal, the just behind them. The Canadiens won their sixth straight game Tuesday night, beating the Lighning 4-1 at Benchmark International Arena. That allowed […]
Tuesday, 4 a.m. Jonny Deluca, game-buster. Deluca, not normally a slugger, turned the game for the Tampa Bay Rays Monday night. Deluca, who had only eight home runs in his previous three seasons with the Rays, took over the game late in a 3-2 win over Milwaukee at American Family Field. In the seventh inning, […]
Monday, 4 a.m. The Tampa Bay Lightning spend much of Sunday afternoon sleep-walking. They were dull and uninspired. They got off only one shot in the entire first period. They won only two face-offs. They were one tick above being comatose. And still, they won. Somehow, they won. Without Andrei Vasilevskiy in net, without Nikita […]
Monday, 3 a.m. Offense. Following their first win, the Tampa Bay Rays want you to talk about their offense. They want you to talk about an opening weekend in which they scored 23 runs, and one in which they compiled 41 hits. They want you to talk about Yandy Diaz, who had five hits 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.
