Another reminder: If the other team doesn't score, it can't beat you.
For the fourth time in seven games, the Tampa Bay Rays shut out an opponent. This time, it was 1-0, the team's 10th shutout of the season.
Drew Rasmussen led the way, striking out 10 and allowing just four hits over six innings. The bullpen got the last nine outs, allowing only one hit and striking out six batters themselves.
Bryan Baker recorded his 31st save of the season. He threw just six pitches to get out of the ninth.
One day after the White Sox hit four home runs in a win, they had only five singles.
Fortes drove in only run./KIM HUKARI
The only run of the game came in the fifth inning, when Nick Fortes singled in Jonny DeLuca. Yandy Diaz had two hits for the Rays.
The Rays and White Sox play again today at 1:40 p.m. at Tropicana Field. Griffin Jax (6-8) will start for the Rays against Anthony Kay (7-5).
Perhaps it is time for a bit of a reminder for the Tampa Bay Rays:
It's hard to play defense on the far side of the fence.
The Chicago White Sox reminded the Rays of that in Friday night's 6-1 win at Tropicana Field. The Sox hit four home runs in their win over the Rays.
Miguel Vargas, Anthony Benintendi, Munetaka Murakami and Colson Montgomery all homered for Chicago. Half of the White Sox eight hits were home runs. It was one of the roughest outings of the year for Nick Martinez (10-3).
Martinez had a tough night./KIM HUKARI
The Rays had just five hits. They've had five or fewer in three of their last four games.
The Rays scored just once, on Junior Caminero's 30th home run.
The Rays' lead in the AL East is now down to 2 1/2 games over the Yankees.
The Rays and White Sox will play again today at Tropicana Field at 4:10 p.m. Drew Rasmussen (9-5) will start for the Rays against Noah Schultz (3-7).
Some games are won by the bat. And, yes, you could make an argument for that after Cedric Mullins' winning home run in the bottom of the eighth Thursday afternoon.
Some games are won by the arm. And, sure, you could include this one, especially after Bryan Baker's 30th save of the season in a 3-2 victory over the Texas Rangers.
But, really, this game was won by the glove.
Right fielder Victor Mesa Jr. made a pair of highlight reel catches in the game, one of them going far to his left in the ninth inning.
Mullins hit winning homer./KIM HUKARI
The Rays ended up winning two of three in the series. They have now won eight of their last 10 games.
Yandy Diaz and Jonny DeLuca each had two hits. DeLuca had his seventh home run.
The Rangers managed just two hits, both in the fifth inning. They didn't get a hit of starter Shane McClanahan (who left in the fourth with back tightness). Casey Lugumina, Cam Booser, Craig Kimbrell, Steven Matz, Garrett Cleavinger and Baker all worked in relief for the Rays.
The Rays play the Chicago White Sox at 7:10 p.m. tonight at Tropicana Field. Nick Martinez will start for the Rays against Erick Fedde.
Welcome to ground zero. You know, where opposing offfenses go to die.
The Rays threw up another zero Wednesday night in a 3-0 victory over the Texas Rangers. It was the Rays' third shutout in four games and their ninth of the season.
The first four batters for the Rays scored three runs, and that's all it took. Off of MacKenzie Gorr, Yandy Diaz homered, Jonathan Aranda doubled and -- after an out -- Ryan Vilade homered.
The Rays didn't get another hit, but strong relief pitching bailed out Tampa Bay.
Vilade went deep early./KIM HUKARI
Reliever Bryan Baker starred again. He got his 29th save of the year.
Think about that. In his years in Tampa Bay, Pete Fairbanks never had that many. You'd have go back to Alex Colume's 47 in 2017 to find more by a Ray. The Rays and Rangers close out their series today at 12:10 p.m. at Tropicana Field. Shane McClanahan (9-6) will pitch for the Rays against Nathan Eovaldi (10-8).
Wednesday, 4 a.m. Every now and then, their bats go to sleep. Oh, if you keep up with the Tampa Bay Rays, you are where. Things will be going well, and them will approach a hot streak, and then zap. The offense goes into a coma. It was that way again in Tuesday’s 4-1 loss […]
Monday, 4 a.m. For a few hours, it was easy to wonder who could be better than Nick Martinez was on Saturday for the Tampa Bay Rays. Turns out, Drew Rasmussen, that’s who. Rasmussen was amazing on Sunday, shutting down the Cleveland Guardians for seven innings in a 1-0 victory. Rasmussen allowed only a leadoff […]
Saturday, 4 a.m. If you ran the Tampa Bay Rays, and you really needed to win a game, you’d probably start with Nick Martinez. A bit later, you’d finish up with Bryan Baker. Martinez and Baker, two all-star pitchers for the Rays, both were excellent in a 3-0 win over Cleveland Friday night at Tropicana […]
Saturday, 4 a.m. Sometimes, it’s good to come home. After a roller-coaster of a road trip — with four straight losses and three straight wins — the Rays returned to Tropicana Field and trounced the Cleveland Guardians 11-3 on Friday night.\ The Rays lead the major leagues with 35 home wins this year. The Rays […]
Friday, 4 a.m. Just that quickly, the reborn offense of the Tampa Bay Rays has gone missing. Two nights after getting 21 hits in a game, and following three games where the team had 42, the Rays were held to just three hits in a 3-1 loss to Toronto. Shane Bieber, who has struggled this […]
Thursday, 4 a.m. Turns out, the Rays are something to see when they’re playing in a different country. Tampa Bay beat Toronto for the third straight game on Wednesday, beating the Blue Jays 4-2 at the Rogers Centre. Considering the way the Boston Red Sox handled the Rays last week, the winning streak is welcome. […]
Gary Shelton Sports is a subscription site. The following options are available:
• Buy a season ticket ($4 a month).
• Splurge on a club seat ($24 a year).
• Or go all in with a skybox ($54 for three years, which is only $1.50 a month).
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.
