Suddenly, there is compeition for the ace of the Tampa Bay Rays' pitching rotation.
Steven Matz? Nick Martinez?
Which newcomer do you like better?
Martinez was superb in a 1-0 victory over Cleveland, the team's sixth straight victory. Martinez threw seven shutout innings and allowed just three hits in his second win of the season at Progressive Field. Martinez now has a 1.70 ERA.
One day earlier, Matz had thrown seven innings and allowed four hits in a 3-2 victory for his fourth win of the year. Matz has a 4.31 ERA.
The game's only run came in the fifth inning when Jonathan Aranda drove home Taylor Walls. The Rays had only four other hits, but pitching won the day for the Rays.
The Guardians loaded the bases in the eighth, but Kevin Kelly retired Jose Ramirez on a deep fly to center.
Tanner Bibee took the loss to drop him to 0-4 on the year.
The Rays and Guardians close out their series today at Progressive at 1:10 pm. Drew Rasmussen will start for the Rays against Gavin Williams.
Bryan Baker was in a world of hurt. The Tampa Bay Rays, too.
Extra innings was on third base. Defeat was on second. There was only one out. The homestanding crowd could smell victory.
And Baker was bigger than the moment.
Baker struck out George Valera on a full-count pitch. He then struck out Daniel Schneemann -- whose home run earlier in the game had given his team a 2-0 lead -- on four pitches to preserve a 4-2 victory.
It was Baker's seventh save of the year.
Baker's effort came in support of starter Steven Matz, who went seven innings of four-hit baseball to improve his record to 4-1. Matz’ only flaw was a two-run homer to Schneemann in the sixth inning.
The Rays scored in the sixth when Ryan Vilade singled in Yandy Diaz.
Jonathan Aranda tied the game in the eighth with a solo home run. Vilade drove in Richie Palacios for the go-ahead run in the eighth.
Parker Messick went 5 2/3 innings for Cleveland and allowed just one run. Hunter Gaddis took the loss.
The Rays have now won five games in a row. They play again tonight at 6:10 p.m. Nick Martinez will start for the Rays against Tanner Bibee.
They are a hard team to kill, these Tampa Bay Lightning.
You can be at home. You can be ahead. You can be a physical opponent.
And still, the Bolts can hurt you.
The Lightning rallied from a 2-0 deficit to tie their NHL playoff series Sunday night with a 3-2 win at the Bell Centre. That squared the series at two games apiece going into Wednesday night's Game Five at Benchmark International Arena.
Vasilevskiy anchored the Bolts' win./TIM WIRT
Brendan Hagel continued his sensational series, scoring two goals. He now has six for the series.
Jake Guentzel scored the Bolts' third goal.
That came after a frustrating start. Montreal took a 1-0 lead on a goal by Zack Bolduc. Shortly afterward, Cole Caufield scored to go up 2-0.
Nikita Kucherov had two assists to help the comeback.
Goalie Andrei Vasileveskiy stopped 16 of 18 shots. Counting regular-season and post-season, Vasilevskiy has 40 wins on the season.
Gametime for Wednesday night has not been announced yet.
Perhaps it's time to make Jesse Scholtens a full-time starter.
Scholtens, who has inherited the Bulk role when the Rays go their Opener strategy, was sharp again Sunday as the Rays completed a sweep of Minnesota with a 4-2 victory at Tropicana Field.
Scholtens pitched 4 1/3 innings Sunday and allowed just three hits. He is now 2-0.
Bryan Baker earned his sixth save of the season.
Griffin Jax started the game and covered 2 1/3 innings of one-hit baseball. After the game, he suggested there have been discussions about making him a starting pitcher, too.
The Twins lost their ninth game of their last 10. They scored only five runs in their three games against the Rays.
Chandler Simpson got one-third of the Rays' nine hits and is now hitting .321.
The Rays scored all four of their runs in the third. Jonathan Aranda drove in two runs with a single, and Yandy Diaz followed with a two-run homer.
Brooks Lee hit a two-run homer for Minnesota in the seventh.
The Rays move to Cleveland to play the Guardians for a three-game series starting tonight at 6:10 p.m. at Progressive Field. Steven Matz will start for the Rays against Parker Messick.
Sunday, 4 a.m. Now, it is the time for answers. The legitimate questions have all been addressed. The nit-picking is complete, too. But, really, all we have is words. Soon, the pads go on, and the proving begins. The Bucs are no different than any other team. You can plan, and you can expect. The […]
Sunday, 3 a.m. Now, that’s the Shane McClanahan you remember. McClanahan, still building up his stamina from Tommy John surgery, was sharp in his second win of the year Saturday. He pitched five shutout innings, and he allowed just three hits and struck out seven. The Rays scored six runs for the second straight day […]
Saturday, 2 a.m. Thunder and lightning? Batman and Robin? Starsky and Hutch? Go ahead. Think of the dream combos that have dominated the headlines. Holmes and Watson. Cagney and Lacey. Mantle and Maris. Caminero and Aranda? Junior Caminero and Jonathan Aranda shared the headlines Friday night in the Rays’ 6-2 victory over Minnesota at Tropicana […]
Saturday, 3 a.m. Another overtime led to another backward step for the Tampa Bay Lightning in the NHL playoffs Friday night. Lane Hutson guided the puck through a crowd of players at 2:09 of overtime for a 3-2 win for Montreal. The win gives the Canadiens a 2-1 lead with another home game on Sunday. […]
Saturday, 4 a.m. If the first day of the NFL was about hope, the second was about trust. The Tampa Bay Bucs picked a pair of player who, well, aren’t exactly brand names. They were selections that left Bucs fans groaning in frustration. First, the team bypassed more well known inside linebackers to take Josiah […]
Friday, 4 a.m. Here’s the thing to remember about Rueben Bain, the newest hope of the Tampa Bay Bucs. The Bucs don’t care how long his arms are as long as they are wrapped around a quarterback. The Bucs caught a falling star in Thursday night’s NFL draft. At a spot where most analysts figured […]
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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.
