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 double to Steven Kwan in his one-hitter. He struck out nine in leading the Rays' second straight shutout. Garrett Cleavenger and Bryan Baker each pitched a scoreless inning.
For the series, the Rays allowed just 13 hits and three runs.
Simpson's average is up to .296./KIM HUKARI
Rasmussen needed just one run, and he got in the fifth when Cedric Mullins' bunt base hit scored Chandler Simpson.
Simpson had two hits, and is now hitting .296.
The Rays are off Monday. They play the Rangers Tuesday at 6:40 p.m. at Tropicana Field. Griffin Jax (6-7) will start for the Rays against Cal Quantrill (5-3).
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 Field.
Martinez won his 10th game, allowing just four hits over six innings. Baker recorded his 27th save. Cole Susler and Garrett Cleavinger also threw shutout innings.
Baker had his 27th save./KIM HUKARI
Junior Caminero doubled in a run for the Rays. Cedric Mullins drove in one with a sacrifice fly. Hunter Feduccia drove in another with a sacrifice bunt.
Jonathan Aranda and Chandler Simpson each had two hits for the Rays.
The Rays and Guardians play again today at 12:35 p.m at Tropicana Field. Drew Rasmussen (8-5) will start for he Rays against Peter Messick (8-5).
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 put together a strong effort against Cleveland; Starting pitcher Shane McClanahan pitched five innings and gave up only two hits and one run.
Palacios' homer opened up the game./KIM HUKARI
Offensively, the Rays got a two-run homer from Ryan Vilade and a three-run shot from Richie Palacios. Nick Fortes had four hits. Cedric Mullins, Jonny DeLuca and Chandler Simpson all had two.
The Rays play Cleveland again today at 6:10 p.m. at Tropicana Field. Nick Martinez (9-2) will start for the Rays against Tanner Bibee (4-9).
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 season, went seven innings to shut down the Rays.
Seymour pitched well enough to win./TIM WIRT
The Rays' Ian Seymour went six innings and gave up only two earned runs, but the Rays had only two at-bats with runners in scoring position.
Yandy Diaz singled in the Rays' only run in the third inning, driving in Hunter Feduccia, who had doubled.
The Rays now return home after a 3-5 road trip. They play Cleveland at 7:10 p.m. at Tropicana Field. Shane McClanahan (8-6) will face Joey Cantillo (8-5).
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. […]
Wednesday, 4 a.m. The memories of a lost week are still fresh in the minds of the Tampa Bay Rays. From the looks of it, however, the bats of the Rays have awakened again. The Rays rained 21 hits in Tuesday night’s 12-2 win over the Toronto Blue Jays. It was the team’s second straight […]
Tuesday, 4 a.m. For those of you who wondered if the Tampa Bay Rays might ever win again, there is a burst of good news. After finally escaping from Boston, the Rays thumped the Toronto Blue Jays, 7-1, to end their five-game losing streak. It was a welcome relief after a nightmarish week. All-Star Nick […]
Monday, 4 a.m. The Tampa Bay Rays are going to leave skid marks getting out of Boston. The Rays were drubbed again Sunday, losing 6-1 as the Boston Red Sox completed a sweep and extended their winning streak to 13 games. The Rays, meanwhile, have lost five in a row. The sizzling Sox climbed within […]
Sunday, 4 a.m. In the middle of their latest flameout, this question probably crept into your brain. Is this a good team on a bad slide in the wrong ballpark against a hot team? Or is this the beginning of a slide? The Tampa Bay Rays lost again Saturday, blowing a three-run lead late and […]
Saturday, 4 a.m. Evidently, the Tampa Bay Rays weren’t ready for baseball to resume Friday. The Rays were clobbered in a doubleheader, losing 10-0 and 5-3 to the Boston Red Sox at Fenway Park. The Sox, who have now won 11 games in a row, ran roughshod over the first-place Rays. On the day, the […]
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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.
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