Tigers batter Rays behind Skubal

by Gary Shelton on April 23, 2024

in general

Tuesday, 4 a.m.

The less said about this one, the better.

The Tampa Bay Rays were clobbered Monday night, losing a 7-1 rout to the Detroit Tigers and pitcher Tarik Skubal. It was the team’s third loss in its last four games and sent them back to the .500 level at 12-12.

The Rays could barely touch Skubal, who threw six innings and allowed just three hits. He struck out nine.

The Rays’ Zach Littell, on the other hand, gave up nine hits and five earned runs in his six innings. The Rays fell behind 3-0 in the first two innings and never challenged. They went 0-for-3 with runners in scoring position.

Amed Rosario had two of the Rays’ six hits and extended his hitting streak to 14 games. In nine of the 14 games, Rosario has had multi-hits.

The Rays will start Ryan Pepiot in tonight’s game against the Tigers (6:50 p.m.). The Tigers will counter with Kenta Maeda,

Bad innings dooms Rays against Yanks

by Gary Shelton on April 22, 2024

in general

Rosario has hit in 13 straight./TIM WIRT

Monday, 4 a.m.

There are terrible places to forget how to play baseball.

Standing on the mound at Yankee Stadium is one of them.

Aaron Civale, in the middle of a pretty good pitching performance, had his control abandon him in the fifth inning of a 5-4 loss.

Pitching in a 1-1 tie, Civale got the first two batters (Juan Soto and Aaron Judge) of the inning. But then he walked three straight batters on 19 pitches. After that, he gave up three straight hits on three pitches.

The Rays made another attempt at a comback, trimming the deficit to one run, but could not pull into a tie.

The Rays open a home series with the Tigers Monday at 6:50 p.m. at Tropicana Field. Zack Littell will start fo the Rays against Tarik Skubal..

Caballero’s double lifts Rays to victory

by Gary Shelton on April 21, 2024

in general

Caballero hit game-winning double./TIM WIRT

Sunday, 4 a.m.

It was the kind of game that makes the Yankees’ beancounters pay attention.

“We paid this….for that?

Despite the highly paid lineup of the New York Yankees, the Tampa Bay Rays slipped past the Yanks 2-0 in 10 innings Saturday afternoon. The Yankees managed only four hits — and no runs — against the Rays, who once again looked cheaper and smarter.

The Yankees were 0-for-five with runners in scoring position.

The Rays got six shutout innings from Zach Eflin, who was followed by Colin Poche, Phil Martin, Jason Adam and Garrett Cleavinger, who threw one shutout inning each.

Yandy Diaz and Amed Rosario had two hits for the Rays.

Still, neither team was able to score until the 10th. Jose Caballero doubled in ghost-runner Richie Palacios for the winning run, He then stole third and scored on a single by Ben Rortvedt.

The Rays and Yankees close out their series today at 1:10 p.m. Aaron Civale will start for the Rays against Luis Gil.

Rays can’t hold on against Yankees

by Gary Shelton on April 20, 2024

in general

Saturday, 4 a.m.

Perhaps the New York Yankees noticed something new about the Tampa Bay Rays Friday night.

They can’t field.

They can’t relieve.

They can’t hit with runners in scoring position.

Oh, and they can’t win.






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The Rays let one get away Friday night. The Yankees scored five unearned runs in the seventh inning to take a 5-3 victory. The Rays, who led 1-0 for most of the night, gave up two hits, had two errors and a walk as they fell apart. Juan Soto’s three-run homer capped the evening.

The Rays had 14 hits, but they were only one-for-10 with runners in scoring position.

Tyler Alexander with 5 1/3 innings of shutout baseball. But reliever Ed Devenski suffered the meltdown in the seventh.

The Rays got two hits each from Richie Pelacious, Isaac Paredes,  Harold Ramirez, Jose Caballeros and Ben Rortveldt.

The Rays play at the Yankees today at 1:08 p.m. Zach Eflin will start for the Rays against Nestor Cortez.

Pepiot shuts down Angels in victory

April 19, 2024 general

Friday, 4 a.m. A few more of these, and perhaps the fans of the Tampa Bay Rays won’t miss Tyler Glasnow quite so much. Ryan Pepiot, who came to the Rays in the Glasnow shed-his-salary trade, was masterful Thursday in a 2-1 victory over the Los Angeles Angels. Pepiot went six innings and gave up […]

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Fairbanks struggles as closer again

April 18, 2024 general

Thursday, 4 a.m. He cannot shut the door. He cannot turn out the lights. He cannot nail the coffin. Oh, the struggles of Pete Fairbanks continue. The Tampa Bay Rays, it seemed, had done it again. They had taken another lead on the bat of Amed Rosario — who hit a go-ahead two-run homer in […]

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Kucherov hits 100 as Bolts win finale

April 18, 2024 general

SThursday, 3 a.m. Nikita Kucherov continued to direct the orchestra Thursday night. He leads, and everyone else follows. Kucherov became the fifth man in the history of the NHL to compile 100 assists in a season in the Bolts’ 6-4 victory over the Toronto Maple Leafs. It was the team’s final regular season game. They […]

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Rays beat Angels in 13th inning

April 17, 2024 general

Wednesday, 4 a.m. The game went on for most of the night. The game-winner? It went about 60 feet. The Tampa Bay Rays managed to pull out a 7-6, 13-inning marathon against the Los Angeles Angels Tuesday night. Four times, they came from behind until a slow chopper to third by Amed Rosario drove in […]

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Sliding Bolts lose another game

April 16, 2024 general

Tuesday, 4 a.m. Now that the NHL playoffs are almost here, the Tampa Bay Lightning doesn’t seem interested anymore. The Bolts lost their third game of their last four Monday night, losing 4-2 to an out-of-it Buffalo team. The Bolts had caught fire after the trade deadline, but recently, they have lacked fire and efficiency. […]

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Bullpen falters in Rays’ loss to Angels

April 16, 2024 general

Tuesday, 3 a.m. If you think about it, Mike Trout is a better baseball player than Phil Maton. So why wouldn’t Trout own him? Trout flexed his muscles in the eighth inning Monday night, launching a two-run homer to lead the Los Angeles Angels to a 7-3 victory over the Tampa Bay Rays. Trout’s blast […]

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