general

Bullpen shuts down Orioles to preserve win

June 13, 2021 general

Sunday, 4 a.m. Now that they have the best record in baseball, and now that they are higher above .500 than at any point this season, it’s time to ask the question. Who’s the best of the best? It is a discussion that should start at the tail end of another Rays’ victory, a 5-4 […]

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Could Lowe be warming up for the Rays?

June 12, 2021 general

Saturday, 4 a.m. Hey, didn’t you used to be Brandon Lowe? And didn’t you used to be a big deal? Lowe, one of the major offensive players for the Rays during last year’s regular season, has been among the worst players in the American League this season, so bad that you wondered how long the […]

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The second time around is harder

June 11, 2021 general

Friday, 4 a.m. Great stories are hard. Sequels are harder. It’s a rare thing to win big one time. It’s quite another challenge to do it again. Around here, we should know that. As a sporting community, we have still seen a lot more bad seasons than good ones. Still, every generation or so, we […]

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Nationals finally win 9-7 game over Rays

June 10, 2021 general

Thursday, 4 a.m. The Tampa Bay Rays ran out of comebacks Wednesday night. They almost ran out of pitchers, out of position players and out of patience, too. The Rays lost a 9-7, 11-inning game to the last-place Washington Nationals in a weird game. You might wonder how the Rays lost it. On the other […]

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Bolts close out Hurricanes behind Vasilevskiy

June 9, 2021 general

Wednesday, 4 a.m. In the big games, the Big Cat gets big eyes. In such moments, he is huge, larger than the net, larger than the moment, than the game itself. Once again, Andrei Vasilevskiy has slammed the door on another playoff series. Once again, he has made the best scorers on the other team […]

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Secret weapon Thompson leads Rays’ win

June 9, 2021 general

Wednesday, 3 a.m. The Rays have big weapons. Tyler Glasnow, for instance. They have interchangeable weapons. This time, it was Mike Brosseau. And, yes, they have a secret weapon. More and more, it looks like the sidewinding relief pitcher Ryan Thompson. Thompson isn’t around when the game starts, and often, he isn’t on the mound […]

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Rays have profited from moving on

June 8, 2021 general

Tuesday, 4 a.m. Personally, I still miss Evan Longoria. I miss his perspective. I miss his approach. I miss the way he measured up to the big moments. But, no, I don’t miss him 18.6 million dollars a year. I miss David Price, too. I miss watching him blossom as a young player, his future […]

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Rays wake up late in 7-1 win over Texas

June 7, 2021 general

Monday, 4 a.m. The kid just got off the plane. He probably has boxes that are still unpacked. Much of the world still doesn’t know his name. But 15 games into the career of Taylor Walls, there is a lot to like. Walls’ two-run single in the eighth inning highlighted an awakening by the Rays […]

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Bolts survive wild second period to win again

June 6, 2021 general

Sunday, 4 a.m. At the time, the contest had turned into chaos. There were fireballs falling from the sky. The earth had opened up. It felt as if there were fireworks and laser beams and dragons in the sky. And then Steven Stamkos called for calm. The Lightning trailed by two goals, and at the […]

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Rested bullpen leads Rays to victory

June 6, 2021 general

Friday, 3 a.m. When a baseball team succeeds, there are a lot of reasons why. Credit slices up pretty liberally. You can talk about the starting pitching, or you can talk about the improved hitting. You can talk about the defense, and you can talk about the power. With the Rays, however, the conversation begins […]

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