Rays come back to win series vs. Braves

July 19, 2021 general

Monday, 4 a.m. The finish was fine. The final innings for the Tampa Bay Rays included a comeback, and a great catch, and a key save. They involved yet another come-from-behind victory. On the other hand, can the Rays do something about these horrible starts? The Rays rallied to beat the Atlanta Braves Sunday — […]

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Braves’ Fried leads lopsided win over Rays

July 18, 2021 general

Sunday, 4 a.m. To put it gently, they were clobbered. They were crushed. Embarrassed. Annihilated. Face it, they were Fried. The Tampa Bay Rays had no earthly idea what to do with Atlanta pitcher Max Fried in Saturday night’s 9-0 defeat. Fried dominated the Rays from the mound — seven innings, four hits, no runs […]

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Rays start second half with extra-inning win

July 17, 2021 general

Saturday, 4 a.m. We have seen Austin Meadows trot after a home run. We have seen him sprint after hitting a double into the gap. Then there was Friday night, when Meadows lifted the Tampa Bay Rays without an extra base hit at all. Meadows drove in three runs with two singles and a sacrifice […]

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Can the Bucs match the Bolts’ success?

July 16, 2021 general

Friday, 4 a.m. The way I have it figured, it’s the Tampa Bay Bucs’ turn. Winning. Partying. Boats. Trophies. Cigars. Maybe a little beer. This is all getting silly. The sports teams of Tampa Bay keep winning titles and keep changing the way we feel about them. At one point, we made as much fun […]

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Can the Rays see the playoffs from here?

July 15, 2021 general

Thursday, 4 a.m. The hitting will continue to be ordinary. Oh, there are times that they can hit, and the Tampa Bay Rays look pretty good. But there are nights when they seem to be in blindfolds, swinging at a pinata. Those are the Tampa Bay Rays at the bat — a swing and a […]

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Bolts paid the price for Stanley Cup

July 14, 2021 general

Wednesday, 4 a.m. In a way, it is fitting that the Stanley Cup itself is injured. It is a large, and it is shiny, and these days, it is dented. An unnamed player for the Tampa Bay Lightning dropped the cup, and it bent. What other kind of trophy would better represent this player, who […]

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Kucherov has a point in defending Vasy

July 13, 2021 general

Tuesday, 4 a.m. At last count, Nikita Kucherov was, in no particular order, opinionated, shirtless, profane and somewhat intoxicated. He was also correct. Say this for Kuch. For all the points he made in the offseason — technically, it was a lot — he made more in his beer-fueled post-press conference on Wednesday night. He […]

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Rays’ offense shackled by Jays’ Ray

July 12, 2021 general

Monday, 4 a.m. It wasn’t just that Tampa Bay was out pitched on Sunday. They were. It didn’t matter that they were outhit. They were. The worst thing was this: They got out-Rayed. Toronto pitcher Robbie Ray made the Rays look silly, carving them up as the Blue Jays smothered Tampa Bay, 3-1. Perhaps someone […]

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Lowe showing signs of heating up for Rays

July 11, 2021 general

Sunday, 4 a.m. There have been too many times this season that Brandon Lowe didn’t look like a big-league hitter, too many times when he looked like an automatic out in the middle of the batting order, too many times when it seemed that he was being held up by last year’s performance. Maybe, just […]

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Hidden weapon helps Rays to fifth straight

July 10, 2021 general

Saturday, 4 a.m. By now, you know what to expect from Andrew Kittredge. You just don’t know when. He is the Rays’ hidden-card trick. You could see him early in the game, or you could see him late. You could see him in the middle. He is Captain Anytime. And to the opposition, he always […]

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