New York’s late home runs knock out the Rays

July 17, 2019 general

Wednesday, 3 a.m. By now, it is well established that the bullpen of the Tampa Bay Rays is little more than a series of brushfires. All that changes is the guy holding the match. It happened again Tuesday night. The Rays were rolling along, playing in a tight game against the New York Yankees, and […]

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d’Arnaud has a night for the ages to lead Rays

July 16, 2019 general

Tuesday, 3 a.m. When nights like this happen, they happen at Yankee Stadium, the joint where, in its various incarnations, has led the big leagues in lore. And so a guy has the night of his life, jacking three home runs out of a stadium, including the game winner. Why, the Babe used to have […]

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Rays nearly perfect in victory over Baltimore

July 15, 2019 general

Monday, 3 a.m. You could call it splendid. You could call it terrific. You could call it dominating. You could almost call it perfect. The Tampa Bay Rays came within three outs of throwing baseball’s first-ever combined perfect game Sunday, beating the Orioles 4-1 on a day when Ryne Stanek and Ryan Yarbrough were magnificent. […]

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Rays show different personalities in split

July 14, 2019 general

Sunday, 4 a.m. Okay, you figure them out. Can they hit? Can their relievers pitch? Can they score? Well sometimes. The Tampa Bay Rays had a head-scratching day Saturday, splitting a doubleheader with the woeful Baltimore Orioles. They were pretty good (in game two), and they were pretty bad (in game one), and they left […]

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Random thoughts: Bouton changed how we watch

July 14, 2019 general

Jim Bouton was cool. Jim Bouton was funny. Jim Bouton was a rebel. To me, Bouton was all of those things. He was a party hat in a world of baseball caps, and he made the sticks-in-the-mud nervous, and he shed light in all the secret corners where baseball didn’t want us to look. He […]

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Rays kick open the door to the season’s second half

July 13, 2019 general

Chirinos ran his record to 8-4./CHUCK MULLER Saturday, 3 a.m. If you imagine them from the viewpoint of the Baltimore Orioles, the Tampa Bay Rays are indeed something to see. Once again, the Rays clobbered the Orioles Friday night, jump-starting the second half of their season with a 16-4 drubbing of the O’s. The Rays […]

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How do Rays hold on as the Wild-Card Leader?

July 12, 2019 general

Friday, 4 a.m. What they have to do to win a wild-card berth: Win 50 more games. I know, that’s a lot with 40 games to go. And 40 might be enough. But a team (the Reds) once missed the 1998 wild card playoffs with 96 wins. The ’05 Indians, the ’03 Mariners, the ’02 […]

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Dissecting the Rays’ half of a season

July 11, 2019 general

Most valuable player: 1. Charlie Morton 2. Tommy Pham 3. Austin Meadows Why they’re not leading: The Rays are 4-9 against the Yankees Least valuable player: 1. Jose Alvarado 2. Diego Castillo 3. Mike Zunino Content beyond this point is for members only.

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Can the Bucs survive if Winston isn’t good?

July 10, 2019 general

Wednesday, 3 a.m. It starts with the quarterback. In every town, on every team, it starts with the quarterback. The way the rules are in the NFL today, it is impossible for a team to be good unless its quarterback is very, very good. And so, before you begin to weigh the chances of the […]

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Rays’ bullpen having a hard time saving games

July 9, 2019 general

Monday, 3 a.m. It’s supposed to be an easy stat, really. Just get three outs before you give up three runs. On a lot of nights, that’s all. It’s supposed to be a short putt. You enter the game clean, and if you give up only as many runs as a starting pitcher does in […]

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