Tampa Bay Rays 2014 Season time to "Rays Up!"

[Tobywan]

Redsox 8 Rays 4

Another miserable game, Archer pitched just 4 innings, 8 runs on 9 hits, 2 walks and struck out 3. Brandon Guyer with a 2 run homer in the 5th, Mookie Betts went 2-for-5 with 4 RBIs including a 3 run homer for the Sawx. Two costly errors (one by Escobar) helped in aiding Boston to an 8 run lead by the end of the 2nd inning.



Desmond Jennings left out of the line up with soreness to his left knee.

[Tobywan]

Game was delayed a bit when lightning, caused power to go out at Tropicana Field in order for the lights to power back up. Seemed there was a little too much force with the Rays on "Star Wars" night.

Wil Myers Rebel Pilot bobbleheads were the promotion. Chewbacca threw out the ceremonial first pitch.



Odorizzi gave up just one hit, 3 walks and struck out seven in seven innings, pen held the Red Sox scoreless for the 18th shut out of the season, a new franchise record. Zobrist with 2 RBIs, Guyer 2-for-3 with 2 runs scored. Odorizzi hit Cespedes in the 2nd, there were 4 more batters hit throughout the game, all Rays, no scuffles though.

Pedroia was taken out with an elbow to the head from Logan Forsythe on a force play, hopefully he will be OK.

Rays take second game 7-0.

[Tobywan]

Red Sox shut out the Rays 3-0, Buchholz with a complete game, let up 3 hits, no walks and struck out 6. Cobb allowed 2 runs on 7 hits, one walk while striking out 6.

Dustin Pedroia has been suffering concussion like symptoms, he didn't play today and not expected in the game tomorrow.

The Rays have announced that catcher Curt Casali and relievers Brandon Gomes and Steve Geltz will join the team. The Bulls start their post season on Wednesday.

[Tobywan]

The Rays were able to split the series with a walk off win on Monday. Matt Joyce brought in the winning run in the 10th inning. Longoria 2 RBIs, Napoli with a solo home run in the 4th.

Blue Jays come in tonight R.A.Dickey VS Jeremy Hellickson.

Desmond Jennings has been out for the last 4 games may return to the line up tonight.

Along with the few September call ups David DeJesus was activated.

[Tobywan]

With the firing of Bo Porter by the Astros, Dave Martinez' s name has been batted around again, he interviewed wit them last year when they decided on Porter. I'd hate to see him go, but he should be a good manager.







On Tuesday Hellickson only went 3.1 innings as he gave up 5 runs on 8 hits, walked 2 and struck out 2, after Geltz and Gomes held the Jays the Rays couldn't score after the 2nd inning. Ramos gave up 3 more runs in the 8th. R.A. Dickey went 7 strong and his knuckler was really knuckling, he gave up just 2 runs early on 2 hits, walking three and striking out 6. The Jays had 3 home runs, Reyes and Baustista with a pair of RBIs in the 8-2 win.

On Wednesday, Tampa Mayor Bob Buckhorn threw out the ceremonial first pitch and new St Petersburg Mayor Rick Kriseman was also in attendance. The lights went down again for about 20 minutes as there was a huge storm here, would love to have heard the conversation. Too bad the game had to continue, Archer gave up 6 runs on 10 hits including 2 homers, he walked two and struck out two in 6 innings, Yates gave up one more run in relief. Longoria also jacked a 2 run homer with 3 RBIs on the night. 2 RBIs from Reyes, Bautista and Navarro for the 7-4 Jays win.The Rays had not lost a series to the Blue Jays in 22 straight series, they won 20 and split 2.

Final game was a pitchers' duel between Odorizzi and Buehrle and both team's relievers with no score through 9 innings, but the Rays blinked first in the 10th when Colby Rasmus launched the game winning home run to win 1-0 and take the sweep.

[Tobywan]

Orioles @ Rays series.......

Friday was a pitching duel, with Alex Cobb and Wei-Yin Chen, but the Rays would tag O's relievers for 3 runs. Yunel Escobar broke the 0-0 tie in the eighth with an RBI single, then Ryan Hanigan hit a two run single. Rays shut out the Orioles 3-0. Brad Boxberger set the Rays' single-season record for strikeouts by a reliever with his work in the 8th inning.

Saturday another good pitching performance, Drew Smyly gave up just one run (a home run to Chris Davis) on four hits, walked 2 with 8 strikeouts, Kevin Gausman went seven innings for the O's giving up 2 runs on five hits, walking four and striking out seven. Might have been the last game for Smyly as the Rays are considering shutting him down for the rest of the season. The Orioles tied the game in the 8th when Nelson Cruz hit a single to bring in Quintin Berry. The Rays would win in bizarre fashion, Escobar reached first on an error, then scored in the 9th on a passed ball to win 3-2.

On Sunday, the Rays got off to an early 2-0 lead in the second with back to back homers from Evan Longoria and James Loney, then David DeJesus scored an inside-the-park home run in the fourth inning for a 3-0 lead The Orioles scored 2 in the 6th, then Kiermaier hit a solo homer for a 4-2 lead which held until the 9th. The O's loaded the bases then Joel Peralta gave up a bases clearing triple to Nelson Cruz. The Rays tied it back up in the 9th to force extra innings. With Cesar Ramos on the mound, Cruz launched a two run homer for the 7-5 win. Cruz had an outstanding 4 for 5 day driving in all seven of the Oriole runs.


Matt Moore will start throwing this week in his next phase of rehab coming off Tommy John surgery. Looks like Desmond Jennings season is done, his knee doesn't seem to be healing well and he isn't making the trip to New York.

[Tobywan]

James Loney with 2 RBIs including a solo home run, Jacoby Ellsbury also hit a solo homer and Chris Young drove in 2 runs for the Yanks. Hiroki Kuroda was lifted in the 4th after Ben Zobrist singled in Kevin Kiermaier. Rays take first game of their last series at Yankee Stadium this season with a 4-3 victory.

[Tobywan]

Rays got out to an early lead again, they were up 4-0 then it fell apart, the Yankees tied the game in the game in the fourth, scored 2 runs in the 5th and two more in the 8th, winning 8-5. Solo home runs by Longoria, McCann and Young, Ben Zobrist reached 1,000 hits. Chris Capuano was pulled before the end of the first, Odorizzi went just over 4 innings.

[Tobywan]

Escobar homered twice for 4 RBIs off Michael Pineda. Alex Cobb went 7.1 innings giving up just one hit and 2 walks striking out 4. Martin Prado homered with Chris Young scoring (charged to Cobb) to make it a 4-2 game. The Yankees scored 3 runs in the 9th including a walk off homer by Young to ruin Alex Cobb's night. Yanks win 5-4, taking the series.

[Tobywan]

Looks like Chase Headley hit to his face is worse than it first appeared, he is to have x-rays, jaw maybe fractured.

[Tobywan]

Even with a down year, Longoria became the first AL third baseman to hit 20 home runs in six of his first seven seasons. He joins Eddie Mathews, Scott Rolen and Chipper Jones.


Rays minor league pitcher Lenny Linsky was suspended 50 games for a second positive test for what MLB calls a "drug of abuse," not a PED. He's been in the organization since 2011 and was rehabbing in Charlotte from Tommy John surgery.

The Rays have shut down Smyly, they called up righty Nathan Karns who will make first appearance as a Ray tonight against the Blue Jays. He was called up earlier in the season but didn't pitch. He was part of the trade that sent catcher Jose Lobaton to the Nationals. His last start for Durham was the clinching game in the first round of play-offs as they eliminated the Columbus Clippers. The Bulls are leading the championship series 2-1 over the Pawtucket Sox.


Last night's loss officially eliminated the Rays from the AL East Division race.

They still managed some fun, it is that time of year again, Rookie hazing....I am not a video game buff but it appears the theme was Nintendo characters???



Steve Geltz




Kevin Kiermaier (he could wear a burlap sack and be gorgeous)



Even though Wil Myers and Chris Archer are sophomores, they are Rays so of course they are goofballs and wanted to show support for the "kids".



I would love to have seen the faces of Canadian Customs Officials.

[Tobywan]

Nathan Karns pitched seven shut out innings, giving up 2 hits, 2 walks and striking out 8, J.A.Happ also went seven innings giving up 2 hits, one a homer to Ryan Hanigan. McGee (who gave up the three run walk off Thursday night to Chris Young at Yankee Stadium) and Balfour preserved the shut out as the Rays took game 1 of the series. Karns started off rough in the first when he walked Reyes and hit Bautista, but settled down quickly. It was the 20th shut out for the Rays.

Meanwhile down on the farm........ Pawtucket outlasted Durham forcing a Game 5 as they won 4-2 in 13 innings.

[Tobywan]

R.A. Dickey gave up just three runs to the Rays, one was the 21st home run for Evan Longoria in seven innings. Hellickson went six also giving up 3 runs, but reliever Boxberger gave up a 2 run homer to Adam Lind and Geltz gave up a solo to Encarnacion to give the Jays a 6-3 victory in the second game.

[Tobywan]

Pawtucket took the Governors’ Cup with a 4-1 win over Durham on Saturday night, they will face the PCL champ Omaha Storm Chasers, who are the defending Triple-A National champs.

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The Rays were ahead 5-1 until a three run homer from Adam Lind off Balfour in the 8th to cut the led to one run, then the Jays tied it up in the ninth when McGee gave up a solo home run to John Mayberry Jr. Zobrist and Escobar had solo homers for the Rays before the Jays surge. Wil Myers led off the 10th with a walk, Forsythe single to put runners at the corners and then Sean Rodriguez hit a ball to deep center for a sac fly. That would give the Rays a 6-5 win and the series.




The Rays are calling up Alex Colome, Nick Franklin, C.J. Riefenhauser up tomorrow, Colome is to take the mound on Monday night against the Yankees, it will be the last series of the year between them. Jeter's tribute game will be Tuesday night.

[Tobywan]

Another pitching duel between Chris Capuano and Alex Colome that turned into a battle of the bull pens. Capuano gave up 2 hits, 4 walks and struck out 4 in six innings. Colome went 6.2 innings gave 6 hits, one walk and struck out 4, the game remained scoreless until the bottom of the 9th. Escobar was retired to lead off the 9th, then Forsythe, Loney hit back to back singles, DeJesus struck out then Joyce waked to load the bases. Ben Zobrist hit a blooper to right to score Forsythe for the 1-0 win.

Chase Headley who just returned to the Yanks line up last night after being hit by McGee last week was ejected the sixth for arguing a strike call.


Jeter's tribute game tonight, heading to the Trop early.