Tag Archives: AL east

The New What Next: Rays vs. O’s, A Series Preview

The Tampa Bay Rays finished off the Blue Jays in grandiose fashion Sunday afternoon, with Jose Lobaton mashing his second career walk-off hit — a one run blast to right-field in the bottom of the tenth. Both career walk-offs came in this series. And what a series it was for Jose Lobaton. In the two games he started, Lobi went 4-8 with a triple, homer, run, and three runs batted in. The Rays overall production dropped between the Mariners and Blue Jays’ series, however we saw what could be construed as a return to form for Jeremy Hellickson (who’ll be pitching Wednesday night) and Chris Archer. Tampa Bay closed out its six game home stand with a 4-2 record ahead of their upcoming three-game road trip against the third place Orioles.

Looking Backward While Moving Forward: Rays Walk-off For the Second Time This Week

For the ninth time this season, the Rays won in dramatic fashion, with catcher Jose Lobaton hitting the game winning one out RBI triple up the right field line. The icing on the cake? New York crushed Boston, allowing Tampa Bay to gain a game on the Red Sox, putting the Rays just a game out of first place in the AL East. The Rays 5-4 walk-off win was the second of the week.

The New What Next: Rays vs. Blue Jays, A Series Preview

The Tampa Bay Rays welcome the Toronto Blue Jays into the Trop Friday night for a three-game set on the heels of a big 7-1 throttling against the Mariners, Thursday night. Mired in a funk extending back 12-games, the Rays took the series from the Mariners after dropping two consecutive to the Diamondbacks and Dodgers. Tampa Bay upped their per game runs average back to 5.3, while the pitching — especially the bullpen — seems to be coming back around. In short, the series previous gave the impression that Tampa Bay is once again stabilizing, and none too soon — the Red Sox have dropped two in a row, and the Rays have been able to regain some ground in the AL East.

Looking Backward While Moving Forward: The Nibbler Returns, More on the Stadium Saga, Etc

Ever heard the saying SSDD? No? Hmm… How about Déjà vu? Think back to last Wednesday when Wade Miley and the Diamondbacks handcuffed Jeremy Hellickson and the Rays in a 7-0 loss, at the Trop. Helly couldn’t command any pitches in that game and Arizona made him pay. The Diamondbacks tagged Helly for four runs on seven hits in 4-1/3 innings of work, while Miley shutdown the Rays, holding Tampa Bay to two hits and no runs over 6-1/3 innings of work.