For the Tampa Bay Rays, it is as simple as that. On the nights their bullpen is weak, or their starting pitching does't clock, they can be had.
Ah, but when they pitch, the Rays are a pretty good baseball team.
The Rays played their eighth straight game giving up three runs or fewer Friday night, beating the San Francisco Giants 3-0. The Ryas have won seven of those games.
Shane McClanahan pitched six shutout innings and allowed just five hits. Ian Seymour, Cole Susler and Bryan Baker threw one shutout inning each. For Baker, it was his eighth save.
The Rays offense didn't hit it often, but they hit it a long way. Tampa Bay had just four hits of Giants' starter Robbie Ray, but they included solo home runs by Yandy Diaz and Junior Caminero and a double by Taylor Walls (who later scored on a sacrifice fly by Chandler Simpson).
Diaz left the game with tightness in his side and is day-to-day.
The Rays and Giants play again today at Tropicana Field at 6:10 p.m. Jesse Scholtens is expected to start for the Rays against Landon Roupp.
Guentzel tied the game after two periods./TIM WIRT
Thursday, 4 a.m.
From here, you can see the end.
From here if you are the Tampa Bay Lightning, you can see elimination. You can see the off-season. You can see ... nothingness.
After another close loss, the Tampa Bay Lightning is staring the end of their season, Montreal won Game five 3-2 and took a 3-2 edge in their NHL playoff series and now heads home on Friday night to try to close things out.
It was the second home loss in three tries for the Lightning.
The Bolts came back from 3-1 playoff deficits in 2004 (Calgary), 2011 (Pittsburgh), 2015 (Detroit) and 2022 (Toronto).
James scored first playoff goal./TIM WIRT
The Bolts got off 40 shots, but had trouble getting the puck past Montreal goalie Jakub Dobes.
The Bolts trailed 1-0 when Dominic James scored to tie the game. Eleven seconds later, however, Montreal's Kirby Dach scored to give the Canadiens the lead back.
This time, it was Jake Guentzel who tied it late in the second period. But 66 seconds into the third period, Alexandre Texier scored the winner on a manageable shot.
Maybe it was the rain delay. Maybe it was the dreary day in Cleveland.
Either way, the bats of the Tampa Bay Rays came out water-logged on Wednesday.
The Rays managed just six hits and one unearned run in a 3-1 loss to Cleveland at Progressive Field. It was another well-pitched game by the Rays (Drew Rasmussen), but there was little offense offered against Cleveland's Gavin Williams (5-1).
Williams struck out nine and allowed five hits over 7 2/3 innings to break a six-game winning streak for he Rays.
Chandler Simpson had two of the Rays' hits.
For Cleveland, Brayan Rocchio had three hits. Chase DeLauter and Daniel Schneemann each had two.
Rasmussen went five innings and allowed six hits and two earned runs in losing for the first time this seasons (2-1).
The Rays scored only in the seventh when Cleveland rookie Travis Bazzana threw wildly to second base on a potential double-play ball.
The Rays return home to Tropicana Field on Friday to face the San Francisco Giants at 7:10 p.m. Shane McClanahan will start for the Rays against Robbie Ray.
Wednesday, 4 a.m. Suddenly, there is compeition for the ace of the Tampa Bay Rays’ pitching rotation. Steven Matz? Nick Martinez? Which newcomer do you like better? Martinez was superb in a 1-0 victory over Cleveland, the team’s sixth straight victory. Martinez threw seven shutout innings and allowed just three hits in his second win […]
Tuesday, 4 a.m. Bryan Baker was in a world of hurt. The Tampa Bay Rays, too. Extra innings was on third base. Defeat was on second. There was only one out. The homestanding crowd could smell victory. And Baker was bigger than the moment. Baker struck out George Valera on a full-count pitch. He then […]
Monday, 4 a.m. They are a hard team to kill, these Tampa Bay Lightning. You can be at home. You can be ahead. You can be a physical opponent. And still, the Bolts can hurt you. The Lightning rallied from a 2-0 deficit to tie their NHL playoff series Sunday night with a 3-2 win […]
Monday, 3 a.m. Perhaps it’s time to make Jesse Scholtens a full-time starter. Scholtens, who has inherited the Bulk role when the Rays go their Opener strategy, was sharp again Sunday as the Rays completed a sweep of Minnesota with a 4-2 victory at Tropicana Field. Scholtens pitched 4 1/3 innings Sunday and allowed just […]
Sunday, 4 a.m. Now, it is the time for answers. The legitimate questions have all been addressed. The nit-picking is complete, too. But, really, all we have is words. Soon, the pads go on, and the proving begins. The Bucs are no different than any other team. You can plan, and you can expect. The […]
Sunday, 3 a.m. Now, that’s the Shane McClanahan you remember. McClanahan, still building up his stamina from Tommy John surgery, was sharp in his second win of the year Saturday. He pitched five shutout innings, and he allowed just three hits and struck out seven. The Rays scored six runs for the second straight day […]
Gary Shelton Sports is a subscription site. The following options are available:
• Buy a season ticket ($4 a month).
• Splurge on a club seat ($24 a year).
• Or go all in with a skybox ($54 for three years, which is only $1.50 a month).
About Gary Shelton
• No one covers Tampa Bay like Gary Shelton.
• No one has seen as many moments, as many athletes, as many coaches as he has over the last quarter of a century.
• No one has won more awards, including two national Associated Press Sports Editors Best Columnist awards and eight top 10 finishes. He also just received his sixth Sportswriter of the Year award for Florida by the NSSA.
• No one has seen more big events, including 29 Super Bowls, 10 Olympics and 11 Final Fours. Gary still goes into the locker rooms to obtain his stories.
• No one has made you angrier, or laugh louder, or think harder about what he has written.
Now, he begins a website designed to keep him in touch with the readers who have grown up on his words.
