The Rays are running out of regular-season runway, and that makes every clean inning feel a little more valuable. On Friday night, Casey Legumina put himself squarely into the October bullpen mix by working two scoreless innings and striking out four in Tampa Bay’s 4-2 loss to the Boston Red Sox.
He wasn’t alone in giving the Rays something to hang onto. Ty Johnson, Legumina and Alexander Cook combined for four shutout innings and six strikeouts after Ian Seymour gave up four runs over five innings. Tampa Bay’s offense never cashed in, but the relief work at least kept the door open.
That mattered for another reason, too: Kevin Cash didn’t have to dip into some of the relievers he leans on most often. For a club that has been navigating bullpen injuries at exactly the wrong time, that kind of breathing room counts.
The Rays have already gotten encouraging signs from Kevin Kelly, who bounced back against the Athletics by striking out the side after a rough stretch. They’ve also been handing chances to Johnson and Brody Hopkins, two younger arms with stuff that could play in October.
Now Legumina has joined that group.
Tampa Bay doesn’t need every reliever to become a late-inning stopper. What it does need is depth - pitchers who can cover innings and keep Cash from leaning on the same handful of arms every night. Legumina checked that box on Friday.
None of that locks him into the postseason roster. There are still decisions ahead, especially with Seymour’s role looking less certain after another tough outing. His home run issues have made it harder to picture him in the postseason rotation, though a bullpen role is still in play.
Could Seymour shift back to the bullpen as a multi-inning option? Maybe even as a high-leverage “opener”?
Those are the kinds of questions Tampa Bay is sorting through now, and outings like Legumina’s only expand the options. With just a few games left in the regular season, those chances are getting harder to ignore.
In Other News...
Rays Deliver The Kind Of Win Red Sox Fans Hated
A tight game between the Rays and Red Sox had the feel of October, with both clubs getting strong pitching and enough traffic on the bases to make every half-inning matter. Tampa Bay kept finding ways to hang around through the scoring chances and the miscues, then finished it off in the most frustrating way possible for Boston, with Richie Palacios delivering the walk-off hit.
For the Red Sox, the loss did more than sting in the standings, because it kept them from clinching a postseason spot that day. The clubs move on to the next game in the series with Griffin Jax set to start against Patrick Sandoval, and after a finish like this one, the pressure on both dugouts only gets sharper. [Read more 🡒]
Rays Finally Delivered In A Spot That Could Define The AL East
Richie Palacios gave the Rays exactly the kind of late push contenders need, lining a walk-off single to beat the Red Sox 2-1 and keep Tampa Bays momentum rolling in a tense September race. The game stayed tight throughout, with Freddy Peralta working 5 2/3 innings and limiting Boston to one run while striking out six, enough to keep the Rays in position for a result they badly needed.
The victory moved Tampa Bay a step closer to clinching the American League East and stretched its division lead to 4 1/2 games, a cushion that suddenly makes every late-inning win feel bigger. For a club trying to finish the job, the manner of this one mattered too: a close game, a steady start, and a timely hit when the margin for error was almost gone. [Read more 🡒]
Rays May Be Walking Into The Yankees' Biggest Late-Season Threat
With nine games left in the regular season, the race above Tampa Bay still has a little room for movement, and the Yankees have at least one pitcher capable of making it interesting. Cam Schlittler has become New Yorks ace and a real AL Cy Young contender, piling up a 14-6 record, a 1.95 ERA and 228 strikeouts in 31 starts. He is slated to take the ball against the Rays in the upcoming series, with another start against the Arizona Diamondbacks on Saturday.
For Tampa Bay, that makes this next stretch feel a little less routine than the standings might suggest. New York is four games back, but a frontline starter in form can change the mood of a late-season series quickly, especially when the calendar is this short and every game still carries some weight. The Rays do not need to be caught off guard by the matchup, though they may already be walking into the one weapon the Yankees can lean on to make the final week uncomfortable. [Read more 🡒]