PHILADELPHIA - The Rays may already have everything they can clinch locked down, but they didn’t show up at Citizens Bank Park on Friday night looking to coast. With the Phillies still battling for the final National League Wild Card spot, Tampa Bay played the spoiler role to the hilt and walked away with a 2-0 win.
That result kept Philadelphia waiting. The Phillies needed a win over Tampa Bay and a San Diego loss to Arizona later in the night to punch their postseason ticket. Instead, their playoff chase rolled on for at least another day.
For the Rays, the victory pushed them to 97-63, matching the 2008 club for the third-most wins in franchise history. Only the 2021 team, which won 100 games, and the 2023 group, which won 99, sit ahead of them on that list.
Freddy Peralta was at the center of it all. The right-hander carved through Philadelphia for 5 1/3 scoreless innings, allowing four hits and three walks while keeping the Phillies off the board. The command wasn’t spotless, but the overall line only strengthened the case for him to be part of the postseason rotation.
It’s been quite a run for Peralta. After a rough stretch with the Mets and an uneven start with the Rays, he has now gone 5-0 with a 0.79 ERA across his last six starts.
Tampa Bay gave him room to work right away. Junior Caminero, Ryan Vilade and Jonny DeLuca opened the game with three straight singles against left-hander Cristopher Sánchez, and Nick Fortes added more damage in the second when he launched his sixth homer of the season through the wind.
The bullpen did its part from there. Left-hander Cam Booser came in during the sixth with two runners in scoring position and one out, then wriggled free by getting Bryson Stott and Bryan De La Cruz. Bryan Baker closed it out in the ninth, converting his 30th straight save chance and tying Cade Smith for the Major League lead with his 41st save overall.
Kevin Cash has plenty to sort through before the ALDS, and Friday only added to the list. With five healthy starters available for what figures to be a short series that likely calls for three, the Rays have real choices to make on the rotation side. The bullpen picture is crowded too.
One more name entered the mix Friday: Manuel Rodríguez was reinstated from the 15-day injured list after dealing with a low back strain.
“It feels really good to fully be back 100 percent now,” he said through interpreter Kevin Vera. “Right now, we're going into this to kind of get ourselves back into a groove and just help the team in whatever way we can.”
Rodríguez had started a rehab assignment with Triple-A Durham and made three appearances before Durham’s season ended. He was with the Rays at Yankee Stadium earlier this week, but Tampa Bay waited until Friday afternoon to activate him after cycling through Alex Cook, Mason Englert and Jake Woodford for bullpen depth. Cash said Rodríguez will likely pitch twice in this series “to get him in a good spot” for the playoffs.
The Rays are still monitoring Tyler Wells, who has right forearm tightness, and Garrett Cleavinger, who is dealing with left forearm tightness. Cash said both pitchers have been throwing bullpens and should get work in the Rays’ intrasquad scrimmages at Tropicana Field next Tuesday and Thursday.
Health is the obvious priority now. Staying healthy may matter even more. That made Chandler Simpson’s sixth-inning moment a tense one, after he fouled a ball off the top of his right foot and fell down in obvious pain.
In Other News...
Rays Make A Bullpen Move With Bigger October Implications
The Rays made another bullpen adjustment as they continue to manage innings with the top spot in the American League already secured. Tampa Bay reinstated right-hander Manuel Rodrguez from the 15-day injured list and moved right-hander Jake Woodford off the roster to make room, a reminder that even with the standings settled, the club is still treating the back end of the season like a rehearsal for what comes next.
Woodford now goes on waivers and could either elect free agency or accept an outright assignment, while Rodrguez returns to give the Rays another arm they can plug into a bullpen that has been shaped as much by workload as by performance. For a team that has spent much of the season juggling pitchers carefully, the move carries a bigger October feel than a standard late-season transaction. [Read more 🡒]
Rays Face A Painful Freddy Peralta Reality This October
The Rays head into October with the American League East wrapped up and the best record in the league, but the mood around the roster is already getting complicated by what comes next. Freddy Peralta, the trade deadline pickup who quickly became one of the most important arms in the mix, is lined up to start in the ALDS, giving Tampa Bay a proven postseason option at exactly the right time.
Peraltas sharper run with the Rays has also pushed his free-agent stock upward, which is where the long view gets uneasy for Tampa Bay. There is already speculation about a possible move to San Diego this offseason, and the Rays expected reluctance to spend heavily until the new stadium is built only adds to the uncertainty around whether they can keep a pitcher who has changed their October outlook. [Read more 🡒]
Chandler Simpson Gives Rays A Playoff Element Opponents Rarely See
Chandler Simpson is giving the Rays something a lot of October teams do not have to plan for. The 25-year-old is set for his postseason debut as Tampa Bay returns to the playoffs, bringing a different kind of threat to the table with a high batting average, a game built around contact, and speed that has already produced 46 stolen bases this season.
Simpson also has quietly added value in the outfield, where his defensive work has improved as the year has gone on. He has not hit a home run this season, but that has hardly been the point for a player whose impact comes from putting pressure on defenses, turning singles into movement, and forcing opponents to account for a runner who can change an inning in a hurry. [Read more 🡒]