He cannot shut the door. He cannot turn out the lights. He cannot nail the coffin.
Oh, the struggles of Pete Fairbanks continue.
The Tampa Bay Rays, it seemed, had done it again. They had taken another lead on the bat of Amed Rosario — who hit a go-ahead two-run homer in the bottom of the eighth. And then came Fairbanks folly.
Content beyond this point is for members only.
Already a member? To view the rest of this column, sign in using the handy "Sign In" button located in the upper right corner of the GarySheltonSports.com blog (it's at the far right of the navigation bar under Gary's photo). Not a member? It's easy to subscribe so you can view the rest of this column and all other premium content on GarySheltonSports.com.
Rosario gave the Rays a late lead./TIM WIRT
Fairbanks, whose control hasn’t been the same all season, gave the lead right back. In one inning, he gave up three hits, two walks, two stolen bases and two runs (another was out at the plate) as the Angels rallied one night after losing a 13-inning comeback to the Rays. Rosario had driven in the winning run in that one.
The Rays gave up their fourth home run of the year to Mike Trout, who is hitting .385 against the Rays. Taylor Ward had three hits.
For the Rays, Yandy Diaz, Isaac Paredes and Rosario all had two hits.
The Rays and Angels conclude their four-game series today at Tropicana Field at 1:10 p.m. Ryan Pepiot will start for the Rays against Griffin Canning.
Nikita Kucherov continued to direct the orchestra Thursday night. He leads, and everyone else follows.
Kucherov became the fifth man in the history of the NHL to compile 100 assists in a season in the Bolts’ 6-4 victory over the Toronto Maple Leafs. It was the team’s final regular season game. They finished 45-29-8.
The Bolts, who had lost three of four games, had a resounding ending to the season. They led 6-1 at one point.
Content beyond this point is for members only.
Already a member? To view the rest of this column, sign in using the handy "Sign In" button located in the upper right corner of the GarySheltonSports.com blog (it's at the far right of the navigation bar under Gary's photo). Not a member? It's easy to subscribe so you can view the rest of this column and all other premium content on GarySheltonSports.com.
Tampa Bay got goals from Nicholas Paul (his 24th), Kucherov (44). Anthony Duclair (24), Brayden Point (46), Brandon Hagel (26) and Tanner Jeannot (7).
The Leafs scored the game’s final three goals, but none of them were by Austin Mathews, who was seeking to become the ninth player to score 70 in a season.
Tampa Bay goaltender Matt Tompkins ran his record to 3-2-1 with the win.
The Lightning open their playoffs Sunday afternoon at the Florida Panthers.
The Tampa Bay Rays managed to pull out a 7-6, 13-inning marathon against the Los Angeles Angels Tuesday night. Four times, they came from behind until a slow chopper to third by Amed Rosario drove in the winning run.
Content beyond this point is for members only.
Already a member? To view the rest of this column, sign in using the handy "Sign In" button located in the upper right corner of the GarySheltonSports.com blog (it's at the far right of the navigation bar under Gary's photo). Not a member? It's easy to subscribe so you can view the rest of this column and all other premium content on GarySheltonSports.com.
Caballero had a two-run triple in the ninth./TIM WIRT
The Angels had a lead in four innings after the ninth before the Rays won.
The Rays trailed 3-1 in the ninth, 4-3 in the 10th, 5-4 in the 11th and 6-5 in the 13th. Each time, the Rays came back.
The ground ball was big for the Rays. Harold Ramirez forced in a run on a grounder, Jose Siri scored on an error in the 10th, Harold Ramirez forced in a run when he hit into a double play and Rosario brought in the winning run on a ground out.
Perhaps the biggest hit for the Rays was a two-run triple by Jose Caballero in the ninth.
The Rays won despite going 4-18 with runners in scoring position.
The Rays used seven relievers, who allowed only one hit.
The teams play again tonight at Tropicana Field at 6:50 p.m. Zack Littell will start for the Rays against Reid Detmers.
Now that the NHL playoffs are almost here, the Tampa Bay Lightning doesn’t seem interested anymore.
The Bolts lost their third game of their last four Monday night, losing 4-2 to an out-of-it Buffalo team. The Bolts had caught fire after the trade deadline, but recently, they have lacked fire and efficiency.
Content beyond this point is for members only.
Already a member? To view the rest of this column, sign in using the handy "Sign In" button located in the upper right corner of the GarySheltonSports.com blog (it's at the far right of the navigation bar under Gary's photo). Not a member? It's easy to subscribe so you can view the rest of this column and all other premium content on GarySheltonSports.com.
Tampa Bay remains in possession of the top wild-card spot, which could explain their approach. Then again, Buffalo doesn’t have anything to play for, either. They will miss the playoffs for the 13th straight season.
The Bolts did get the 40th goal of the season from Steven Stamkos and another from Eric Cernak, but the Sabres built a 3-1 lead for their third win in four games against Tampa Bay.
Goaltender Andrei Vasilevskiy gave up four goals, bringing his total to 15 in the last four games.
The Bolts close out their season Wednesday night at Amalie Arena against Toronto. The puck is scheduled to drop at 7 p.m.
Tuesday, 3 a.m. If you think about it, Mike Trout is a better baseball player than Phil Maton. So why wouldn’t Trout own him? Trout flexed his muscles in the eighth inning Monday night, launching a two-run homer to lead the Los Angeles Angels to a 7-3 victory over the Tampa Bay Rays. Trout’s blast […]
Monday, 4 p.m. Welcome home, Blake. Yeah, there were days like this, too. Two-time Cy Young Award winner Blake Snell, who won his first award while with the Rays, came back again Sunday. And, unlike his pitching performance against the Rays a year ago, it was not a friendly reunion. The Rays, clobbered a day […]
Sunday, 3 a.m. For a dozen innings, they were mortal. Ordinary. Then they were Giants. Tied 1-1 in the fourth — and after scoring just one run in the opener — San Francisco was simply trudging along. And the bottom fell out for the Tampa Bay Rays, who were walloped in sn 11-2 loss. The […]
Sunday, 4 a.m. Interesting thing, desperation. No one wants to have to feel it. Everyone uses it as fuel. Take the Tampa Bay Lightning, who have now lost three of four games since clinching the playoffs. Washington was simply a needier team on Saturday, scoring two third-period goals in a 4-2 victory. The Bolts are […]
Saturday, 4 a.m. This is the way this Opener Strategy is supposed to work. Different arms, different angles, different matchups. Keep the hitters on their heels. Keep them away from home plate. You know, like the Rays did Friday night when they slipped past San Francisco 2-1. Content beyond this point is for members only. […]
Friday, 4 a.m. This time, they couldn’t win the third period. This time, they couldn’t count on the power play. This time, they couldn’t depend on Andrei Vasilevskiy to make the impossible save to bail them out. This time, the Lightning lost in a shootout. The Bolts, who had been on a hot streak, dropped […]
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.
