After another disappointing close loss Friday night, this time by a score of 3-1 to the Texas Rangers, the Tampa Bay Rays will play their penultimate game of the 2016 season this evening. Texas clinched home-field for the post-season with the victory.
The Rays struck out 12 times against Texas starter Yu Darvish over six innings (13 times overall), pushing their league-leading total to 1,470 — good for a 24.6% strikeout rate. While Matt Andriese allowed three runs over 5-1/3 innings, the hurler felt like his stint was a good finish to the season.
It wasn’t a bad outing by any means, Andriese said, kind of a decent one to go into the off-season with with just the intent of getting better.
Evan Longoria hit two doubles, giving him 80 extra-base hits this season. Longoria, who already set a career-best for extra-base hits, has collected a career-high 171 hits as well. Longoria enters the day with 301 career doubles, the franchise high water mark.
The New What Next
Jake Odorizzi (9-6, 3.77 ERA) will start tonight for the Rays, opposite of Colby Lewis (6-4 3.93).
Odorizzi lasted just three innings Sunday afternoon, allowing two runs on four hits and three walks while fanning three. The righty threw 84 pitches over the course of his three inning stint before being pulled in favor of LHP Justin Marks. It’s just the third time in his last 10 trips to the mound that Odorizzi hadn’t been able post a quality start, putting up a solid 3.52 ERA and 2.26 K/BB over that stretch (56-1/3 innings). Jake last faced the Rangers on August 20th, allowing a run over six innings. Odorizzi is a career 3-0 with a 1.40 ERA against Texas, and 6-1 with a 2.81 ERA since the All-Star Break.
Lewis lost after allowing seven runs on seven hits and a walk in 1-1/3 innings on Sunday. After posting a scoreless first inning, the righty flew off the rails in the second, exiting after Oakland took a seven run advantage. Lewis now has lost all three of his starts since coming off the DL in September. Sunday’s outing raised his ERA 53 points, and it was the first time in 18 starts this season that he failed to complete at least five innings. Lewis is 1-1 with a 2.45 ERA against Tampa Bay, extending back to 2013.
You can read about the pitching matchup in our series preview.
Rays 10/1/16 Starting Lineup
Forsythe 2B
Kiermaier CF
Longoria 3B
Miller 1B
Dickerson LF
Franklin DH
Mahtook RF
Ramirez SS
Wilson C
Odorizzi RHP
Noteworthiness
— Anyone down for a day trip to Orlando after the season?
Among more interesting offseason plans among #Rays, or maybe any big leaguer, Nick Franklin will be a part-time @Uber driver in Orlando
— Marc Topkin (@TBTimes_Rays) October 1, 2016