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Rays lose battery in injury plagued third inning; Willy Adames crushes first big league hit

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Willy Adames (pictured) hit his first big league homer in his second at-bat on Tuesday. (Photo Credit: Tampa Bay Rays)

The Tampa Bay Rays’ battery took a beating in the third inning of Tuesday night’s game against the Boston Red Sox, losing both Jake Faria and Wilson Ramos in a matter of minutes.

Faria left the game when he suffered a strained left oblique in an at-bat that was punctuated by a swinging strikeout of Andrew Benintendi. After he tried to convince Rays skipper Kevin Cash and Head Athletic Trainer, Joe Benge that he was fine, the right-hander had to be removed.

Beyond the initial in-game diagnosis, the team has not announced any roster moves, although it is likely that Faria will spend some time on the disabled list. For context, former Ray Jake Odorizzi was placed on the 15-day DL in 2015 because of a mild to moderate oblique strain. Odorizzi missed nearly a month with that injury. Nathan Eovaldi (elbow, rib) is expected to make one more tune-up start on Wednesday before rejoining the big league squad as early as the weekend. He would be the likeliest candidate to replace Faria on the roster should he be added to the DL.

Austin Pruitt entered the game in relief of Faria, and two batters later — in a bout of wildness — he bounced one in the dirt that skipped off the dirt and hit Wilson Ramos square on the top of his left hand.

Ramos was clearly in discomfort, and was pulled shortly thereafter. The injury appeared to be in a place where there are plenty of small bones, but also a significant amount of soft tissue — in similar spot to where he was hit in Anaheim. Ramos told the media, after the game, that the base of thumb/hand was numb earlier, but he is starting to get the feeling back. Even though it is swollen, he is confident the injury isn’t more notable than a contusion, and that he won’t need to go on DL.

In the midst of all the doom and gloom that permeated the injury-plagued third inning, there was a moment of brightness when Willy Adames, who was promoted to the big leagues this afternoon — and arrived at the ball-park just 30-minutes before first pitch — stepped into the batter’s box for his second at-bat.

Chris Sale left a 90 mph 1-0 slider over the heart of the plate, which Adames turned on and sent to the ball’s rightful home in left field.

Adames became the fifth Ray to hit a home run in his first career game — the first since Brandon Guyer (May 6, 2011 in Baltimore), and the first player to ever hit a homer in his first career game at Tropicana Field.

The New What Next: Rays vs Red Sox — a series preview, part four

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In spite of falling 5-2 in the series finale against the Angels, the Rays returned home with a +.500 road record on their most recent trek, and in third place in the AL East. (Photo Credit: Tampa Bay Rays)

After a successful +.500 road trip that got off to a disastrous 1-3 start, the Tampa Bay Rays return to Tropicana Field on Tuesday, where they will kick off a three game series against the Boston Red Sox. After dropping six out of seven prior to their road trek, the Rays bounced back to win six straight and take sole possession of third place in the AL East, surpassing Toronto. Meanwhile, Boston has vacillated between first and second place in the division all season long, and are currently tied with the Yankees at the top, although New York has a higher winning percentage. The Sox have won two straight and four of five.

(Stats Credit: ESPN)

The Rays started off the season off horribly and looked liked they would be competing with the Orioles for cellar in the division, but they have turned things around. And after starting the season 1-6 against Boston, Tampa Bay took two of three from the Red Sox in their last meeting at Fenway in April — winning the series and outscoring the Massholes 19-13. They did not see Chris Sale in that series, yet the did butt heads with David Price, and beat him once again; the fourth time in 11 tries.

(Stats Credit: FanGraphs)

Pitching Probables

Over the next three days Kevin Cash will lean on Jake Faria (3-2, 5.20 ERA), Chris Archer (3-3, 5.01 ERA), and Blake Snell (5-3, 3.07 ERA). Alex Cora will counter with Chris Sale (4-1, 2.29 ERA), David Price (4-4, 4.38 ERA), and a pitcher to be named before Thursday’s ball game.

(Stats Credit: FanGraphs)

Jake Faria gave up three runs on four hits and four walks while striking out two over 4-1/3 innings on Wednesday against the Royals. He did not factor into the decision. Faria was staked to a four-run lead heading into the bottom of the fifth inning, when the bottom fell out. The right-hander got into an early jam in the inning and already had an elevated pitch count, signaling the end of his start. Control was the culprit, as Faria recorded more walks than strikeouts for the third time this season en route to a pedestrian 1.67 K/BB on the year. Even so, he is 5-2 with a 2.64 ERA in 10 career starts at Tropicana Field.

Chris Sale allowed two runs on two hits and four walks over just five innings to pick up the win Wednesday over Oakland. He struck out nine. Sale was effectively wild, and needed 102 pitches to get through five innings of work, however, he was as nasty as usual. His fastball alone coaxed 10 swinging strikes in 66 offerings, and that’s not to speak of his sweeping slider. Sale was touched up for a two-run homer by Marcus Semien, the sixth he’s allowed in his last six starts. Nevertheless, Sale has been effective despite the home run problem (a 13.6% HR/FB over the last 14-days) — his peripherals are powered by a ridiculous 5.6 K/BB over 41 innings in those six starts. Sale is 8-5 with a 3.10 ERA in 15 starts against the Rays, and 3-3 with a 2.02 ERA in eight starts at the Trop. Key Matchups: Wilson Ramos (4-13, 2B, 2 HR, 5 RBI), Rob Refsnyder (1-3), Denard Span (3-12, 3B, RBI)

Chris Archer notched his third win of the season on Thursday against the Angels, throwing 6-2/3 shutout innings, and allowing just two hits while striking out five, but walking four. After getting tagged for six earned runs in his last start, Archer was able to bounce back with a strong outing — only his third quality start in his last four turns. Overall he still has been erratic, and sports an unsightly 5.01 ERA and a 1.35 WHIP through 59-1/3 innings. They say familiarity breeds contempt, and likewise Boston has owned Archer over his 20 career starts, pegging him with a 2-12 record and a 5.49.

David Price tossed his best outing of the season on Thursday, posting a complete game, two-run five-hit gem, against Baltimore. He struck out eight. The only runs that were charged to his line came on a ninth inning, two-out, two-run homer to Manny Machado, but the blast was not enough to ruin Price’s second consecutive strong effort, completed on an efficient 95 pitches (65 strikes, 68% strike rate). The southpaw recently copped to a bout with carpal tunnel syndrome, which comes as no surprise to anyone that follows Price and knows his proclivity for video games. The former Ray has had a tough time against his previous team, going 4-4 with a 3.47 ERA. Price is 37-30 with a 2.84 ERA in 90 career starts at Tropicana Field. Key Matchups: CJ Cron (5-18, 2 2B), Wilson Ramos (4-11, 2B, HR, 2 RBI, BB)

Blake Snell didn’t put together a perfect inning until the sixth, yet he made big pitches when he needed to, holding the Angels scoreless until the fifth when Andrelton Simmons hit a two-run, two-strike single to center with one out — cutting the lead to four runs. Still, the southpaw stranded leadoff doubles in the second and third innings, and held Los Angeles to 1-9 with runners in scoring position.

After the Simmons single, Snell retired his next seven batters, collecting three punch outs along the way. He scattered four hits and two runs over 6-2/3 innings, walking three and fanning eight. Snell threw 70 of 114 pitches for strikes (61% strike rate).

Red Sox starter to be announced.

Noteworthiness

— OF Carlos Gomez (right groin strain) has progressed to playing catch and will ramp up baseball activities on Tuesday in hopes of returning when eligible on Saturday (or shortly after).

— SS Adeiny Hechavarria (right hamstring) is still in the “getting treatment” stage, according to Rays skipper Kevin Cash.

— RHP Nathan Eovaldi (arthroscopic elbow surgery) will make his fourth, and likely final, rehab start on Wednesday for Triple-A Durham.

— On Tuesday, Tampa native Christian Arroyo is slated to play his first home game for the Rays.

I’m looking forward to it, Arroyo said. It’ll be fun, part of that whole homecoming thing. It’ll be exciting.

Arroyo joined the club last week when shortstop Adeiny Hechavarria was injured and quickly made a good first impression, going 4-10 with a triple, two-runs and an RBI.

The New What Next: Rays vs Halos — a series preview

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After dropping three of four in Baltimore, the Rays bounced back to sweep the Royals. (Photo Credit: Tampa Bay Rays)

The Tampa Bay Rays are set to kick off a four-game visit to Angel Stadium in Anaheim, where they will battle the Los Angeles Angels this weekend. Tampa Bay is coming off a three-game sweep of the Kansas City Royals, while Los Angeles just dropped two-of-three to the AL West leading Houston Astros.

(Stats Credit: ESPN)

Tampa Bay enters the series with a 19-22 record on the season, although the team was able to take all three games at Kaufman Stadium — the Rays’ first sweep of the Royals since 2011, and the first in Kansas City since 2009. Prior to that, they had lost six of seven following a spate of play where the team was able to make up eight games in the loss column. If the Rays has any hope of being a part of the Wildcard race, then they will need to be much more consistent at the plate. To their credit, they were able to tag the Royals for 13 runs, although they have averaged just 3.67 runs per game over their last nine games …  and that just won’t get it done. While they have averaged 4.45 runs per game on the road this year, they have also allowed 5.45 runs per game under the same parameters.

The Angels have been very good at the plate so far, ranking sixth in the league in scoring — putting up 4.93 runs per game —  while also ranking second in homers with 58. They, however, have averaged 4.12 runs per game at home, while in the same breath allowing 4.96 runs per game.

(Stats Credit: FanGraphs)

Tampa Bay took four of the seven games from the Halos last season (2-1 at Angel Stadium).

Pitching Probables

Over the next four days, Kevin Cash will lean on Chris Archer (2-3, 5.64 ERA), Blake Snell (4-3, 3.12 ERA), Ryan Yarbrough (3-2, 3.93 ERA) and Anthony Banda (0-0, 5.40 ERA). Mike Scioscia will counter with Tyler Skaggs (3-2, 3.07 ERA), Nick Tropeano (1-2, 3.64 ERA), Andrew Heaney (2-2, 3.93 ERA) and Shohei Ohtani (3-1, 3.58 ERA).

(Stats Credit: FanGraphs)

Chris Archer was hit with the loss on Saturday against the Orioles, after he allowed six runs on seven hits and three walks over seven innings. He struck out four. It was Archer’s second seven inning start, yet his line left a lot to be desired thanks to the three long balls he allowed. The right-hander has now conceded nine home runs this season; he served up a homer in each of his first six starts, but kept the ball in the yard in his previous two outings heading into Saturday. He also allowed a steal of home (by Chance Sisco) and another run on a wild pitch. In spite of his 5.64 ERA across 52-2/3 innings, Archer has a solid 3.47 K/BB. He is 3-1 with a 2.45 ERA in five starts at Angel Stadium.

Tyler Skaggs gave up two earned runs on six hits over six innings against the Twins, striking out seven and walking two in a 5-4 loss. Despite the score, the southpaw put together a solid outing, and has pitched well all season (save for a rough outing against Boston on April 18, when he got tagged for six earned runs). His strikeout rate has been on an uptick lately, and he has punched out at least seven batters in three consecutive starts after managing that feat just once in his first five trips to the mound. He now has a 3.07 ERA, a 1.20 WHIP and a 3.54 K/BB over 44 innings this season. Contrary to the superlatives, Skaggs allowed five runs in his only appearance against Tampa Bay, and is 3-9 with a 4.81 ERA in 25 starts at Angel Stadium. This season he has relied primarily on his 92 mph four seam fastball resulting in a good number of swinging strikes, and a biting 75 mph curveball with sweeping glove-side movement, while also mixing in a 92 mph worm-killer sinker, and an 85 mph changeup with surprising cut action and sink.

Blake Snell took his third loss of the season on Sunday and is dealing with a sore right hip. The revelation came during manager Kevin Cash’s postgame press conference following a forgettable outing in which the left-hander allowed five earned runs on six hits over 3-1/3 innings against Baltimore. According to Marc Topkin (Tampa Bay Times) Cash made sure to emphasize that it is a “minor, minor injury,” but also conceded the discomfort was the primary reason why he opted to pull Snell after just 73 pitches, allowing that he didn’t think the Snell “looked quite like himself.” Snell has faced the Angels just once, but walked away as the hard luck loser after he put together a 6 IP/4 H/2 ER/7 K performance.

Nick Tropeano was credited with a no-decision in his last start on Saturday against Minnesota after the right-hander yielded three runs over six innings. This season he has relied primarily on his 91 mph four-seam fastball with natural sinking action and slight armside run, and an 80 mph 12-6 slider, while also mixing in an 82 mph splitter that dives down out of the zone, an 89 mph sinker with obvious tail, and a whiffy 82 mph changeup. He is 0-1 with a 4.35 ERA in two career starts against the Rays, but has not faced them since 2016. Tropeano is also 3-4 with a 4.56 ERA in 14 career starts at Angel Stadium. Key Matchup: Brad Miller (3-9, 2 HR, 3 RBI)

Ryan Yarbrough allowed one run on five hits and three walks over five innings to earn his third win of the season on Monday against the Royals. He struck out four. Yarbrough put together a somewhat surprising outing, in that his strike to ball rate sat at 60% as he walked three batters. It will be interesting to see if the southpaw can bounce back against Mike Trout and the Angels, who he has never faced.

Andrew Heaney fanned 10 over eight solid innings of one-run ball against the Astros on Monday. He later described the outing as the best of his career. Heaney has pitched to a 1.80 ERA over his last four starts for the Angels, although he is 6-4 with a 4.16 ERA in 17 starts at home. This season the left-hander has relied primarily on his 92 mph swing and miss sinker and a hard 80 mph curveball, while also mixing in a firm 84 mph worm-killer changeup with armside fade and natural sink. He has never faced the Rays. Key Matchup: Brad Miller (2-2)

Anthony Banda efficiently cruised through the Royals lineup, setting a quick pace and inducing lots of contact — prior to the fifth inning he had struck out only one batter. But it appeared that the wheels might fall off for the southpaw in that frame. As Banda pounded the zone, the Royals began to hit squibbers that found holes.

A pair of leadoff singles and a sacrifice bunt later, Kansas City had runners on second and third with just one out. Banda came back and coaxed a soft grounder to short out of Ryan Goins that was scored as an RBI fielder’s choice. The next batter, Whit Merrifield, sent a liner to left that dropped just in front of Span, who struggled with the ball. Merrifield tried to stretch his single into a double, and Span gunned him down at second. The Rays got out of the inning with the lead, yet the Royals cut the deficit to one. Kansas City later tied the game against the tandem of Jose Alvarado and Sergio Romo.

That’s not to say Banda performed poorly, because he didn’t. The left-hander went five innings, and didn’t walk a batter. He struck out one and threw just 52 pitches (38 strikes, 73% strike ratio), although he allowed three runs on six hits.

Shohei Ohtani, thrust into a six-man rotation, will get the start in the series finale. Ohtani is coming off a quality start against Minnesota — his fourth of the season — in which he allowed just three hits and collected 11 strikeouts. It’s also thought that he may see some at-bats leading up to his start. The two-way star has relied on a blazing 98 mph four-seam fastball, a firm and whiffy 88 mph splitter with slight cut action and has some natural sink, and a sweeping 83 mph slider with two-plane movement, while also mixing in a whiffy 75 mph curveball with exceptional bite and glove side movement.

Noteworthiness

— Christian Arroyo, the highly touted prospect acquired in the December trade of Evan Longoria to the Giants, was called up Wednesday when the Rays put RF Carlos Gomez on the DL so they could add another right-handed bat. The team also plans to have him step in for 3B Matt Duffy, who is out of the lineup, likely until Friday, after leaving Tuesday’s game with hamstring tightness.

Arroyo has been off to a slow start with Triple-A Durham, hitting .200 with one homer (albeit a grand slam) in 17 games, having missed time with a calf strain.

Carlos Gomez headed to the DL; Rays to promote Christian Arroyo

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Christian Arroyo, the prize in the trade for Evan Longoria, is headed for a big league promotion. (Photo Credit: BrianFlemingPhotography.com)

The Tampa Bay Rays placed Carlos Gomez on the 10-day disabled list with a strained right groin before Wednesday’s series finale In Kansas City. Christian Arroyo has been called up to take his place on the roster. Meanwhile, Matt Duffy (right hamstring tightness), who also left Tuesday night’s game, although it was not serious enough to warrant a trip to the DL, and he could return to action as early as Friday against the Angels in Anaheim.

Arroyo, the prize in the deal that sent Evan Longoria to San Francisco last December, has yet to make his Rays debut. He is currently is ranked as the club’s number six prospect by MLB Pipeline, as well as baseball’s number 80 overall prospect and the number four third-base prospect.

The infielder was the 25th overall selection in the 2013, and made his Major League debut with the Giants last season, playing in 34 games and slashing .192 BA/.244 OBP/.304 SLG/.549 OPS with 3 HR over 135 plate appearances. Following Spring Training, he was optioned to Triple-A Durham, where he is hitting .200 with a homer and eight RBI in 17 games.

Well we’ve got some (left-handed starters) coming into play in Anaheim, manager Kevin Cash said. He’ll get some opportunities. He’s played mostly third base. But he’s versatile in the fact he can play short, second and third. We saw all of that in Spring Training. And especially with Matt nursing a little bit of a hamstring. I’m not quite sure when he’s going to be available, but we’re hoping it’s just going to be a couple of days.

As for Duffy, the infielder told reporters that his hamstring had improved from Tuesday night, which encouraged him about his chances for a quick return to the lineup.

I think it feels about like it did after I strained it (earlier in the season) and took three days off, Duffy said. And the last time we took four days off before we started ramping things up, so maybe a day or two here. It’s not quite perfect, which is why I’m not in the lineup, but it’s not far off.

… Running the bases is the main concern. You get to the point where you’re torn between either hurting the team by not being able to run hard, or hurting yourself because you do run hard. I think we’re probably going to play it a little safe. If I need one extra day, first day in Anaheim, I don’t think that’s out of question to take two days off and then go from there.

Duffy has been one of the Rays’ most productive players at the plate. He’s hitting .322 with two home runs and 14 RBI.

Gomez left Tuesday night’s win over the Royals due to the groin injury. The 32-year-old outfielder is batting .200 with five home runs, 11 RBI (and the worst walk rate of his career) over 37 games.

Obviously, the way he plays, how intense he is running the bases, playing the outfield, probably the smart (move was) to get him off his feet for 10 days and not allow him to aggravate it, Cash said. It will be a loss.

I know Carlos hasn’t swung the bat the way he’s capable of, but you know eventually he’s going to get hot. We’re still waiting, but maybe this will give him a little bit of a blow, rest his mind as much as his groin, and come back and get us going once he does come back.

Rays 5/16/18 starting lineup and pregame notes; injury update

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Anthony Banda pitches in the first inning against the Kansas City Royals on Tuesday. (Photo Credit: Getty Images)

Day game after a night game. The day after the Rays squandered a three-run advantage, only to retake the lead with two outs in the top of the ninth, Tampa Bay looks to sweep the Royals this afternoon in Kansas City.

The Rays collected their second consecutive one-run victory last night. Kelvin Herrera, who allowed just one run this season, took the mound the ninth for Kansas City with the game tied at five. Johnny Field, who entered for the injured Carlos Gomez, singled to center, before Jesus Sucre came up with his first, and arguably biggest, hit of the night — a single to right, moving Field up to second. After Denard Span lined out to center, and C.J. Cron popped out to right, Joey Wendle lashed a two-out single to left, scoring Field for the go ahead lead.


Source: FanGraphs

The Rays put the lead-off man on base in the first, third, sixth and ninth innings, and scored in each frame.

Meanwhile, Anthony Banda, who was acquired from Arizona in the Steven Souza Jr. trade, made his Rays debut. Banda efficiently cruised through the Royals lineup, setting a quick pace and inducing lots of contact — prior to the fifth inning he had struck out only one batter. But it appeared that the wheels might fall off for the southpaw in that frame. As Banda pounded the zone, the Royals began to hit squibbers that found holes.

A pair of leadoff singles and a sacrifice bunt later, Kansas City had runners on second and third with just one out. Banda came back and coaxed a soft grounder to short out of Ryan Goins that was scored as an RBI fielder’s choice. The next batter, Whit Merrifield, sent a liner to left that dropped just in front of Span, who struggled with the ball. Merrifield tried to stretch his single into a double, and Span gunned him down at second. The Rays got out of the inning with the lead, yet the Royals cut the deficit to one. Kansas City later tied the game against the tandem of Jose Alvarado and Sergio Romo.

That’s not to say Banda performed poorly, because he didn’t. The left-hander went five innings, and didn’t walk a batter. He struck out one and threw just 52 pitches (38 strikes, 73% strike ratio), although he allowed three runs on six hits. He will remain with the team, although it is not clear whether he will get the start on Sunday on normal rest.

The New What Next

The Rays will go for the sweep of Kansas City on Wednesday afternoon, their first in over six years. Jake Faria (3–2, 5.09 ERA) will get the start for Tampa Bay, pitching opposite of former Ray Jason Hammel (0–4, 6.13 ERA).

Jake Faria took a loss against the Orioles on Friday, after he coughed up seven runs on eight hits and a walk over six-plus innings. He struck out three. The right-hander would have come away with a quality start if he’d exited after six innings, but Faria instead came out for the seventh and, after a solo homer by Mark Trumbo, loaded the bases with nobody out on a single, a hit by pitch and a walk before getting the hook in favor of Ryne Stanek, who served up a grand slam to Manny Machado. Previous to that outing, Faria threw three quality starts in four tries, including a dominant 8 IP/3 H performance against Detroit two turns ago.

Jason Hammel, the former Ray, allowed nine runs over 3-2/3 innings in his last start against Cleveland, four of which were scored in the first inning. He is still searching for his first win of the season, and has posted just three quality starts of his eight total. The scouting report on Hammel: this season he has relied primarily on his 92 mph sinker with two plane movement and an 85 mph slider, while also mixing in a 92 mph four-seam fastball, a 78 mph curveball with sharp downward bite and glove side movement, and a firm 86 mph changeup with slight arm side fade. He is 2-3 with a 4.89 ERA in seven career starts against his former team. Key Matchups: Matt Duffy (1-2), Brad Miller (2-8, HR, 2 RBI), Wilson Ramos (4-12, 2 HR, 2 RBI, 2 BB), Mallex Smith (2-2)

You can read about the series in our preview.

The New What Next: Rays vs Royals — a series preview

Rays 5/16/18 Starting Lineup

Span LF
Cron DH
Wendle 2B
Ramos C
Miller 1B
Hechavarria SS
Smith CF
Robertson 3B
Field RF
Faria RHP

Noteworthiness

— As I mentioned above, Carlos Gomez, along with Matt Duffy, was pulled from last night’s game.

Following the game, Duffy said he didn’t think hamstring issue will land him on the disabled list, although he figures to be out Wednesday and possibly Thursday. Gomez doesn’t know how long he will be our since he has never had groin issues before.

— Johnny Venters was credited with the win last night, his first in 2,096 games.