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The New What Next: Rays Vs. Athletics — a series preview

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Logan Morrison celebrates with Tim Beckham after tying the score with a two-run homer during the seventh inning of a baseball game against the Los Angeles Angels on Sunday. (Photo Credit: Getty Images)

The Tampa Bay Rays will begin a three-game series against the Oakland Athletics when they square off at O.co Coliseum on Monday night. The Rays had won four straight games before losing the series finale in Los Angeles on Sunday, while the Athletics are coming off a three-game sweep of Cleveland.

(Stats: ESPN)

The Rays could have extended their winning streak to five games, however, pitching mistakes here and there, two missed tags at the plate, and the fact that they left the bases loaded to end the game on Sunday found them on the losing side of the ledger. Still, they are holding down one of the two AL Wildcard spots, and still find themselves with sole possession of second place in the AL East by 1/2 game over the Yankees. Logan Morrison has homered in two straight games, while Evan Longoria has hit safely in nine consecutive contests — going 13-33 with seven RBI over that stretch.

The Athletics haven’t played like a last-place team of late, as they’ve won seven of their last nine games overall after they swept the AL Central-leading team from Cleveland. Oakland plated 17 runs over the span of the three-game series, which extended the team’s home winning streak to five games. However, the Athletics have won four or more consecutive games just three times this season, so the odds are against them in that respect.

Tampa Bay is 9-2-1 in its last 12 series against the AL West, while Oakland is 4-1 over its last five home games, and 13-6 in the Athletics’ last 19 games against teams with winning records.

(Stats: FanGraphs)

Over the next three days, Kevin Cash will lean on Jake Odorizzi (5-4, 4.63 ERA, 5.68 FIP), Blake Snell (0-5, 4.85 ERA, 5.12 FIP), and Jacob Faria (4-0, 2.00 ERA, 3.48 FIP). Bob Melvin will counter with Daniel Gossett (1-4, 6.23 ERA, 5.75 FIP), Chris Smith (0-0, 4.50 ERA, 4.48 FIP), Sonny Gray (5-4, 3.72 ERA, 3.46 FIP).

(Credit: FanGraphs)

Pitching Matchups

Odorizzi continues to struggle, as he surrendered seven earned runs over 4-1/3 innings in his last start before the All-Star Break.  The right-hander has allowed at least three runs in seven consecutive starts, with a 6.69 ERA, 1.66 WHIP, 31/16 K/BB and 2.8 HR/9 in 35 innings over that stretch. Over the break, Odorizzi worked on the mechanical issues that have plagued him over the first half of the season, and the hope is that he will show in the second half of this season, similar to what he did in 2016.

Gossett had a tough outing to close out the first half of the season, taking his fourth loss in 4-1/3 inning, three run five hit outing. In three of his four losses, he’s received just one run of support or less. The Rays have never faced the 24 year-old right-hander that has relied primarily on a 92 mph four-seam fastball with average velocity and little arm-side run, and an 84 mph worm-burner of a slider. He’s also mixed in a 79 mph 12-6 curveball, an 82 mph cut action changeup, and a whiffy 91 mph sinker bereft of arm-side run.

Snell kept the Cubs off the board for five innings — despite walking four batters — giving him his first scoreless outing of the season. The bullpen could not secure a win for Snell, as the relievers gave up seven unanswered runs with Snell out of the game. While his outing was a step forward, the walks that Snell issued are concerning, and have raised his BB/9 up to an unsightly 5.9 on the season. Suffice it to say, if Snell can’t get it together over his next two starts, the Rays might be forced to rely upon the services of Brent Honeywell instead.

Smith will make his second big league start in Jharel Cotton’s place in the rotation. The 36 year-old allowed three runs on six hits over six innings in his first start on July 8, in Seattle. This season Smith has relied upon an 87 mph pitch-to-contact four-seam fastball, a whiffy 78 mph 12-6 curveball, and a 76 mph Changeup.

Faria posted his seventh consecutive quality start on Friday, holding the Angels to one run on five hits over 6-2/3 innings for a no-decision. The right-hander was tough even without his best stuff. The cool as a cucumber rookie stranded runners in scoring position in the second, third and fourth innings — holding the Angels to 0-for-6 wRISP in those spots.

Gray tossed six shutout innings against Cleveland on Friday, giving up just two hits and walking one while fanning five and coaxing seven groundouts. The Rays were able to get to the 27 year-old right-hander the last time they faced him, tagging Gray for five runs (two earned) on nine hits over six innings … although he did strikeout 10. For whatever reason, Tampa Bay has fared well against Sonny over his career, as he is 2-2 with a 4.02 ERA against the Rays in eight starts. Key Matchups: Tim Beckham (4-5, 2B, HR, 3 RBI), Corey Dickerson (2-8, HR, 3 RBI), Evan Longoria (8-23, 3 2B, HR, 3 RBI, BB), Trevor Plouffe (2-7, HR, 4 RBI, BB), Mallex Smith (1-3)

Noteworthiness

— As we noted last night, Jumbo Diaz was designated for assignment after the game, and Andrew Kittredge has been selected from Durham. He will join the team on Monday.

— I still can’t get over this blast and ensuing bat flip:

Rays DFA Jumbo Diaz, select RHP Andrew Kittredge from Triple-A Durham

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(Photo Credit: Frank Janksky/Con Sportswire)

Following the ball game Sunday afternoon, the Tampa Bay Rays announced that they have designated reliever Jumbo Diaz for assignment, and selected the contract of RHP Andrew Kittredge from Triple-A Durham.

The 33-year-old flamethrower struggled mightily with the Rays, performing to a bloated 5.70 ERA/4.51 FIP over 30 innings of work, while culling a minuscule 30.7% ground-ball rate. Diaz’s strikeout rate wasn’t horrible (8.4 K/9), although his 4.5 BB/9 — and the fact that he walked six batters over 6-1/3 high-leverage innings; an 8.53 BB/9 in those situations — made him a shaky and undependable option out of the Rays ‘pen. To his credit, and as Connor Byrne (MLB Trade Rumors) noted, he ranks third among relievers in infield fly rate (22.5%). Still, that wasn’t enough to keep Diaz with the team, as he seemed to be pitching himself into trouble more often than not.

It fails to be seen whether the Rays will target a reliever at the trade deadline, although there have been multiple reports connecting the team to Hunter Strickland. For now they’ll lean on Kittredge — a 45th round draft pick by the Seattle Mariners in 2008. Kittredge was acquired from Seattle over the winter in the Taylor Motter/Richie Shaffer trade, and has performed to a 1.90 ERA/2.48 FIP over 52 innings of work (30 appearances; two starts) with Durham this season, while notching healthy 9.35 K/9 and 2.08 BB/9 rates, and accumulating a 52.2% ground ball rate.

The scouting report on Kittredge: the right-hander relies upon a whiffy 92 mph four-seam fastball with some extra backspin movement, as well as an 85 mph slider with good depth. He also mixes in a whiffy 74 mph curveball with exceptional bite from time to time.

The 27 year-old has yet to pitch in a Major League ball-game.

Noteworthiness

Deep thoughts following the #Rays 4-3 loss in the series finale…

Twice Sunday Rays hurlers followed up mistake run scoring pitches, with quality strikes to induce outs. In the fifth inning, after Albert Pujols fell behind then knocked in a run on a liner to right, Chris Archer fanned Yunel Escobar (swinging) on three pitches. Then in the eighth, after CJ Cron hit the first-pitch two-run homer, Adam Kolarek coaxed a pair of ground ball outs on two consecutive pitches.

On top of that, Jesus Sucre failed to place two tags on Andrelton Simmons and Nick Franklin (respectively), consequently allowing two runs to score.

True, the Halos out pitched the Rays today, and you can’t win games if you don’t score runs. However, we’d be talking about a different outcome had Archer and Kolarek come up with the big pitches needed instead of throwing a pair of mistake pitches, and/or had Sucre defended the plate a bit better.

Looking at the bright side, at least Tampa Bay put up a fight Sunday afternoon and snagged a series win.

The New What Next: Rays Vs. Angels — a series preview

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The Rays start the ceremonial second-half of the season four games over .500, and tied for second place in the AL East. (Photo Credit: Tampa Bay Rays)

With the first-half of the season behind them, the Tampa Bay Rays will begin a three-game weekend series against the Los Angeles Angels Friday night, at Angel Stadium. The Rays find themselves four games over .500, tied for second place in the AL East, and firmly in contention for a postseason berth. The Angels, on the other hand, are just two games under .500 and in second place in the AL West, but are 16-1/2 games behind the division leading Astros.

(Stats: ESPN)

Coming off a huge series victory against the Red Sox, Tampa Bay has an excellent opportunity to add some separation between the win and loss columns on the ledger, as the team will play their next 12 games against current sub-.500 teams Boding in their favor, the Rays are currently averaging 4.76 runs per game (ranking 13th in the Majors) and are hitting .257 as a team. Moreover, Tampa Bay’s pitching staff boasts a solid 4.10 team ERA, good for 10th in the Majors.

The low-scoring Angels are only averaging 4.10 runs per game (ranking 10th in the Majors), and own a .241 team batting average. The pitching staff isn’t terrible, carrying a decent 4.20 team ERA — good for 13th in the Majors.

Mike Trout, who was on track for arguably his best season before a thumb injury put him on the DL for seven weeks, will be activated prior to the first game of the series. Even so, the Rays are 21-8 in their last 29 games in Anaheim, and 2-2 against the Angels this season — both scenarios feature Trout in some capacity.

(Stats: FanGraphs)

Over the next three days, Kevin Cash will lean on Jacob Faria (4-0, 2.11 ERA, 3.17 FIP), Alex Cobb (7-6, 3.75 ERA, 4.12 FIP), and Chris Archer (7-5, 3.95 ERA, 3.16 FIP). Mike Scioscia will likely counter with Ricky Nolasco (4-10, 5.06 ERA, 5.62 FIP), Jesse Chavez (5-10, 4.99 ERA, 5.25 FIP), and a hurler to be named later.

(Stats: FanGraphs)

Pitching Matchups

Faria will take the mound for the seventh time of the season, looking to continue his dominant performance. Faria limited Boston to just one run over six strong innings, and recorded the fourth win of his rookie campaign. The right-hander boasts a stifling 2.11 ERA and a minuscule 0.97 WHIP over 38-1/3 innings of work. He also has tallied 37 strikeouts and has allowed six hits or fewer in each of his six starts.

Nolasco surrendered eight runs and lasted just 1-2/3 innings against Texas in his last start, and was tagged with the loss. The veteran right-hander is having a tough season, posting a bloated 5.06 ERA and a 1.40 WHIP to go along with a 4-10 record over 101-1/3 innings of work. He was hit-hard in his last start against the Rays, allowing five runs in six innings, and now sits with a 3-7 record and an obscene 6.67 ERA in 10 career starts against Tampa Bay. Key Matchups: Evan Longoria (6-21, 2 2B, HR, 3 RBI, 2 BB), Logan Morrison (2-5, 2 2B, BB), Trevor Plouffe (2-7, 2B, HR, RBI, BB), Steven Souza Jr. (3-6, 2B, 2 HR, 3 RBI)

Cobb was brilliant over 7-2/3 innings, relinquishing just two singles, while not allowing a runner beyond first. He struck out three. The right-hander didn’t have his whiffy stuff, although the split-change (the Thing) was more prevalent this time than last — throwing it for strikes 11 of 19 times, with four swings-and-misses. The Thing had a decent 6.68 inches of break, which is a positive, although he relied heavily on his fastball and knuckle-curve to great effect. Cobb used his repertoire to pitch to contact and miss barrels. His two best outings of the season have come over his last three starts.

Chavez allowed three runs on seven hits and two walks over five innings in his last start, absorbing the loss Saturday against Texas. He struck out six. This season, he has relied primarily upon a kitchen sink repertoire of pitches — a 92 mph four-seam fastball and an explosive 91 mph cutter, while also mixing in a firm 86 mph changeup with arm side fade, a 92 mph two-seam fastball/sinker that results in a fair number of fly balls, an 84 mph worm-burner of a slider, and a 77 mph curveball with slight glove-side movement. The 33 year-old right-hander is 0-1 with a 3.52 ERA in eight appearances (one start) against the Rays. Key Matchups: Taylor Featherston (2-2), Logan Morrison (6-19, 3 HR, 3 HR, 7 RBI), Jesus Sucre (2-7)

Archer allowed three runs on eight hits and two walks over 6-2/3 innings on Sunday. He struck out eight. The ace was solid for most of the afternoon, with the exceptions of a leadoff homer by Mookie Betts, and a two-run shot by Dustin Pedroia in the seventh inning, costing him a shot at his eighth win of the season. Despite the home run issues, Archer has coaxed whiffs at a high rate, and carried a career-high 10.8 K/9 into the All-Star Break. While he has failed to produce as many shutdown performances as we’ve grown accustomed to this season, Archer has already posted 12 quality starts and will look to be a bit more consistent over the second half.

Colby Rasmus to “step away from baseball”; Rays the best defensive team in MLB

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Colby Rasmus was hitting .281 BA/.318 OBP/.579 SLG/.897 with nine home runs in the 37 games he played with the Rays this season. (Photo Credit: Ron Jenkins/Getty Images)

With the hours and minutes ticking down to the ceremonial second-half of the season, the Tampa Bay Rays announced that Colby Rasmus will “step away from baseball.” In better news, the Rays ended the first-half of the season as the best defensive team in baseball, by way of defensive runs saved (DRS).

So long Colby, we barely knew you

Rasmus was signed to a one-year, $5-million contract this offseason, and was making hay in the 37 games he played with the Rays  — hitting .281 BA/.318 OBP/.579 SLG/.897 with nine home runs — until he started experiencing pain in his left hip in the middle of June. The outfielder was placed on the 10-day DL with hip tendinitis, likely the consequence of his 2016 hip surgery.

The Rays, issued a statement (above) yet offered no explanation for Rasmus’ sudden departure; he likely will not return to the team this season. One line in the statement sticks out and leads one to believe that there could be more to the story than we know:

Respecting the privacy of Colby and his family, the Rays will have no further comment.

Then again, per Marc Topkin (Tampa Bay Times), it may just be a matter of Rasmus being frustrated by recurring injuries, and preferring to spend time with his family.

Your Tampa Bay Rays: the best defensive team in baseball

The Rays start the ceremonial second-half of the season four games over .500, tied for second place in the AL East, and firmly in contention for a postseason berth thanks large in part to the defense. According to Mark Simon (ESPN) the numbers give credence to why they are where they are. Tampa Bay is leading all of Major League Baseball in defensive runs saved (DRS).

Kevin Kiermaier and Evan Longoria are at the head of the pack in DRS with +10 and +9 respectively. They are followed by Alex Cobb (+4), Adeiny Hechavarria (+3) — who’s appeared in just 11 games with the Rays — Corey Dickerson (+2), Steven Souza Jr. (+2), and Logan Morrison (+2).

Stepping away from the subject of DRS for a moment, and as Daniel Russell (DRaysBay) noted, even though Hechavarria has appeared in just 31 total games this season, he ranks second in baseball in UZR/150 with a score of 14.8, ahead of Andrelton Simmons (13.7) in shortstops that have accrued a minimum of 200 innings.

Back on topic, how does Tampa Bay’s outfield and infield stack up? Let’s take a look.

Even without Kiermaier, who’s been shelved since June 8, the Rays outfield is the third best in baseball.

And even with average play at short (prior to the acquisition of Hech) and an unsteady Brad Miller, the Rays have the best infield in the American League.

Additionally, both Jesus Sucre and Wilson Ramos have bolstered the team behind the plate.

(Credit: Baseball Prospectus)

The Baseball Prospectus leaderboard finds that Sucre (35 appearances) ranks 19th thus far, while Ramos (nine appearances) already ranks 27th.

All in all, the Rays are a good team once again, and are thankfully relevant going into the second half of the season. We already knew that they were an offensive juggernaut, and Simon’s findings show that they have been able to bolster the offense without sacrificing the defense.

Moving forward, it fails to be seen whether the front office will add a few players here or there leading up to the trade deadline, or if they will stand pat.

Noteworthiness

— What might the Rays do now without Rasmus? Adam Sanford (DRaysBay) listed some options both internally or potentially available via the trade market.

LBWMF: Alex Cobb, Rays defense stifle first place Red Sox, 1-0

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Adeiny Hechavarria with an excellent flying grab on a liner off the bat of Hanley Ramirez in the second inning of Saturday’s ball-game. (Photo Credit: Will Vragovic/Tampa Bay Times)

Alex Cobb was excellent on Saturday, while the Rays’ defense put on a leather flashing clinic. Cobb and Alex Colome combined to three-hit Boston, as the Rays won 1–0 over the first place Red Sox. Tampa Bay starts the day at 46–43, looking to close out the ceremonial first half of the season four games over .500.

Cobb was brilliant over 7-2/3 innings, relinquishing just two singles, while not allowing a runner beyond first. He struck out three. The right-hander didn’t have his whiffy stuff, although the split-change (the Thing) was more prevalent this time than last — throwing it for strikes 11 of 19 times, with four swings-and-misses. The Thing had a decent 6.68 inches of break, which is a positive, although he relied heavily on his fastball and knuckle-curve to great effect. Cobb used his repertoire to pitch to contact and miss barrels.

The right-hander was helped by web-gems from shortstop Adeiny Hechavarria in the second and fifth innings.

In fact, the whole team joined in on the fun. Evan Longoria robbed Mookie Betts in the first, Mallex Smith ran down a ball in the triangle early in the game, and Shane Peterson made a sliding catch in left in the sixth. Even Brad Miller, who later allowed a base runner to reach on an error, made a sharp play on Xander Bogaerts in the fourth.

Not to be outdone, even Cobb joined the party (see at :16 in the video below):

Meanwhile, Tampa Bay got on the board against Rick Porcello in the second inning. Steven Souza Jr. and Miller singled to start the rally. Hechavarria grounded into a 6–4 fielder’s choice that was originally ruled a double play, but was overturned upon review. After Shane Peterson was hit by a 1–2 pitch, which consequently loaded the bases, Jesus Sucre plated the only run of the game on a sacrifice-fly to deep center, scoring Souza.

The Rays had other chances against Porcello, who previously allowed 13 runs against Tampa Bay this season. The reigning Cy Young Award winner stranded Smith at third base in the first and seventh innings; and Longoria at first in the third, and third in the fifth innings. All told, he scattered six hits.

Their best chance of plating an insurance run came in the seventh inning with Smith in scoring position, yet Xander Bogaerts robbed Corey Dickerson of a run-scoring hit, ending the frame.

With his start coming to a close in the eighth, Cobb walked Sandy Leon with one out. Sam Travis pinch-ran, yet Tsu-Wei Lin was robbed of a hit by Souza. in right for the second out of the frame. At 111 pitches, and having fallen behind the last three hitters, Cobb was lifted.

Acknowledging the crowd that gave him a standing ovation, the right-hander made his way to the dugout, as Alex Colome took the mound.

Colome quickly fell behind Mookie Betts 3–0, before getting him to fly out to center.

Colome started the ninth and got Dustin Pedroia to ground to short, yet Bogaerts walked with one out after falling behind 0–2. Mitch Moreland followed.

The right-hander got ahead of Moreland 0-2, then went for the punchout on a good cutter in the dirt. Moreland appeared to go around with his swing, however, Jerry Meals ruled it a check and therefore a ball. With new life, Boston’s first baseman lashed a double off the wall in right. Souza barehanded the carom and quickly fired it back in, holding Bogaerts at third. After Ramirez struck out, and Andrew Benintendi was intentionally walked — loading the bases — Chris Young popped out to short, preserving the win.

The New What Next

The Rays and Red Sox wrap up the four-game series on Sunday with a marquee matchup between Chris Archer (7-5, 3.95 ERA, 3.02 FIP) and his former mentor, David Price (4-2, 4.02 ERA, 4.45 FIP).

Archer not only collected his 11th quality start of the season on Tuesday, but also tallied his first career hit and RBI. The Rays have won in four of Archer’s last five starts, while he’s posted at least six innings over his last nine. He did put an uncomfortable number of men on base in this one, but he escaped several jams and limited the damage, which amounted to three runs total. And though he labored through an inefficient 116 pitches over six innings of work, Archer he threw an impressive 69% for strikes, including 24 whiffs.

Price blanked the opposition for the first time this season on Tuesday against the Rangers, while striking out nine. The former Ray scattered six hits, yet he held Texas scoreless as the BoSox raced to an early lead. Price left the game in the seventh inning because of an apparent injury to his pitching hand, although John Farrell said afterward that he was removed because of a high pitch count and long sixth inning. The Rays have had a lot of success against their former ace, tagging him for 23 runs (21 earned) over seven starts and 45 innings of work. They’ll try to keep it rolling in the final game before the All-Star Break on Sunday. Key Matchups: Corey Dickerson (1-3), Adeiny Hechavarria (2-6), Trevor Plouffe (9-25, 2 2B, 3 RBI, BB)

You can read about the series in our preview.

Rays 7/9/17 Starting Lineup

Souza RF
Dickerson LF
Longoria 3B
Morrison 1B
Ramos C
Plouffe DH
Miller 2B
Hechavarria SS
Bourjos CF
Archer RHP

Noteworthiness

— We’ll be off the grid from Monday-through-Thursday morning, then back again on the interwebs at some point thereafter.

— Tropicana Field, Saturday, July 22, #BaseballForever Night at the Trop 2017, do it! I’ll bring an extra special mixtape for all of you. Come to think of it, that’s a really great bad idea – I’m going to start a SoundCloud of terrible songs to share with everyone! I digress. You can find out more information about the event here.

— The attendance at the Trop for the life of this series has been around 24,000 people per game. Not bad!

Still, this bears mentioning:

Rays fans, it was incredible to witness an average of +40,000 fans turn out the last two days to watch the Rays battle the Cubs at Wrigley Field. It was loud and raucous, and it made me wish our home games were again like that. Guess what? The Tampa Bay Rays are in contention, and they deserve your support.

Personally, I traveled from St. Petersburg to Chicago — almost 2,000 miles, mind you — to attend the series. From there, it took me 45 minutes to travel from Bucktown (where I stayed) to Wrigleyville, by rail, and then back again. I didn’t complain when I was cramped like a sardine on the Blue and Red CTA Lines. Matter of fact, I hate being touched by strangers, although I remembered where I was and why, and I was thankful for the opportunity to watch may favorite baseball team take on the World Series champions some 2,000 miles from home — give or take 30 miles.

I wasn’t alone.

Friends, Steven Souza Jr. is right! The upcoming series against Boston is HUGE, and the good guys can make up some ground in the AL East and postseason standings going into the break. They want need it rockin’ and loud under the big top this weekend.

Not to pat myself on the back, but if I can literally stand on my feet for the better part of seven hours, from Tuesday morning into the late afternoon — including the ingress and egress into and out of the Friendly Confines, as well as the time spent standing in the bleacher section, under the centerfield scoreboard — then you can make the short or longer trek from wherever you live (be that in Pinellas, Hillsborough, Manatee, etc) to the Trop, to root on our team.

Boo-hoo, the bridge is long.

Suck it up, and show up late if you have to.

But the traffic is terrible!

No shit! But it’s not Rays fault that the City of Tampa and/or FDOT designed an intentional bottleneck on the east side of the Howard Franklin Bridge, which makes it hard to get into and out of Hillsborough and Pinellas counties during rush hour. Pro tip: show up a little late, or take the Gandy Bridge, which has been made much quicker on the Pinellas side.

In the end, the players shouldn’t have to deal with the embarrassment associated with an apathetic fanbase. Quit making excuses, and get out to the Trop!