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TNWN: Rays look to bounce back and punch World Series ticket following Wednesday’s 4-3 loss

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He’s a baaaaad man! (Photo Credit: Tampa Bay Rays)

With visions of closing out the American League Championship Series before the weekend, the Tampa Bay Rays look to bounce back from their 4-3 loss in Wednesday night’s contest against Houston. The Rays still lead the series three games to one.

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Tyler Glasnow got the start on Wednesday and he was good, but not great. The right-hander allowed four runs on eight hits and two walks while striking out five on 96 pitches (55 strikes, 57% strike rate, 20% SwStr). Glasnow allowed a first-inning solo shot and an RBI double in the third inning to Jose Altuve, and a two-run blast to George Springer on a 99 mph, 3-1 fastball with the game scored knotted up at two in the bottom of the fifth. Yet, he also limited the damage by inducing weak contact and six ground balls. It was a rare power outburst against a hurler that maintained a 1.73 HR/9 in 2020 (and a 0.59 HR/9 in 2019). Glasnow enters his next start — assuming the Rays move on to the World Series — with a 4.66 ERA, 5.88 FIP, 1.29 WHIP, and a 3.1 K/BB across 19-1/3 playoff innings.

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There were a few positives from last night’s contest. Randy Arozarena continued to rake, going 1-4 with a homer and two RBI, while Jose Alvarado made his first appearance of the fall, working around one hit in one inning of work while punching out two on 22 pitches (13 strikes, 59% strike rate, 23% SwStr%). Arozarena is now 19-43 (.442) this postseason, and his 39 total bases are an MLB postseason rookie record. According to Neil Solondz (Rays Radio), “Arozarena has five homers, joining Evan Longoria and Kyle Schwarber as the only other rookies to have that many in a postseason.”

The New What Next

Neither team has announced their pitching plans for this afternoon’s contest. Tampa Bay could use an opener or start Josh Fleming (5-0, 2.78 ERA).

In his last outing, Josh Fleming tossed six scoreless frames against the Phillies, allowing four hits and one walk while striking out six. It marked the longest outing of the season for Fleming, who has served as both a starter and long reliever this season. His six punch outs marked a season-high.

If the Rays go to Pete Fairbanks in some capacity, it would be his third appearance in four days. It would also be Ryan Thompson’s fourth appearance in five games should he get the call.

Luis Garcia, Chase De Jong, and Cy Sneed have not been used in this series, and it is possible the Astros could go with a bullpen game tonight. The four previous starters have worked at least into the sixth inning, so they likely would not be available on short rest.

You can read about the series in our preview, and while the starting lineup and any Noteworthiness are below.

TNWN: Rays vs. Astros — an ALCS preview

Rays 10/18/20 Starting Lineup

  1. B. Lowe 2B
  2. Arozarena LF
  3. Meadows RF
  4. Diaz DH
  5. Choi 1B
  6. Margot CF
  7. Wendle 3B
  8. Adames SS
  9. Zunino C

Noteworthiness

— Congratulations are in order to Rays skipper Kevin Cash, who has won his second consecutive Sporting News American League Manager Of The Year award. We will have more on this later.

TNWN: Rays look to clinch World Series berth on Wednesday

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Not Mike Trout. (Photo Credit: Tampa Bay Rays)

After a 5-2 defeat of Houston on Tuesday, the Tampa Bay Rays can clinch their second-ever World Series berth with a win tonight. Tampa Bay’s defense has played a huge role in their success thus far, including two defensive gems by Hunter Renfroe last night.

As Keegan Matheson (MLB.com) writes, Kevin Kiermaier — who later left the game with a left-hand contusion after getting hit by a 99.2 mph fastball — covered a lot of ground on the play highlighted above.

With runners on first and second, Correa drove a liner back up the middle that was fading and dropping to Kiermaier’s glove side as he raced in, covering 64 feet in 3.8 seconds. With a catch probability of 20%, as calculated by Statcast, it qualifies as a five-star catch for Kiermaier, which has come to be something we expect from the three-time Gold Glove Award winner in center field.

— Keegan Matheson

The Rays made six hit-saving plays on Tuesday. Overall, of the Astros’ 27 well-struck balls put into play, only eight have gotten down for hits.

The stable has also been very good. Houston has been limited to a total of five runs over the first three contests or 1-1/3 runs per game. They are 4-24 wRISP and without a single RBI to their name.

Even so, the Astros have allowed just 11 runs or 3.67 runs per game, while 73% of the Rays’ runs have come in frames when Jose Altuve has committed an error.

Still, the Rays are primed to punch their ticket to the world series. Just once in the Championship Series format (38 years) has a team come back from a three-game deficit; in 2004, when Boston came back to beat the Yankees. The question is now when will they punch that ticket?

The New What Next

Tyler Glasnow (5-1, 4.08 ERA) will get the start on Wednesday, pitching opposite of consummate weirdo, Zach Greinke (3-3, 4.03 ERA).

Tyler Glasnow opened game five of the ALDS on short rest (two days) and posted two scoreless innings, allowing just a walk, yet throwing just 13 of 27 pitches for strikes (48% strike rate, 31% SwStr). Glasnow walked Brett Gardner on five pitches to open the third before Kyle Higashioka struck out looking. Glasnow was pulled after one time through the Yankees lineup. His scoreless outing followed a 5 IP/4 R/10 K start on Tuesday. Glasnow is 1-0 with a 1.80 ERA in one career regular-season start against Houston and went 0-2 with a 7.71 ERA in the ALDS last season.

Zach Greinke allowed one run on two hits and three walks while striking out one batter over four innings against the Twins in the first game of the AL Wildcard Series. Greinke got a short hook (79 pitches) after stumbling to a 6.07 ERA and a 1.43 WHIP in his final five starts of the regular season. Then, in his second postseason start, Greinke allowed four runs in 4-2/3 innings against Oakland. Even so, the Astros won both games. This season, right-handers have hit Greinke better than lefties to the tune of a .305 BA/5 HR/.849 OPS line vs. a .206 BA/1 HR/.529 OPS line. However, southpaw hitting batters have had slightly more success over his career. Key Matchups: Willy Adames (1-4, 2B), Ji-Man Choi (2-4, HR), Manuel Margot (7-16, 2 HR), Hunter Renfroe (6-21, 3 HR)

You can read about the series in our preview, while the starting lineup and Noteworthiness are below.

TNWN: Rays vs. Astros — an ALCS preview

Rays 10/14/20 Starting Lineup

  1. Meadows RF
  2. B. Lowe 2B
  3. Arozarena LF
  4. Choi 1B
  5. Margot CF
  6. Wendle 3B
  7. Tsutsugo DH
  8. Adames SS
  9. Zunino C

Noteworthiness

— Given that Ryan Thompson and Aaron Loup have worked three straight days, while Pete Fairbanks has pitched three total innings over the last two days, they are unlikely to be available tonight. Diego Castillo has worked in five of the last eight games.

LBWMF: Rays hold on to defeat the Astros, 4-2

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Manuel Margot made a fantastic catch in foul territory in the second inning on Tuesday. (Photo Credit: Tampa Bay Rays)

Like Blake Snell before him, Charlie Morton battled through five innings, while Manuel Margot hit a three-run homer in the first inning. All that, and great defense, helped the Tampa Bay Rays win their second consecutive game against the Astros, 4-2, in San Diego. Tampa Bay now has a commanding 2-0 lead in the best-of-seven American League Championship Series.


Source: FanGraphs

Morton got the start and allowed five hits, a walk, and hit a batter while striking out five across five scoreless frames on 96 pitches (59 strikes, 61% strike rate, 14% SwStr%). Yet, even with all the traffic on the base paths, Morton limited the Astros scoring chances and held them to 0-5 with runners in scoring position — stranding runners in scoring position in the first four frames.

Tampa Bay took advantage of a defensive miscue in the first inning and turned it into a three-run advantage. Randy Arozarena hit a two-out single to left before Ji-Man Choi grounded into the shift in shallow right. Yet Jose Altuve, making his best Gary Sanchez impersonation, threw the ball low to first, and Yuli Gurriel was unable to hold on to it. Two pitches later, Manuel Margot hammered an 0-1 Lance McCullers curveball to center for an instant lead. Margot hit just one regular-season home run during the regular season, yet he now has three big flys in the playoffs.

The defense was also a big reason the Astros were held scoreless until the sixth inning and otherwise kept them in check. In the second inning Willy Adames prevented a low liner, off the bat of Carlos Correa, from getting through.

Then with runners at second and third and two out, George Springer lifted a ball toward right field, which faded toward the foul line. Margot crossed into foul territory and made a fantastic catch, holding on to the ball after he tumbled over the sidewall.

In the third inning, Adames made an impressive play on a hard-hit ball off the bat of Alex Bregman. Joey Wendle also opened the fifth inning by taking away a potential hit from Jose Altuve on a diving stop.

Pete Fairbanks took over in the sixth inning gave up a solo shot to left-center off the bat of Correa on a 98 mile per hour fastball. It was his fifth homer of the postseason after he hit five during the regular season. Fairbanks locked it in though, retiring the next five consecutive batters while striking out the side in the seventh.

Yet Lance McCullers locked it in after Margot’s home run, as he allowed just the first two batters to reach in the third inning on an error and an Arozarena single. McCullers retired 14 consecutive batters while striking out nine of them.

Mike Zunino broke up McCullers’s hitless stretch by blasting a 96 mph fastball over the wall in left-center, extending the lead back to three. Zunino now has home runs in each playoff series.

McCullers’s night ended with 11 punchouts in seven innings, while he scattered four hits and walked none.

Meanwhile, Aaron Loup got the first two outs of the eighth inning before he gave way to Ryan Thompson after he allowed a Kyle Tucker single. Thompson coaxed a fielder’s choice from Correa, ending the frame.

Things got interesting in the ninth inning against Nick Anderson. Given that prologue builds context, Anderson surrendered five combined hits and three total walks during the regular season. Yet, he allowed a pair of ground ball singles to Yuli Gurriel and Josh Reddick to begin the inning before Aledmys Diaz, who pinch-hit for Martin Maldonado, shot a single into center, loading the bases. George Springer hit the next pitch into a 4-3 double play, as Gurriel scored to bring Houston within two. The right-hander followed by walking the next two batters on eight pitches, thus loading the bases once again. But, Bregman lined out to Kiermaier in right-center on the next pitch, ending the ball game. Even though the inning was unnecessarily stressful, the Rays WPA never fell below 73%.

As Rays radio announcer Dave Wills noted, fatigue usually impacts command and control more than velocity … at least in the early stages. It will, however, impact velocity as time goes on. The rough outing by Anderson likely was exacerbated by fatigue. Let’s hope that a day or so of rest will help get him right.

The New What Next

Ryan Yarbrough (0-0, 3.65 ERA) will get the start Wednesday in game three of the ALCS, pitching opposite of José Urquidy (0-0, 5.19 ERA).

Ryan Yarbrough allowed two runs on six hits and one walk over five innings against the Yankees on Thursday. He struck out one. The southpaw generated just three swinging strikes on 65 pitches, yet he was able to hold New York in check aside from a two-run homer by Gleyber Torres. In all fairness, he is a pitch to contact kind of hurler. Yarbrough is 0-1 with a 2.92 ERA in two career regular-season outings against Houston (12-1/3 IP) and went 1-0 with a 0.00 ERA in three ALDS appearances last season.

José Urquidy allowed four earned runs on four solo shots, an additional hit, and a walk while striking out three over 4-1/3 innings on Wednesday. Urquidy failed to make it out of the fifth inning. The 25-year-old threw 62 of his 79 pitches for strikes (83% strike rate) and recorded a first-pitch strike on 13 of the 21 batters that he faced, yet he hadn’t allowed more than one run in any other playoff appearance. Urquidy relies primarily on a 94 mph four-seam fastball with some added backspin, while also mixing in an 85 mph changeup with arm-side fade, an 80 mph slider with some two-plane movement, and a 77 mph curveball. He has never faced the Rays.

You can read about the series in our preview, and while the starting lineup is below.

TNWN: Rays vs. Astros — an ALCS preview

Rays 10/13/20 Starting Lineup

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  1. Meadows DH
  2. Arozarena LF
  3. B Lowe 2B
  4. Diaz 1B
  5. Wendle 3B
  6. Margot RF
  7. Kiermaier CF
  8. Adames SS
  9. Perez C

LBWMF: same score, different day, Rays win 2-1

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Randy Arozarena tied the first game of the ALCS on his fourth home run of the postseason, aptly during the fourth inning. (Photo Credit: Tampa Bay Rays)

After scoring 33 runs against the Athletics in the ALDS, one would have every reason to assume that the Houston Astros would continue to mash their way to victory in the first game of the American League Championship Series. Yet, for the second consecutive ball-game, the Tampa Bay Rays came back from an early deficit to take the lead in the series. Blake Snell and four relievers combined to hold Houston in check — stranding 10 base runners in the process — en route to a 2-1 win on Sunday.

Juego G., James Shields, technically opened the game for Tampa Bay, throwing just one pitch before he handed it off to the bulk guy.

I digress.

Blake Snell got the start and battled his way through five innings on 105 pitches (61 strikes, 58% strike rate, 20% SwStr%), allowing multiple base runners in three of five frames. Yet, the lefty gave up just one run on six hits and two walks while striking out a pair. Snell threw only nine of 21 first-pitch strikes.

The only run of the game came on a Jose Altuve homer to left-center on a first-inning 2-1 fastball at the top of the zone. It was Altuve’s fourth homer in 16 at-bats against Snell.

He also got a little defensive help from his friends, as Snell picked a runner off in the third inning, and benefitted from a line-drive double play turned by Willy Adames in the fourth.

Meanwhile, Framber Valdez struck out the side on just 11 pitches in the first inning, which set the tone for his outing.

Even so, Tampa Bay tied the game in the bottom of the fourth when Randy Arozarena homered 413 feet to center field, his fourth of the postseason.

Then Tampa Bay took the lead for good in the fifth. Willy Adames walked on a borderline full-count pitch and went to second then third on a pair of comebackers to Valdez. Mike Zunino plated the go-ahead run on a first-pitch single through the shift for the deciding run.

Be that as it may, Tampa Bay left a lot of chicken on the bone, stranding two runners on base in the fifth, sixth, seventh, and eighth innings, and going 1-8 wRISP overall. The best chance came in the seventh inning when Kevin Kiermaier slashed a leadoff double into the left-field corner, but never advanced.

John Curtiss continued his redemption tour after a subpar start to the postseason in game one of the ALDS, replacing Snell in the sixth and battling through a scoreless frame by working around a leadoff single and a two-out walk. Curtiss got Aledmys Diaz to ground out in front of the plate to end the frame. Zunino fielded the ball moments before it rolled foul and fired it off to Yandy Diaz at first to pour cold water on the threat.

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Ryan Thompson followed Curtiss with a perfect seventh against the team that originally drafted him, striking out a batter.

Still, Aaron Loup got himself in a world of trouble in the eighth, starting with a hit by pitch of Michael Brantley on the first pitch of the at-bat. He was able to strike Alex Bregman out, but Loup uncorked a wild pitch that allowed Brantley to move into scoring position. Carlos Correa then walked on a full count pitch before Kyle Tucker singled to left, loading the bases.

Loup could neither command nor control his arsenal, forcing the hand of Kevin Cash to call upon Diego Castillo. Yuli Gurriel, one Houston’s best hitters in clutch situations, grounded the first pitch he saw to Brandon Lowe, who turned a 4-3 double play.

Castillo took the mound again in the ninth. Diaz flew out to left to start the frame, although pinch-hitter, Josh Reddick, singled through the right side and Myles Straw pinch-ran. George Springer grounded wide of first with Mike Brosseau flipping to Castillo for the second out of the frame while Straw moved into second. Finally, Castillo finished off Altuve and the Astros with a sick 89 mph slider to catch the demure second baseman swinging.

The New What Next

Charlie Morton (1-0, 1.80 ERA) will get the start in the second game of the series, pitching opposite of Tampa native Lance McCullers Jr. (0-0, 9.00 ERA).

Charlie Morton had a strong outing in his first playoff start of the year on Wednesday, allowing two runs (one earned) on four hits with six strikeouts and two walks over five innings on 86 pitches (55 strikes, 64% strike rate, 19% SwStr). Morton ran into trouble during the third inning but stranded the bases loaded after allowing just a run. He also stranded a runner on second base after surrendering a run-scoring double during the fifth inning. Morton is 4-6 with a 6.28 ERA in 11 career regular-season starts against his former team and went 2-0 with a 0.90 ERA in two postseason starts last year (including a 5 IP/3 H/1 R/9 K/2 BB outing against Houston in the ALDS).

Lance McCullers Jr. lasted just four innings in Game 1 of the ALDS against Oakland on Monday, allowing five runs (four earned) on nine hits and a walk while striking out five. McCullers gave a two-run shot to Khris Davis in the second inning followed by solo shots to Sean Murphy and Matt Olson over the next two frames. He was pulled from the game after allowing the leadoff runner to reach base in the bottom of the fifth; he would eventually come around to score to add a fifth run to McCullers’ line. McCullers relies primarily on a 94 mph sinker with some natural sinking action and a hard and whiffy 84 mph curveball with sharp downward bite and slight glove-side movement, while also mixing in a firm 86 mph changeup that dives down out of the zone. The right-hander is 1-2 with a 3.79 ERA in three career starts against Tampa Bay. Key Matchups: Willy Adames (1-2), Manuel Margot (1-3), Joey Wendle (1-3)

You can read about the series in our preview, while the starting lineup is below

TNWN: Rays vs. Astros — an ALCS preview

Rays 10/12/20 Starting Lineup

  1. Meadows DH
  2. B. Lowe 2B
  3. Arozarena LF
  4. Choi 1B
  5. Margot RF
  6. Wendle 3B
  7. Adames SS
  8. Kiermaier CF
  9. Zunino C

TNWN: Rays vs. Astros — an ALCS preview

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Let’s go! (Photo Credit: Tampa Bay Rays)

After finishing off the Yankees on Friday, 2-1 — as well as an off-day to recover on Saturday — the Tampa Bay Rays play host to the Houston Astros in San Diego on Sunday, when they open the best of seven American League Championship Series at Petco Park. Houston took three of four games from the Oakland Athletics in the last round and has been to the ALCS four consecutive seasons.

New York undoubtedly had firepower; arguably enough to cast aside those pesky Rays. Yet, Tampa Bay was at least as good as the Yankees, if not better. That should come as no surprise to anyone given that the Rays topped the Yankees for the division crown, and were the American League’s top seed entering the postseason.

Suffice it to say, the Rays are certainly good enough to advance to the World Series, although they must first get through the Astros. Tampa Bay will be tasked with slowing down an Astros lineup that has been rather toasty throughout the postseason. Carlos Correa is 10-20 with four home runs and 12 RBI during the postseason, while Kyle Tucker is 10-25 with just one strikeout. Jose Altuve is 5-15 with three home runs, professional asshole Alex Bregman is 6-15 with two homers, and Michael Brantley is 4-8. And despite ending the regular season with a sub .500 record, they had the lowest strikeout rate AL during the regular season.

After being the center of baseball’s biggest scandal in recent memory, the Astros have adopted full heel status as they cruised through the first two rounds of the playoffs. As Tony Wolfe (FanGraphs) put it, they “chastised the public for not believing in them despite their four consecutive ALCS appearances, or maybe because of their 29-31 regular-season record, which made them the first AL team in history to make the playoffs with a losing record. They have relished in the fact that they are the last team anyone wants to watch succeed this year. They have no doubt committed to memory every word said about them, publicly or privately, by every player on Tampa Bay’s roster. They will do this because they are elite athletes, and being an elite athlete means being wired a little differently.”

Even so, the Rays have earned a lot of success over the last three seasons (including a pair of playoff appearances) largely because they have taken an unconventional approach to winning ball games. They mix and match the starting lineup based on the matchup — Kevin Cash rolled out a different lineup in 59 of 60 games during the regular season. Their pitching philosophy embodies this as well. Tampa Bay used 12 different starting pitchers, frequently going to the “opener” strategy and flip-flopping arms between the rotation and bullpen all season long … and to great effect; the Rays’ pitching staff maintained a 3.56 ERA (second in the AL) and a 3.94 FIP (third in the AL) in 2020. Compare that to Houston, which was in the middle of the pack in both categories (4.31 ERA/4.33 FIP).

Losing to the Astros in five games last season helped the Rays prepare for their current postseason run.

That experience probably helped us get to where we are right now. And the irony is now that we’re playing them again.

— Kevin Cash, probably channeling Alanis Morissette

Kevin Kiermaier believes the Rays’ current roster is better than the one that faced Houston in 2019.

I like our chances, I do. I like how we match up against them, I think it’s going to be a great series though. Houston’s playing really well.

— Kevin Kiermaier

Whatever the case, the festivities kick off in a few hours.

Pitching Probables

Over the first four contests, Kevin Cash is expected to lean on Blake Snell (1-1, 3.59 ERA), Charlie Morton (1-0, 1.80 ERA), Ryan Yarbrough (0-0, 3.65 ERA), and Tyler Glasnow (5.32 ERA). Note: the Rays skipper has not committed to a pitcher in the fourth game of the series. This preview will be updated to reflect any and all changes. Dusty Baker will counter with Framber Valdez (2-0, 1.50 ERA), Lance McCullers Jr. (0-0, 9.00 ERA), José Urquidy (1-1, 2.73 ERA), while a starter in Thursday’s contest is also TBD. The above-mentioned addendum applies.

Blake Snell started Monday night’s contest and was undone by a triplet of home runs and poor command. The left-hander allowed four runs on six hits and two walks while striking out four across five innings of work. Clint Frazier, Kyle Higashioka, and Aaron Judge all took Snell deep, with the latter two in the fifth inning after the Rays had taken a 3-2 lead. Snell was constantly working from behind and went to three-ball counts to seven different hitters. He could not locate his fastball or his secondary pitches, and as a result, had to rely more on his changeup and curveball which he left in very hittable locations. Snell is 2-2 with a 4.73 ERA in six regular-season starts against Houston and went 0-1 with a 1.90 ERA in the ALDS last season, including a save.

Framber Valdez allowed two runs on five hits with four strikeouts and one walk over seven innings against Oakland on Tuesday. The southpaw gave up solo shots to Khris Davis and Chad Pinder, but otherwise held the Athletics in check. Valdez has been impressive in his two playoff outings, allowing two runs on seven hits with a 3 K/BB across 12 innings of work. Mike Zunino is the only current member of the roster to face Valdez, yet even so, he is 0-2 against the left-hander. All of the home runs Valdez allowed during the regular season were against right-handed batters, so it stands to reason he will face a predominantly right-handed lineup. He is not an overpowering hurler, relying primarily on a worm-killer 93 mph sinker with heavy sinking action and a whiffy 81 mph curveball with exceptional bite and sweeping glove-side movement, while also mixing in a hard 89 mph changeup.

Charlie Morton had a strong outing in his first playoff start of the year on Wednesday, allowing two runs (one earned) on four hits with six strikeouts and two walks over five innings on 86 pitches (55 strikes, 64% strike rate, 19% SwStr). Morton ran into trouble during the third inning but stranded the bases loaded after allowing just a run. He also stranded a runner on second base after surrendering a run-scoring double during the fifth inning. Morton is 4-6 with a 6.28 ERA in 11 career regular-season starts against his former team and went 2-0 with a 0.90 ERA in two postseason starts last year (including a 5 IP/3 H/1 R/9 K/2 BB outing against Houston in the ALDS).

Lance McCullers Jr. lasted just four innings in Game 1 of the ALDS against Oakland on Monday, allowing five runs (four earned) on nine hits and a walk while striking out five. McCullers gave a two-run shot to Khris Davis in the second inning followed by solo shots to Sean Murphy and Matt Olson over the next two frames. He was pulled from the game after allowing the leadoff runner to reach base in the bottom of the fifth; he would eventually come around to score to add a fifth run to McCullers’ line. McCullers relies primarily on a 94 mph sinker with some natural sinking action and a hard and whiffy 84 mph curveball with sharp downward bite and slight glove-side movement, while also mixing in a firm 86 mph changeup that dives down out of the zone. The right-hander is 1-2 with a 3.79 ERA in three career starts against Tampa Bay. Key Matchups: Willy Adames (1-2), Manuel Margot (1-3), Joey Wendle (1-3)

Ryan Yarbrough allowed two runs on six hits and one walk over five innings against the Yankees on Thursday. He struck out one. The southpaw generated just three swinging strikes on 65 pitches, yet he was able to hold New York in check aside from a two-run homer by Gleyber Torres. In all fairness, he is a pitch to contact kind of hurler. It isn’t yet known whether he would start the game, or pitch behind an opener as he had on Thursday. Yarbrough is 0-1 with a 2.92 ERA in two career regular-season outings against Houston (12-1/3 IP) and went 1-0 with a 0.00 ERA in three ALDS appearances last season.

José Urquidy allowed four earned runs on four solo shots, an additional hit, and a walk while striking out three over 4-1/3 innings on Wednesday. Urquidy failed to make it out of the fifth inning. The 25-year-old threw 62 of his 79 pitches for strikes (83% strike rate) and recorded a first-pitch strike on 13 of the 21 batters that he faced, yet he hadn’t allowed more than one run in any other playoff appearance. Urquidy relies primarily on a 94 mph four-seam fastball with some added backspin, while also mixing in an 85 mph changeup with arm-side fade, an 80 mph slider with some two-plane movement, and a 77 mph curveball. He has never faced the Rays.

Tyler Glasnow opened game five of the ALDS on short rest (two days) and posted two scoreless innings, allowing just a walk, yet throwing just 13 of 27 pitches for strikes (48% strike rate, 31% SwStr). Glasnow walked Brett Gardner on five pitches to open the third before Kyle Higashioka struck out looking. Glasnow was pulled after one time through the Yankees lineup. His scoreless outing followed a 5 IP/4 R/10 K start on Tuesday. Glasnow is 1-0 with a 1.80 ERA in one career regular-season start against Houston and went 0-2 with a 7.71 ERA in the ALDS last season.

TBA

Noteworthiness

— With the submission deadline for the ALCS rosters at 1 p.m. on Sunday, the Rays a few moves, adding lefties Josh Fleming and Jose Alvarado to the stable, which gives Kevin Cash 14 hurlers and 14 position players. To create space on the roster, OF Brett Phillips has been removed.

Fleming (5-0, 2.78 ERA) last pitched in the final game of the season, although he has not been active during the postseason. He, however, has thrown bullpens and pitched in simulated games. Fleming gives the Rays length on the roster.

Alvarado has not pitched since August 14th, when he was placed on the IL with a lat strain. The southpaw gives the Rays another high-velocity arm against the Astros’ offense. Alvarado allowed six runs in nine innings in his 2020 campaign, although four of them came in his last appearance. He has had command and control issues in the past, walking six batters in nine innings while striking out 13 (2.17 K/BB).

Tampa Bay now has six left-handers, as Alvarado and Fleming join Blake Snell, Ryan Yarbrough, Aaron Loup (who hadn’t been used in the ALDS), and Shane McClanahan.

Prior to Sunday, Kevin Cash told the media they are sorting through options, and with up to seven games and no days off during this round, they will need to be creative and find ways for the starters to be efficient against Houston.

You also have to take into account what we asked of the guys yesterday. Nick, Pete, and Diego that’s three pretty big workloads for them and Tyler.

— Kevin Cash

The stable threw two frames or more on Friday. In spite of the off-day on Saturday, the Rays could play 14 games in 15 days.