Author Archives: Schmitty

The New What Next: Rays vs. Blue Jays — A Series Preview

The Tampa Bay Rays kicked off their first road trip of the 2015 season well, recovering from a tough loss Friday by winning the final two games of the Citrus Series, and taking their first series win of the season. Sitting pretty with a .500 record, the Rays make their way to Toronto where they’ll take on the formidable Blue Jays in a four game set.

Looking Backward While Moving Forward: All Hail King Archer

Day game after a night game. Chris Archer got the start for the Tampa Bay Rays in the middle contest of the current incarnation of the Citrus Series — part one if you will. Jarred Cosart got the start for the Miami Marlins; his first outing of the season after suffering a blister on his right middle finger. Cosart has a favorable history against Tampa Bay, while Archer gave up the ghost in his last outing against the Marlins in June 2014. And though both hurlers pitched well Saturday afternoon, only one pitched exceedingly well and remained victorious — Chris Archer, who blanked the Marlins over the balance of his seven inning start. The Rays hitters did just enough to squeak past Miami, allowing the team to knot the Citrus Series record at two games apiece.

Looking Backward While Moving Forward: Rays Fall to the Fish in Extras, 10-9

I could be wrong, yet I can’t help but feel that Rickie offered the best recap of the Tampa Bay Rays 10-9, extra inning loss to the Miami Marlins Friday night — and he did so in only six words. Still for whatever reason, I just couldn’t leave well enough alone. My compulsion, sadly, was to add to his summary. Wordiness is my cross to bear. Whatever the case, it was the best game because the Rays were able to close a seven run deficit in one inning, then rally once again to push the game into extra innings. And let’s be honest, this extra inning game was much more exciting than that six-hour-plus behemoth in the Bronx. Yet in true yin/yang fashion, Tampa Bay got into a huge hole early on, then inevitably lost.

The New What Next: The Citrus Series, Part One

The Tampa Bay Rays celebrated manager Kevin Cash’s first win by hopping on a plane and heading south to Miami, for a three game set against the Marlins. Much like the Rays, the Marlins are coming off a disappointing start to the season. In contrast, however, the Rays won a game and were competitive, whereas Miami dropped its opening series, scored a grand total of three runs, and was outscored by 13 runs.