X-Rays Spex

A Below Average Rays Fan Blog

Rays beat Sox, 5-3; take series

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Brad Miller’s two-run homer was the difference in today’s ball-game. (Photo Credit: Tampa Bay Rays)

Thanks to Brad Miller’s two-run #BareHandedBomb, he not only received a dugout hug from Steven Souza Jr., but the Tampa Bay Rays came from behind to win the final game before the break, 5-3, as well as taking the series 3-games-to-1. 

Tampa Bay Rays on Twitter

Reeling ’em in. #RaysUp https://t.co/KEI3JTWRXN

The Rays enter the All-Star Break four games over .500, and 3-1/2 games out of first place in the AL East.

Vacation time! X-Rays Spex will be off the grid from Monday-through-Thursday morning, then back again on the interwebs at some point thereafter — barring some sort of news that necessitates us having to log back on. Next stop St. Augustine; see you soon!

LBWMF: Rays topple Chris Sale and the Red Sox, 4-1; Chris Archer is an All Star; Miller activated from DL

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Logan Morrison scores on the double by Wilson Ramos in the fourth inning Thursday night. (Photo Credit: Will Vragovic/Tampa Bay Times)

Jacob Faria battled through six innings to earn his sixth consecutive quality start on Thursday, while the Tampa Bay Rays came from behind to beat Chris Sale and the Red Sox 4–1. Wilson Ramos doubled, homered, drove in three of the Rays’ four runs, and threw out two runners on the bases.

Boston an early lead in the third inning after Tzu-Wei Lin, the number nine hitter, earned a leadoff walk against Faria to start the inning. Dustin Pedroia moved Lin to third on a one out single to center before Deven Marrero — who entered the game after Xander Bogaerts was hit by a pitch in the top of the inning — hit a sac fly to left.

Lacking pitch perfect command, Faria battled from that point forward, and kept the Red Sox off the board. The right-hander — who walked just five batters all season — walked four Red Sox, hit a batter, and posted just one perfect inning. And though Faria threw just 57 of 97 pitches for strikes (59% strike percentage), while notching just a pair of strikeouts, he buckled down when he needed to and held Boston’s productive offense to to 0-5 with runners in scoring position.

It doesn’t hurt that Faris was aided by Ramos, who threw out Andrew Benintendi trying to steal swipe second in the second, and then Lin trying to advance to third on a ball in the dirt to end the fifth.

Meanwhile, the Rays took the lead in the middle innings after Chris Sale stranded runners in scoring position in the second and third innings. Logan Morrison got things started when he blooped a one-out single to center in the fourth. Ramos followed with his first RBI of the night on a double to left-centerfield, scoring a rumbling Morrison all the way from first to pull even with Boston at one apiece.

Ramos’ RBI double

Wilson Ramos laces an RBI double to left-center field to plate Logan Morrison, knotting the score at 1 in the bottom of the 4th inning

Then in the fifth inning, Peter Bourjos gave the Rays a one-run lead when he homered into the left field corner, his fourth of the season.

Bourjos’ solo homer

Peter Bourjos drives a solo home run to left, giving the Rays a 2-1 lead in the bottom of the 5th inning

Tampa Bay tacked on a pair of runs in the sixth, after Evan Longoria doubled down the left field line, then moved into third on Morrison’s productive groundout to first. Finally, Ramos capped the scoring by drilling a two-run missile into left-center for a 4–1 lead. It was Ramos’ third home run with Tampa Bay.

Brad Boxberger took over in the seventh and followed with a perfect frame. Boxberger has been excellent since his activation from the DL. He has commanded his pitches well, and his off-speed stuff looks crisp.

Tommy Hunter took over in the eighth and worked around a leadoff error of his own to pitch a scoreless frame.

Finally Alex El Coballo Colome, who previously allowed runs in five consecutive appearances (extending back to June 17), allowed just a two-out single in the ninth en route to his 23rd save.

The New What Next

Game two of the four-game set is tonight. Jake Odorizzi (5-3, 4.08 ERA, 5.51 FIP) will get the start opposite left-hander Drew Pomeranz (8-4, 3.64 ERA, 3.63 FIP).

Odorizzi has remained competitive in spite of a mechanical hiccup. He picked up his fifth win of the season on Saturday in Baltimore, where he allowed three runs over five innings. Odorizzi was provided 10 runs of support and easily cruised to victory while throwing an inefficient 111 pitches in just five innings (an average of 22.2 pitches per inning). Odorizzi has given up exactly three earned runs in five of his last six outings, although a rather beefy 5.51 FIP belies his overall 4.08 ERA. He is 3-2 with a 3.60 ERA at the Trop this season, where he’s averaged just over six innings of work per start.

Pomeranz held Toronto to one run over six innings in his last start. Pomeranz scattered baserunners throughout his start and never faced any real danger aside from a second inning sac-fly from Steve Pearce. Thanks to that outing, along with his previous start against the Twins, the southpaw has lowered his season ERA to the lowest point it’s been since early April. Pomeranz has gone at least five innings with two earned runs or fewer allowed in seven of his last eight starts. The Rays have had success against Pomeranz this season, tagging him for seven runs over two starts — a total of 7-1/3 innings of work. Key Matchups: Tim Beckham (2-4, HR, RBI, BB), Corey Dickerson (3-12, 3B, HR, RBI), Brad Miller (7-16, 2B, 3B, HR, 5 RBI, BB), Logan Morrison (2-8)

You can read more about the series in our preview.

Rays 7/7/17 Starting Lineup

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

Noteworthiness

— It appears that Rays skipper Kevin Cash may play a larger role in this year’s All-Star Game. Per Zach Meisel (Cleveland.com), Terry Francona underwent a heart procedure at the Cleveland Clinic on Thursday to correct an irregular heartbeat. He will miss the All-Star Game, and is expected to rejoin the club after the All-Star Break. Indians bench coach Brad Mills, who has been filling in for Francona, will manage the American League team.

Joining Mills and the rest of Cleveland’s coaching staff will be Cash. Joe Torre, the league’s chief baseball officer, called Francona earlier this week and asked if he wanted to add Rays manager Kevin Cash to the mix.

I was like, ‘Hell, yeah,’ Francona said. He’s going to be on the staff, too. That makes it even more special because Cash knows all these guys and me.

The Rays’ manager served as the Indians’ bullpen coach from 2013-14.

— The Rays announced that Chris Archer will be joining Cash and Corey Dickerson in Miami.

Archer was added as a replacement player on Friday, which is an interesting move since he is starting Sunday, and most pitchers who work on Sunday are not available for the game Tuesday night. He, however, is scheduled to throw a bullpen session on Tuesday, so the All-Star appearance will supplant that.

Archer sports a 7-5 record and a 3.95 ERA on the season, however, as Daniel Russell (DRaysBay) noted, a further look at the numbers reveal an All-Star season has been in the making:

Archer has the 4th lowest FIP (3.03), 3rd highest K/9 (10.75), and third highest overall strikeout rate (28.6%) in the American League. Best of all, his 3.2 WAR is 2nd only to Chris Sale in the American League.

— Brad Miller was taken out Durham’s lineup on Thursday, and he is headed back to St. Petersburg this evening. To make room on the active roster, the team in turn placed Tim Beckham on the 10-day DL retroactive to yesterday. As for Beckham, with the All-Star Break looming, he could miss only six games: the remaining three against Boston, and the first two against the Angels in Anaheim.

— I’ve posted this twice now, but in light of the +23,000 fans that attended last night’s ball-game, it’s worth a third time. Hell, I may post it twice more after this!

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!

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

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An average of +40,000 fans turned out each day to watch the Rays battle the Cubs at Wrigley Field. Rays fans, it’s up to you to turn out for this big series against the BoSox this weekend. (Photo Credit: Anthony Ateek/X-Rays Spex)

The Tampa Bay Rays return home for one last four-game series leading up to the All-Star Break, after going 4-4 on their most recent road trip. Enter the AL East leading Boston Red Sox.

One soap box topic before the series preview. I know I posted this already, but it bears mentioning again. 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!

I digress.

The Rays are coming off a brief two-game series with the Cubs, which they split. The Red Sox had won six in a row before dropping the finale against Texas on Wednesday, 8-2.

(Stats: ESPN)

Offensively speaking, both teams pair well against one another … although the Red Sox shown a bit more production over the last 14 days, and overall. The Rays have scored five fewer runs than Boston (412 vs 417) overall, and are averaging 4.85 runs per game. The Red Sox are averaging about 11/100 more of a run per game than Tampa Bay.

The biggest difference lies in the pitching staffs, as the Red Sox have the lowest cumulative ERA in the American League at 3.80, while Rays hurlers have performed to a 4.19 cumulative ERA. Upon closer inspection, Tampa Bay’s starters have posted a 4.10 ERA/4.24 FIP, while the ‘pen carries a 4.34 ERA/4.08 FIP. Compare that to Boston’s starters which have posted an overall 4.23 ERA/3.90 FIP, while the relievers are performing to a 2.99 ERA/3.48 FIP.

All this is to say that the Rays’ offense must strike early against Boston’s starters, while Tampa Bay’s pitching staff must do something it has had a hard time with all season: hold onto late leads. It won’t be easy.

As of July 5, 2017. (Stats: FanGraphs)

Over the next four days, Kevin Cash will lean on Jacob Faria (3-0, 2.23 ERA, 2.84 FIP), Jake Odorizzi (5-3, 4.08 ERA, 5.51 FIP), Alex Cobb (6-6, 4.01 ERA, 4.22 FIP), and Chris Archer (7-5, 3.95 ERA, 3.02 FIP). John Farrell will counter with Chris Sale (11-3, 2.61 ERA, 2.02 FIP), Drew Pomeranz (8-4, 3.64 ERA, 3.63 FIP), Rick Porcello (4-10, 5.01 ERA, 4.21 FIP), and old friend David Price (4-2, 4.02 ERA, 4.45 FIP).

(Stats: FanGraphs)

Pitching Matchups

Faria gave up just four hits and two earned runs over 6-2/3 innings, while striking out six in his last start. It was his fifth consecutive quality start to begin his big league career. The right-hander became just one of three pitchers since start of 2013 to begin his career with five straight quality starts; Mashiro Tanaka (2016) and Odrisamer Despaigne (2005) are the other two. He also leads MLB rookies with with 35 strikeouts and a 2.23 ERA, while his 7.00 K/BB ratio ranks third in American League behind Corey Kluber and his opponent Thursday night, Chris Sale.

Sale is coming off what could have been his sharpest outing of the season. The southpaw held Toronto scoreless and scattered just four hits over seven innings, while fanning 11. Sale has notched double-digit strikeouts 11 times this year. Boston’s ace continued his dominant first half with another gem Saturday. He’s now second in the AL, behind Jason Vargas, for wins with 11, while his 12.43 K/9 is the best in baseball among starters. Including his two previous wins this season against Tampa Bay, Sale has gone 6-4 with a 3.52 ERA over his career against the Rays, and 2-2 with a 1.44 ERA at the Trop. Key Matchups: Adeiny Hechavarria (2-3), Logan Morrison (3-9, HR, RBI), Trevor Plouffe (14-43, 2 2B. 2 RBI, 4 BB)

Odorizzi has remained competitive in spite of a mechanical hiccup. He picked up his fifth win of the season on Saturday in Baltimore, where he allowed three runs over five innings. Odorizzi was provided 10 runs of support and easily cruised to victory while throwing an inefficient 111 pitches in just five innings (an average of 22.2 pitches per inning). Odorizzi has given up exactly three earned runs in five of his last six outings, although a rather beefy 5.51 FIP belies his overall 4.08 ERA. He is 3-2 with a 3.60 ERA at the Trop this season, where he’s averaged just over six innings of work per start.

Pomeranz held Toronto to one run over six innings in his last start. Pomeranz scattered baserunners throughout his start and never faced any real danger aside from a second inning sac-fly from Steve Pearce. Thanks to that outing, along with his previous start against the Twins, the southpaw has lowered his season ERA to the lowest point it’s been since early April. Pomeranz has gone at least five innings with two earned runs or fewer allowed in seven of his last eight starts. The Rays have had success against Pomeranz this season, tagging him for seven runs over two starts — a total of 7-1/3 innings of work. Key Matchups: Tim Beckham (2-4, HR, RBI, BB), Corey Dickerson (3-12, 3B, HR, RBI), Brad Miller (7-16, 2B, 3B, HR, 5 RBI, BB), Logan Morrison (2-8)

Cobb was done in by early home runs by the Orioles in his last start Sunday at Baltimore, although he managed to give Tampa Bay a bullpen saving 6-1/3 innings of work. Aside from that start, the right-hander has given up more than three runs just three times since the start of May (totaling 78-2/3 innings). Cobb’s usage of his split-changeup continues to evolve, as he leaned on it 16.05% of the time in June (up 8% from May), while it’s depth has improved — dropping an average of 7.37 inches before it reaches the plate. He’s 1-0 with a 5.56 ERA in two starts against Boston in 2017.

Porcello held the Rangers in check for most of his start against the Rangers Monday night before Craig Kimbrel blew the save. Be that as it may, the reigning Cy Young Award winner has given up at least three earned runs in seven consecutive starts, and has been treading water for most of the season. Tampa Bay finally figured the right-hander out, and has pounded him for 13 runs (11 earned) over 10-2/3 innings this season. Key Matchups: Tim Beckham (2-5, 2 RBI), Peter Bourjos (2-7), Corey Dickerson (8-25, 4 2B, HR, 3 RBI), Evan Longoria (13-50, 5 2B, 2 HR, 7 RBI, 3 BB), Logan Morrison (10-27, 3 2B, HR, 5 RBI, Shane Peterson (1-2, HR, 2 RBI), Steven Souza Jr. (7-23, HR, RBI, BB)  

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)

Noteworthiness

— Brad Miller continued his rehab stint with the Durham Bulls on Wednesday, going 2-for-4 with a leadoff homer, a run, an RBI, and a strikeout. He could return to the Rays before the end of the upcoming series.

Steven Souza Jr. implores you to make it out to the Trop this weekend, and so do we

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When was the last time you saw the Trop this full? Oh yeah, Opening Day — over 90 days ago. (Photo Credit: Anthony Ateek/X-Rays Spex)

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!

LBWMF: Tampa Bay Rays take down Joe Maddon’s Cubs, 6-5

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42,046 people crammed into the Friendly Confines on Tuesday to watch the Rays beat the Cubs, 6-5. (Photo Credit: Anthony Ateek/X-Rays Spex)

It was a win that almost wasn’t. The Tampa Bay Rays scored five times in the fourth inning, yet with a three-run cushion to play with, the wheels fell off of Alex Colome, who made the game much closer than it needed to be. The Rays, who now sit three-games over .500 and tied for the last AL Wildcard spot, walked away from Wrigley with a nail biter of a win over the Cubs, 6-5.


Source: FanGraphs

Chicago took a short lived lead in the second inning after Ian Happ tripled to right off the glove of Steven Souza Jr., then scored on Jason Heyward’s single through a drawn-in infield.

Yet Tampa Bay immediately answered in the third against Jon Lester. Souza, in an obvious attempt to make up for the fielding gaffe that led to the above mentioned triple, reached on a leadoff bunt single, then swiped second as Corey Dickerson struck out. As the ensuing throw into second instead careened into centerfield, Souza made into third. Evan Longoria played the part of a good teammate by hitting a sacrifice-fly to center, tying the score.

An inning later, the Rays put together a five run go-ahead rally that began with Trevor Plouffe’s single to left. Tim Beckham followed with a two-run homer to left-center (his 11th) for a two-run lead. Next, Adeiny Hechavarria joined in on the BABIP fun, reaching on a single that deflected off Lester’s glove, and Peter Bourjos walked, putting two on for Chris Archer — who worked a good at-bat his first time up.

Try as he might, Archer was unable to get a bunt down, however, with two strikes against him and Anthony Rizzo breathing down his throat, Archer faked a bunt then singled to right through the drawn in infield, scoring Hechavarria for a three-run lead. Bourjos pulled into third on the hit, and Archer into second on the throw. Finally, Souza capped the rally with a hustle double that also deflected off Lester’s glove and into right-center, giving the Rays a comfortable lead.

Rays score five in the 4th

Tim Beckham clubs a two-run homer, Chris Archer plates his first run on his first hit and Steven Souza Jr. rips a two-run double in the 4th

It was still early on, and Chicago started its comeback with a two-out rally in the fifth against Archer, who followed the script of a pitcher that’s posted a .326 BA/.400 OBP/.550 SLG/.950 OPS/.403 wOBA the third time through the order to a T.

John Jay laid down a surprise bunt single that Longoria rushed to field, and subsequently threw up the right field line, past Plouffe at first, allowing Jay to make it safely into third. Kris Bryant followed with an infield single through the hole at short, driving in a run. After Anthony Rizzo walked, Ben Zobrist doubled to right, edging the Cubs ever closer by three. Ian Happ struck out to end the frame.

Then in the sixth inning, Chicago put on the first two against Archer, on a walk and a bunt single, but the Rays’ ace came back to strike out the next three batters, ending his day at 6 IP/8 H/3 ER/3 BB/8 K/116 pitches (80 strikes) and with a 6-3 lead.

Brad Boxberger worked around a leadoff walk of Bryant in the seventh, collecting an efficient 15-pitch scoreless frame, while Tommy Hunter worked around a base hit for a scoreless eighth. In spite of the base hit, Hunter faced the minimum number of batter thanks to the dynamic duo of Bourjos and Beckham, which combined to cut down catcher Wilson Contreras as he attempted to stretch his base hit into a double.

Finally, El Coballo took the mound in the ninth to close things out. As he has been wont to do of late, Colome made things a little too interesting. Brett Phillips (DRaysBay) had an, erm…interesting take on Colome’s outing:

In the ninth, Alex Colome bent and nearly broke. I mean he really, really bent. Like one of those inflatable wiggly dudes in front of car dealerships. That kind of bent. Nothing was particularly hard hit, but Colome had trouble commanding the zone, walking Jon Jay and Ian Happ (the latter was down to his final strike). The Cubs struck back for two more runs and but the tying run in scoring position, but a Jason Heyward flyout put the game on ice. Colome collected the “save” and Archer the win, and the Rays win the first game of the short two-game series against the Maddons Cubs.

A win is a win, but not everything needs to be that tense or high-leverage. In nine of his 36 appearances, Colome hasn’t given up a hit, walk, or run. Colome also hasn’t given up a run in 22 times this season.

However, you have to go back to May 29th (vs Texas) for his last true clean appearance, and then back to the beginning of May for a stretch of seven consecutive scoreless appearances (May 1st – May 14th).

In short, El Coballo needs to step it up, or he will lose his job to Boxberger or Hunter … and the Rays may be better for it.

The New What Next

The Rays wrap up the series and an eight-game road Wednesday afternoon at Wrigley Field. Blake Snell (0-5, 5.36 ERA, 5.29 FIP) will get the start opposite of John Lackey (5-9, 5.24 ERA, 5.88 FIP).

Snell entered last Wednesday’s start against the Pittsburgh Pirates with a 4:1 K:BB in seven starts with the Durham Bulls, then exited with a less than stellar 1.20 K:BB after an abysmal return to the bigs. The southpaw allowed six runs while walking five on 98 pitches (42 balls). The skinny: after getting a handle on his control issues at Durham, Snell returned to the majors and once again couldn’t find the strike zone, issuing a season tying number of walks.

Lackey, who loses five mph on his fastball when he pitches with his mouth open, had trouble executing his pitches in his last outing against the Nationals, giving up eight runs over 5-1/3 innings. He also hasn’t had much success at home this season, going 1-4 record with a 5.13 ERA. Teams are batting .281 against him at Wrigley. Over 24 career starts against Tampa Bay, Lackey is 13-8, but with a 4.00 ERA. Key Matchups: Peter Bourjos (3-6, BB), Corey Dickerson (1-3, HR, RBI), Adeiny Hechavarria (2-8), Evan Longoria (14-40, 3 2B, 2 HR, 6 RBI, 4 BB), Logan Morrison (2-2, HR, RBI), Trevor Plouffe (2-2, 2 2B), Mallex Smith (2-3, 2B)

You can read about the series in our preview.

Rays 7/5/17 Starting Lineup

Smith CF
Dickerson LF
Longoria 3B
Morrison 1B
Souza RF
Beckham 2B
Hechavarria SS
Sucre C
Snell LHP

Noteworthiness

— Brad Miller went 1-for-3 with a walk and a strikeout playing second base last night for the Durham Bulls.

— Logan Morrison was not happy with Major League Baseball’s decision to invite two Yankees to participate in the Home Run Derby. While we’re on that subject, fuck this guy and ESPN:

I firmly believe that LoMo is in the right: