X-Rays Spex

A Below Average Rays Fan Blog

LBWMF: Rays win second straight against Houston, 4-1

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The rally flags were out in full force at Tropicana Field on Tuesday. (Photo Credit: Tampa Bay Rays)

The Tampa Bay Rays live to see another day. The Rays scored three huge first-inning runs against Justin Verlander on Tuesday and knocked the right-hander out of the ballgame in the fourth inning. That propelled the Rays to a second consecutive win over the Houston Astros in the American League Division Series, forcing a fifth game to be played on Thursday. The good guys held on to beat the ‘Stros by a 4-1 margin in front of 32,178 loud fans at Tropicana Field.

As he did six times during the regular season, Diego Castillo opened the game and fanned three batters after allowing a leadoff single to George Springer. His first inning of work included an absolutely filthy 99 mph fastball which cut in on a whiffing Jose Altuve, on the seventh pitch of the at-bat.

Meanwhile, Tommy Pham got the first-inning run-scoring rally going by drilling a 2-2 changeup over the wall into left-center for an early lead.

It was Pham’s second homer of the postseason.

Ji-Man Choi walked before Avisail Garcia laced a single to left. And with two on and one out, Travis d’Arnaud lined a single to left, scoring Choi for a two-run lead. Joey Wendle capped the scoring by ripping a double into the right-field corner, scoring Garcia for an early and unrelinquishable lead.

Castillo made his way to the mound once again in the second inning and allowed a one-out walk to Yuli Gurriel, but departed the game only after he got Carlos Correa to pop out to third.

Left-hander Ryan Yarbrough took over in his place and quickly got Josh Reddick to line-out to first, thanks to a great play by Ji-Man Choi — the first of two fantastic plays on the night.

In the fourth inning, Yarbrough found himself in trouble, although he was helped out by a terrific bang-bang throw at the plate.

Altuve singled to left to start the frame, and with one out, Yordan Alvarez hit a booming double to the wall in center. Kevin Kiermaier played the carom on a hop and threw a strike to Willy Adames, who was about 10 feet behind second base. Still, Adames quickly threw a bullet home to d’Arnaud at home to cut down the always dangerous Altuve.

Nick Anderson finished the inning by coaxing Gurriel into a ground out, ending the threat.

Then in a beautiful moment of serendipity, Adames led off the bottom of the sixth inning by crushing a 1-1 pitch off the D-ring in left-center, putting the Rays up by four.

It was willy’s second homer in as many days.

Verlander, who was pitching on three days rest, made an ungraceful exit three batters later. Tuesday’s game will go down as Verlander’s shortest outing ever against Tampa Bay. The presumptive Cy Young Award winner relinquished seven hits and three walks across 3-2/3 innings while striking out five. He threw 52 of 84 pitches for strikes (62% strike rate).

Anderson continued to pitch through the sixth inning, posting the longest outing of his big league career. In 2-1/3 innings of work, Anderson punched out two and allowed just one hit. The right-hander benefitted from another excellent play by Choi, who snared a line drive off the bat of Michael Brantley and stepped on first to turn the unassisted double play.

After Anderson, Colin Poche took over and collected five outs, while striking out two, before former Ray Robinson Chirinos hit a two-out homer to right-center to draw Houston within three, chasing Poche.

Tasked with getting the final four outs of the game, Emilio Pagan got the last out in the eighth, then took the mound again in the ninth. Pagan walked Altuve on a close full-count pitch with one out, bringing Alex Bregman to the plate. The 2019 All-Star singled to left-center, putting runners at the corners and chasing Pagan.

Blake Snell, making his first big league relief appearance, entered to face Alvarez, who represented the tying run. Alvarez went down swinging on a slider for the second out; allowing Bregman to move up 90 feet on defensive indifference. Finally, Gurriel grounded to Wendle at second base, ending the game with another orange roof.

All told, six pitchers combined to limit Houston to six hits and two walks. Compare that to Tampa Bay, which had 13 hits (including four from Garcia, and three from Pham).

Rays win, 4-1, one more ALDS ballgame to go.

LBWMF: Morton, Adames, and the Rays pound the Astros in game three of the ALDS, 10-3

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A blue roof gave way to an orange roof by the end of the Rays 10-3 contest against the Astros. (Photo Credit: X-Rays Spex)

The excitement was palpable on Monday, as the Tampa Bay Rays overcame their two-games to none deficit, handily defeating the Houston Astros, 10-3, in front of 32,251 raucous fans at Tropicana Field. The Rays now trail the Astros two-games to one in the best of five series, with game four scheduled for Tuesday.

The Astros, who had not trailed in the first two games, took the lead in the opening frame against Charlie Morton. After getting ahead of (and nearly striking out) Jose Altuve on a borderline pitch that was called ball three, Altuve homered to deep centerfield on the payoff pitch. It was Altuve’s second long ball of the series, and the fourth this season against Tampa Bay. And Morton continued to scuffle in the inning.

After Michael Brantly was called out for the second out of the frame, Alex Bregman walked, and Yordan Alvarez reached on a two-base throwing error by Yandy Diaz that skipped past Ji-Man Choi. However, the right-hander limited damage and got Yuli Gurriel to pop out to second on the sixth pitch of the at-bat, ending a 31-pitch labor-intensive inning.

From there, Morton tightened up his game and went on to scatter a base hit, a double, and a walk, yet nothing else. All told, Morton allowed one run on three hits and two walks, while striking out nine on 93 pitches (62 strikes, 67% strike rate).

Houston’s manager A.J. Hinch is all too familiar with this type of solid performance by the former Astro.

I’ve seen this out of Charlie. When you get him early, get some opportunities early, you have to maximize them if you can. Same thing he did in the Wild Card Game. He settled in nicely and got them through five innings.

— A.J. Hinch

Meanwhile, Tampa Bay took an unrelinquishable lead in the bottom of the second against Zack Greinke, who still has never won a game at Tropicana Field (seven appearances, six starts). Avisail Garcia got things started with a one-out base hit to center. A batter later, he moved up 90 feet on a groundout. After Travis d’Arnaud was hit by a 1-1 pitch, Kevin Kiermaier laced a 2-1 changeup, that caught too much plate, into the right-center stands for a three-run homer, giving the Rays a two-run lead.

It was Tampa Bay’s first lead of the series and the first of four home runs in the ballgame.

Tampa Bay was able to extend the lead to three runs in the bottom of the third inning. With none on and two outs when Ji-Man Choi launched a solo shot to right, his first homer of the postseason.

Another inning another homer … Brandon Lowe unloaded on an opposite-field homer on the first pitch of the bottom of the fourth inning — his first-ever post-season home run, making it 5-1.

And that wasn’t all.

Willy Adames worked a two-out walk, chasing Greinke. Hector Rondon entered and allowed a single to Matt Duffy before Wade Miley, the third pitcher of the frame, gave up a two-run double to Austin Meadows, putting Tampa Bay up by six.

Tommy Pham followed with an RBI single to right for an 8-1 lead.

Houston was able to get back two runs in the sixth inning against Chaz Roe, collecting three hits while plating a pair of runs on a Gurriel single. Still, Roe got the next two batters while Brendan McKay got Aledmys Diaz to pop out ending the inning.

Unsatisfied with just a five-run lead in the bottom of the sixth, Adames made it a six-run game once again, hitting a home run to left-center off Miley.

It was the first time the Rays hit four homers at the Trop in a postseason game.

Tampa Bay tacked on one last run in the seventh inning. After Garcia reached on an Alex Bregman error, he went to third on a single by Lowe, then came home on a sacrifice fly by d’Arnaud.

All told, the Rays scored 10 runs on 12 hits with three by Adames. As a team, Tampa Bay’s hurlers punched out 13 Astros. It should be mentioned, Houston was the toughest team to strikeout in the league during the regular season.

The New What Next

Kevin Cash will mix-and-match on the mound on Tuesday, with Justin Verlander (1-0, 0.00 ERA in the postseason, 21-6, 2.58 ERA in the regular season) getting the ball for Houston.

Diego Castillo (5-8, 3.41 ERA) will open for the Rays. The right-hander tossed 1-2/3 scoreless innings against Houston in Game 2 of the ALDS on Saturday. In six opening turns on the mound this season, Castillo is 0-1 with a 6.14 ERA (4.85 FIP). He, however, did not allow a run in 10 of 12 September appearances (2 ER across 14-2/3 IP), nor has he given up a run in any of his playoff outings so far across 3-2/3 innings.

After Castillo, the bullpen will cover the balance of the game with several pitchers working 1-2 innings each.

Justin Verlander will get the start even though A.J. Hinch likely would have preferred to save the right-hander for the first game of the ALCS. Verlander will pitch on three days’ rest Tuesday after tossing seven scoreless innings in the first game of the ALDS on Friday, allowing just one hit and three walks while striking out eight on 100 pitches (67 strikes, 67% strike rate). Verlander has never pitched on three days rest, so things could get interesting if he is not as sharp as usual. He is 10-4 with a 3.17 ERA in 20 career regular starts against Tampa Bay, and 6-3 with a 2.87 ERA in 10 starts at the Trop. Key Matchups: Travis d’Arnaud (1-2), Yandy Diaz (2-4, 2B, BB), Matt Duffy (4-8), Tommy Pham (3-6, 2 2B), Joey Wendle (3-8, 2B, RBI)

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

TNWN: Rays vs Astros — an ALDS preview

Rays ALDS Game 4 Starting Lineup

    null
  1. Meadows LF
  2. Pham DH
  3. Choi 1B
  4. Garcia RF
  5. Lowe 2B
  6. d’Arnaud C
  7. Wendle 3B
  8. Kiermaier CF
  9. Adames SS

Noteworthiness

— A brief moment of pause for everyone commenting on the Rays attendance including Bob Costas, who allegedly decided to broach the subject on the air this afternoon. People who attend baseball games are consumers that purchase some sort of product or service. And as with any other product, consumers spend their hard-earned dollars on things they value regardless of the parameters surrounding product. The fact that there were over 30,000 fans in attendance on a weekday proves that fans can make it out to the Trop given the wherewithal to do so. The fans in attendance on Monday likely had to sacrifice more to attend the 1:10 p.m. thanks to adult responsibilities like work.

Remind your friends and family of this whenever they feel the need to bring up the subject of attendance.

— Well, this is pretty damn cool!

LBWMF: Rays clinch their first postseason berth since the days of Maddon

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  • The Rays clinched their first postseason berth since 2013 on Friday, when they defeated the Blue Jays, 6-2, in Toronto. (Photo Credit: Tampa Bay Rays)

After five cold and lonely Octobers, the Tampa Bay Rays finally clinched their first playoff berth since the Joe Maddon days with a 6-2 win over the Blue Jays in Toronto. The win, paired with Cleveland’s 7-2 loss in Washington, gave the Rays the final Wildcard spot…and all is well with the world!

From here, Tampa Bay will work toward hosting Wednesday’s Wildcard game. Tampa Bay enters play tied with Oakland (who lost to Seattle last night 4-3) with two games left to play. They must finish a game better than the Athletics to host since Oakland won the season series four games to three.

Tyler Glasnow got the start last night and surrendered two walks while striking out four across 4-1/3 no-hit innings. Glasnow departed with a three-run lead after throwing 66 pitches (35 strikes, 53% strike rate) in his longest outing since being activated from the 60-day IL. He retired the final eight batters he faced. The 26-year-old right-hander has been stellar on the hill of late, tossing 10-1/3 scoreless innings over his last three turns. Glasnow owns a 1.78 ERA on the season to go along with a 0.89 WHIP and a 5.43 K/BB over 60-2/3 innings this season.

Meanwhile, Tampa Bay struck first in the third inning against right-hander T.J. Zeuch. Joey Wendle singled hard to right to start the rally. Then, with one out, Tommy Pham lined a two-run homer over the left-field wall for a 2-0 lead.

It was Pham’s 21st home run of the season.

The Rays tacked on another run in the fourth inning after Nate Lowe walked and moved to second on a ground ball. Lowe scored on a two-out single to center by Willy Adames.

Colin Poche took over one out into the fifth and threw 1-2/3 scoreless innings, allowing a pair of hits including a random one out bunt double by Cavan Biggio.

Toronto ultimately made things interesting after Tampa Bay couldn’t capitalize on a bases-loaded opportunity in the top of the seventh. Chaz Roe allowed a single to Vladimir Guerrero Jr to start the inning. Oliver Drake, pitching for the eighth time in nine games, was able to coax a fielder’s choice from Reese McGuire, however, Teoscar Hernandez followed with an opposite-field homer to right, making it a one-run contest.

Yet, Tampa Bay had an answer.

With one out against Derek Law, the sixth Toronto’s sixth pitcher of the night, Travis d’Arnaud hit a bloop single to right and Nate Lowe followed with a ground-rule double over the sidewall down the line in right. Avisail Garcia followed with a single to center past a drawn-in infield, scoring pinch-runner Johnny Davis for a 4-2 advantage.

Both Kevin Kiermaier and Adames struck out, but the ball got away from McGuire for a passed ball, scoring Lowe for a three-run lead.

Austin Meadows capped the scoring in the ninth inning with his 33rd homer of the season, a solo shot to right.

Finally, Emilio Pagan notched his 20th save of the season, getting McGuire to ground out to first, thus securing the win and clinching a playoff berth for the first time since 2013.

From that point on, it was party time for the Rays, who broke out all the cliche — yet succinct — postseason clinching moves, including an, uhh … inspiring speech from Rays skipper, Kevin Cash.

Oakland, Boston, New York, Cleveland, one other club. Were we good enough? You’re goddamn right we are. Let’s fucking do this!

— Kevin Cash
https://twitter.com/Cut4/status/1177790583592669185
https://twitter.com/RaysBaseball/status/1177805910313447424

https://twitter.com/Cut4/status/1177777077862445056

The New What Next

With a home-field edge in the Wildcard game at stake, Ryan Yarbrough (11-5, 4.08 ERA) will get the start, pitching opposite of Trent Thornton (5-9, 5.00 ERA).

Ryan Yarbrough gave up six runs on eight hits and one walk while striking out just two over 3-1/3 innings against the Red Sox on Sunday. Yarbrough endured a disastrous first inning in which he allowed six hits, including a three-run home run, before running into trouble again in the fourth. Expect Yarbrough, who has a 4.08 ERA with 114 strikeouts through 27 appearances this season, to be on a short leash.

Trent Thornton worked five innings and gave up four runs on five hits while striking out three on Sunday against the Yankees. Thornton had previously shined in his previous two turns as a primary pitcher with a sparkling 5.5 K/BB and one run allowed over 10 innings, but the two-run homer he allowed to DJ LeMahieu prevented the right-hander from maintaining momentum. Thornton is 0-1 with an 8.44 ERA in four starts against the Rays this season (16 innings of work). Key Matchups: Willy Adames (2-8, HR, 2 RBI), Matt Duffy (1-2), Avisail Garcia (4-7, 1 HR, 4 RBI, BB), Brandon Lowe (3-5, 2B, HR, 4 RBI), Austin Meadows (7-9, 2B, 3 HR, 4 RBI, 2 BB), Eric Sogard (1-2), Joey Wendle (1-3, 2B)

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

TNWN: Rays vs. Blue Jays — one last regular-season series preview

Rays 9/28/19 Starting Lineup

  1. Wendle SS
  2. Meadows RF
  3. Pham LF
  4. B. Lowe 2B
  5. Aguilar DH
  6. N. Lowe 1B
  7. Duffy 3B
  8. Perez C
  9. Heredia CF

Noteworthiness

— Free on Sunday? Join us at Golden Dinosaurs Vegan Deli for only last regular season watch party, as we celebrate the Rays playoff berth!

Let’s fill the patio with blue — both light and dark — grey, and sunburst yellow. Discounts for Rays fans…oh, and did I mention fun and camaraderie? Help cheer on OUR crew, hope to see you there!

Do they owe is a Wildcard? Of course they do, of course, they do.

— Good thing I already purchased my Rays postseason ticket package. Heaven forbid I have to compete for a seat with some mopey fair-weather fans who can’t drive across a bridge “because it’s too long”.

— All sarcasm aside…

LBWMF: The cardiac kids strike again as the Rays defeat New York in extras, 2-1

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  • Ji-Man Choi and the cardiac kids struck again for yet another orange roof in the penultimate home game of the regular season. (Photo Credit: Tampa Bay Rays)

The Tampa Bay Rays pitching staff suppressed the mighty Yankees on Tuesday night as the team survived yet another extra-inning contest, winning 2-1 thanks to Ji-Man Choi’s 12th inning long ball. With the win, Tampa Bay starts the day 30 games over .500 for the first time since 2010, a half-game behind Oakland for the top Wildcard spot, and with a half-game lead over Cleveland for the final AL Wildcard spot.

With four games left to play, the Rays have a 70.9% chances of a postseason berth according to FanGraphs. Baseball Prospectus gives them a 70.4% chance.

Yonny Chirinos got the ballgame rolling with his first start since August 4th. Chirinos allowed one run on one hit — a first-pitch homer to Cameron Maybin to leadoff the third inning — across three frames on just 30 pitches (18 strikes, 60% strike rate). From there, the rest of the pitching staff went to work…although it wasn’t easy.

Andrew Kittredge took over in the fourth and threw a scoreless inning, striking out a pair while allowing an infield hit. Yet things got hairy in the fifth inning when Brendan McKay had to work around a pair of singles.

Meanwhile, in the bottom of the frame, after Daniel Robertson and Willy Adames were sent back to the dugout in quick order, Kevin Kiermaier — mired in a 1-for-27 slump — worked a 3-2 count before he crushed a solo home run over the right-field wall, tying the game at one apiece.

It was Kiermaier’s 14th homer of the season.

McKay took the mound again in the sixth inning and fell behind Aaron Judge before he struck him out on a 3-2 fastball. Yet, the left-hander walked Giancarlo Stanton after coaxing a fly-ball out from Gleyber Torres, ending his outing. Kevin Cash called upon Diego Castillo, who — after hitting Gio Urshela with a 94 mph sinker — got Didi Gregorius to line out to right. Castillo also collected a perfect seventh.

In the eighth, with the top of the order looming, Emilio Pagan took the mound and worked around a leadoff single for a scoreless inning of work, punctuated by a punch-out of Stanton on a 97 mph fastball to end the frame.

https://twitter.com/RaysBaseball/status/1176676957855080448

Colin Poche took over in the ninth for a 1-2-3 inning, including a five-pitch strikeout of Cameron Maybin. Oliver Drake and Chaz Roe combined for a perfect tenth, while Roe worked around a hit in the eleventh, notching three strikeouts along the way.

Things got interesting in the top of the 12th with winning pitcher Pete Fairbanks on the mound. Fairbanks got the first two outs on a pair of line drives to Matt Duffy and Mike Brosseau (respectively) before pinch-hitter Mike Ford hit a bloop double in shallow left that fell in between Duffy and Tommy Pham. The right-hander recovered and struck out Brett Gardner to end the threat.

The Rays couldn’t capitalize on two good scoring opportunities, which ultimately led to their extra-inning walk-off.

Jordan Montgomery, who opened for New York, got out of a second and third two-out situation in the first inning, striking out Ji-Man Choi.

Then in the sixth, after the Yankees stranded a pair of runners on base, the Rays loaded the bases on three walks (one by Tyler Lyons, two by Luis Cessa). However, Cessa got pinch hitter Nate Lowe to ground out to second on a 3-1 pitch to end the threat. After that, Tampa Bay didn’t have another base runner until the 12th.

In the bottom of the 12th, Choi worked a 2-2 count before he hit his second homer in as many days.

It was Choi’s 18th homer of the season and ended a string of plate appearances where New York had retired 16 consecutive batters. Tampa Bay now has won eight consecutive extra-inning ballgames after starting the season 3-7.

The New What Next

The Rays will play their final regular-season home game of the 2019 campaign on Wednesday. Charlie Morton (15-6, 3.15 ERA) will get the start for Tampa Bay, pitching opposite of another bullpen day for New York, which might (or might not) include Masahiro Tanaka.

Charlie Morton was sharp over the first six frames, allowing just three hits — two on the infield — and a walk over that stretch while striking out six. However, he surrendered a two-run homer to Mitch Moreland in the seventh inning before exiting the contest. Even so, Morton is 2-0 over his last four turns, allowing three runs or fewer in each outing. The right-hander owns a 3.15 ERA and a 1.10 WHIP, with a 4.3 K/BB across 188-2/3 innings this season. Morton is 1-1 with a 5.28 ERA in three starts (15-1/3 innings) against New York in 2019, but 7-3 with a 2.75 ERA in 16 starts (98-1/3 innings) at Tropicana Field this season.

Masahiro Tanaka gave up one earned run on four hits over seven innings against the Angels on Thursday, striking out six and walking none. Tanaka had given up eight runs over nine innings in two previous outings, but he bounced back with a sharp effort against Anaheim, allowing him to cruise to his 11th win of the season. Even so, the right-hander has had an erratic campaign overall, with a 4.47 ERA across 179 innings on the season. Be that as it may, Tanaka has been deadly against the Rays this season, posting a 2-0 record with a 1.59 ERA over four starts, and a 1-0 record with a 3.28 ERA in three starts at the Trop (13-1/3 innings of work). Key Matchups: Michael Brosseau (2-3, 2 2B), Ji-Man Choi (4-14, 2 2B, BB), Guillermo Heredia (1-4), Kevin Kiermaier (9-34, 2B, 3B, HR, RBI, BB), Nate Lowe (1-3, HR, RBI), Austin Meadows (3-11, HR, RBI, 2 BB), Eric Sogard (3-8, 2B, HR, RBI), Joey Wendle (3-11, 2B, 2 RBI), Mike Zunino (6-21, 2 2B, 2 HR, 2 RBI, BB)

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

TNWN: Rays vs. Yankees — one last series preview

Rays 9/25/19 Starting Lineup

  1. Wendle 2B
  2. Meadows LF
  3. d’Arnaud C
  4. Choi 1B
  5. Garcia RF
  6. B. Lowe DH
  7. Duffy 3B
  8. Kiermaier CF
  9. Adames SS

Noteworthiness

LBWMF: Rays eliminate the Red Sox in extra-innings, 5-4

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Another orange roof. The Tampa Bay Rays officially eliminated the Boston Red Sox from playoff contention with the 5-4 extra-innings win last night. (Photo Credit: X-Rays Spex)

Back on April 10, an MLB Network analyst posed a question, “When would the Red Sox pass Rays” this season. He did not ask “if,” rather more presumptuously “when.” On Friday, some five-plus months later, the Tampa Bay Rays answered the question: never. Tampa Bay rallied from a 2-0 deficit, lost a late lead, and still survived, winning 5-4 over Boston.

By opening the final regular-season homestand with a tally in the win column, the Rays enter play still tied for the last AL Wildcard spot with eight games left to play.

Because of the win, the Rays inched up their chances to make the playoffs to 55.8% per FanGraphs. Baseball Prospectus gives them a more favorable, albeit diminished, 59.4% chance.

Charlie Morton was sharp over the first six frames, allowing just three hits — two on the infield — and a walk over that stretch while striking out six. However, he surrendered a two-run homer to Mitch Moreland in the seventh inning before exiting the contest. Even so, Morton is 2-0 over his last four turns, allowing three runs or fewer in each outing. The right-hander owns a 3.15 ERA and a 1.10 WHIP, with a 4.3 K/BB across 188-2/3 innings this season.

Tampa Bay trailed Boston in the seventh inning thanks to right-hander Rick Porcello, who held the Rays in check. Porcello allowed just one a runner to make it past first in the first six innings, throwing shutout ball.

The Rays had their only scoring opportunity against Porcello in the third inning when Avisail Garcia and Matt Duffy singled to put runners on the corners. However, Willy Adames struck out, Joey Wendle flew out to left, and Auston Meadows fanned to end the threat.

Entering the ballgame, Porcello had a career 2.87 ERA in 16 starts at Tropicana Field, and he improved that number on Friday.

Yet, the Rays rallied against left-handed reliever Darwinzon Hernandez in the bottom of the seventh. After Ji-Man Choi struck out, Travis d’Arnaud singled to right-center. Pinch-hitter Jesus Aguilar walked and Michael Brosseau, pinch-hitting for Garcia who left the game due to illness, walked on four pitches to load the bases. Right-hander Marcus Walden entered for Hernandez, and pinch hitter Nate Lowe drove in a run on a 2-1 fielder’s choice to short.

The hot-hitting Adames was next, lining an RBI ground-rule double to right, scoring pinch-runner Guillermo Heredia and sending Lowe to third. Josh Taylor, the third pitcher of the inning, uncorked a wild pitch for the go-ahead lead.

Tampa Bay was able to add an insurance run against Andrew Cashner in the eighth inning. Meadows wasn’t able to extend his 16-game hitting streak although he did walk on four pitches. After Tommy Pham flew out to the wall in left, Choi ripped a double into the right-field corner, scoring Meadows for a two-run lead.

Nick Anderson entered the game in the eighth inning and made quick work of Mookie Betts. Christian Vazquez walked on a close full-count pitch, the first non-intentional walk Anderson has allowed with Tampa Bay. In spite of that, Rafael Devers went down on three pitches and Xander Bogaerts grounded to third, ending the frame.

But, all the heavy lifting would be for not, as Moreland tied things up in the ninth inning. Emilio Pagan entered the game tasked with preserving the 4-2 lead, however, Gorkys Hernandez tripled off the top of the right-field wall. And though Holt lined out to center for the first out of the inning, Moreland crushed a 97 mph fastball over the wall in left-center.

To his credit, Moreland hit a good pitch by Pagan, who was able to get the next two outs before Chaz Roe and Colin Poche combined for a perfect tenth, keeping Tampa Bay in the ballgame.

In the 11th inning, Trevor Kelley quickly retired the first two batters before he walked Brosseau and Daniel Robertson. The fleet of foot Johnny Davis pinch-ran for Brosseau and Adames lined a walk-off single to left, capping the second extra-inning game in as many contests.

The New What Next

Tyler Glasnow (6-1, 2.03 ERA) will get the start for the Rays in the second game of the series. Alex Cora has yet to announce a starter.

Tyler Glasnow didn’t factor into the decision on Saturday, giving up two hits and a walk across three scoreless frames. He struck out five. Glasnow got stretched out to 51 pitches (29 strikes, 57% strike rate) in his second outing since returning from the IL, and looked much sharper in this one than he did last weekend against Toronto. Glasnow has a 3.33 K/BB across five innings in September, and the team will continue gradually ramp-up his workload as it tries to lock down a postseason spot. This season he is 1-0 with a 3.00 ERA in two starts against the Red Sox.

TBA

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

TNWN: Rays vs Red Sox — one last series preview

Rays 9/21/19 Starting Lineup

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  1. Meadows RF
  2. Pham LF
  3. Choi 1B
  4. d’Arnaud C
  5. Lowe DH
  6. Duffy 3B
  7. Wendle 2B
  8. Kiermaier CF
  9. Adames SS

Noteworthiness

— Rays manager Kevin Cash said that Yonny Chirinos will return to the active roster as early as today or tomorrow.

The right-hander’s role, however, remains to be determined. Chirinos has thrown up to 40 pitches in simulated games over the last couple of weeks, although there’s not enough time to build up his arm as a full starter.

Cash said having him pitch out of the bullpen is an option.

He’ll most likely be available for us out of the bullpen over the next couple of days. He’s already thrown 40 pitches in a unique setting, but like we told Tyler (Glasnow), and like we told Blake (Snell), it’s going to be dependent on how he performs and how it’s looking.

— Kevin Cash

Chirinos told the media that the right middle finger inflammation that sidelined him for over a month is no longer a factor.

I feel good. I’m truly ready to go and now I’m just waiting to see what happens.

— Yonny Chirinos

— Eric Sogard continues to nurse right foot soreness and was not in the Rays lineup Friday night. Tampa Bay hoped that an off-day would help the infielder get back on the field, although that wasn’t the case. Sogard underwent more treatment Friday and the team hopes to get him back at some point during the four-game set.