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LBWMF: Rays fall to the Orioles, 8-3; Blake Snell to be recalled

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The Buffalo didn’t fare as well as he could have in his debut, going 1-4 with a strikeout. (Photo Credit: Tampa Bay Rays)

Jake Faria put together a fourth consecutive quality start on Saturday for the Tampa Bay Rays, however, the bullpen allowed four runs to break open a tie game in the seventh. The Rays saw their three-game win streak come to an end with an 8–3 loss to the Baltimore Orioles.

Baltimore took an early three-run lead against Faria, who hadn’t allowed more than a run in his first three big league starts. Trey Mancini was hit by an 0–2 pitch in the second, then Wellington Castillo followed with a homer to left on a hanging 3–2 slider. It was the first homer Faria allowed this season (the first of two on the day). The Orioles extended the lead in the third on a two-out solo homer off the bat of Adam Jones, which eluded the leaping Mallex Smith.

Yet Faria followed with three scoreless innings, keeping the Rays in the game. Granted he was not as sharp as he had been his first three starts, however, a 1.35 ERA and 1.04 FIP aren’t sustainable over the long-term. And while his command wasn’t as crisp as it had been, it wasn’t terrible. In the end, he was undone by a hit batsman and a pair of long-balls on two mistake pitches. All told, Faria posted his fourth consecutive quality start on the back of a 6 IP/5 H/3 ER/1 BB/108 pitch (74 strikes) line. If that constitutes a bad start, I’ll gladly take it.

The Rays were able to come back from the deficit to tie the contest in the third. Mallex Smith got things started by earning a two out free pass against Dylan Bundy, and Corey Dickerson drilled the next pitch over the wall in right — just to the right of the Dan Johnson Game 162 commemorative seat — his 17th homer of the season.

Evan Longoria followed with a homer to right-center on the very next pitch — his 11th homer of the season.

Longoria’s solo home run

Evan Longoria belts a solo shot to right field immediately after Corey Dickerson crushes a homer of his own, tying the game at 3

It was the 10th time this season the Rays hit back-to-back homers, setting a new club record.

Yet Bundy kept the Rays in check from there, allowing just two additional walks and a hit. He went seven innings and gave up three runs on five hits, while walking four and fanning eight. The Orioles ended their MLB record tying streak of having allowed five runs or more in 20 Consecutive games (Philadelphia 1924).

Jose Alvarado took over in the seventh and walked Seth Smith to start the frame, after falling behind 3–2. With only righties remaining in the lineup, Kevin Cash called upon Jumbo Diaz — who has the stuff, but not the consistency.

Manny Machado laid down a beautifully placed bunt single up the left side on the first pitch. After Jonathan Schoop struck out, both runners moved into scoring position on Adam Jones’ groundout to second. With two out, Mark Trumbo worked the count full before hitting a 3–2 hanging slider to left-center for a double, putting Baltimore back in front at 5–3. Mancini followed by sending a first-pitch fastball into the right field seats, capping the rally. The Rays began the bottom of the frame down by four, and the damage had been done on just four pitches.

Baltimore added an insurance run in the top of the eighth, off Diaz, by collecting a pair of bunt singles, before Machado drove home Joey Rickard on a sacrifice fly to deep center.

The New What Next

The Rays will look for meatloaf in the series finale Sunday afternoon. Jake Odorizzi (4-3, 3.78 ERA, 5.34 FIP) gets the start, opposite of Chris Tillman (1-5, 8.39 ERA, 6.52 FIP). Tampa Bay has won seven straight rubber matches, and is 8–1–3 over the team’s last 12 series.

Odorizzi equaled a season high in his seven inning start against Cincinnati his last time out. He, however, continued his stretch of games, where he allowed at least a homer to 10 games straight — one shy of a franchise record. The right-hander cruised through the first four innings, yet a solo home run by Scott Schebler in the fifth inning and a two-run shot from Scooter Gennett in the sixth left the Rays down by three when he departed after the seventh. Still, the right-hander delivered his second quality start in the last three outings and holds a respectable 3.78 ERA (but a bloated 5.34 FIP) for the season.

Tillman hasn’t earned a win since May 7, his first start of the season. The right-hander was pulled after he allowed five earned runs over four innings against Cleveland on Tuesday. After missing the first month of the season due to a shoulder issue, and then tossing five pristine innings in his 2017 debut, Tillman’s been nothing short of a dumpster fire. His ERA now stands at 8.39, and the only thing that’s kept him in the rotation is a lack of alternatives within the organization. The Rays have handed him a career 8-11 record and a 4.11 ERA in 25 starts. Key Matchups: Tim Beckham (1-4, RBI, BB), Peter Bourjos (1-2), Evan Longoria (19-63, 4 2B, 3B, 8 HR, 11 RBI, 5 BB), Logan Morrison (6-14, 2B, 3B, RBI, BB), Wilson Ramos (3-11, 2B, RBI, BB), Steven Souza Jr. (6-20, 2B, HR, 4 RBI, 3 BB)

You can read more about the pitching matchup in our series preview.

Rays 6/25/17 Starting Lineup

Smith CF
Dickerson LF
Longoria 3B
Morrison 1B
Souza RF
Plouffe DH
Robertson SS
Featherston 2B
Sucre C
Odorizzi RHP

Noteworthiness

— Kevin Cash announced that LHP Blake Snell will again be promoted from Triple-A Durham on Wednesday, while RHP Erasmo Ramirez will return to the bullpen, effective immediately — citing the need for a way to get the ball to Alex Colome.

The Rays will make a corresponding move Wednesday.

Snell has been great since being optioned back to Durham on May 13. In seven starts with the Bulls, the southpaw has hurled 44 innings of 2.66 ERA/3.07 FIP baseball, while striking out 61 and walking 15 — that’s effectively a 4-to-1 K/BB if you’re keeping track. He’s thrown at least six innings in five of those seven starts.

Ramirez, reportedly, was not pleased by the decision and declined to talk about the move this morning with the media.

LBWMF: Cobb, Sucre and Dickerson lead the Rays to victory over the Reds, 6-5

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The new Bash Brothers? Sure, why not! (Photo Credit: Tampa Bay Rays)

Coming off an imperfect 6-5 win* against the Cincinnati Reds, the Tampa Bay Rays look to close out their Interleague Series against the southern Ohioans with a win Wednesday afternoon. Erasmo Ramirez (2-2, 6.48 ERA, 4.63 FIP) looks to improve on his last four starts, and will pitch opposite of Tim Adleman (4-3, 4.35 ERA, 5.23 FIP).

In last night’s game, to the detriment of the team, the Rays made trio of outfield misplays, which Kevin Cash described as being “a debacle.” One such play came in the third inning, when Corey Dickerson and Peter Bourjos allowed Adam Duvall’s fly-ball to drop into left-centerfield for a triple. Two pitches later, Eugenio Suarez singled to center, allowing Duvall to score the Reds’ second run of the game. It’s but one example of the type of gaffes that must be cleaned up if the Rays are to have any hope of maintaining relevancy into the fall.

But in spite of the defensive miscues — paired with Tommy Hunter and Alex Colome’s making of things a little too interesting in the eighth and ninth innings — Tampa Bay turned in its 38th win of the season behind Alex Cobb’s strong start, and some timely hitting.

Between the first and third innings Cobb allowed eight hits, yet only one over his last frames. The right-hander fanned six and walked just two. It appears that Cobb has rediscovered his vintage changeup — a pitch that continues to evolve as the season progresses … a pitch that had been his main weapon before his May 2015 Tommy John surgery.

Cobb has gotten more comfortable with it of late, and it’s regained some of its pre-surgery depth; the thing that made it such a dangerous weapon in the first place. He has shaved two-to-three inches of vertical movement off the pitch since the start of the season. For Cobb, the velocity never has been what’s made the pitch deadly, rather it is the movement. Bereft of the late break, his split-change became a meatball over the plate that begged to be crushed.

(Credit: Brooks Baseball)

He threw his split-change 25 times Tuesday — 16 for strikes, 5 whiffs — and 80 total over his past four starts.

Over the last three, four games, there’s been a lot of good signs with it, Cobb said after the game. Working on making it as consistent as my other two pitches. And to get to that I just have to keep throwing it and hopefully find some situations throughout the game where I can work on it and try to get that feel to where I can go to it like I used to when it was my best pitch.

Something that was a rarity in the past, his teammates gave him lots of run support last night, thanks in part to a pair of fourth inning homers by Jesus Sucre and Dickerson.

Talk about hitting a ball on a line! Sucre’s homer had an apex height 38 feet and it became one of the five lowest homers in the StatCast era.

Two batters later, Dickerson powered an opposite field homer to section 147.

Dickerson’s solo home run

Corey Dickerson lifts a solo home run to left-center field, extending the Rays’ lead to 6-2 in the bottom of the 4th inning

The extra run proved crucial, as it became the ultimate difference in the game.

*Hey now, a win is a win.

The New What Next

Erasmo Ramirez could be pitching today to keep his spot in the rotation. He has struggled over his past four starts, posting two losses and an unsightly 10.05 ERA. On Friday, the Tigers pounded him to the tune of 10 runs (eight earned) in 4-2/3 innings. As I wrote on Saturday, it may be time to move Erasmo back to the ‘pen where he’s been more successful; this outing likely will be a bellwether for the right-hander.

Adleman has been the Reds’ most consistent starter, as he’s gone at least five innings and given up three runs or fewer in each of his last five starts. However, the Reds haven’t capitalized, going 2-3 in those games. Because he’s a fly ball pitcher, Adleman doesn’t generate nearly enough ground balls, leading to one of the worst HR/9 ratios in the league. It will be interesting to see if the 29 year-old right-hander leans on his plus curveball Wednesday afternoon in an attempt to keep the ball in the park. The breaking pitch ranks fifth in whiffs per swing, and it has been above average at inducing grounders and making it a tough pitch to do anything with. He’s also cultivated a .000 ISO and a .133 BAA with the curveball, although he’s thrown it just 10% of the time this season — down from 18% a season ago. He has never faced the Rays.

You can read more about the series in our preview.

Rays 6/21/17 Starting Lineup

Smith CF
Dickerson DH
Souza Jr. RF
Morrison 1B
Plouffe 2B
Robertson SS
Featherston 3B
Bourjos LF
Sucre C
Ramirez RHP

Noteworthiness

— Day game after a night game, neither Evan Longoria nor Colby Rasmus are in the lineup. Tim Beckham, who is mending from an HBP in Monday’s game, should be back in the lineup when the Orioles come to town Friday.

— Wilson Ramos was the DH yesterday for the Durham Bulls and went 1-for-4 with a two-run double. Brad Boxberger is expected to pitch today for the Bulls. Both are expected to join the team this weekend; Boxberger on Friday, and Ramos on Sunday.

LBWMF: Tampa Bay Rays fall to last place Cincinnati Reds, 7-3

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A rare positive from last night’s ball game — Mallex Smith has hit safely in all 11 games he’s appeared since Kiermaier’s injury (the longest streak for a Ray this season). (Photo Credit: Tampa Bay Rays)

The Tampa Bay Rays wasted early opportunities last night, while Jake Odorizzi put them in a three-run hole, en route to a 7-3 loss to the last place Cincinnati Reds. In lieu of a formal game recap, below are a few of the moments that mattered Monday night.


Source: FanGraphs

— Jake Odorizzi extended his streak of consecutive starts with a home run allowed to 10; he now has yielded homers in 18 of his last 19 starts (excluding April 15, when he exited the game with a left hamstring strain). 73% of the runs he has given up this season have come via the long ball (27-of-37).

Still, Odorizzi sailed through the first four innings and allowed only soft contact against a Reds team that swung the bat as though they were playing in the getaway game of the series. To his credit, Odorizzi was serviceable throughout his start, and kept his team in the game.

Good to see (Odorizzi) bounce back, said Rays manager Kevin Cash. He did a nice job. I know he gave up the two homers, but that’s all he gave up. I thought his approach was really good today; attacking the strike zone. Kind of lost it there for one inning a little bit, but overcame it. I thought he was really good, efficient, up in the zone quite a bit. And got a lot of fly outs. Kind of his strength to pitching.

— Sure, Derek Norris has allowed 20 more steals than second-worst catcher, Russell Martin. Last night, however, he caught Scooter Gennett stealing in the top of the first inning. Is it enough to save his job when Wilson Ramos makes his debut with the Rays later this week? Likely not.

Marc Topkin (Tampa Bay Times) said it best on Sunday:

Norris is hitting .191 (though with eight homers) and in a 7-for-59 skid while having a league-most six errors and six passed balls and being responsible for some of the team’s 32 wild pitches. Plus, there is the possibility he will be suspended by MLB as it continues to investigate allegations by his former fiancee of physical and emotional abuse.

Sucre doesn’t have the power but hits well with runners in scoring position, has the arm to be aggressive in shutting down a running game, and works well with the pitchers. Being out of options, he can’t be sent to the minors without going through waivers and would likely to be claimed.

— Down by three, the Rays used the long-ball to pull even with the Reds late in the game.

Steven Souza Jr. plated the first run for the Rays in the sixth inning with his 14th home run of the season. The homer hit the C-ring catwalk, and had an exit velocity of 104.4 mph with a 36-degree launch angle, per Statcast. It would have traveled an estimated 397 feet.

Souza Jr. homers off the catwalk

Steven Souza Jr. hits a home run off the catwalk at Tropicana Field to get the Rays on the board in the bottom of the 6th inning

Daniel Robertson knotted things up with a two-run blast off Michael Lorenzen in the seventh inning. Robertson’s homer had a 103.4 mph exit velocity, with a 28-degree launch angle per StatCast.

Robertson’s two-run homer

Daniel Robertson evens the score at 3 in the bottom of the 7th inning with a two-run home run to center field

Robertson has driven in eight runs in the last five games, doubling his RBI total.

Last week or so, I made a couple of adjustments, so I’m feeling good, said Robertson. The offense was a little slow to start tonight, so the homer was big to pick us up. Honestly, (I was]) just trying to see the ball in that situation. I just told myself to hand it to the next guy and kind of keep the rally going. I was able to get a pitch with two strikes to my liking and put a good swing on it.

— Tie game be damned, the ‘pen (more specifically Jose Alvarado and Danny Farquhar) paired up to give the game away in the final two frames. Alvarado took over in the eighth inning and gave up a double, a single, and ultimately the lead. In the span of four pitches, Robertson’s two-run homer was erased.

After Alvarado walked Adam Duvall, Cash called upon de fact0 LOOGY Farquhar to tip-toe around the mess. Tip-toe he did not. Farquhar uncorked the first of two wild pitches, before notching a strikeout. Yet after an intentional walk loaded the bases, Jesse Winker hit a single that went just beyond the dive of second baseman Taylor Featherston.

The Reds added a two-out run in the ninth on Farquhar’s second wild pitch of the night.

— In the bottom of the fourth inning, Tim Beckham was hit on the hand by a fastball that came up and in on him. Beckham stayed in to run the bases, but was removed the next half inning. The X-Rays on his hand, thankfully, came back negative, although it’s uncertain whether we’ll see the shortstop over the rest of the series.

Rays Radio posted a postgame interview with Beckham, about the HBP, embedded below:

The New What Next

The second game of the series is finds Alex Cobb (5-5, 4.17 ERA, 4.29 FIP) starting opposite of southpaw Amir Garrett (3-5, 6.91 ERA, 6.97 FIP).

Cobb earned a no-decision in his start Thursday against Detroit, but hurled an effective 6-2/3 innings and allowed two earned runs. The right-hander fanned just three batters, and walked a pair while giving up eight hits in that start, although he was able to lean on his split-change — throwing it 17 times (12 for strikes, two whiffs), which is a lot compared to the number he threw earlier in the season. The Tigers only put two of them in play, and the pitch did appear to regain some of its pre-surgery depth. In his only career start against the Reds, he threw seven scoreless frames.

Garrett notched his first quality start in over a month on Wednesday, throwing six innings of two-run ball against San Diego. To his credit, he kept the ball down in the zone, something he struggled to do over his last several starts. Beware of the long-ball! In that contest, Hunter Renfroe hit a monstrous two-run homer in the sixth inning. With a 2.57 HR/9 over the last 14 days, the Rays will try to punish Garrett for any mistakes left up in the zone. This season Garrett has relied primarily on a 92 mph four-seam fastball with natural sinking action, and an 80 mph 12-6 slider. He’s also mixed in an 81 mph changeup with slight cut and a lot of backspin. He has never faced the Rays.

You can read more about the series in our preview.

Rays 6/20/17 Starting Lineup

Souza Jr. RF
Dickerson LF
Longoria 3B
Morrison DH
Plouffe 1B
Robertson SS
Bourjos CF
Featherston 2B
Sucre C
Cobb RHP

Noteworthiness

— ‪Tonight’s lineup has Plouffe at 1B, Robertson at SS, Featherston at 2B, Morrison at DH, and Bourjos at CF‬.

LBWMF: Rays come from behind to beat Le Tigre, 3-2

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The Rays took the third game of the series from the Tigers on Saturday, 3-2…thanks to a ninth inning defensive shift? (Photo Credit: Tampa Bay Rays)

The Tampa Bay Rays got off the schneid on Saturday, snapping a three-game losing skid by scoring a pair of runs in the seventh inning, and holding on for a 3-2 win over the Detroit Tigers. The win moved Rays back to one game over .500.

Tampa Bay took an early lead in a pitcher’s duel that was scoreless until the fifth inning. The Rays found themselves in two scoring opportunities in the first in third innings, however, Tigers’ hurler Michael Fulmer coaxed a pair of double plays to wipe the slate clean on the good guys. Yet things changed in the fifth when Colby Rasmus lined a one-out double to right, and Tim Beckham walked. Daniel Robertson did what he’s done the whole series, plating a run on a single to center, scoring Rasmus and moving Beckham up to third. Even though Robertson was able to move into scoring position on the throw into third, the Rays were unable to add to the lead after Derek Norris struck out, and Mallex Smith grounded out to first.

Something Archer has had trouble with this season is putting together a lockdown inning after his team takes a lead, and per usual, Detroit answered when Austin Romine — 6-for-15 against the Rays ace — hit a bloop single into shallow left-field, just out of the reach of Beckham. He was able to get former teammate Mikie Mahtook to go down swinging on five pitches before Jose Iglesias hit a comebacker right at the right-hander. Archer fielded the ball, but stumbled in doing so, and lost his chance to get the lead runner at second. With two outs, Ian Kinsler worked a nine-pitch at-bat before he lashed a game tying double off the left-field wall.

A pitch (and an inning) later, Miguel Cabrera hit his second homer of the series on a first pitch fastball that Archer left over the inner third of the plate, giving Detroit a one-run advantage.

Cabrera’s solo homer to right

Miguel Cabrera launches a solo home run into the right-field seats to put the Tigers ahead 2-1 in the bottom of the 6th inning


He, however, was able to limit damage by striking out Romine, and getting Mahtook to ground into an inning ending double play with runners on the corners and one out. Archer fanned a total of eight batters over six innings, although interestingly enough, seven of the strikeouts came on his slider, giving him an MLB-high 91 this season. Max Scherzer ranks second with 66 slider strikeouts.

Since the Tigers were 30-18 when they hit a home run, the odds were stacked against Tampa Bay for a comeback — especially after what Le Tigre did to the Rays over the previous two days. Yet in spite of the odds, the Rays took the lead on a couple of two-out runs in the seventh. Steven Souza Jr. quickly fell behind 0-2 before battling back and earning a walk to start the frame, then moved up 90 feet on Rasmus’ groundout. Beckham followed with a productive at-bat, hitting a hard ground out to second, which  advanced Souza to third. Robertson was next, and he singled off Kinsler’s glove, knotting the game at two. It was the fifth consecutive run that Robertson had driven in.

After Norris chased Fulmer on a single to left, Brad Ausmus called upon the services of Alex Wilson.

Smith, looking to make up for his yips in the outfield, welcomed Wilson by hitting a single to right for the go ahead lead. To his credit, Wilson was able to limit the damage by striking out Corey Dickerson.

It now was up to the Rays bullpen to do its job. Jumbo Diaz worked around a two-out walk in a scoreless seventh, then started the eighth. The rather hefty right-hander struck out J.D. Martinez to open the frame, but allowed a one-out double that deflected off of Beckham at short, and was overrun by Dickerson in left. With the leverage increasing, Kevin Cash called upon Alex Colome to do something he had not done all season — earn a five-out save.

Colome struck out Alex Presley on a 3–2 pitch, and got pinch-hitter Nick Castellanos to ground out to third to end that threat.

Then in the ninth, the Tigers got the tying run on second with two outs, the product of a Mahtook bouncer that got under the glove of Evan Longoria. A sacrifice bunt, moving the former Ray into second, and a fly-out later, the left-handed hitting Avila stepped into the box. In the words of Marc Topkin (Tampa Bay Times), the Rays had some decisions to make as they set up their shifted defense. At the start of the at-bat, they had shortstop Tim Beckham holding Mahtook at second.

Topkin continued:

Third-base/infield coach Charlie Montoyo went up to Cash and bench coach Tom Foley in the dugout and suggested they move Beckham over to the first base-side of the bag, where Avila was more likely to hit it, even though it meant Mahtook, as the tying run, would likely take third, which he promptly did.

‘We felt it was more important at the time to cover more ground toward the pull side,’ Cash said. ‘I think that shows how much confidence we have in Alex Colome. We’ll give up 90 feet to get (the tying run) to third, trusting that if we put the guys in the right spot, we can make a play and he’ll make a pitch.’

Colome made a pitch, an 88 mph cutter that Avila could only roll over and hit to the right side.

And the Rays made a play, Beckham barely having to move, to seal the win.

Game over, Rays win 3-2….thanks in part to the shift!

The New What Next

The Rays look to split the four-game set against the Tigers today. Jacob Faria (2-0, 1.42 ERA, 1.78 FIP) will get the start opposite Buck Farmer (2-0, 3.52 ERA, 2.80 FIP).

Faria was impressive yet again in his last start. His stuff, especially his changeup, was electric, and he fooled Toronto’s hitters left and right. He was poised and efficient, allowing just three hits on 70 pitches over five innings — calmly taking a shutout into the seventh against the power-laden Blue Jays.

Farmer had a 13-inning scoreless streak snapped in his last start, when he allowed six runs in 2-1/3 innings against the Diamondbacks. This season, the 26 year-old right-hander has relied upon a whiffy 92 MPH four-seam fastball and 85 MPH changeup, while also mixing in a 91 MPH sinker with arm-side run, a 79 MPH 12-6 slider, and a swing and miss 81 MPH cutter. Farmer faced the Rays once in relief in 2015, allowing a home run in one-third of an inning.

You can read about the pitching matchup, and so much more, in our series preview.

Rays 6/18/17 Starting Lineup

Smith CF
Dickerson LF
Longoria 3B
Morrison 1B
Souza Jr RF
Rasmus DH
Beckham SS
Robertson 2B
Norris C
Faria RHP

Noteworthiness

— A couple of important pieces to the roster continue to work their way back from injuries. In a rehab appearance with Triple-A Durham, Brad Boxberger tossed another scoreless inning yesterday. He allowed one hit while striking out a pair. Wilson Ramos caught seven innings, the second consecutive game he’s done so. Both could rejoin the team by the end of the week. Per Topkin, Matt Duffy (left heel) may get some clarity on his recurring issues Monday when he goes to Charlotte to see Dr. Bob Anderson, who did the September surgery.

— Trevor Plouffe, acquired from Oakland, will officially join the active roster tomorrow at Tropicana Field. Either Taylor Featherston (an option remaining) or Michael Martinez (no options remaining) are likely to go.

LBWMF: Miggy walks it off against Tommy Hunter and the Rays

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The captain looks on. (Photo Credit: Tampa Bay Rays)

It was one of those games where Miguel Cabrera’s walk-off home run could be seen from a mile away.

Despite battling back from a one-run deficit in the top of the eighth inning — thanks to Steven Souza Jr’s no-doubter to left-field to tie the game at three — Tommy Hunter quickly fell behind Alex Avilla 3-1 before giving up a one out base hit. Hunter also quickly fell behind Miggy, 2-1, before he threw a mistake fastball over the heart of the plate.

(Credit: Brooks Baseball)

Cabrera being Cabrera didn’t swing through the errant fastball, rather he barreled it up and sent it to the opposite field for the game winning homer.

All this came after Alex Cobb’s workman-like start against Justin Verlander. It wasn’t a pitching duel by any stretch of the imagination, but Cobb battled and gave up only two runs over 6-2/3 innings. The Rays’ right-hander fanned just three batters, and walked a pair while giving up eight hits, although he was able to lean on his split-change — throwing it 17 times (12 for strikes, two whiffs), which is a lot compared to the number he threw earlier in the season. The Tigers only put two of them in play, and the pitch did appear to regain some of its pre-surgery depth.

Verlander put together a similar performance, forcing the Rays to cobble together some offense. In the top of the second inning, Tampa Bay manufactured a run after Logan Morrison led off the frame with a line-drive single into left-center field, before Steven Souza Jr. worked a free pass. Colby Rasmus followed with a chopper to first base, which allowed both runners to move up. Daniel Robertson plated the run on a grounder up the middle.

Then Mallex Smith led things off with a single to right in the third. Two batters later, Morrison lashed a hanging curve over the head of Alex Presley in center. As the ball bounded to the wall, Smith scored from first.

Unfortunately a rare error by Robertson allowed the Tigers to regain the lead in the seventh inning. Jumbo Diaz — on in relief for Cobb — coaxed what should have been an inning ending ground ball to short. Robertson positioned himself to get behind the ball yet slipped on wet infield, which allowed the ball to punch through the infield, breaking the deadlock. For the sure handed Robertson, it was the second error of the game after not erring all season. To his credit, he did start a double play in the fifth inning when he made a ridiculous backhanded stab from one knee, then fired over to Michael Martinez at second.

Speaking of ridiculous plays, Smith made a diving catch on a sinking line drive. As BA noted on the telecast, he didn’t take a perfect route, and he wasn’t sure whether he could get there or play it off the bounce. However, his speed and athleticism allowed him to make the proper adjustment, which resulted in an out.

The New What Next

The Rays and Tigers play the second of four games on Friday. Erasmo Ramirez (3-1, 4.20 ERA, 3.73 FIP) will get the start opposite left-hander Daniel Norris (3-4, 4.41 ERA, 4.17 FIP).

Ramirez allowed 10 hits and a walk over 5-1/3 innings, yet held Oakland to three runs in his last start. He beat the Tigers in the final game of the above mentioned three-game sweep, allowing just two hits and one run.

Norris hasn’t completed the fifth inning in three of his 12 starts, including his last start against Tampa Bay on April 20. He has allowed an equal number hits to the number of strikeouts he’s collected over his previous four starts, with a 3.63 ERA over that span. It appears that he has started to fix things, as his self inflicted wounds (and/or the wounds inflicted by others) don’t appear to be effecting him as much. Take a recent start against the BoSox for example, when he worked around a third inning misplay in centerfield which allowed the tying and go-ahead runs to move into scoring position with one out. He limited the damage and work out of the jam. Key Matchups: Peter Bourjos (1-2), Evan Longoria (4-7, 2B, RBI, BB), Michael Martinez (1-1, BB), Steven Souza Jr. (3-8, 2B, 3B, HR, 3 RBI, BB), Jesus Sucre (1-2)

You can read about the pitching matchup, and so much more, in our series preview.

Rays 6/16/17 Starting Lineup

Souza RF
Dickerson DH
Longoria 3B
Morrison 1B
Beckham SS
Smith CF
Robertson 2B
Sucre C
Bourjos LF
Ramirez RHP