Had you told me, before the game, that Jeremy Hellickson would out pitch Sonny Gray, the Rays would tag Gray for six runs on 10 hits, and Jose Molina would go 2-3 with a walk, a sac-bunt, and an infield hit, I’d have laughed in your face. But low and behold, Tampa Bay salvaged the final game of their series with the Athletics by a score of 7-3, behind an outstanding vintage outing by Jeremy Hellickson, and an offensive onslaught against Sonny Gray. They were able to knock the A’s RHP out of the game after only 4-1/3 innings of work.
Category Archives: Looking Backward While Moving Forward
Looking Backward While Moving Forward: Misplays and an Unproductive Offense Spoil Smyly’s Start
In May I wrote about just wanting to see the Tampa Bay Rays play consistent baseball, back when it seemed like a postseason berth was both improbable and impossible. Yet toward the beginning of June, the Rays started playing uber consistent, .700 ball, and the impossible almost seemed within reach — the odds of Tampa Bay making the postseason jumped from a sub 1% chance to a 15% chance over the course of a month and a half. But after dropping four of their last five, including last night’s disappointing 3-o loss to the Athletics, the Rays have dropped back down to a 3.9% chance of making the playoffs (per Fan Graphs).
Looking Backward While Moving Forward: Rays Fall in 10 Innings, 3-2
I’d like to think there was a risk/reward like situation afoot last night. I went through the effort of connecting my laptop to my television (I mean, who wants to watch baseball on a 14″ screen?), then it took me a few minutes to find a website from which to stream the game (thanks, strikeout.co), and finally I spent four hours live blogging the game while resisting the overwhelming urge to throw my tablet across the room out of frustration. And what was I rewarded with? A disheartening 3-2 loss in the 10th inning.
Looking Backward While Moving Forward: Rays Offense Was Productive in Their 10-3 Win
There was a palpable, post trade, feeling of despair that permeated The Trop Friday night. You could feel it in the stands, and though you’d never hear the players make mention of anything of the sort, you could see it in the on field action — the Rays seemed slow, void of spark until the ninth inning. Though the trade was a major blow to the esteem of the 25+ guys in the dugout, at some point they’d have to emerge from the proverbial fog and prove they could still be competitive without Price. That point was last night. The Tampa Bay Rays defeated the Los Angeles Angels by a score of 10-3, Saturday night.
Looking Backward While Moving Forward: Hellickson, Rays Fall to Angels 5-3
Friday marked the first game of the post David Price era, and boy was it a doozy! I’m obviously lying. In short Jeremy Hellickson gave up four early runs and couldn’t make it through the fifth inning for the third consecutive game, and Tampa Bay — despite scoring opportunities aplenty — couldn’t overcome a two run deficit. Joe Maddon called it a winnable game in his presser following the contest — and it was. But would have, could have, and should have beens don’t count for anything in baseball; The Rays dropped the first game of the series to the Angels by a 5-3 score. Come to think of it, it didn’t deviate much from a typical Rays’ loss even when Price was on the roster.