To put it bluntly, after the 11-1 debacle against the Royals Monday, and the subsequent demotion of Jeremy Hellickson today, Tampa Bay really needed a big performance out of Roberto Hernandez Tuesday night. And with the exceptions of a Mike Trout blast in the fourth, and an unlucky break in the seventh, a solid performance they got. Sadly, Hernandez’s best outing in some time went to waste after Fernando Rodney let another save slip away in the 6-5 loss to The The Angels Angels of Anaheim. The Rays start the day two-and-a-half games behind the Red Sox after Boston crushed the Orioles by a score of 13-2.
Category Archives: Looking Backward While Moving Forward
Looking Backward While Moving Forward: Rays Lose 3-2 in Extra Innings
Tampa Bay dropped the last game of their their three game set against the New York Yankees Sunday, by a score of 3-2 in extra innings. All is not lost though — the Rays walked away with the series victory. That, my friends, is what really matters. And with that series win, Tampa Bay was able …
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The New What Next: Rays Take the Second Game 4-2, and the Series
It’s been said before, and I’ll say it again: It felt like a postseason atmosphere at the Trop the last two nights. After all, two toasty teams were pinned against one another in front of a pair of big — rambunctious — crowds. And while the Rays have aspirations of winning the AL East, the Yankees are struggling to stay relevant. Likewise, the fans the Bronx Bummers struggled to stay relevant in the confines of the Trop Saturday night, as they watched the one opportunity to tag David Price for more than two runs get flushed down the toilet.
Looking Backward While Moving Forward: Chris Archer, Rays Handcuff Yankees In 7-2 Win
The outcome of Friday night’s meeting under the big top couldn’t have been better…well, that is unless you’re a Yankees fan. With Chris Archer at the helm, Tampa Bay handcuffed the Bronx Bummers by a score of 7-2, effectively deflating the big-headed behemoth that is the Yankees — a team that entered the Trop in the midst of a five game winning streak, also having won eight of their last 10. The icing on the cake: Tampa Bay starts the day percentage points in first place in the AL East, following a late night Red Sox loss to the Dodgers.
Looking Backward While Moving Forward: On Jason Bourgeois
As much as I’d like to harp on Hellickson or the Rays inconsistent offense that couldn’t get much started Wednesday night, I’m going to focus on something else, Jason Bourgeois — more specifically, why he’s still on the 25-man roster. He, after all, misplayed another ball in the outfield for the second time in three games. Though tonight’s fielding geek wouldn’t prove costly, and though he was fairly productive at the plate, I’d argue that he’s here (instead of Brandon Gomes who was sent down on the 20th) for a few reasons — the biggest being that he’s out of options and the Rays don’t want to lose organizational depth by running Bourgeois through waivers. One should consider the depth in Triple-A Durham. With Brandon Guyer on the DL, the Rays are left with career minor leaguer Rich Thompson, and Gary Busey lookalike Shelley Duncan.