X-Rays Spex

A Below Average Rays Fan Blog

Looking Backward While Moving Forward: Chris Archer, Rays Post Consecutive Wins

By Leave a Comment

Matt Joyce high-fives teammates in the dugout after scoring on Kelly Johnson’s double in the fourth inning. (Photo courtesy of James Borchuck/Times)

Matt Joyce high-fives teammates in the dugout after scoring on Kelly Johnson’s double in the fourth inning. (Photo courtesy of James Borchuck/Times)

The Rays rolled to their sixth consecutive win by a score of 4-1 Tuesday night, as Chris Archer put together a good 6 IP/3 H/1 R/2 K outing against the Twins. You guessed it, it’s time for another edition of The Good, The Bad, and The Argyle: A Bulleted Game Summary.

The Good

  • The Rays are keeping their foot on the gas. Tuesday night’s win was their sixth consecutive, and their 15th in a 20-game stretch extending back to June 19th.
  • Two out runs in the fourth inning. As we’ve documented in each series preview, the Rays have been scoring a plethora of two-out runs of late, and we’re all better for it. Tampa Bay has scored 32 two-out runs extending back to the Astros series, last night being no different. In fact, all of the Rays runs were scored with two outs. With two on, James Loney battled back from an 0-2 count to pick up a walk. Matt Joyce and Kelly Johnson followed, each driving in a pair of runs on a single and a double (respectively). Joyce impressively scored all the way from first.
  • Archer was pretty darn good. In his first couple of starts after being called up, there were questions of whether Chris Archer was ready for the big leagues. His “stuff” was never in question. Two things were holding him back: A. Control of his emotions, and B. Control of his pitches. If his last three starts are indicative of anything, Archer looks more like a big league pitcher. He seems to have calmed his emotions — he’s less bouncy, and more in control overall. Though he got off to a shaky start, Archer got better as his outing progressed, retiring 13 of the final 14 batters he faced, ultimately giving up only two hits. Better yet, he didn’t allow any walks. Archer’s pitching breakout: four-seam fastball (47 total, 32 for strikes, 3 whiffs), change-up (13 total, 8 for strikes, 1 whiff), slider (17 total, 11 for strikes, 2 whiffs).
  • Torres, Torres, Torres. 1 IP/0 H/0 R/0 BB/2 K on 16 total pitches (11 for strikes). ‘Nuff said!
  • Jake McGee! 1 IP/0 H/0 R/0 BB on seven total pitches (five for strikes). Again, ’nuff said!

The Bad

  • Longo, how come you no hit? Evan Longoria has just five hits in the last 13 games, all being singles. This includes going 0-3 last night with a walk. Fun fact, this matches the longest stretch of games without an extra-base hit, the last time being 2010.
  • Chris Archer’s throwing error, and two hit batters. Though Archer didn’t allow any walks, he did bean a pair of batters — one of which accounted for the Twins sole run. His errant pickoff attempt in the sixth inning was the first error for the Rays in 10 games, allowing Brian Dozier to move from first to third, subsequently setting up the Twins only run.

The Argyle

  • GB/FB. I could be making too much of nothing, but Chris Archer induced 11 fly-outs and five ground-outs. His GB/FB ratio prior to last night was (about) 48%/31%.

The New What Next

Jeremy Hellickson will attempt to sink Minnesota, earning the Rays their fifth consecutive series victory. He’ll butt heads with Kevin Correia and the Twins. You can read about the pitching match-up here.

Rays 7/10/13 Starting Lineup

Jennings CF
Scott DH
Zobrist 2B
Longoria 3B
Loney 1B
Myers RF
Johnson LF
Molina C
Escobar SS
Hellickson RHP

Noteworthiness

  • We re-posted a wonderfully written a piece titled In Defense of the Trop earlier today. Penned by Ryan from The Cheap Seats blog, Ryan takes issue with the fans that don’t attend games on a semi-regular basis, for seemingly inane reasons. Highly recommended!

 

Looking Backward While Moving Forward: Zobrist, Escobar, and Scott Muscles Tampa Bay Past Minnesota

By Leave a Comment

Ben Zobrist is congratulated after his seventh inning two run home run against the Minnesota Twins. (Photo by J. Meric/Getty Images)

Ben Zobrist is congratulated after his seventh inning two run home run against the Minnesota Twins. (Photo by J. Meric/Getty Images)

In the series preview, I wrote, “They’ve (the Twins) averaged almost five runs per game over the last 15 games, while the pitching has given up (on average) almost six. This bodes well for the swarming offense of the Tampa Bay Rays.” I’m not calling myself Nostradamus or anything, but it does emphasize that the Rays 7-4 win against the Twins Monday night is par for the course, for what Minnesota has done over their last 15 games. That’s not to belittle Tampa Bay in any way, shape, or form. Rather, it should show that the Rays are doing exactly what they need to be doing in the pre All-Star Break stretch.

In short, a marginally good Roberto Hernandez was somehow able to hold a productive Minnesota Twins to only three runs, after allowing 12 base runners on eight hits, three walks, and a hit by pitch. He certainly didn’t put together the sharpest of outings, though he was able to post his third consecutive quality start — the starting rotations eighth consecutive quality start over all. You can read a blow by blow account of the game via the X-Rays Spex Tumblr page. Bulleted highlights are below.

  • First off, Allie Kranick of DRaysBay said it best, “The Rays notched their 50th win last night, in their 90th game, the third fastest time they have done so in franchise history. The only two times they have reached 50 faster? 2008 and 2010, both years that they won the AL East. Yes, the division is a very different beast this year, so who knows if it really matters; but you can’t hate history.”
  • It should also be noted, the Rays now own sole possession of second place in the AL East. Think back to June 23rd when they owned sole possession of last place. Sure, a good number of those wins have come against the bottom feeders of the American League. But I’d also remind you that five of those 12 wins have come against over .500 teams, or teams that are division leaders (Yankees, Blue Jays, and Tigers).
  • The Rays offense struck first, thanks to a 414 foot solo shot off the bat of Luke Scott in the first inning. They extended the lead to 2-0 in the second, when Jose Molina slapped an RBI single to right, plating Wil Myers.
  • The Twins took a 3-2 lead in the fourth inning, but Evan Longoria was able to knot things up in the fifth on an RBI single to center.
  • Yunel Escobar sent a 403 ft solo blast to left-field to lead off the seventh inning, and Desmond Jennings followed with a triple to the gap. Ben Zobrist joined in on the fun, sending a two-run shot 369 feet to left field giving the Rays a 6-3 lead.
  • Escobar put the Rays up by a score of 7-3 after plating an insurance run in the eighth inning. Chris Parmelee literally gunned down Myers at the plate, hitting him in the chest with the ball as he safely slid into home after tagging up.
  • The Rays have outhomered their opponents 38-22 in the past 31 games. Yunel Escobar hit the Rays 100th home run last night.
  • The bullpen was pretty dominant in relief of Hernandez. Alex Torres, Joel Peralta, Jamey Wright and Fernando Rodney allowed only two hits and one run (all from Jamey Wright) in the three innings of combined work. Rodney was credited with his 20th save of the year.
  • I’m, admittedly, enamored  by Alex Torres. Can you blame me? He strung together yet another 1-2-3 inning, this time on 13 pitches (10 for strikes). He was also credited with his third win of the year. Let’s take a gander at his season slash line: 25 IP/6 H/1 R/1 ER/8 BB/31 K. I’d reckon a (almost) 4:1 ratio of strikeouts to walks is pretty alright.

The New What Next

Chris Archer will try to keep the ball rolling against Kyle Gibson and the Twins, Tuesday night at the Trop. You can read about the pitching match-up here.

Rays 7/9/12 Starting Lineup

Jennings CF
Scott DH
Zobrist 2B
Longoria 3B
Loney 1B
Joyce RF
Johnson LF
Lobaton C
Escobar SS
Archer P

Noteworthiness

  • Ever wonder who the anonymous guy catching all of the Rays bullpen sessions may be? Roger Mooney of the Trib wants to introduce you to the man, the myth, the legend, Scott Cursi.
  • Wil Myers isn’t in the lineup tonight. Matt Joyce is getting the start in right-field, while Kelly Johnson will hold things down in left. Myers noted that this is just a mental day off, allowing him to “catch my breath” and work on small flaw in his swing.

 

Looking Backward While Moving Forward: Matt Moore, Rays Blank ChiSox 3-0

By Leave a Comment

photo

Live from WilVille. (Photo courtesy of X-Rays Spex)

It may have not been the offensive outburst of the previous night, however the Tampa Bay Rays, with Matt Moore at the helm, beat the Chicago White Sox by a score of 3-0 Saturday at the Trop. He may not have been perfect, but Moore did just enough to stifle a sluggish White Sox offense, making the big pitches when necessary over the course of his 6-1/3 inning outing. There’s just something about Matt Moore… At least the 2013 model — things don’t seem to phase him. Case in point, a nerve racking pair of innings in which the White Sox could have broken the game open, but didn’t.

In both the second and third innings, the White Sox had opportunities to plate a handful of runs with runners on third. Yet Moore came out unscathed, thanks to a Tyler Flowers two out pop-out in the second, and a stellar double play turned by Evan Longoria, preceding an Adam Dunn fly-out to left-center to end the inning. Longoria snagged a line drive off the bat of Alex Rios, then dove back to the bag ahead of Alejandro De Aza.

There just seems to be a zen nature about Moore. He missed handily with his two-seam fastball (20 thrown, nine for strikes, one whiff) and his slider (13 thrown, seven for strikes), so he made the adjustment and relied upon his four-seam fastball (38 thrown, 25 for strikes, four whiffs) and his change-up (34 thrown, 22 for strikes, eight whiffs) with great effect. Moore didn’t shirk away from contact, rather he attacked the White Sox batters and the results speak for themselves. My personal favorite Moore moment came in the first inning, when he struck out Adam Dunn. Moore threw two consecutive change-ups to get ahead in the count. He followed those pitches with a fastball up in the zone, only to come back with a deadly change-up to wring up the Big Donkey.

Jake McGee, Joel Peralta, and Fernando Rodney came in for 2-2/3 innings of one hit, three strikeout ball. McGee impressively induced a one out double play on one pitch to get out of the inning. Peralta allowed the sole hit of those 2-2/3 innings, though he was able to work around the base hit and came out with a clean inning. Rodney was Rodney, retiring the side in order to get his 19th save of the year.

Offensively speaking, the Rays struck three times in the second and sixth innings. Tampa Bay scored a pair of runs in the second on a Luke Scott RBI double, and a Desmond Jennings fielders choice. Sam Fuld tacked on an insurance run in the sixth inning, plating Wil Myers on an RBI base hit to center. Let’s be honest, we all knew that Sale would be tough, and tough he was.

The New What Next

David Price will attempt to replicate his return appearance last week, in a start against John Danks and the Sox. You can read about the pitching match-up here. The Rays start the day with a 48-40 record, a half game behind the the Yankees and tied for third with the Orioles. If the Rays and the Orioles win today, both teams will be tied for second going into the pre All-Star Break stretch.

Rays 7/7/13 Starting Lineup

Jennings CF
Rodriguez LF
Zobrist 2B
Longoria 3B
Loney 1B
Myers RF
Scott DH
Molina C
Escobar SS
Price LHP

Noteworthiness

  • Ben Zobrist has been tapped to represent the Rays in the 2013 All-Star Game. Per Marc Topkin, another potential opening for Moore to be added to AL All-Star team – Iwakuma from the Mariners is slated to start next Sunday.
  • Interestingly, per Marc Topkin, “With no Rays voted in by fans or players, it was up to AL/Detroit manager Jim Leyland to pick a Tampa Bay representative. Leyland bypassed third baseman Evan Longoria and starter Matt Moore to pick Zobrist, whose versatility at the plate and on the field makes him a bench asset.” Zobrist responded by saying, “I find a lot of humor in the selection based on that. I can’t wait to talk to Mr. Leyland and thank him for a couple different things.”

Looking Backward While Moving Forward: Hellickson, Rays Handcuff White Sox 8-3

By Leave a Comment

photo

You can see more of our photos via our Instagram page.

Let’s review last night’s 8-3 win:

A) Jeremy Hellickson was dominant.
B) The Rays were electric at the plate.
C) The ninth was ugly, but Ramos limited the damage.

Better yet, let’s use that outline as a template for this game summary.

Jeremy Hellickson Was Dominant

Simply put, the subtitle says it all. Hellickson was stellar in his 7 IP/6 H/1 ER/0 BB/9 K/100 pitches (70 for strikes) outing. Helly went primal, attacking the zone with his fastball and change-up, and only using his curveball eight times when he needed to. His 70% K/BB speaks to that. The Rays righty did a great job of pitching to the corners, getting seven of his nine strikeouts on the outer and inner reaches of the plate. Jason Collette of the Process Reported noted that Hellickson’s approach against the White Sox biggest threat, Adam Dunn, was perfect,

“Hellickson faced Dunn three times in last night’s start and needed just 14 pitches to hand Dunn a hat trick on the evening. Hellickson threw mostly well-located fastballs to Dunn along with a handful of change-ups catching Dunn looking once and swinging at strike three twice.”

Jeremy Hellickson pitch location against Adam Dunn. (courtesy of ESPN by way of the Process Report)

Jeremy Hellickson’s pitch location against Adam Dunn. (courtesy of ESPN by way of the Process Report)

Collette went on to note, “Matt Moore and the Rays strategists will need a different approach in today’s game as Moore rarely throws his change-up to same-handed hitters, preferring instead to attack them with fastballs and breaking balls.”

The Rays Were Electric At the Plate

The Rays swarmed starter Dylan Axelrod Friday night, knocking him out of the game after only 1-2/3 innings of work. Every starter got a hit, in a game that was effectively over by the end of the second inning. Hell, even Jose Molina and Luke Scott got in on the fun.

Scott lead off the second inning by crushing a double up the right-field line. Jose Molina brought him home two batters later, hammering a two-run shot to left-field, putting the Rays up by a pair of runs early. A batter later, Kelly Johnson crushed a mammoth 415 foot blast to right, giving the Rays a 3-0 lead. Tampa Bay wasn’t done scoring though.

Desmond Jennings hit his first of three singles to center in the next at-bat, quickly swiping the first of two bags to put himself in scoring position. Evan Longoria plated Jennings on a single to left, technically giving the Rays all the runs they’d need on the night. A very hot James Loney was next, hitting the second of two singles and moving Longo into scoring position. Finally, Wil Myers capped off a five run inning by doubling to left, driving in Longoria and giving the Rays a commanding 5-0 lead.

Tampa Bay went on to score three more insurance runs in the fourth and fifth innings, giving the Rays their fourth five run (or greater) game in five days. The key to the Rays success? Rays skipper Joe Maddon feels that it comes down to working better at-bats. “We are just not expanding our strike zone,” Maddon said in his post game presser. All in all, Tampa Bay went 5-17 wRISP while scoring four runs with two outs.

It should be noted that Desmond Jennings put together his second consecutive multi-hit game, while James Loney extended his hitting streak to 16. The Rays cannot take their offensive prowess for granted going into tonight’s game against Chris Sale. Even though his win/loss record may not reflect it, Sale has been flat-out spectacular this season. Again, his record has more to do with a lack of run support than it does with any issues on his part — a 2.79 ERA/.210 BAA speaks to that.

The Ninth Was Ugly, But Ramos Limited the Damage

After quickly getting the Rays’ tenth strikeout of the night to start the ninth inning, Cesar Ramos gave up four consecutive singles and a sac-fly to bring the White Sox within five runs of Tampa Bay. With only one out and the bases juiced, Joe Maddon decided to get Jake McGee up in the pen, just in case. Ramos, thankfully, mustered enough to mop up his mess and get the next two batters — Tekotte and De Aza — to ground-out and end the game.

The New What Next

As I mentioned above, Matt Moore will take on Chris Sale and the Chicago White Sox Saturday night. Joe Maddon said it best, the match-up promises to be a low scoring affair. I couldn’t agree more. You can read about tonight’t match-up here.

Rays 7/6/13 Starting Lineup

Jennings CF
Rodriguez 1B
Zobrist 2B
Longoria 3B
Myers RF
Escobar SS
Lobaton C
Scott DH
Fuld LF
Moore LHP

Noteworthiness

  • Per Joe Smith of the Tampa Bay Times, Cobb “felt great during a 29-pitch bullpen session.” This was Cobb’s first bullpen session since being concussed on June 15th. Cobb is reportedly still is dealing with vertigo when he tilts his head a certain way, but he is expected to see drastic improvement over the next couple of weeks. He has also passed his first set of concussion-related tests, though there is still no timeline for his return.
  • Tampa Bay has won nine of their last 12 games, and are now seven games over .500 (47-40), tying their season high mark.
  • Wil Myers 13 RBI through the first 18 games are the most in Rays history, matching the Braves Evan Gattis for most in the first 18 games of this season.
  • Ben Zobrist is back at second and hitting third after a mental health day. Evan Longoria’s foot must be feeling better, because he’s back at third and hitting fourth. James Loney is, surprisingly, scratched from the lineup, in favor of Sean Rodriguez. And Sam Fuld will take over the left-field duties, with a tough lefty on the bump.

 

 

Looking Backward While Moving Forward: Hmph…Rays Lose 4-1

By Leave a Comment

photo

Not much can be said about last night’s 4-1 loss to the Astros… At least nothing that hasn’t already been said. Both Roberto Hernandez and Bud Norris were very good, though Norris was better. The Astros ace has been very good at home this season (2.27 ERA, 3 HR, 71-1/3 IP), and he did what ace’s are want to do: shut down the opposing offense.

Moving forward.

The New What Next

Tampa Bay will close out their four game residency in Houston today, with Chris Archer on the mound. Archer will toe the rubber opposite of Jordan Lyles. Losses are going to happen. And if the Rays can leave Houston with a W in their back pockets, I’d have to say a 3-1 road record is nothing to scoff at, or be ashamed of. You can read about the pitching match-up here.

Rays 7/4/13 Starting Lineup

Jennings CF
Joyce LF
Zobrist 2B
Longoria DH
Loney 1B
Myers RF
Johnson 3B
Lobaton C
Escobar SS
Archer P

Noteworthiness

  • Tampa Bay is 4-11 all-time on the Fourth of July, including 1-8 on the road. Remember when Farnsworth blew the lead last year against the Yankees? Oof. Then again, they are playing the lowly Astros. One would hope the Rays could eke out a win.