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TNWN: Rays look to keep it rolling in Cleveland tonight

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  • Kevin Kiermaier hit one of four homers last night — a three-run inside the park home run to the left-center gap. (Photo Credit: Tampa Bay Rays)

After a 7-2 win over Cleveland on Thursday, the Tampa Bay Rays have a chance to win their third consecutive game tonight. The Rays have not won or lost any more than two consecutive games in the month of May with seven games left to play. They could also move to 12 games over .500 for the first time this season.

Tampa Bay has scored 15 runs in the past two games. Of note, Tommy Pham, Avisail Garcia, and Kevin Kiermaier homered in each of those contests and accounted for five of the seven runs last night.

Per Neil Solondz (Rays Radio), it’s the first time three Rays players have done that in back-to-back contests.

Willy Adames appears to be heating up. The shortstop has hit three homers in a 20-at-bat span and has batted .316 in the month of May with a .934 OPS.

The New What Next

The Rays will start Blake Snell (3-4, 3.31 ERA) tonight, pitching opposite of Shane Bieber (3-2, 3.22 ERA).

Blake Snell allowed one run on six hits and a walk across six innings in a no-decision against New York on Saturday. He struck out nine. Snell scattered six singles throughout his six-inning stint, pitching very well along the way. His only blemish: a third-inning run on two singles, a walk, and a wild pitch. Snell has a 3.31 ERA and a 1.00 WHIP this season

Shane Bieber was dominant in a complete game shutout against the Orioles, scattering five hits while fanning 15 on 107 pitches (75 strikes, 65% strike rate). The 23-year-old has allowed three-plus runs in four of his 10 starts, but he is still 3-2 with a 3.22 ERA. He has punched out 69 in 58-2/3 innings this season. Bieber relies primarily on a 94 mph four-seam fastball with added backspin and an 85 mph 12-6 slider, while also mixing in a whiffy 82 mph curveball with exceptional bite, and a firm 88 mph changeup with arm-side fade and natural sink. Key Matchups: Ji-Man Choi (3-6, 2 2B), Brandon Lowe (1-4, BB), Tommy Pham (2-8, 2B, RBI, BB)

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

TNWN: Rays vs Cleveland — a series preview

Rays 5/24/19 Starting Lineup

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

Noteworthiness

— Next stop: St. Petersburg! Marc Topkin (Tampa Bay Times) reports that two-way prospect Brendan McKay has been promoted to Triple-A, and will start on Tuesday for the Durham Bulls.

The 23-year-old tossed six shutout innings on Wednesday — bringing his scoreless streak to 20 innings — while fanning nine to give him 62 strikeouts in 41-2/3 innings of work (13.41 K/9). He is 3-0 with a 1.30 ERA in eight games.

With Brent Honeywell still working his way back from Tommy John surgery, McKay becomes the top healthy pitching prospect in the organization. And though he is still working on being a two-way player, he has hit just .167 with two extra-base hits and a .448 OPS thus far.

— With a win tonight, Kevin Cash will have a .500 record with Tampa Bay as a big league manager over four-plus seasons.

TNWN: Rays vs Cleveland — a series preview

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Avisail Garcia helped break open the floodgates in the series finale against the Dodgers. (Photo Credit: Tampa Bay Rays)

After a brief two-game series against the Los Angeles Dodgers, the Tampa Bay Rays set their sights on the mid-west when they head to Cleveland for a four-game set, starting Thursday. Tampa Bay split its series against Los Angeles while Cleveland is coming off a three-game sweep by the Athletics.

(Stats Credit: ESPN)

Tampa Bay bounced back from a pair of ugly losses with an 8-1 win against the best team in the National League. Prior to the series finale, the Rays allowed 14 walks and 20 runs across 18 innings, but they cleaned things up and walked a total of batters on Wednesday. Rays pitchers didn’t tap dance around the zone, rather they attacked an aggressive hitting team and coaxed 10 grounders and 10 fly balls.

Even though Cleveland has gone 8-6 over a two-week stretch,
they have been especially tough to strikeout, striking out just 19.4% of the time. Compare that to Tampa Bay which has struck out twice as many times over the same stretch. Still, Cleveland hasn’t been able to consistently string together hits and drive in runs, which became glaringly obvious in the three-game series loss to the Athletics. Be that as it may, they still have outperformed Tampa Bay in almost every offensive category over that stretch. Rays hitters will have to do what they did in the latter portion of the game against Clayton Kershaw, as well as the contest against Rich Hill, and pounce on any mistakes that may come their way.

Meanwhile, if Rays hurlers can perform as they had in four of the last six days, they could make it very difficult on a Cleveland team that is reeling from a string of unsteady play.

(Stats Credit: FanGraphs)

The Rays went 4-2 against Cleveland last season, including 2-1 at Progressive Field.

Pitching Probables

Over the next four days Kevin Cash will lean on an opener/bulk guy combo to be announced before the series opener, Blake Snell (3-4, 3.31 ERA), Charlie Morton (4-0, 2.65 ERA), and probably Jalen Beeks (3-0, 3.19 ERA) who will follow an opener in the series finale. Terry Francona will counter with Adam Plutko (1-0, 1.50 ERA), Shane Bieber (3-2, 3.22 ERA), Carlos Carrasco (4-4, 4.30 ERA), and Trevor Bauer (4-3, 3.95 ERA).

(Stats Credit: FanGraphs)

TBA

Adam Plutko allowed one run on one hit across six innings. He struck out four and walked two. The right-hander missed the beginning of the season with a right forearm strain but showed no rust Saturday as the only hit he allowed was a solo home run to Trey Mancini. Plutko finished at 83 pitches, although it makes sense the team took it slow in his first big league start of the season. He relies primarily on a 91 mph four-seam fastball and a whiffy 86 mph 12-6 slider, while also mixing in an 83 mph changeup and a 76 mph curveball.

Blake Snell allowed one run on six hits and a walk across six innings in a no-decision against New York on Saturday. He struck out nine. Snell scattered six singles throughout his six-inning stint, pitching very well along the way. His only blemish: a third-inning run on two singles, a walk, and a wild pitch. Snell has a 3.31 ERA and a 1.00 WHIP this season

Shane Bieber was dominant in a complete game shutout against the Orioles, scattering five hits while fanning 15 on 107 pitches (75 strikes, 65% strike rate). The 23-year-old has allowed three-plus runs in four of his 10 starts, but he is still 3-2 with a 3.22 ERA. He has punched out 69 in 58-2/3 innings this season. Bieber relies primarily on a 94 mph four-seam fastball with added backspin and an 85 mph 12-6 slider, while also mixing in a whiffy 82 mph curveball with exceptional bite, and a firm 88 mph changeup with arm-side fade and natural sink. Key Matchups: Ji-Man Choi (3-6, 2 2B), Brandon Lowe (1-4, BB), Tommy Pham (2-8, 2B, RBI, BB)

Chalie Morton gave up five uncharacteristic runs (three earned) on four hits and four walks while striking out six over four innings of work on Sunday. Morton was ineffective and inefficient, throwing 88 pitches (56 strikes, 64% strike rate) in his turn. Walks continue to be a problem: Over the last month, he has an impressive 10.5 K/9, yet a 3.7 BB/9 (2.84 K/BB).

Carlos Carrasco allowed three runs on seven hits and two walks while striking out four across five innings on Monday. Carrasco worked in and out of trouble constantly, allowing nine base runners. Beware the long ball: Home runs continue to plague the right-hander, as he carries a 1.7 HR/9 this season and gave up two solo shots in his last start. He has a 4-4 record with a 4.30 ERA in 10 starts this season. Key Matchups: Willy Adames (2-3), Erik Kratz (2-4), Brandon Lowe (2-6, 3B, HR, RBI), Tommy Pham (3-6, HR, RBI, BB), Andrew Velasquez (1-3)

Jalen Beeks put together an uncharacteristically bad outing on Tuesday, although he was BABIP’d to a large extent. In the fifth inning, after retiring seven batters in a row, Beeks allowed a one-out walk to Max Muncy, a stolen base, and a fly out to right — putting a runner at third with two outs. After Cody Bellinger walked, and Kike Hernandez rolled an RBI single to right, Corey Seager singled to right-center, making it 5-0 and chasing the left-hander. Even so, Beeks has a 3.13 ERA, 2.64 FIP, and a 9.08 K/9 on the season.

Trevor Bauer allowed four runs on four hits across six innings on Tuesday. He struck out five and walked four. Bauer struggled with his command for the second consecutive outing as he needed a season-high 123 pitches (73 strikes, 59% strike rate) to work through six frames. The right-hander has given up 11 earned runs — including three homers — and has a 1/1 K/BB in his last two outings. Bauer relies primarily on a whiffy 95 mph four-seam fastball, while also mixing in an 80 mph curveball with exceptional bite, a firm 87 mph changeup with arm-side fade, a whiffy 85 mph cutter with sink, and an 81 mph sweeping slider. Key Matchups: Ji-Man Choi (1-2, HR, 2 RBI, BB), Avisail Garcia (9-28, 3B, 2 HR, 5 RBI, 2 BB)

TNWN: Rays vs Dodgers — an Interleague series preview

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Brandon Lowe gave the Rays a short-lived 5-3 lead against the Yankees on Sunday. (Photo Credit: Tampa Bay Rays)

After a 3-3 road trip which left the Tampa Bay Rays in second place in the AL East, they will welcome the Los Angeles Dodgers into Tropicana Field for a brief, two-game series, starting Tuesday. The Rays are coming off a series loss against the New York Yankees, while the Dodgers won their three-game set against the Cincinnati Reds.

(Stats Credit: ESPN)

Tampa Bay dropped the rubber game of their set against New York and now face an extremely rough stretch over the next seven weeks in which they will play 47 games in 48 days. They will face Los Angeles, Minnesota, and Cleveland in the next couple of weeks before the next off-day.

All told, the Rays allowed 11 runs with two outs while the defense had more gaffes than Joe Biden, especially in the series finale. That’s the kind of stuff that cannot happen if they wish to remain toward the top of the AL East rankings.

The Dodgers won for the fifth time in six games when they rolled to an 8-3 victory in the rubber game against the Reds. They enter the series with a comfortable six-game lead over Arizona in the NL West. Los Angeles collected just six hits on the day but took advantage of nine walks along with a pair of wild pitches.

(Stats Credit: FanGraphs)

Over the last 14 days, the Rays and Dodgers have, essentially, been the same team in the batter’s box. However, Los Angeles has edged out Tampa Bay with a .433 SLG, a .191 ISO, a 106 wRC+, and a 3.5 wRAA. The Rays have also struck out more and walked less than LA.

Expect a low scoring series, as the Rays pitching staff has performed to a combined 2.95 ERA and 2.99 FIP (starters 2.40 ERA and 1.98 FIP, and relievers 3.38 ERA and 3.76 FIP) over the last 14 days, while the Dodgers have performed to an overall 1.60 ERA and 2.79 FIP (starters 1.55 ERA and 2.52 FIP, and relievers 1.75 ERA and 3.64 FIP) over the same stretch.

The pair split four games in 2016 with a -1 run differential between the two.

Pitching Probables

Over the next two days Kevin Cash will likely throw Jalen Beeks (3-0, 2.25 ERA) and Yonny Chirinos (5-1, 3.26 ERA), both of whom will follow an opener. Dave Roberts will respond with Clayton Kershaw (3-0, 3.40 ERA), and Rich Hill (1-1, 3.00 ERA).

(Stats Credit: FanGraphs)

Jalen Beeks picked up his third win of the season on Wednesday against the Marlins, allowing four hits across three scoreless innings. He struck out four. The left-hander continues to be impressive behind an opener, carrying a 2.25 ERA and 3.33 K/BB through 32 innings. Beeks should be fresh as he will be pitching on five days rest.

Clayton Kershaw gave up three runs on five hits and a walk while striking out five across seven innings. All three runs came by way of the long ball. Still, Kershaw navigated his way to a fourth quality start in five outings and earned his third win in his last four games. Kershaw’s velocity and strikeouts may be down, but he still carries a 3.40 ERA and 0.96 WHIP into his start against Tampa Bay. He relies primarily on a hard 87 mph slider and a whiffy 90 mph four-seam fastball which doesn’t boast much to any movement, while also mixing in a 74 mph 12-6 curveball with good downward bite. Kershaw is 1-0 with a 1.13 ERA in one career start against the Rays. Key Matchups: Travis d’Arnaud (1-2, BB), Avisail Garcia (2-2, BB)

Yonny Chirinos allowed four hits and struck out two over 4-2/3 shutout innings Friday night. Chirinos did his part after Ryne Stanek tossed the first two frames, as he nearly blanked the Yankees for five innings. The right-hander has allowed three runs or fewer in each of his past six appearances, allowing him to carry a 3.26 ERA with a 4.125 K/BB across 47 frames.

Rich Hill tossed six shutout innings while fanning 10 with no walks and two hits on Friday. The veteran southpaw needed just 84 pitches to record 18 outs, which is a pretty incredible seeing that 10 of those outs were punchouts. Through four starts, he is 1-1 with a 3.00 ERA, with a 1.05 WHIP, and 24 strikeouts across 21 innings. Hill relies primarily on a whiffy 91 mph four-seam fastball and a 75 mph curveball with exceptional bite and sweeping glove-side movement. He is 2-0 with a 4.82 ERA in 11 career outings (two starts) against the Rays. Key Matchups: Travis d’Arnaud (1-3), Guillermo Heredia (1-2)

TNWN: Rays look for a series win on Sunday in the Bronx

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Reasons to celebrate: The Rays won their first extra-inning ballgame on Saturday, 2-1, and retook sole possession of first place in the AL East. (Photo Credit: Tampa Bay Rays)

After moving back into first place in the AL East on Saturday, the Tampa Bay Rays (27-16) can push their lead to 1-1/2 games over the Yankees with a win this afternoon. A victory would also give the Rays a series win, and allow them to move 12 games over .500 for the first time this season.

Even though he didn’t have his best stuff on Saturday, Blake Snell allowed just one run on six hits and one walk over six innings. He struck out nine. Snell scattered six singles over the course of his outing, while the only blemish came on a third-inning run after he gave up two singles, a walk, and a wild pitch. The southpaw further lowered his ERA and FIP to 3.31 and 2.60 (respectively) and boasts a 1.00 WHIP thus far.

Snell credited 38-year-old journeyman catcher Erik Kratz on his cool, calm demeanor in yesterday’s contest.

For what I had, working with him, you could tell he’s a vet and knows what he’s doing. We talked every inning and were on the same page for the most part. It was fun to work with him, and I’m excited to work with him again. … He’s just very calm. … It was very mutual. … He’s very confident in what he’s doing and what he’s talking about.

— Blake Snell

Austin Meadows hit the decisive game-winning home run in the 11th inning.

Not only did he give the Rays the late advantage, but he also cut down Aaron Hicks at the plate as the outfielder got greedy and blew through a stop sign by the Yankees third-base coach.

All this one day after the revelation that New York’s paunchy southpaw, CC Sabathia, tried to intentionally hit Meadows with a pitch on Friday. Meadows initially didn’t think it was intentional, but when shown a video clip of Sabathia yelling toward his dugout saying, “I definitely was trying to hit his ass,” Meadows became utterly aware.

Seeing that afterward, obviously, he was trying to (hit me). You know CC, he’s been around a long time. He’s a competitor. He obviously wanted to take a shot there. … Obviously, we had a beef (between the teams) back and forth. It’s part of the game, honestly. Luckily, I didn’t get hit. But it is what it is.

— Austin Meadows

At the end of the day, Jośe Alvarado had a nice bounce-back performance as the Rays collected their first extra-inning win of the season — and moved back into first place by 1/2 game. They also improved to 3-8 in one-run games.

The New What Next

Charlie Morton (4-0, 2.32 ERA) will get the start for the Rays, pitching opposite of opener Chad Green (0-2, 13.97 ERA) on the one-year anniversary of Tampa Bay starting the new pitching strategy.

Charlie Morton pitched six shutout innings, scattering three hits while striking out five to earn the win in a 4-0 victory over the Marlins. The right-hander had one of his cleanest performances of the season Tuesday and got enough support to take the win. Morton has 61 punchouts over 50-1/3 innings (nine starts) this season and owns a 2.32 ERA and 1.13 WHIP. Morton is 2-1 with a 4.10 ERA in four career starts against the Yankees, and 1-1 with a 5.30 ERA in three starts at Yankee Stadium.

Chad Green allowed two runs in the eighth inning on Friday (one earned). In his prior appearance against the Rays, Green struck out the side. Key Matchups: Willy Adames (1-3, BB), Brandon Lowe (1-2, 2B, RBI), Daniel Roberts (1-2, 2B)

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

TNWN: Rays vs Yankees — a series preview, part two

Rays 5/19/19 Starting Lineup

  1. Meadows DH
  2. Pham LF
  3. Choi 1B
  4. Diaz 3B
  5. B. Lowe RF
  6. d’Arnaud C
  7. Kiermaier CF
  8. Adames SS
  9. Robertson 2B
  10. Morton RHP

Noteworthiness

— Matt Duffy (hamstring, back) played shortstop with the Class A Stone Crabs in Clearwater on Saturday. That opens the possibility Duffy could get some reps at short when he returns, given the lag in production from Willy Adames and Daniel Robertson.

— Whatcha got going on this afternoon?

TNWN: Rays vs Yankees — a series preview, part two

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Blake Snell will get the start on Saturday, pitching opposite of Masahiro Tanaka.

The Tampa Bay Rays will cap their five-game road trip in New York, where they will face the Yankees for the second consecutive weekend, starting Friday. Both teams are coming off two-game sweeps of the Marlins and Orioles respectively.

(Stats Credit: ESPN)

Even though the Rays were limited to five runs total by the Marlins over the last two days, Tampa Bay’s pitching staff held Miami’s offense scoreless over the span of the series (18 innings). They look to exact some revenge on the Yankees, who took two-of-three from the Rays last weekend.

That would appear to be an easy task on paper after all New York has underperformed the league average by 14% over the last 14 days (as it relates to wRC+). The -5.4 wRAA over the same stretch certainly doesn’t look too pretty either. On their end, the Rays have outperformed their rivals, posting a 103 wRC+ and a 1.6 wRAA over that same 14-day stretch.

However, the Rays learned a firsthand lesson last weekend: they, like most teams in the league, are no match for the backend of the Yankee’s A-bullpen. If they are going to take two-of-three — in the very least — from the Evil Empire, the Rays will have to strike early and often, and protect any leads they may hold.

(Stats Credit: FanGraphs)

With Anthony Bemboom hitting the IL along with catchers Michael Perez and Mike Zunino, the Rays acquired veteran backstop Erik Kratz from the Giants for either a player to be named later or cash.

Kratz was designated for assignment by the Giants earlier this week, and he will now suit up for the ninth different team in 10 big league seasons in which he slashed a combined .208 BA/.256 OBP/.360 SLG/.616 OPS/.266 wOBA lined, with an overall 3.8 fWAR. However, he is seven seasons removed from a 2.1 fWAR campaign with the Phillies. Kratz will back up Travis d’Arnaud, himself a recent acquisition, and it’s probably safe to assume that his time with the Rays will be short as players begin to return from injury.

Whatever the case, Kratz is expected to join the team on Friday, while Aaron Slegers was designated for assignment to make room for the catcher.

Rays Pitching Probables

Over the next three days, Kevin Cash will lean on bulk innings guy Yonny Chirinos ()5-1, 3.61 ERA, Blake Snell (3-4, 3.56 ERA), and Charlie Morton (4-0, 2.32 ERA). Aaron Boone will counter with CC Sabathia (2-1, 3.26 ERA), Masahiro Tanaka (3-3, 3.44 ERA), and a pitcher to be named before the series finale on Sunday.

(Stats Credit: FanGraphs)

Yonny Chirinos earned the win against New York on Saturday, allowing two runs on four hits over four innings. He struck out two and walked one. Chirinos followed opener Ryne Stanek in the third inning, and while he wasn’t at his best, Tampa Bay scored five runs between the sixth and eighth innings to lock up his victory. The right-hander has a 3.61 ERA, 0.92 WHIP, and a 3.88 K/BB across 42-1/3 innings. Chirinos is 3-1 with a 3.07 ERA in 14-2/3 innings against the Yankees.

CC Sabathia struck out two and allowed two runs on three hits and four walks across five innings on Saturday. The slovenly southpaw was removed after five frames despite throwing only 76 pitches (49 strikes, 64% strike rate), only to see the ‘pen immediately relinquish two runs after his exit. Sabathia has yet to complete six frames this season and has allowed three runs or fewer in all but one outing. He is now 17-16 with a 3.67 ERA across 49 career starts against the Rays. Key Matchups: Travis d’Arnaud (2-6, 2 BB), Yandy Diaz (1-3, HR, RBI), Avisail Garcia (4-16, 2 2B, HR, 3 RBI, BB), Guillermo Heredia (3-11, 2 2B, BB), Kevin Kiermaier (5-16, 2 HR, 2 RBI)

Blake Snell allowed two runs on four hits and two walks while striking out 12 over 5-2/3 on Sunday. Snell was cruising until an RBI double from Mike Tauchman and an RBI single from DJ LeMahieu in the fifth inning saddled him with his fourth loss of the season. The southpaw was dominant despite the loss, getting 26 swinging strikes in his start. He has allowed two runs with a 10.5 K/BB over his last two turns. Snell is 3-5 with a 4.25 ERA in 12 career starts against the Yankees, and 1-4 with a 5.63 ERA at Yankee Stadium.

Masahiro Tanaka allowed one run on five hits while striking out seven over seven innings on Sunday. A home run by Austin Meadows was the only damage given up by Tanaka en route his third win of the season. The right-hander did not give up a walk after allowing at least two in five of his last six starts. The long ball continues to be a problem for Tanaka as he has allowed home runs in each of his last seven starts. He is now 9-4 with a 3.54 ERA in 15 career starts against Tampa Bay. Key Matchups: Willy Adames (2-7, 2B, RBI), Ji-Man Choi (3-8, 2B, BB), Yandy Diaz (1-3), Avaisail Garcia (5-16, 2B, RBI, BB), Guillermo Heredia (1-4), Kevin Kiermaier (7-26, 2B, 3B, HR, RBI, BB), Brandon Lowe (2-7, 2B), Austin Meadows (1-3, HR, RBI), Tommy Pham (3-8, 2B, HR, 2 RBI)

Charlie Morton pitched six shutout innings, scattering three hits while striking out five to earn the win in a 4-0 victory over the Marlins. The right-hander had one of his cleanest performances of the season Tuesday and got enough support to take the win. Morton has 61 punchouts over 50-1/3 innings (nine starts) this season and owns a 2.32 ERA and 1.13 WHIP. Morton is 2-1 with a 4.10 ERA in four career starts against the Yankees, and 1-1 with a 5.30 ERA in three starts at Yankee Stadium.

NY Pitcher TBA