X-Rays Spex

A Below Average Rays Fan Blog

TNWN: Rays look to force a Game 7 on Tuesday

By Leave a Comment

Globe Life Field, home of the Texas Rangers and the 2020 World Series.

After one last off-day, the Tampa Bay Rays look to even the series at three games apiece and force one last ball game, when they face the Los Angeles Dodgers on Tuesday, in Arlington. The Dodgers have a three-games-to-two advantage over the Rays in the 2020 World Series.

The Rays are 5-1 in elimination games over the past two postseasons. Los Angeles, meanwhile, has won all three of its games in the 2020 postseason when they had a chance to close out the opposing team.

While Tyler Glasnow proved ineffective in his Sunday night start against the Dodgers — thus solidifying his position as the hard-hit% king of the postseason — the rest of Tampa Bay’s pitching staff kept Los Angeles in check across four scoreless frames on Sunday. Put another way, Diego Castillo, Aaron Loup, Ryan Sherriff, and Ryan Thompson proved that the Dodgers can be pitched to. And instead of trying to throw the nastiest pitches possible, resulting in whiffy K after whiffy K, the above mentioned four-headed beast forced contact and allowed the fielders behind them to gobble up balls put in play. Blake Snell, who will get the start on Tuesday, would be well served to take after the latter named four hurlers as opposed to Glasnow.

While the Rays might be down, they certainly are not out. Bear in mind one simple fact: neither Tampa Bay nor Los Angeles has strung together two consecutive wins in the 2020 World Series. The Rays have already proved they can get to Tony Gonsolin, and if they can win Tuesday night, they can force a game seven and push things back into coinflip territory.

Neil Solondz (Rays Radio) put things in perspective, writing,

It would be a tremendous accomplishment, especially considering the opponent. Los Angeles has led for all but the final play of game four for 27 consecutive innings. They’ve hit multiple homers in eight straight playoff games, scored at least four runs in every game of the World Series, and have gone a combined 55–22 between the regular season and postseason. All while being the top scoring team and run prevention team this year in MLB.

Of any team that could beat that Dodgers club two games in a row, it would be the Rays. Think about what they’ve done this year:

  • Had the best record in the American League (40–20), something that only previously happened in 2010.
  • Won not one but two winner-take-all playoff games, not including wildcard games, something they had done just once in all previous seasons combined.
  • Beat the Yankees in their first-ever playoff series against them.
  • Avenged last year’s loss in the ALDS to Houston by beating the Astros to advance to the World Series.
  • Won more World Series games than any previous Tampa Bay team.
  • Set an MLB record for HR in the postseason.
  • Had their third ever walk-off victory in the playoffs, and it came in a historic game four of the World Series.

Plus Randy Arozarena has had arguably the best postseason in the history of the game.

The hope is that two great chapters remain in this story, but it’s important to appreciate that, in the most trying of years, this already has been the most successful season the franchise has had.

The New What Next

Blake Snell got the start last Wednesday and looked great through the first 4-2/3 innings, holding the Dodgers hitless while striking out nine and walking two — including a perfect 10-pitch first inning. At one point he retired 10 straight batters, six via the strikeout. Yet, the left-hander’s demeanor changed after he walked Kiké Hernández on five pitches two outs in the fifth. Then four pitches later, Snell grooved a 77 mph over the inner third of the plate to Chris Taylor, who inside outed the ball and sent it to right-field for a two-run homer. Six pitches later his night was done after he walked Mookie Betts. Snell looked great until he didn’t, throwing 88 pitches (49 strikes, 56% strike rate) while coaxing 14 swinging strikes (27% SwStr%).

Tony Gonsolin allowed one run on a solo homer to Brandon Lowe and also issued a walk while serving as an opener in game two of the World Series. He struck out one. The 26-year-old threw 16 of his 29 pitches for strikes (55% strike rate) and recorded a first-pitch strike on four of the six batters he faced. The right-hander has now allowed eight earned runs in 7-2/3 postseason innings. He hasn’t had much success in that span, posting a 9.39 ERA and a 1.70 WHIP while walking 19.4% of opposing batters.

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

TNWN: Rays vs. Dodgers — a World Series preview

Rays 10/27/20 Starting Lineup

  1. Díaz DH
  2. Lowe 2B
  3. Arozarena LF
  4. Choi 1B
  5. Margot RF
  6. Wendle 3B
  7. Adames SS
  8. Kiermaier CF
  9. Zunino C

Noteworthiness

— From Neil’s lips to your ears: “A key for the Rays will be getting an early lead. in the last three games Los Angeles has scored in the first inning each time. Tampa Bay only led in game four when Brandon Lowe homered for a 5–4 advantage that didn’t last the next half inning, and on the game’s final play. Tampa Bay is 32–7 this year when scoring first (regular season and postseason combined).”

— Rays skipper Kevin Cash plans to be aggressive with the bullpen tonight. Neither Pete Fairbanks nor Nick Anderson pitched on Sunday, so they’ve both had two days off.

TNWN: Rays look to even the series against Julio Urias

By Leave a Comment

Put bluntly, the Rays will need a little more cage work should they face Walker Buehler again. (Photo Credit: Tampa Bay Rays)

After dropping game three of the 2020 World Series on Friday, the Tampa Bay Rays look to even the series, once again, tonight. The Dodgers were the highest-scoring team in baseball during the regular season, and they have plated 18 runs, and hit seven homers, in the first three games of the series.

The Rays were depending heavily on Charlie Morton — winner of all five of his previous playoff starts with Tampa Bay — who entered Friday’s contest with a 7-2 postseason record and a 2.88 postseason ERA. However, a quality start was not in the cards for the right-hander, as Morton hurled a 4.1 IP/5 ER/7 Hit/1 BB outing on 91 pitches (58 strikes, 64% strike rate, 24% SwStr%). Four of the five runs Morton surrendered were of the two-out variety. He surrendered a first-inning homer to Justin Turner, a two-RBI single in the third on a full-count pitch, and two runs in the fifth on a safety squeeze bunt and an RBI base hit. Morton departed after a one-out walk in the fifth, thanks to an uncharacteristically shaky outing at a rather inopportune time.

Meanwhile, Tampa Bay’s hitters had a difficult time figuring out Walker Buehler, who allowed just three hits across six innings, while striking out 10 and walking two. The only run the right-hander allowed came during the fifth inning when he gave up a one-out double to Manuel Margot, and a two-out RBI double to Willy Adames. Otherwise, Buehler and the Dodgers’ ‘pen held the big-boppers in the Rays lineup — Randy Arozarena, Brandon Lowe, Austin Meadows, Ji-Man Choi, Joey Wendle, and Mike Zunino — to 2-17 with 11 punchouts. Buehler has now given just five runs in 25 postseason frames.

To his credit, Arozarena did homer off Kenley Jansen with two outs in the ninth inning — his first homer of the World Series. Arozarena now has eight homers in the postseason, setting a new franchise record, while tying the MLB record for one postseason. RAAAAAAAANDY now has 23 postseason hits — the most for an MLB rookie — allowing him to pass Derek Jeter … but RE2PECT, or whatever. Per Neil Solondz (Rays Radio), Arozrena’s 52 total bases are the most in any playoff run.

To their credit, the Rays bullpen was pretty darn good across the 4-2/3 innings after Morton’s departure, allowing just one run on a homer off right-hander John Curtiss. Tampa Bay’s pitching staff has fanned at least 10 batters in each game of the series, yet the starters have allowed 13 runs on 12 hits and 11 walks over 13-1/3 innings. In contrast, the bullpen has surrendered four runs in 12-2/3 innings.

The New What Next

Ryan Yarbrough (1-0, 3.60 ERA) will get the start Saturday, pitching opposite of Julio Urias (4-0, 0.56 ERA).

Ryan Yarbrough allowed two runs on three hits and two walks while striking out five over five innings on Tuesday in game three of the ALCS against the Astros. The left-hander picked up the start in a critical game in the series and followed through with a solid outing. He allowed a solo shot in the first inning, although he was effective the rest of the way before he surrendered a leadoff home run in the sixth inning which resulted in his removal. Yarbrough has never faced the Dodgers. Yarbrough has made two other postseason appearances, surrendering two runs in five innings in each outing against New York and Houston. The Dodgers were better against right-hander (.837 OPS) than left-handers (.778 OPS) during the regular season.

Julio Urias finished game seven of the NLCS, and has been fantastic during the playoffs. He has yet to throw more than five innings in an outing, although Urias has allowed just one earned run total in 16 total innings of work. The left-hander has given up just seven hits and three walks while striking out 16. Right-handed hitters were significantly better against Urias than left-handed hitters (.647 OPS vs .491 OPS) in 2020. He relies primarily on a whiffy 94 mph four-seam fastball with little arm-side movement, while also mixing in an 84 mph slider that sweeps across the zone and has some two-plane movement, an 80 mph hard curveball that has sweeping glove-side movement, and a firm 86 mph changeup.

You can read about the series in our preview, while the starting lineup is below.

TNWN: Rays vs. Dodgers — a World Series preview

Rays 10/24/20 Starting Lineup

    null
  1. Diaz 1B
  2. Arozarena DH
  3. Brosseau 3B
  4. Margot LF
  5. Lowe 2B
  6. Adames SS
  7. Renfroe RF
  8. Zunino C
  9. Kiermaier CF

TNWN: Rays look to continue their winning ways on Friday, in Game Three

By Leave a Comment

Congratulations all around. (Photo Credit: Tampa Bay Rays)

After defeating the Los Angeles Dodgers on Wednesday, 6-4, not to mention the previously scheduled off-day, the 2020 World Series will resume play on Friday, when the Tampa Bay Rays take the field as the home team.

Brandon Lowe was a big part of the Rays win in the second game of the set, hitting two home runs while driving in three runs. Lowe became the first player in World Series history with two opposite-field homers in a single game, and the fifth player to do it in a postseason contest. He is quietly and incrementally snapping out of his malaise, as the Rays versatile IN/OF is now 5-for-his-last-21 (.238 BA), with three home runs, five runs scored, and four RBI across his last five games. And while that .238 BA might not be eye-popping, consider that he entered play yesterday with a .107 postseason batting average and that three of his last five hits are of the XBH variety.

The Rays also scored four two-out runs on Wednesday, after having scored none on Tuesday.Note: I will update this piece as any pre-game notes are made available.

Tampa Bay likely will have all its key arms available out of the bullpen. Of note though, if the Rays fall behind, Kevin Cash could be more conservative with using which reliever and when, especially since Saturday is projected to be an opener(s) and bulk guy kind of game. If they are in the game though, expect Cash to lean heavily on Nick Anderson, Pete Fairbanks, and Diego Castillo,

The New What Next

Charlie Morton (3-0, 0.57 ERA) will get the start on Friday, pitching opposite of Walker Buehler (1-0, 1.89 ERA).

Charlie Morton pushed in his best outing of the season, allowing just two hits across 5-2/3 efficient innings, while striking out six and walking one on 66 pitches (48 strikes, 73% strike rate, 15% SwStr%). Over the first five frames, Morton allowed just one base hit — to Michael Brantley — while striking out five on 49 pitches. Yet, Houston made things interesting in the sixth with the Rays ahead by three. Martín Maldonado walked on four pitches with one out. George Springer followed by grounding into a 5-4 fielder’s choice for the second out. After Jose Altuve worked the count full, and with Springer was on the move, Altuve beat out a chopper to third to put runners on the corners with two outs. Given that Morton’s OPS increased to 1.006 the third time through the order, Rays skipper Kevin Cash called upon Nick Anderson in the high leverage situation. Anderson got Brantley to ground out to second on the second pitch of the at-bat, ending the threat.

Walker Buehler struck out six batters while allowing seven hits and zero walks across six scoreless frames in his last start against Atlanta. Buehler was staked to a three-run lead in the bottom of the first inning, which proved to be all the Dodgers would need in their 3-1 win. The right-hander loaded the bases on three consecutive singles to open the top of the second, but he escaped the jam with a pair of strikeouts and a groundout. He was rarely in much trouble the rest of the way. Buehler opened the regular season with a 5.21 ERA in his first four starts but cruised to a 1.53 ERA in his final four appearances and has a 1.89 ERA in four playoff starts. Buehler relies primarily on a whiffy 97 mph four-seam fastball with some added backspin, while also mixing in a firm 82 mph curveball with exceptional bite and slight glove-side movement, a whiffy 93 mph cutter, an 87 mph Slider that sweeps across the zone and boasts two-plane movement, and a 97 mph sinker with little sinking action. Key Matchup: Manuel Margot (1-4, HR)

You can read about the series in our preview, while the starting lineup is below.

TNWN: Rays vs. Dodgers — a World Series preview

Rays 10/23/20 Starting Lineup

  1. Meadows DH
  2. Lowe 2B
  3. Arozarena LF
  4. Choi 1B
  5. Margot RF
  6. Wendle 3B
  7. Adames SS
  8. Kiermaier CF
  9. Zunino C

Noteworthiness

— The Dodgers have been particularly careful with Randy Arozarena: He has walked three times. With the Rays finally starting to pick up the offense a bit, Arozarena may finally see some pitches to hit.

TNWN: Rays look to bounce back in game two of the World Series

By Leave a Comment


These guys went 0-5 last night. (Photo Credit: Tampa Bay Rays)

After dropping the first game of the 2020 World Series on Tuesday, 8-3, the Tampa Bay Rays look to even things tonight with Blake Snell on the mound. The Rays were able to bounce back and win in the ALDS against the Yankees after being outscored 9-4 in game one. The Dodgers are the last team to lose the World Series after dropping the initial contest (2017).

Even though Kevin Kiermaier gave the Rays their first run of the Series on a solo shot to right (becoming the fourth player in franchise history to homer in the World Series), two worms reared their ugly heads again last night: deep counts by the starter led to a bevy of runs, and Tampa Bay couldn’t drive in runs with runners in scoring position; they went 2-5 wRISP last night.

Tyler Glasnow got the start and couldn’t keep the Dodgers down. That was due to six free passes. Over his first three frames, Glasnow allowed two walks and a hit while striking out five. However, in the fourth, Max Muncy started the frame by walking on five pitches, then moved into second when Will Smith bounced out slowly to third. Cody Bellinger followed with a two-run homer into the Rays bullpen for a two-run lead. Then in the fifth, Glasnow allowed two more runs on a walk, three stolen bases, and a pair of base hits. The right-hander gave up just three hits, although his six walks were the most he’s allowed with Tampa Bay. Otherwise, he fanned eight on 112 pitches (58 strikes, 52% strike rate, 17% SwStr%).

Snell, who has a history of deep counts and trying to be too nasty instead of forcing contact, will need to learn from Glasnow and limit the free passes. The left-hander is coming off a start against Houston where he gave up four walks in four-plus innings in game six of the Championship Series. Snell’s 12.5% walk rate this season was his highest since his rookie year of 2016.

The New What Next

Blake Snell (2-2, 3.20 ERA) will get the start in game two of the World Series, pitching opposite of Tony Gonsolin (0-1, 9.95 ERA)

Blake Snell allowed two earned runs on three hits and four walks while striking out four across four innings in game six of the ALCS. Snell was pulled having thrown just 82 pitches (45 strikes, 55% strike rate, 18% SwStr%) after allowing the first two batters of the fifth inning to reach base. He, however, was unsteady through the first four — allowing at least one baserunner in three — yet the only run charged to him came after he exited the game.

Tony Gonsolin made two appearances in the NLCS and gave up seven runs over 6-1/3 innings, while walking six, and striking out eight. He, however, has just a 2.60 ERA over his 87 MLB innings over the past two seasons. Gonsolin relies primarily on a 95 mph four-seam fastball and a whiffy 85 mph splitter with some slight arm-side fade, while also mixing in an 88 mph hard slider, and an 82 mph 12-6 curveball with exceptional bite.

You can read about the series in our preview while the starting lineup is below.

TNWN: Rays vs. Dodgers — a World Series preview

Rays 10/21/20 Starting Lineup

  1. Meadows DH
  2. Lowe 2B
  3. Arozarena LF
  4. Choi 1B
  5. Margot RF
  6. Wendle 3B
  7. Adames SS
  8. Kiermaier CF
  9. Zunino C

TNWN: Rays vs. Dodgers — a World Series preview

By Leave a Comment

World Series bound. (Photo Credit: Tampa Bay Rays)

After making their way through the 16-team playoff bracket, as well as three postseason series, the two top-seeded teams will square off against one another in the 2020 World Series. Both the Tampa Bay Rays and Los Angeles Dodgers are coming off dramatic game seven victories in their respective League Championship Series.

Tampa Bay enters play with three of their top hitters — Brandon Lowe, Yandy Díaz, and Willy Adames — offering the team little in the way of offensive help, having slashed a combined .109 BA/.268 OBP/.124 SLG/.392 OPS with just three extra-base hits in 129 postseason at-bats. This, despite the fact that the three of them posted a wRC+ of 120 or better in at least 100 regular-season plate appearances. Austin Meadows has been all but absent too with the exception of two well-timed home runs. Even so, Lowe, and to an extent Mike Zunino, appear to be breaking out of their offensive slumbers, having gone a combined 6-21 (.286 BA), with four runs, three RBI, and two homers in the last three ball games. Their bats, ideally, should complement those of Randy Arozarena and Manuel Margot, both of whom have carried the Rays during the postseason.

Speaking of Arozarena, Jay Jaffe (FanGraphs) put it best:

Arozarena collected five other hits as well, and batted .321/.367/.786 while driving in six runs. In winning LCS MVP honors, he joined the Orioles’ Mike Boddicker (1983 ALCS), the Marlins’ Livan Hernandez (1997 NCS), and the Cardinals’ Michael Wacha (2013 NLCS) — all pitchers — as the only rookies to win the award; Hernandez also won the World Series MVP award, lest Arozarena need to set another goal. They don’t give Division Series MVP awards, but his .421/.476/.895 showing with three home runs against the Yankees, and for that matter his .500/.556/1.000 performance in the Wild Card Series against the Blue Jays, might have garnered him additional hardware. The dude is en fuego, hitting a combined .382/.433/.855 through 60 postseason plate appearances, with 11 of his 21 hits going for extra bases (three doubles, one triple, seven homers).

— Jay Jaffe

Tampa Bay has been a little too home run happy in the postseason, but who am I to judge? After all, the Rays find themselves four victories away from winning it all. Nevertheless, they will need to do more than just hit dingers. Ji-Man Choi reached base three times in each of his last two starts, and that’s a start. Diaz has not squared up a ball, yet he has walked more than he’s struck out. Getting Choi and Diaz going (along with the aforementioned Lowe, Adames, and Meadows) will create more balance for a group that has had just three players carry the offense.

The question begs, Can Tampa Bay stop Los Angeles’ potent offense? The Dodgers scored nearly six runs per game versus their NL West and AL West opponents this season. That’s due in part to their depth. While the Rays can mix and match with the best of them, Los Angeles has the ability to send star-after-star to the plate. Dan Szymborski (FanGraphs) made an apt analogy, it “is a bit like having an opponent who is allowed to angrily shove all of the (chess) pieces off the board and start over.”

The Dodgers simply do better in slugfests than the Rays do, even when they’re on the wrong side of them: in games that start with the opposing team scoring four runs in the top of the first, the Dodgers still project to win 8% of the time, while the Rays can only boast 3% odds. This holds true for all similar scenarios.

— Dan Szymborski

The Dodgers led all of baseball in home runs this season (118) and had five players reach double digits. Tampa Bay had just one player with a double-digit home run total: Brandon Lowe (14).

It will be incumbent upon the Rays to limit the free passes and keep the Dodgers in the park. That, however, is easier said than done. Still, as Neil Solondz (Rays Radio) noted, “the Rays were able to out-homer Houston 11-9 and the Yankees 11-10. The closer the teams are to a wash in this category, the better the chances for Tampa Bay to win the World Series.”

Pitching Probables

Rays manager Kevin Cash will lean on Tyler Glasnow (2-1, 4.66 ERA), Blake Snell (2-2, 3.20 ERA), Charlie Morton (3-0, 0.57 ERA), and likely Ryan Yarbrough (1-0, 3.60 ERA) in the front four games. Given the two off-days built into the World Series schedule, that would set the front three hurlers for games five, six, and seven. Dave Roberts will counter with Clayton Kershaw (2-1, 3.32 ERA) in game one, a hurler to be named before game two, Walker Buehler (1-0, 1.89 ERA) in game three, and hurlers to be named before games four and five.

I will update this piece as the situation becomes clear.

Tyler Glasnow got the start on Wednesday and he was good, but not great. The right-hander allowed four runs on eight hits and two walks while striking out five on 96 pitches (55 strikes, 57% strike rate, 20% SwStr). Glasnow allowed a first-inning solo shot and an RBI double in the third inning to Jose Altuve, and a two-run blast to George Springer on a 99 mph, 3-1 fastball with the game scored knotted up at two in the bottom of the fifth. Yet, he also limited the damage by inducing weak contact and six ground balls. It was a rare power outburst against a hurler that maintained a 1.73 HR/9 in 2020 (and a 0.59 HR/9 in 2019). Glasnow enters his next start — assuming the Rays move on to the World Series — with a 4.66 ERA, 5.88 FIP, 1.29 WHIP, and a 3.1 K/BB across 19-1/3 playoff innings.

Clayton Kershaw surrendered four runs on seven hits and one walk over five-plus innings in game four of the NLCS. He struck out four. Kershaw only gave up a solo homer to Marcell Ozuna during his outing, although he allowed a single and back-to-back doubles to start the sixth before being removed. It should be noted that the southpaw has not been healthy, as he has been dealing with some back issues. Kershaw is 2-0 with a 1.88 ERA in two career starts against Tampa Bay, however, he maintains a 4.31 postseason ERA extending back to 2008. The left-hander relies primarily on a hard 88 mph worm-killer slider and a 92 mph four-seam fastball which is straight as an arrow and has some added backspin, while also mixing in a 74 mph 12-6 curveball with exceptional bite.

Blake Snell allowed two earned runs on three hits and four walks while striking out four across four innings in game six of the ALCS. Snell was pulled having thrown just 82 pitches (45 strikes, 55% strike rate, 18% SwStr%) after allowing the first two batters of the fifth inning to reach base. He, however, was unsteady through the first four — allowing at least one baserunner in three — yet the only run charged to him came after he exited the game.

TBA

Charlie Morton pushed in his best outing of the season, allowing just two hits across 5-2/3 efficient innings, while striking out six and walking one on 66 pitches (48 strikes, 73% strike rate, 15% SwStr%). Over the first five frames, Morton allowed just one base hit — to Michael Brantley — while striking out five on 49 pitches. Yet, Houston made things interesting in the sixth with the Rays ahead by three. Martín Maldonado walked on four pitches with one out. George Springer followed by grounding into a 5-4 fielder’s choice for the second out. After Jose Altuve worked the count full, and with Springer was on the move, Altuve beat out a chopper to third to put runners on the corners with two outs. Given that Morton’s OPS increased to 1.006 the third time through the order, Rays skipper Kevin Cash called upon Nick Anderson in the high leverage situation. Anderson got Brantley to ground out to second on the second pitch of the at-bat, ending the threat.

Walker Buehler struck out six batters while allowing seven hits and zero walks across six scoreless frames in his last start against Atlanta. Buehler was staked to a three-run lead in the bottom of the first inning, which proved to be all the Dodgers would need in their 3-1 win. The right-hander loaded the bases on three consecutive singles to open the top of the second, but he escaped the jam with a pair of strikeouts and a groundout. He was rarely in much trouble the rest of the way. Buehler opened the regular season with a 5.21 ERA in his first four starts but cruised to a 1.53 ERA in his final four appearances and has a 1.89 ERA in four playoff starts. Buehler relies primarily on a whiffy 97 mph four-seam fastball with some added backspin, while also mixing in a firm 82 mph curveball with exceptional bite and slight glove-side movement, a whiffy 93 mph cutter, an 87 mph Slider that sweeps across the zone and boasts two-plane movement, and a 97 mph sinker with little sinking action. Key Matchup: Manuel Margot (1-4, HR)

Ryan Yarbrough allowed two runs on three hits and two walks while striking out five over five innings on Tuesday in game three of the ALCS against the Astros. The left-hander picked up the start in a critical game in the series and followed through with a solid outing. He allowed a solo shot in the first inning, although he was effective the rest of the way before he surrendered a leadoff home run in the sixth inning which resulted in his removal. Yarbrough has never faced the Dodgers.

TBA

Noteworthiness

— Rays pitching Staff: 3.56 ERA/3.94 FIP overall (starters 3.77 ERA/4.25 FIP, relievers 3.37 ERA/3.65 FIP vs. the Dodgers pitching staff: 3.02 ERA/3.79 FIP (starters 3.29 ERA/4.11 FIP, relievers 2.74 ERA/3.45 FIP)

— Tampa Bay 98’ers, meet the other stable. Although the World Series rosters have not been set, Los Angeles is likely to have as many as eight pitchers whose fastballs averaged 95 mph or faster this season.

— The Rays made a couple of moves on Tuesday, adding LHP Ryan Sherriff and OF Brett Phillips to the World Series roster. To clear space for Sherriff and Phillips, Tampa Bay removed LHP Jose Alvarado and RHP Aaron Slegers from the roster.

Sherriff did not allow a run over 10 regular season appearances (9-2/3 innings) although he has not been active in the postseason. The move gives Tampa Bay six southpaws among the 13 pitchers, with Sherriff joining Blake Snell, Ryan Yarbrough, Josh Fleming, Aaron Loup, and Shane McClanahan. Keeping Fleming and McClanahan provides length for Kevin Cash.

Per Neil Solondz, the decision on Alvarado may have come down to strike throwing, as he walked three straight batters in game six.

Phillips was active in the Wildcard series and Division Series, although he was not on the ALCS roster when Tampa Bay went with 14 pitchers. With Kevin Kiermaier battling a bad wrist after being hit by a 99 mph pitch in the Championship Series, Phillips provides additional defensive insurance, as well as the ability to pinch-run and pinch-hit. It also will give the Rays a six-man bench.

— “This is what you play for.”

— The City of St. Pete will be hosting Rays/World Series watch parties for all seven games at the new Pier (which is awesome if you haven’t yet gone there). The game will be aired live on a giant screen. It bears mentioning: Each watch party will be a socially distant gathering, where masks are strongly encouraged. You can find out more at the link.