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TNWN: Rays look to bounce back from back-to-back losses; roster moves

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  • The Rays fell to the Red Sox, 6-4, in front of a good-sized crowd at the Trop last night. (Photo Credit: X-Rays Spex)

The Tampa Bay Rays will look snap a two-game skid and even their three-game series against the Boston Red Sox on Saturday. The Rays, which still have the best record in baseball, dropped back-to-back games for the first time this season after a 6-4 loss on Friday.

After giving up nine total runs in the previous eight games at the Trop, the Rays have allowed 12 runs in their last two contests. Per Neil Solondz (Rays Radio), the three homers hit by Red Sox were the most the group has hit in a game in April, and the second most this season (four at Seattle 3/29).

Rays skipper Kevin Cash suggested that the bullpen workload could’ve been an issue. That being said, leaning on Wilmer Font, who now has allowed eight runs total over his last six outings (7-1/3 innings of work), might not have been the best decision. Whatever the case, the focus shifts to winning today, giving the team a chance to extend its series winning streak to seven.

We’ve done a good job finding ways to win series. We still want to put ourselves in position, and the only way we can do that is come out and play good and win.

— Kevin Cash

Bulk innings guy Ryan Yarbrough, who allowed three runs last night, said the challenge now is to make sure this is not the start of something.

We’re not freaking out or anything like that. We kind of know where we’re at. We have Charlie (Morton) going (Saturday), and we have a lot of confidence in him. Our offense has been great so far this year. We’re not really too concerned. It’s just more about executing pitches and see what happens.

— Ryan Yarbrough

The New What Next

Charlie Morton (2-0, 2.18 ERA) will try to keep Boston in check tonight, pitching opposite of Rick Porcello (0-3, 11.12 ERA).

Charlie Morton allowed one run on four hits and three walks while striking out four over 4-2/3 innings on Sunday against Toronto. Morton surrendered the only run of his start in the first inning, but he managed to close out his day with 3-2/3 scoreless frames. He was pulled from the game needing one more out to qualify for the win. The right-hander hasn’t allowed more than two runs in any of his first four outings of the season and owns a 2.18 ERA with 25 strikeouts across 20-2/3 innings.

Rick Porcello allowed three runs on six hits and five walks while fanning two in a loss to the Orioles on Saturday. Porcello, who threw just 48 of 90 pitches for strikes (53% strike rate), had traffic in every inning and now has walked 12 in 11-1/3 innings. He told Michael Silverman of the Boston Herald that he’s rushing his delivery but hasn’t been able to correct it. Porcello relies primarily on a 92 mph worm-killer four-seam fastball and a whiffy 90 mph sinker, while also mixing in an 82 mph palm ball changeup, an 86 mph slider with 12-6 movement, and a 76 mph curveball with glove-side movement. Key Matchups: Willy Adames (1-4), Ji-Man Choi (2-8, 2B, RBI), Avisail Garcia (8-22, 2B, HR, 6 RBI, BB), Brandon Lowe (1-1), Daniel Robertson (2-5), Joey Wendle (5-12, 2B, BB), Mike Zunino (3-10, HR, 2 RBI)

You can read about the series in our preview, and I’ll post the starting lineup upon availability.

TNWN: Rays vs Red Sox — a series preview

Rays 4/20/19 Starting Lineup

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

Noteworthiness

— In need of a fresh arm to cover innings if necessary, Casey Sadler — who made his debut with the Rays last night — was optioned back to Triple-A Durham. To fill the open spot on the roster, RHP Jake Faria was recalled.

— Joey Wendle (hamstring) told Marc Topkin (Tampa Bay Times) he felt ready to be activated from the IL after testing his injury in instructional league games this week. His reinstatement will be predicated on whether the team needs to keep need an extra pitcher for Saturday and Sunday.

— Blake Snell (fractured toe) will throw a bullpen Saturday with hopes of being activated from the IL next week. He can be activated as early as April 24.

— Jose De Leon reportedly felt great after making a post-Tommy John surgery start in an extended Spring Training contest in Port Charlotte. the right-hander threw 18 of 22 pitches for strikes (82%) over 1-1/3 innings with four strikeouts. He will make at least two more extended spring starts before starting a 30-day rehab assignment.

Rays 4/19/19 pre-game notes; roster moves

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Catcher Nick Ciuffo has been recalled to take the place of Mike Zunino, who was placed on paternity leave Friday.

The Tampa Bay Rays look to bounce back from a 6-5, extra innings loss when they open a three-game set against the Boston Red Sox on Friday. The Rays made a handful of roster moves ahead of the 7:10 first pitch.

Since Tampa Bay used six pitchers last night, the team has made a roster move today to provide a fresh arm to the bullpen. Additionally, Mike Zunino has been placed on the paternity list ahead of the birth of him, and his wife Alyssa’s first child.

Nick Ciuffo has been recalled from Triple-A Durham to fill in behind Michael Perez, Casey Sadler — who is 0-0 with a 2.57 ERA in seven innings over two appearances while striking out 13 at Triple-A Durham — has been promoted, and Emilio Pagan was optioned back to Durham. In order to make room for Sadler on the 40-man roster, Jose De Leon was moved to the 60-day IL.

Meanwhile, former Rays hurler Erasmo Ramirez has been designated for assignment by the Boston Red Sox, who promoted a pair of infielders. The specifics around those particular roster moves are unimportant because, well, this isn’t a Red Sox blog.

Speaking of the Red Sox though, the Rays will face (I know, poor word choice) the reigning, and abysmal, World Series champs for the first time this season. And while this is, by and large, the same team that won 108 games last season, Boston has the worst run differential in the American League at -42.

The New What Next

Opener Ryne Stanek (0-0, 1.93 ERA) will get the start for the Rays tonight and will likely be followed by Ryan Yarbrough (2-1, 4.82 ERA). They will pitch opposite of left-hander Eduardo Rodriguez (1-2, 7.98 ERA).

Ryne Stanek worked around a hit while striking out three in one inning of work as the opener on Wednesday. The right-hander gave way to Yonny Chirinos after throwing 14 pitches (10 for strikes, 71% strike rate). Stanek now has a 1.93 ERA and 6.5 K/BB through 9-1/3 innings.

Ryan Yarbrough picked up the win after tossing two scoreless frames and striking out one on Friday. The southpaw was efficient on the mound, needing just 16 total pitches (12 strikes) to get through six batters. Yarbrough was coming off a disastrous outing Saturday against San Francisco (allowing four runs allowed across three innings) but managed to get back on track in the 11-7 victory.

Eduardo Rodriguez picked up the win Friday after allowing two runs on three hits and while striking out eight over 6-2/3 innings. Rodriguez surrendered a two-run blast in the seventh inning, yet it turned out to be one of the few mistakes he made on the night. He struggled through his first two outings of the season (11 runs allowed across eight innings) but managed to return to form. Rodriguez relies primarily on a whiffy 93 mph four-seam fastball with natural sinking action and a hard 88 mph worm-killer changeup, while also mixing in an 88 mph cutter with natural sink and cutting action and a whiffy 92 mph sinker. Key Matchups: Tommy Pham (2-5, 2B, RBI), Daniel Robertson (1-2)

You can read about the series in our preview.

TNWN: Rays vs Red Sox — a series preview

Rays 4/19/19 Starting Lineup

  1. Diaz 1B
  2. Pham LF
  3. Meadows DH
  4. Garcia RF
  5. Robertson 3B
  6. Heredia CF
  7. Lowe 2B
  8. Adames SS
  9. Perez C
  10. Stanek RHP

Rays 4/18/19 pregame notes

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  • Yandy Diaz hit one of three homers for the Rays on Wednesday night. (Photo Credit: Tampa Bay Rays)

A day after they won a franchise-record six consecutive series to open the 2019 season, the Tampa Bay Rays look for a sweep of the Baltimore Orioles tonight.

As Neil Solondz (Rays Radio) wrote, the Rays are one of just seven AL East teams since expansion in 1969 to start the season 14-4 or better. Tampa Bay has won eight of the team’s last nine games, outscoring opponents 59-24.

Tampa Bay beat the Orioles 8-1, thanks in part to a triplet of home runs by Brandon Lowe, Ji-Man Choi and Yandy Diaz, and solid pitching.

And, well, this happened too.

The New What Next

Hunter Wood (0-0, 0.00 ERA) will open today, and will either be followed by Ryan Yarbough (2-1, 4.82 ERA) or Jalen Beeks (0-0, 3.18 ERA). They’ll be opposed by Andrew Cashner (3-1, 5.31).

Wood will be making his third appearance of the season. So far, he hasn’t relinquished a run in four innings, allowing four hits while striking out five.

Ryan Yarbrough picked up the win after tossing two scoreless frames and striking out one on Friday. The southpaw was efficient on the mound, needing just 16 total pitches (12 strikes) to get through six batters. Yarbrough was coming off a disastrous outing Saturday against San Francisco (allowing four runs allowed across three innings) but managed to get back on track in the 11-7 victory.

Andrew Cashner is going for his fourth straight win of the season, following his most recent victory on Saturday against Boston, when the right-hander allowed three runs on three hits and three walks across five innings of work. Cashner relies primarily on his 94 mph four-seam fastball and an 86 mph cutter with heavy sink and strong cutting action, while also mixing in an 84 mph changeup, a firm 81 mph curveball with slight glove-side movement, and a 92 mph two-seam sinker with little sinking action. The right-hander is 2-1 with a 4.13 ERA in four career starts against the Rays, and 2-1 with a 3.46 ERA at Tropicana Field. Key Matchups: Guillermo Heredia (2-8, 2B, 2 BB), Kevin Kiermaier (2-6), Michael Perez (1-4, RBI), Daniel Robertson (3-4, 2B, RBI, BB)

You can read about the series in our preview.

The New What Next: Rays vs. Orioles — a series preview

Rays 4/18/19 Starting Lineup

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

Noteworthiness

– The Rays have outscored their opponents 21-3 in the first inning.

– They also have held the opposition to two runs or fewer in 12 of 18 games.

– Per Solondz, Tommy Pham will look to start a new streak today after his franchise-record 48-game on-base streak was snapped yesterday. The Rays are now 40–16 in games Pham has started since coming over from St Louis.

– Kevin Kiermaier finds himself in the midst of a 10-game hit streak. He also has 10 extra-base hits this year.

– Joey Wendle will begin his rehab stint in an extended spring training game today for the Rays. Wendle got five at-bats in an extended game yesterday. If all goes as planned, Wendle could be activated this weekend against Boston.

Blake Snell headed to 10-day IL; 4/16/19 pre-game notes

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  • Left-hander Blake Snell has been placed on the 10-day IL, retroactive to Sunday, April 13, with a fractured toe.

Reigning American League Cy Young Award winner Blake Snell is headed to the 10-day injured list (IL) with a fractured toe, retroactive to Sunday, April 13. Right-hander Emilio Pagan will take the open roster spot.

The news is less concerning than it would appear at first glance though, as the southpaw is expected to miss just one start. The Rays will hold him out longer if necessary, although the injury seems only to be nothing more than a blip. Snell will be eligible to return on April 24th, the final game of the Rays home series against the Royals.

According to Marc Topkin (Tampa Bay Times), Snell broke his toe Sunday night at home while he was getting out of the shower at which point he decided to move a decorative stand in the bathroom. Snell didn’t realize the stand was in two parts, as the bottom piece — made of granite — fell on his right foot.

The left-hander was off to a strong start, turning in 2-1 record across 25 innings, with a 2.16 ERA. He has averaged a 13 K/9 against a 1.4 BB/9 so far, entering Tuesday tied with Gerrit Cole for the AL lead in strikeouts with 36 — 33 of which have come in his past three starts (totaling 19 innings).

Pagan will make his Rays debut after spending time in the last two years with the Mariners and Athletics. The right-hander owns a 3.85 ERA across 112-1/3 big league frames up to this point. He appeared out of the ‘pen 55 times for Oakland last season, posting a 4.35 ERA and striking out more than a batter per inning. Prior to his promotion, Pagan fanned 10 batters in six scoreless innings over four relief appearances at Triple-A Durham. He could be utilized in a multi-inning capacity.

The New What Next

Tyler Glasnow (3-0, 0.53 ERA) will get the start in the series opener against the Orioles Tuesday night, pitching opposite of Dylan Bundy (0-1, 8.76 ERA).

Tyler Glasnow earned the win against Chicago on Wednesday by fanning 11 and allowing just two hits and one walk across six scoreless innings. The right-hander’s only trouble came during the third inning when he had a pair of runners in scoring position with only one out, yet Glasnow struck out Yoan Moncada and Jose Abreu to end the threat. He has enjoyed a dominant first three starts to the season with a 7/1 K/BB across 17 innings.

Dylan Bundy allowed six runs on seven hits with eight strikeouts over five innings of a loss to Oakland on Thursday. The eight punch outs were impressive, yet Bundy suffered thanks to the long-ball. In his last 8-2/3 innings, Bundy has served up six homers. He has also yielded 15 hits in 12-1/3 innings of work thus far. Bundy relies primarily on his 91 mph four-seam fastball that has good “rising” action and a whiffy 81 mph slider with two-plane movement, while also mixing in an 84 mph changeup. Over nine career starts against the Rays, the right-hander is 3-4 with a 6.30 ERA and is 1-2 with a 9.00 ERA in four starts at the Trop. Key Matchups: Willy Adames (1-4), Avisail Garcia (4-7), Kevin Kiermaier (4-9, 2 HR, 6 RBI, BB), Micahel Perez (1-3)

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

The New What Next: Rays vs. Orioles — a series preview

Rays 4/16/19 Starting Lineup

  1. Meadows DH
  2. Pham LF
  3. Choi 1B
  4. Diaz 3B
  5. Lowe 2B
  6. Garcia RF
  7. Kiermaier CF
  8. Robertson SS
  9. Perez C
  10. Glasnow RHP

LBWMF: Snell, Rays roll to fifth consecutive win, 4-0 over Colorado

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  • Blake Snell was dominant Tuesday night, collecting 13 strikeouts en route to his first win of the season. (Photo Ctredit: Tampa Bay Rays)

After a disappointing start to the 2019 season, Blake Snell bounced back with a dominant outing on Tuesday, throwing seven innings of two-hit shutout ball. The Rays are now a franchise-record 5-1 with five straight victories, including Tuesday night’s 4-0 win over the Rockies. They have allowed just five total runs in those five wins, and 10 runs overall.

Snell retired his first 12 batters (eight on strikeouts) before Trevor Story led off the fifth inning with a base hit. He, however, was promptly picked off by Snell. Chris Iannetta (sixth inning walk) and Story (infield hit in the seventh) went down as the only other batters to reach against against the southpaw, who played off of the Rockies aggressiveness.

Utilizing a similar plan to the last time he faced Colorado, Snell tied a career-high 13 strikeouts across seven innings — seven coming on his curveball. The left-hander induced 25 swings and misses (37% of the 67 strikes thrown), more than he had in any start last season.

Snell’s pitching breakout:

  • Fastball: 36 thrown, 29 strikes, 7 whiffs
  • Curveball: 29 thrown, 16 strikes, 7 whiffs
  • Changeup: 23 thrown, 13 strikes, 7 whiffs
  • Slider: 16 thrown, 9 strikes, 4 whiffs

Wilmer Font finished up for Tampa Bay, throwing the final two frames and allowing just one batter to reach on a walk. He struck out one and threw 17 of 25 pitches for strikes (68% strike rate).

Meanwhile, the Rays took advantage of a Rockies gaffe a three-run rally in the first-inning runs against Kyle Freeland. Yandy Diaz got things started with a walk before Daniel Robertson moved him up 90 feet on a base hit. Avisail Garcia loaded the bases on the second free pass of the inning.

With one out, Mike Zunino hit a ground ball to third base for what looked like a twin killing. Although instead of going for a sure 5-4-3 double play, Nolan Arenado came home to try to force out Diaz at the plate. Diaz was initially called out, yet the play was overturned upon review as catcher Chris Iannetta never touched home plate as he attempted to turn a 5-2-3 double play. Guillermo Heredia capped the rally with a two-run single to left.

Freeland, the Rockies ace, was able to settle down once the damage was done, but he was lifted after just 4-2/3 innings and 99 total pitches. Freeland was able to set a career high with 10 strikeouts, including a punch out of Willy Adames, who went 0-4 on the night.

The Rays tacked on a two-out insurance run in the sixth inning. Kevin Kiermaier lashed a two-bagger to right off Carlos Estevez before Christian Arroyo hit an RBI single to center to make it 4-0 and close out the scoring.

The New What Next

The Rays have one more game of the opening homestand on Wednesday afternoon. Charlie Morton (1-0, 1.80 ERA) will make his second start of the season, pitching opposite of former Tampa Bay farmhand German Marquez (1-0, 1.50 ERA).

Charlie Morton took the mound against his former team who he most recently played with for the past two seasons. The right-hander was amped up, hitting 97.9 mph on his fastball when he fanned George Springer for his first punch out of the season, setting the tone for the night.

From there, Morton threw two scoreless frames before Houston broke out on top in an erratic third by the hurler. Tony Kemp was hit by a pitch to lead off the inning and then promptly swiped second. After George Springer struck out, Jose Altuve walked on a close full-count offering. Morton was able to strike out Alex Bregman, yet Michael Brantley lined a double down the right-field line, plating the only runs the Astros would score on the night.

However, a three-run rally put Morton on the winning side of the ledger.

All told, the right-hander went on to retire six of the last seven batters he faced — a series that began by fanning Yuli Gurriel, marking his 1,000th career strikeout. Morton relied heavily on his curveball — 34 thrown, 20 strikes 59% strike rate, 6 whiffs, 30% SwStr — with which he collected seven of his eight strikeouts.

German Marquez held Miami to two hits in six innings and fanned seven. His curveball (17 thrown, 9 strikes, 7 whiffs) and slider (22 thrown, 14 strikes, 12 whiffs) were especially effective. Marquez relies primarily on his 96 mph worm-killer of a four-seam fastball and a whiffy 86 mph slider, while also mixing in a hard 84 mph 12-6 curveball and a 95 mph sinker with sharp arm-side run.

Rays 4/3/19 Starting Lineup

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

Noteworthiness

— Both Daniel Robertson (illness) and Yandy Diaz (ankle) were scratched from the game while it was in play. Rays manager Kevin Cash said Diaz tweaked his ankle but doesn’t think it is anything serious. The infielder was scheduled to get a day off Wednesday anyway. Neither Robertson nor Diaz are expected to hit the IL and are listed as day-to-day.