X-Rays Spex

A Below Average Rays Fan Blog

Rays 8/8/17 starting lineup and pregame notes; Cobb placed on 10-day DL

By Leave a Comment

(Photo Credit: Tampa Bay Rays)

Back at it Tuesday night. The Tampa Bay Rays will start a brief two-game series against the Boston Red Sox tonight, at Tropicana Field.

The Rays start the day tied with Kansas City for the final Wildcard slot, 2-1/2 games behind New York for the top Wildcard slot, and 5-1/2 behind Boston in the division. As Neil Solondz noted (Rays Radio Blog), of the remaining 49 games, 17 are against the Royals, Red Sox and Yankees, while another 10 are against the Mariners and Orioles, teams right behind the Rays in the race.

You can read about tonight’s pitching matchup, and so much more, in our series preview.

Rays 8/8/17 Starting Lineup

Bourjos CF
Plouffe 3B
Longoria DH
Morrison 1B
Souza Jr RF
Ramos C
Hechavarria SS
Robertson 2B
Smith LF
Pruitt RHP

Noteworthiness

— The Rays made a roster move this afternoon, placing RHP Alex Cobb on the 10-day DL with turf toe (retroactive to August 6). LHP Blake Snell has been recalled and will take his place in the rotation for the time being.

Cobb said the toe was issue in his last start on Saturday, and could’ve pitched through it. The team, however, decided best to address now. He is certain he will miss just 10 days total.

Snell is replacing Cobb, and Alex has given us a lot of chances to win, said Rays manager Kevin Cash. Now Blake has to do the same.

Cash also said Snell was the obvious choice to replace Cobb (yes, more so than Brent Honeywell), and sees it as another chance for the southpaw to help the team.

— Major League Baseball released the dates for the 2017 postseason Tuesday afternoon, including the dates for the World Series beginning on Tuesday, October 24.

From Major League Baseball’s press release:

The American League Wild Card Game will be on ESPN on Tuesday, Oct. 3, followed a day later by the National League Wild Card Game, televised exclusively by TBS.

Both AL Division Series will be scheduled to begin on Thursday, Oct. 5. The first full slate of Division Series games, featuring two NLDS openers and a pair of ALDS Game 2 contests, will be held on Friday, Oct. 6. Overall, the Division Series are scheduled to run from Thursday, Oct. 5, through the following Thursday, Oct. 12, with potential Game 5s on Wednesday, Oct. 11 (ALDS) and Thursday, Oct. 12 (NLDS).

TBS will cover all NLDS games, while FS1 or MLB Network will cover the ALDS.

The AL Championship Series, beginning on Friday, Oct. 13, will be telecast by FOX or FS1. The NLCS, set to start on Saturday, Oct. 14, will be telecast by TBS. A potential Game 7 of the ALCS is scheduled for Saturday, Oct. 21, while a potential Game 7 of the NLCS is set for Sunday, Oct. 22.

Game 1 of the 2017 World Series is scheduled for Tuesday, Oct. 24, and the best-of-seven series will change sites for Game 3 on Friday, Oct. 27. If a Game 7 proves necessary once again, it is scheduled for Wednesday, Nov. 1. Scheduled days off are Oct. 26 and 30 (if a Game 6 is necessary).

FOX Sports will present live telecast coverage of the World Series for the 20th time.

— Kevin Kiermaier (hip, back) still limited in baseball activities, and it’s unlikely that he will return until the next homestand at the soonest.

Steven Souza walks it off in Rays 2-1 victory; 40-man roster moves

By Leave a Comment

Yes, that was a huge win in an otherwise lost series. (Photo Credit: Tampa Bay Rays)

Tampa Bay snapped its 21 inning scoreless streak Sunday afternoon against Milwaukee, and Steven Souza Jr. hit a ninth inning walk off blast that gave the Rays a 2–1 victory over the Brewers.

At the time of writing, the Rays are currently tied with Kansas City for the final playoff spot, two-games back of New York for the lead Wildcard spot, and 5-1/2 games behind the Red Sox. The Royals are playing a double header today, so Tampa Bay could be 1/2 of a game ahead, or 1/2 of a game behind, Kansas City pending the outcome of game two.

Additionally, the Rays made a roster move prior to the game, trading Ryan Garton to, you guessed it, Seattle.

The shot heard ’round the world

Souza lashed a 1–0 pitch into section 145 off St Petersburg native Jacob Barnes to give the first Rays not only a crucial win, but their first walk-off homer since May 22, 2014 (Sean Rodriguez vs Oakland) — snapping the longest active streak in Major League Baseball.

(Photo Credit: Dave Haller/Tampa Bay Rays)

Tampa Bay welcomes the Boston Red Sox into the Trop for a two game series starting Tuesday. The Rays need to win head-to-head contests against the competitors ahead of them in the standings, and this will be a great opportunity for the good guys to make up a couple of games in the AL East, as well as in the Playoff race.

Rays clear a couple of spots on the 40-man roster

The Rays created some space on the 40-man roster before the game, trading RHP Ryan Garton to Seattle along with Durham catcher Mike Marjama. With the trade, the Rays have opened a pair of spots on their 40-man roster. In exchange, Tampa Bay received LHP Anthony Misiewicz, UTL Luis Rengifo, and a player to be named later or cash considerations.

Garton had been good with Triple-A Durham this season, going 2–0 with a 1.64 ERA. He, however, struggled the past two seasons at the big league level, going 1–3 with a 5.26 ERA.

A mid-season All-Star in the International League, the 28-year-old Marjama hit .272 in 72 games with nine homers this season. The catcher was Rule-5 eligible this past offseason — as are prospects Justin O’Conner and Nick Ciuffo — so the team opted to add Marjama to the 40-man roster as protection in the Rule-5 draft. These moves will create more roster flexibility, while also lessening the off-season logjam behind the plate.

Hmm … might the Rays be looking to acquire a player or two before the August 31 waiver trade deadline? Perhaps. After all, they were looking for a right-handed bat leading up to the non-waiver trade deadline. However, it’s more likely that they are clearing space ahead of the activation of Kevin Kiermaier from the 60-day DL.

Another fascinating idea, the team could be creating roster space for Brent Honewell, who might be considered as a September call-up. That being said, Honeywell threw 130 innings between Single-A, Double-A, and the Arizona Fall League last season. Tampa Bay, historically, uses a 20% yearly workload, so he has about 40 innings left in his 2017 campaign at Triple-A Durham. If he was to be promoted this season, he would likely work out of the bullpen to mitigate the number of innings thrown.

Rays option Blake Snell to Triple-A Durham, 8/4/17 starting lineup and pregame notes

By Leave a Comment

Blake Snell was optioned back to Triple-A Durham on Friday for the second time this season. (Photo Credit: MLB.com)

In a flurry of roster moves Friday afternoon, the Tampa Bay Rays have optioned struggling southpaw Blake Snell back to Triple-A Durham for the second time this season. They also recalled hard-throwing left-handed reliever Jose Alvarado, initially to take Snell’s spot on the roster, and activated INF Daniel Robertson off the DL.

Snell lasted just two batters into the fifth inning Thursday night after throwing 90 pitches. In 14 starts this season, the left-hander is 0-6 with a 4.98 ERA.

Snell was sent back to Triple-A in May, however, he was recalled in June after performing to a 2.66 ERA and a 1.32 WHIP over 44 innings, with 61 strikeouts and 15 walks (4.06 K/BB). Those numbers didn’t translate on the big league squad though, which Jason Collette (The Process Report) noted earlier:

With an off-day on Monday the team has several options to fill Snell’s spot, which include keeping RHP Austin Pruitt in the starting rotation when Jake Odorizzi comes off the disabled list next week, or a calling up top prospect Brent Honeywell … which would require a roster move to add him to the 40-man roster.

Rays 8/4/17 Starting Lineup

Dickerson LF
Duda 1B
Longoria 3B
Morrison DH
Souza RF
Miller 2B
Ramos C
Smith CF
Robertson SS
Faria RHP

Noteworthiness

— You can read about tonight’s pitching matchup, and so much more, in our series preview.

A few Rays of sunshine after a 14-7 pummeling

By Leave a Comment

DGHX8kxXoAE2n9X

Contrary to popular belief, Chris Archer will not slot into the infield after the trade of Tim Beckham yesterday. (Photo Credit: Tampa Bay Rays)

In spite of an ugly 14-7 loss last night at the hands of the Houston Astros, there were a few glimmers of sunshine for the Tampa Bay Rays.

— Lucas Duda continues to show why the front office sought him out before the deadline. Since coming over from the Mets a little less than a week ago, Duda has collected a hit in each game (including three homers), along with four runs and four RBI.

Lucas Duda crushes a solo jack to right-center field for his 20th home run of the season, between the Mets and the Rays!!!

— The team has scored four runs or more in seven of its last nine games. That is, they appear to be slipping out of the offensive funk that has mired them in the second half. It will be up to the pitchers to match that production.

— The Rays are starting to barrel-up the ball once again.

Screen Shot 2017-08-01 at 9.45.07 AM

In the first half of the season, Tampa Bay’s hitters barreled up the ball at a 36% hard-hit rate clip. That’s actually better than the mashing Astros, who the Rays are facing three more times this week. They paired that with a .188 ISO for a lot of extra base hits.

Those rates, however, have fallen in the second half; Hard-Hit rate by 8.4%, and ISO by 30 points. Ray of hope time.

Tampa Bay’s ISO has risen dramatically over the past seven-days, increasing 27 points to .185. They were also able to make firm contact against Houston’s bullpen last night, resulting in five runs from the seventh inning on.

Again, it will be up to the pitchers to match that production.

— Speaking of barreling up the ball, Corey Dickerson continues to show signs of life, going 2-4 last night with a pair of homers. Looking back at his last five games, Dickerson is 6-21 (.286 BA) with three long balls … two of which were opposite field jacks.

—  Brad Miller had a hit (the second hit in his last 12 plate appearances) and scored a run. Plus, he shaved that god awful beard.

For a guy the team is betting on to get toasty, he’ll need to up that productivity.

The New What Next

The Rays look to bounce back and start a run on Tuesday in Houston. Chris Archer (7-6, 3.80 ERA, 3.08 FIP) will get the start, opposite of Mike Fiers (7-5, 3.71 ERA, 4.98 FIP).

Archer again boasted electric stuff on Thursday, collecting 10 strikeouts, but he came away with a no-decision after a blown save by Alex Colome … that had more to do with a misplay by Adeiny Hechavarria and Tim Beckham. Archer has made six consecutive quality starts and has pitched at least six innings in 13 straight. The right-hander has allowed just six earned runs over 19 innings through his three post All-Star Break starts, and continues to pile up strikeouts in bunches.

Fiers has a 2.89 ERA in five July starts in spite of a three run/four inning outing against the Phillies in his last appearance. He’s 1-0 with a 3.93 ERA in three career starts against the Rays, although he settled for a no-decision in their April matchup after he allowed three runs on seven hits (including three home runs). Key Matchups (2-7, 2B), Corey Dickerson (3-8, 2 2B, HR, RBI), Lucas Duda (2-5, 2B, RBI), Evan Longoria (3-8, 2 HR, 2 RBI, BB), Brad Miller (2-8, HR, RBI, BB), Logan Morrison (6-12, HR, 2 RBI), Steven Souza Jr. (2-5, 2B), Jesus Sucre (1-2)

You can read about the series in our preview.

Rays 8/1/17 Starting Lineup

Dickerson LF
Duda 1B
Longoria 3B
Morrison DH
Miller 2B
Hechavarria SS
Bourjos CF
Smith RF
Sucre C
Archer RHP

Noteworthiness

— The Rays made a roster move following the game last night, optioning RHP Chase Whitley back to Triple-A Durham, and recalling right-handed flame thrower Ryne Stanek.

Whitley threw 43 pitches over three innings last night, and would not have been available again for several days.

Stanek was with the big league squad from mid-May to mid-June, performing to a 5.59 ERA in 11 games.

He has been dazzling since his demotion, allowing just one run over 17-2/3 innings (16 games), with seven hits — for an impressive .119 opponents average — eight walks and 22 strikeouts.

— After fouling a ball off his left foot last night, Steven Souza Jr. was relieved by the negative results of an X-Ray that was taken last night.

Got to see how it feels tomorrow. X-rays were negtive so that’s always a plus, nothing’s wrong structurally with the bone. Hopefully I wake up and feel a lot better than I do now.

— OF Shane Peterson cleared waivers and has accepted an outright assignment to Triple-A Durham.

Rays trade Tim Beckham to Baltimore; 7/31/17 starting lineup and pregame notes

By Leave a Comment

Tim Beckham was traded to the Baltimore Orioles on Monday for 18 year-old pitching prospect Tobias Myers. (Photo Credit: Will Vragovic/Tampa Bay Times)

Cue Sarah McLaughlin’s I Will Remember You. The Tampa Bay Rays made one deadline deal Monday afternoon, trading INF Tim Beckham to Baltimore for RHP prospect Tobias Myers.

Beckham was Tampa Bay’s first overall pick in the 2008 draft, yet has struggled to live up to that billing. He, however, has provided nearly league-average offense in a bench depth role with the Rays over the past three seasons, slashing .245 BA/.299 OBP/.421 SLG/.720 OPS with 26 homers in 783 plate appearances.

In spite of his .259 BA/.314 OBP/.407 SLG/.721 OPS line this season — with 12 homers over 87 games and a 1.3 fWAR — base running and fielding gaffes have made him a liability. Beckham has committed 11 total errors between second base and shortstop, with just one defensive run saved on the infield.

With the addition of Lucas Duda this past week, as well as the logjam created by Brad Miller and Adeiny Hechavarria on the roster, Beckham was dealt. Taylor Featherston has been recalled from Triple-A Durham to fill the open spot on the roster. It fails to be seen if Daniel Robertson will take that spot once he is activated from the DL.

The New What Next

The Rays will start a four-game set with the Astros tonight in Houston. Alex Cobb (9-6, 3.46 ERA, 4.22 FIP) will take the mound for Tampa Bay, pitching opposite of Charlie Morton (8-4, 3.83 ERA, 3.95 FIP).

Cobb tossed seven strong innings against Baltimore on Wednesday, giving him nine consecutive starts of at least six innings. He is 5-1 with a 2.24 ERA in his last nine starts, compared to 4-5 with a 4.52 ERA through his first 12.

Morton is coming off, arguably, his best start this season, throwing seven scoreless innings against the Phillies to go with nine punch outs. He lost at the Trop in April, when the Rays put up five runs (all earned) on eight hits over five innings. Since that start, however, Houston has dropped just three times with Morton on the mound … although he has surrendered four runs or more in half of those 10 starts. Key Matchups: Tim Beckham (2-2, 3B), Corey Dickerson (5-12, HR, RBI), Lucas Duda (3-8, 2B, 4 RBI, 2 BB), Adeiny Hechavarria (5-17, 2 2B) Evan Longoria (2-6, 2 2B, 3 RBI), Logan Morrison (4-9, 2 2B, RBI, 2 BB), Trevor Plouffe (2-6), Wilson Ramos (5-11, RBI, BB), Steven Souza Jr. (2-3, 2B) 

You can read more about the series in our preview.

Rays 7/31/17 Starting Lineup

Dickerson LF
Duda 1B
Longoria 3B
Morrison DH
Souza RF
Miller 2B
Ramos C
Smith CF
Hechavarria SS
Cobb RHP