Drew Rasmussen put together a fantastic outing, while Kevin Kiermaier brought the thunder, as the Tampa Bay Rays FINALLY defeated the Seattle Mariners on Wednesday, 3-2.
At 10-8 on the season, the Tampa Bay Rays ended the night two games above .500, and are in prime position to take the series in the finale against Seattle on Thursday.
Drew Rasmussen got the start Wednesday and threw six shutout innings. He struck out a career-high nine batters, while scattering a single, a double, and a walk. Rasmussen retired his final 10 batters and collected a total of 19 swings and misses — good for a 42% whiff rate — his best-ever total on 84 pitches (54strikes, 64% strike rate).
The M’s had two scoring chances against Rasmussen, yet they came up empty-handed each time. Jesse Winker hit a two-out double in the first inning, then went to third on a wild pitch before Eugenio Suarez fanned to end the frame. Then, in the third, Adam Frazier singled to right before Ty France earned a free pass with two outs, however, Rasmussen got Winker to break his bat and bounce out to first.
Meanwhile, the Rays simultaneously took the lead and literally knocked Marco Gonzales out of the game after throwing just 11 pitches in the first. Randy Arozarena walked on four pitches to open the game, and after Wander Franco struck out on just three pitches, Arozarena swiped second and moved up to third on a throwing error. Harold Ramirez lined a bullet off Gonzales’ pitching wrist allowing Arozarena to score on the infield hit. Gonzales departed with a wrist contusion.
Tampa Bay also had a great opportunity to blow the game open in the second inning against reliever Yohan Ramirez, yet as fate would have it they squandered a bases-loaded, none-out chance.
However, in the fourth, Taylor Walls singled to right-center before Kevin Kiermaier blasted a 431-foot, two-run homer to right-center for a 3-0 lead. It was Kiermaier’s second home run of the season and the homestand.
Colin Poche took over in the seventh and allowed a solo shot to JP Crawford, bringing Seattle within two. Poche also was helped by fantastic plays in the field by Walls and Kiermaier to limit the damage.
Brooks Raley was the next man up, and he struck out a pair of pinch-hitters in the eighth. Yet, Raley walked the third pinch-hitter of the frame, Tom Murphy, forcing Kevin Cash’s hand with Ty France stepping in the batter’s box.
Enter Andrew Kittredge.
France, the reigning American League Co-Player of the Week, singled to center on an 0-2 pitch, putting the go-ahead run at the plate. But, Winker grounded hard to second which ended the threat.
Finally, Kittredge got the first two batters in the ninth before Abraham Toro homered to right. The right-hander buckled down though and got Julio Rodriguez to fly out to centerfield, allowing Kittredge to earn his third save of the season.
The New What Next
Kevin Cash opted to go with a bullpen day in the series finale, allowing Corey Kluber to get an extra day of rest. So yes, the series preview is wrong. Happy now?! I digress. Jeffrey Springs will open the game, on his birthday no less, for the Rays. Tampa Bay’s hurlers will be opposed by Chris Flexen (1-2, 3.63 ERA).
Chris Flexen allowed one run on six hits with five strikeouts in seven innings against the Royals on Friday. After allowing three earned runs and being tagged for the loss in each of his first two starts, Flexen shut down Kansas City’s offense aside from a Salvador Perez solo homer. Through three starts, the 27-year-old has an excellent 3.63 ERA — nearly identical to last season’s mark — and 11 strikeouts compared to just four walks through 17.1 innings. Flexen is 1-1 with a 6.52 ERA in two career starts against Tampa Bay. He relies primarily on his 92 mph four-seam fastball with some added backspin and an 88 mph cutter with extreme cut action and natural sink, while also mixing in an 82 mph changeup, and a 75 mph curveball with sharp downward bite. Key Matchups: Randy Arozarena (2-2, HR, RBI, BB), Yandy Diaz (1-3), Kevin Kiermaier (1-2, 3B, BB), Manuel Margot (3-5, 2B, HR, 3 RBI)
You can read our (wrong) series preview below, while the starting lineup is below.
Rays 4/28/22 Starting Lineup
- Margot RF
- Franco SS
- Diaz 1B
- B. Lowe 2B
- Ramirez DH
- J. Lowe LF
- Walls 3B
- Phillips CF
- Pinto C
Noteworthiness
— Rays manager Kevin Cash provided an update on the injured hurlers on the Rays staff. Shane Baz and Nick Anderson are throwing bullpen sessions; Baz will throw live batting practice in early May. JT Chargois, Tyler Glasnow, and Yonny Chirinos are playing catch, while Luis Patino will play catch for the first time since his oblique injury tomorrow. Chris Mazza is still sidelined by his back issue, while Brendan McKay has been shut down for at least a few days due to shoulder soreness.