After a 4-3 loss on Tuesday, the Tampa Bay Rays look to bounce back against New York tonight. It was just the seventh loss in their last 30 home games.
At 60-41 on the season, the Rays enter play 19-games over .500 and now trail the Red Sox by two games in the division. They are 8-6 against New York this season and now are 1-4 in the games started by Jordan Montgomery … this, despite the fact that they went 3-for-10 wRISP. Tampa Bay stranded nine men on the basepaths overall.
Shane McClanahan allowed three runs on nine hits and three walks over six innings. He struck out six. The rookie wasn’t especially sharp, tossing 60 of 89 pitches for strikes (67% strike rate), yet he pitched well enough to earn his third quality start of the season — all of which have come in his last six starts. And while he found his way into a few jams, especially in the first three frames, he also found his way out of them, coaxing a pair of double plays, while also getting a little help from Manuel Margot, who made an outstanding sliding catch in right to end the sixth inning. McClanahan boasts a solid 3.34 ERA with a 1.21 WHIP, and a 3.17 K/BB across 32.1 innings over that six-game stretch.
While last night’s contest left a lot to be desired, let’s relive the ninth-inning for a moment if just to remember that all that glitters isn’t gold, and the Rays got incredibly close to getting to Chapman and potentially winning the game.
AB No. 1 – Kiermaier: strikeout on three pitches, which was to be expected.
AB 2 – Margot: hit a gapper that had a beefy .920 xBA, and was literally inches away from resulting in a runner at second or third with one out.
AB 3 – Franco: fantastic seven-pitch AB resulting in a walk.
AB 4 – Cruz: six-pitch AB resulting in a strikeout on a slider when Cruz, historically, does not fare well against sliders.
It’s foolish to say Chapman “found it.” He didn’t. In fact, the left-hander got very lucky given who was at the plate and where he left that slider to end the game. Had Cruz been able to foul it off and see another pitch, we could be talking about another blown save from Chapman.
I know it’s a woulda, coulda, shoulda scenario, however, I’m certainly not going to call it a resounding win (if you’re a Yankee fan) or a resounding loss.
The New What Next
Michael Wacha (2-2, 5.16 ERA) will get the start on Wednesday, pitching opposite of Nestor Cortes (0-0, 1.95 ERA).
Michael Wacha allowed three runs on six hits and struck out two in five innings on Wednesday against the Orioles. The righty was very efficient, not issuing any walks and requiring just 58 pitches to complete the five frames. A pair of solo homers slightly diminished what was otherwise a solid turn for Wacha, who now has a 5.16 ERA and a 5.08 FIP, with a 1.34 WHIP and a 3.17 K/BB across 66.1 innings this season. Inconsistency has been the story of his season. He is 1-0 with a 3.09 ERA in three outings (one start) against the Yankees this season.
Nestor Cortes allowed three runs on three hits across two innings Friday versus Boston. He struck out three batters and did not issue a walk. The mustachioed left-hander was activated from the COVID-19 IL earlier in the day and got into the division clash with Red Sox, staked to a two-run lead in the sixth inning. Cortes got through his first frame unscathed, yet Rafael Devers tagged him for a three-run homer in the seventh that broke the game open for Boston. The blast accounted for as many earned runs against Cortes (three) as he had allowed through 25.2 innings prior to Friday. He still carries an impressive 1.95 ERA on the season, with a 2.25 FIP, 1.01 WHIP, and a 3.40 K/BB. Key Matchups: Ji-Man Choi (1-3), Nelson Cruz (1-1, HR, RBI, BB), Yandy Díaz (2-5, 2B, HR, 3 RBI), Kevin Kiermaier (1-4, 2 RBI, BB), Brandon Lowe (1-2, HR, 3 RBI)
You can read about the series in our preview, while Noteworthiness, and the starting lineup are below.
Rays 7/28/21 Starting Lineup
- Margot LF
- Franco SS
- Meadows DH
- Díaz 1B
- B. Lowe 2B
- Arozarena RF
- Wendle 3B
- Mejía C
- Phillips CF
- Wacha RHP
Noteworthiness
— Chris Archer (forearm tightness) threw 3.2 innings of scoreless ball on 59 pitches with Triple-A Durham, allowing one hit and a walk while striking out five. The Rays will likely want the right-hander to push his pitch count up to the 75-to-90-pitch range/five innings before reinstating him from the 60-day Injured List, so he’ll likely require one more rehab start beyond Tuesday.
— DH Nelson Cruz has been scratched from tonight’s game due to a foot contusion suffered during Tuesday night’s game. He is still available off the bench if needed. This isn’t expected to be a long-term injury for the slugger.