Tyler Glasnow battled through five innings on Friday night, while Tampa Bay’s bullpen made a one-run lead hold up for the remaining four frames, as the Rays defeated the Orioles on Friday, of 2-1.
At 34-18 on the season, the Rays again have the best record in the American League, as their magic number to clinch the division over the Yankees is down to five with eight games left to play. The Rays enter play with a 95.2% chance of winning the division according to FanGraphs.
Tyler Glasnow got the start Friday against former Ray Alex Cobb and battled, allowing one run on four hits (one home run) and two walks while fanning 10 across five innings on 95 pitches (64 strikes, 67% strike rate, 20% SwStr%) en route to his fourth win of the season.
Glasnow, however, really had to work for his outs, using 50 pitches over the first two frames. The right-hander had a runner at second with one out in the first inning, then really did some heavy lifting in the second. He loaded the bases on a walk sandwiched around a pair of singles. However, Glasnow struck out Bryan Holaday and Andrew Velazquez, then got Cedric Mullins to fly to left, keeping Baltimore off the board.
Getting out of the second inning was a big step from me. Good growth moment, like Kyle would say. I felt, like, calm … nothing sped up.
— Tyler Glasnow
The right-hander’s only mistake of the night came in the bottom of the fourth when he allowed an Austin Hays solo shot to begin the frame. Yet, Glasnow struck out the side afterward (as well as in the first) and surrendered nothing else. Glasnow came into Friday’s contest averaging 14.2 K/9 and raised it to 14.6 by the time his night was over. He again lowered his ERA, this time to 4.21 (3.47 FIP), and maintains an impressive 3.95 K/BB across 51-1/3 innings this season.
Meanwhile, Tampa Bay took a first-inning lead with a two-out rally against Cobb. Brandon Lowe singled to right before Mike Brosseau walked. Nate Lowe followed with an RBI single to right, giving Tampa Bay a 1-0 lead.
Then in the third, Yoshi Tsutsugo led off the frame with a triple off the top of the wall before Brandon Lowe singled to right, plating a run and giving the Rays a two-run advantage. The former Ray buckled down though and got Nate Lowe to ground into an inning-ending double play.
From there Cobb really found his stride, allowing just a pair of walks in the middle frames and nothing else. He gave up just two runs on four scattered hits while walking three and striking out five.
Tampa Bay was held in check (woo hah) over the final three innings by Baltimore’s ‘pen, which combined to keep the Rays off the board. In the seventh, the Rays were able to load the bases with two out against Paul Fry, but Michael Fulmer — who entered the game in relief of Fry — got Brosseau to hit a comebacker, thus ending the threat.
In his second appearance since coming off the Injured List, Oliver Drake followed Glasnow with a scoreless sixth, allowing just a two-out single. Aaron Loup followed the right-handed LOOGY for an easy seventh with a pair of strikeouts, before Nick Anderson punched out two batters in a perfect eighth.
Ryan Sherriff closed things out with a 1-2-3 ninth allowing him to pick up his first big-league save. Sherriff became the 11th Tampa Bay player with a save this season, tying a franchise record in only 52 games; the big-league record is 12.
The New What Next
Charlie Morton (1-2, 5.14 ERA) will get the start in the fourth game of the five-game set, pitching opposite of Jorge Lopez (2-0, 5.23 ERA).
Charlie Morton allowed three runs on six hits and no walks while striking out four across 4-1/3 innings on Sunday against the Red Sox. The Rays’ offense staked Morton to a narrow lead in the fourth inning, but the advantage quickly slipped away in the top of the fifth inning. On a more encouraging note, the right-hander threw 77 pitches (55 strikes, 71% strike rate) as he continues to steadily build back up to full strength following his month-long absence. Morton is 3-2 with a 3.38 ERA in six career starts against Baltimore.
Jorge Lopez allowed one run on five hits and two walks over seven innings on Monday. He struck out three batters. Lopez dominated Atlanta’s lineup all night with the lone blemish — a solo shot by Freddie Freeman in the sixth inning. It didn’t hurt that his offense tallied 14 runs of support for the right-hander. Lopez moved to 2-0 on the season and lowered his ERA to 5.23. Lopez relies primarily on a 94 mph sinker with slight arm-side run, a hard 81 mph 12-6 curveball with sharp downward bite, and a 94 mph four-seam fastball with some natural sinking action, while also mixing in a firm 87 mph changeup with slight arm-side fade. Key Matchups: Willy Adames (1-2), Kevin Kiermaier (2-2, 2B), Manuel Margot (1-1)
You can read about the series in our preview, While the starting lineup and Noteworthiness are below.
Rays 9/19/20 Starting Lineup
- Tsutsugo LF
- B. Lowe 2B
- Arozarena DH
- N. Lowe 1B
- Wendle SS
- Brosseau 3B
- Kiermaier CF
- Phillips RF
- Perez C
Noteworthiness
— Today is #VoteTeenth — a day where we recognize that there are people across Florida who are free to vote but don’t know it. Help me spread the word that returning citizens with paid fines & fees can register before Oct. 5! #FreeTheVote http://voteteenth.org
