After trouncing the Tigers on Saturday, 12-2, the Tampa Bay Rays will go for their first sweep of the season this afternoon with Jeffrey Springs on the bump.
Zach Eflin got the start Saturday and allowed one earned run on three hits and one walk while striking out five across five innings. Eflin took the mound for the first time in the regular season as a member of the Rays and delivered a strong performance. The lone earned run against him came in the fourth inning after he allowed a leadoff double. Otherwise, the right-hander was in control and generated seven groundball outs along with 13 swinging strikes across 74 total pitches (57 strikes, 77% strike rate, 18% SwStr). Eflin boasted a six-pitch mix, however, he leaned most heavily on his sinker (30%), cutter (26%), curveball (24%), and changeup (12%) — with the latter two pitches generating the most whiffs (10 total). It will be interesting to see how he attacks the Athletics on Friday when he is slated to take the mound again.
Kevin Kelly — making his big-league debut — followed Eflin. Kelly gave up a run in a shaky sixth, although he was able to secure his first strikeout in the following frame. Garrett Cleavinger and Calvin Faucher took over in the following frames to close things out.
At the plate, Tampa Bay hit the Tigers early and often starting in the first inning. Yandy Díaz reached on a hard-hit grounder, then moved into scoring position on a wild pitch.
After Díaz pulled into third on a base hit — a hit that put a pair on with none out — big Randy Arozarena doubled to right field, scoring Yandy and opening the scoring. Yet, the Rays left a whole lot of chicken on the bone in the first, as Turnbull made a few good pitches to strand three runners and get out of the frame having allowed just one run. His luck, however, wouldn’t carry over.
In the third inning, Arozarena rode a hit-by pitch into first, while Wander Franco doubled to left.
José Siri opened the door to a big inning, driving in two on a sharp ground ball into the left-field corner.
After Taylor Walls earned a free pass, Josh Lowe lined a double into right, scoring two and putting the Rays up by five.
The hit show continued.
Lowe crossed the plate on Francisco Mejía’s RBI base hit. Díaz drove in Mejía on a ground-rule double, while Franco capped the scoring in the frame with an RBI single. The Rays mounted a seven-run attack on the Tigers, who were forced into two pitching changes.
…And, Tampa Bay still had more in the tank.
In the fourth inning, Díaz launched a two-run, 112 mph missile into the left-field stands for his first home run of the season, putting Tampa Bay up by nine.
Finally, Franco capped the scoring with a two-RBI double in the seventh inning.
All told, the Rays scored 12 runs on 13 hits, seven walks, and a hit-by-pitch, and went 8-for-16 wRISP in the process.
The New What Next
Jeffrey Springs (9-5, 2.46 ERA, 2.95 FIP) will toe the rubber for the Rays in the series finale, pitching opposite Joey Wentz (2-2, 3.03 ERA, 3.64 FIP). Note: all of the W/L, ERA, and FIP numbers are from last season.
Jeffrey Springs had thrown 9.2 scoreless innings as of March 21, while maintaining a 16.0 K/BB in Grapefruit League action. Springs was initially brought along slowly during the exhibition season, although he worked 4.1 innings on the 21st. The left-hander enjoyed a breakout campaign a season ago, maintaining a 2.46 ERA and a 3.04 FIP, with a 1.07 WHIP, and a 4.65 K/BB across 135.1 frames. He held Le Tigre scoreless across six innings last season.
Joey Wentz earned a spot in the Tigers rotation because Michael Lorenzen (groin) is headed for a season-opening stint on the 15-day Injured List. Last season, Wentz put a good foot forward after delivering a 3.03 ERA across his first 32.2 big-league innings (seven starts). He posted 3.16 K/BB across 14.2 innings this spring, although he did allow four homers. Last season, Wentz maintained a 3.03 ERA and a 3.54 FIP, with a 1.10 WHIP, and a 2.08 K/BB. He relies primarily on a whiffy 94 mph fourseam fastball and an 86 mph cutter with heavy sink, while also mixing in a 78 mph curveball with sharp downward bite and has slight glove-side movement and a firm 86 mph changeup with a fair amount of backspin. Key Matchup: Christian Bethancourt (2-2)
You can read about the series in our preview, and I’ll post the starting lineup upon availability.
Rays 4/2/23 Starting Lineup
TBA
Noteworthiness
— Brandon Lowe exited the game after suffering a contusion on his right great toe from fouling a ball off his foot in his third at bat. Rays skipper Kevin Cash said Lowe will likely stay out of the lineup this afternoon to play it safe and fully recover.