David DeJesus, in search for that elusive banana peel. (Photo courtesy of Brian Blanco/Getty Images)
David DeJesus, in search for that elusive banana peel. (Photo courtesy of Brian Blanco/Getty Images)

The Baltimore Orioles, bolstered by a five-run third inning, walked away from the Big Top with a 7-5 win Tuesday night. LHP Erik Bedard befell the axe early (once again) after he gave up five runs on four hits, including a Chris Davis grand slam.

The skinny: Bedard was all over the zone. And even when he found the zone, his pitches were hammered.

Beadard's start had more in common with a Jackson Pollock painting, in that his pitches were spattered all over the place. (Pitch F/X courtesy of Brooks Baseball)
Beadard’s start had more in common with a Jackson Pollock painting than a quality outing, in that his pitches were splattered all over the place. (Pitch F/X courtesy of Brooks Baseball)

If this home stand is viewed as a second Spring Training, I’d imagine Bedard should be in preservation mode. After all, the imminent return of Jeremy Hellickson is right around the corner, and either Bedard or Jake Odorizzi will be sent to Triple-A Durham by means of an option (in the case of Odorizzi) or a DFA.

Source: FanGraphs

The Rays battled back. Tampa Bay pulled within three in the third, thanks back-to-back solo shots by Sean Rodriguez (a mammoth shot off the “C” ring) and Desmond Jennings. The Rays came within a run two innings later on a James Loney, two RBI, opposite field double. But the rally stopped there after the Rays failed to drive in Loney to tie the game. Yunel Escobar tallied another run when he hit sacrifice fly to right, allowing Ben Zobrist to cross the plate. Five runs was enough to win the game Monday, though not last night.

The New What Next

Alex Cobb and Kevin Gausman will face off in a matinee matchup this afternoon to decide the series winner. Tampa Bay last faced Gausman in 2013, when they tagged the 23 year-old RHP for eight runs on 10 hits and three walks, over 5-1/3 innings. The mid-90s fastball/mid-80s changeup/mid-80s slider throwing Gausman has struggled on the inner half of the plate, and he’s been charged with seven runs in 17 innings of work (this season) because of it. That is, if the offense can remain productive, and if Alex Cobb can put together another dominating outing, we could be talking about back-to-back series wins later this afternoon. You can read about the pitching matchup in our series preview.

Rays 6/18/14 Starting Lineup

Joyce RF Kiermaier CF Longoria 3B Loney 1B Zobrist 2B DeJesus LF Sands DH Escobar SS Hanigan C Cobb RHP

Noteworthiness

 

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