By staff contributor, Michael Nazarro
Jake Odorizzi is an enigma. He clearly has some good stuff and the ability to fool batters. Maybe he loves his pitches so much, he wants to throw a lot of them as quickly as possible. Why drag 101 pitches out over seven or eight innings when you could do it in five? Maybe I’m being hard on him. He did strikeout 11 and only walked two, but he threw a lot of pitches. If you’re Odorizzi, you’ve got to be thinking, “Man, I pitched so well, I wish I could have gone deeper into the game.” Especially after Boxberger came in to start the sixth and promptly gave up home run to Asdrubal Cabarera and back to back singles, which we followed by a sac bunt, putting your possible second win on the line — McGee came in and cleaned up the mess, which Joel Peralta later forfeited.
The Rays offense, conversely, found a way to let Kluber keep his count low and get hit as well. Rays batters maybe didn’t get the big homerun, but they found a way to drive in runs. They also kept their runner left of base to five. Maybe the eight hits and two runs through eight innings don’t show it, but watching the game, the production felt better. But clearly not good enough. Maybe they got a little too comfortable with a two run lead and thought to let it just ride, but two ‘strike-em out/throw-em outs’ in a game is ridiculous. And again, the comeback was too little too late.
Scoring Breakdown
Rays:
- In the 4th, with David DeJesus on third, Loney hit a sac fly to bring him in.
- In the 5th, David DeJesus doubled bringing in Logan Forsythe.
- In the 9th, David DeJesus doubled bringing in Ryan Hanigan
Indians:
- In the 6th, Asdrubal Cabrera homered
- In the 7th, Michael Brantley homered.
- In The 7th, Yan Gomes singled on a soft line drive to right fielder Wil Myers. Driving in Carlos Santana.
- In the 7th, Mike Aviles hit a 3 run HR.
Again the Rays held a lead and the bullpen gave it up. To add to an earlier pint on the website, the rays have, since the start of the previous road trip, surrendered 14 leads. This, one could say, is a team effort. The offense is clearly not building a healthy enough lead and the pitching is not shutting down opponents in close games.
To be honest, I stopped giving the game my undivided attention after Peralta gave the lead. It hurts to watch after that. I know Gomes inherited some runners and let them all score. My heart dropped after Brantley’s homerun.
The New What Next
If all goes as planned, Erik Bedard will pull the Rays out of their four game funk Saturday, when he takes on Zach McAllister and the Indians at the Trop. Again, that’s if all goes as planned. Bedard was solid in his previous six inning/one run outing Sunday. You can read about today’s pitching match-up, and so much more, in our series preview.
Rays 5/10/14 Starting Lineup
DeJesus DH
Zobrist 2B
Longoria 3B
Loney 1B
Myers RF
Joyce LF
Jennings CF
Escobar SS
Hanigan C
Bedard LHP
Noteworthiness
- Talk about leaving a lot of chicken on the bone… The Rays have now brought the tying (and/or winning) run to the plate in the ninth inning, in the last four consecutive games. We can talk about the pitching rotation all day, however, the four consecutive losses are due in large part to a stagnant offense that has gone 6-35 (.171 BA) wRISP, while driving in only six two-out runs in that span. That’s, as the kids say, no bueno.
- The lineup, courtesy of the Tampa Chamber of Commerce, worked out well for David DeJesus, who lead off and went 3-4
- Though he won’t get the win, Jake Odorizzi did strike out a career high 11 batters. It’s really unfortunate he couldn’t control his pitch count and go a little deeper. Odorizzi’s slash looks like this: 5 IP/0 R/2 BB/11 K.
- The Rays used 5 relievers. Once again driving home the fact that there has been no length in the Rays’ starters.
- The Rays made John Axford work in the 9th. He threw 31 pitches, walked 2 and gave up a hit to DeJesus which drove in the 3rd run. Francona removed Axford for Cody Allen who had a little trouble retiring Loney. It took him 9 pitches, but he finally got him to fly out to end the game.
- Yunel Escobar left the game after the top of the third and was replaced in the field by Zobrist and at bat by Forsythe. It turned out that the had a right thumb contusion and is day-to-day.
- Ouch:
#Rays have lost 6 straight home games; first time they’ve done that in a season since dark days of June 2005
— Marc Topkin (@TBTimes_Rays) May 10, 2014
- The Rays have lost six straight at home; last longer streak in one season: nine in a row in the 106-loss 2002 campaign
- “Rays RHP Alex Cobb took what he said was a “huge” step in his recovery from a strained left oblique by throwing 49 crisp pitches, breaking balls included, in a three-inning simulated game Friday,” writes Tampa Bay Times staff writer Damian Cristodero. Cobb was happy with his session, saying, “Everything is going to go off how I feel the next day,” Cobb said. “I’m happy with it right now. Hopefully, (today) we’ll be even happier when there’s nothing wrong.”
- Meanwhile, Jeremy Hellickson is scheduled to throw a 45-pitch bullpen session Saturday. He will stay away from throwing breaking pitches, with the exception a couple he said he’ll spin before getting on the mound. You may recall he had elbow soreness following his previous sessions — something that’s par for the course at this point in his recovery.