Once again the Rays overworked bullpen was forced to eat innings after Chris Archer failed to pitch past the fifth inning (for the third straight start) in his start Tuesday night. The typically dependable Joel Peralta faltered as the Orioles scored twice in the eighth inning following a 19-minute power delay, beating the Rays 5-3 in the first game of a three-game set.
Though Archer only walked one batter — an improvement over his last start when he walked six — he seemed to have a hard time with command throughout the course of his outing. Combine that with the over reliance on his slider, that wasn’t nearly as effective as it needed to be. To his credit, Archer was able to coax 11 whiffs. And to be fair, I get his game plan: try to get a very aggressive team to chase pitches outside of the zone — after all the Orioles (as a team) are dead last in walks, and they tend to swing at pitches. However, Archer found himself in eight (yes, eight) three-ball counts which forced him to come back in the zone, and he was hammered on multiple occasions because of it. Eric Hahmann of DRaysBay wrote an account of Steve Pearce’s home run at-bat,
“Take the at bat against Steve Pearce as a prime example. Six of the eight pitches he threw in that AB were sliders, yet they lacked consistency and Pearce was able to drive one that caught a little too much plate over the left field wall.”
Archer loaded the bases in the fourth and fifth innings and was able to escape with minimal damage — allowing just a run each time. Though he kept the Rays in the game, he needed entirely too many pitches to do so. Joel Peralta also allowed a myriad of base runners to reach (4) in his 1/3 inning of work, yet he wasn’t nearly as lucky as Archer.
Much like Archer, Peralta’s command was off, and he struggled to keep his pitches down in the zone. Consequently, Peralta relinquished a double, two singles, and a walk, and was charged with three-runs. My question; Did the 19-minute electrical delay have an effect on Peralta? The delay came while he was on the mound which, as DeWayne Staats mentioned in the telecast, made it feel like two innings.
Offensively speaking, it was a same s**t, different day situation. At 0-5 wRISP, the lack of hits with runners in scoring position ultimately did the Rays in. Tampa Bay found itself in bases loaded with one out scenario in the seventh inning, yet they were only able to come away with one run on a Ben Zobrist sac-fly. The Rays found themselves in a similar situation in the ninth, but neither Desmond Jennings or Logan Forsythe could pounce on the struggling Tommy Hunter.
The New What Next
Cesar Ramos will butt heads with Bud Norris tonight in the second game of the series, at the Trop. Ramos will attempt to build on three consecutive solid starts. Could this be the game he pitches past the fifth? Let’s hope so. You can read about tonight’s match-up, and so much more, in our Rays/Orioles series preview. I’ll post the starting lineup when it becomes available.
Rays 5/7/14 Starting Lineup
Zobrist 2B
Jennings CF
Joyce LF
Longoria 3B
Loney 1B
Myers RF
DeJesus DH
Escobar SS
Hanigan C
Ramos LHP
Noteworthiness
- Somewhat surprisingly, Ryan Hanigan is back in the lineup tonight. He admitted he got beat up pretty good last night, after being hit on the wrist by a pitch, and on right shoulder by foul tip.
- Per the pre-game notes, this is as late in a season Tampa Bay is in last place since becoming the Rays in 2008.
- Alex Cobb could return from the DL within the month. Tasked with rebuilding arm strength, Cobb participated in what was described as an “electric” 35-pitch bullpen session Tuesday. Per Marc Topkin, Cobb will throw the first of three live batting practice sessions in a couple of days. “I think the end of this month is an extremely realistic goal,” Cobb said. “I think that’s been the goal this whole time, just put a little cushion on it just in case we had a minor setback here or there. But it’s been real smooth sailing with the rehab process so far. I don’t want to jinx anything, but I think we’re doing really well right now.”
- In other rehab news, Jeremy Hellickson reportedly felt good Tuesday after throwing from 100 feet, saying he’ll throw a fourth — and potentially final — bullpen session today before taking the next step in his rehab. “Hellickson, who has experienced soreness only when throwing curveballs, may not return until late June, though he says he’s just taking it one day at a time,” wrote Marc Topkin. “Just kind of being smart about it,” he said. “There’s a little urgency to get back, but at the same time, you’ve got to let it respond how it’s going to respond and go from there.”