At this point in the season, when it — as a whole — has been largely conceived as a waste, the best a fan can do is look for the little things to celebrate; a good pitching performance, setting a franchise record, watching a team shutout one of the best teams in baseball. As a fan, I’ve resolved myself to do just that, while also look at the Rays in the future context with the simple question in mind: What are the Rays doing in the present tense, that may carry over into Spring Training and the 2015 season? If the last two games are indicative of anything, the pitching staff looks like it will be solid once more, while the offense is going to need some offseason work on situational hitting.
Alex Cobb was good in his 7 IP/6 H/0 ER/1 BB/6 K 105 pitch (70 for strikes) outing, though he wasn’t dominant. Much like his previous outing against the Boston Red Sox, Cobb got away with more than a handful of mistakes that were covered up by some exception plays in the field.
To his credit, however, he was able to work through a RISP jam in the sixth inning after Adam Jones moved to second (after reaching on a single to center) on a wild pitch, while also being able to coax weak contact from the Orioles slug happy hitters by working the inside corner. Though he wasn’t perfect, Cobb was effective, keeping Tampa Bay in the game throughout the duration of his seven inning start.
The two pitchers Joe lovingly refers to as Jake n’ the Box followed Alex, and were lights out. Brad Boxberger recorded his 93rd and 94th strikeout of the year, setting the single season franchise record for strikeouts by a Rays reliever — unseating JP Howell.
McGee came on in relief in the ninth, and mowed down the meat of the Orioles order on three consecutive strikeouts (two swinging).
Offensively, the Rays met Wei-Yin Chen with scoring opportunities in the second, third and sixth innings, likewise threatening to score in the seventh against Ryan Webb. However, it took them until the eighth inning to scratch out their three runs — a problem that’s plagued Tampa Bay all season. The most insufferable of those opportunities came in the second, when the Rays worked Chen over for 30 pitches — subsequently loading the bases with two outs for Sean Rodriguez.
As he who only has one type of swing made his way to the plate, a moment of déjà vu hit me like a ton of bricks: Rodriguez struck out swinging to end a bases loaded threat night prior. We in section 143 placed our bets on how SeanRod would ruin this prime, two-out scoring opportunity. My bet was on a swinging strikeout. I digress. Rodriguez worked himself into a full count on six pitches, yet I held firm with my prediction. And while the improbable almost seemed reasonable, SeanRod sent an inning ending liner to right-field on the seventh pitch. Womp womp.
Overall, the Rays have posted a .246 BA/.341 OPS/.358 SLG/.699 OPS/.112 ISO slash line with runners in scoring position (this season). And while their batting average and OPS wRISP is decent, that SLG and OPS is abysmal.
The Rays finally tacked three runs onto the board in the eighth, in another bases loaded situation. It looked a little something like this:
Yes, you saw right. They could have scored more runs, were’t it for an inning ending double play.
The New What Next
Drew Smyly will make one of his last starts of the season this afternoon against Kevin Gausman and the Orioles. Smyly has been a bright spot in the rotation, and it would be outstanding to see him put together another solid two-runs or fewer outing once more. It should be noted, he held the Orioles to two runs on three hits in his last start. For Gausman, talk about an uneven outing. Despite giving up only two earned runs, Gausman last only four innings against the Rays in a 3-1 loss on August 27th. He’s now thrown for five innings or fewer in seven of his 15 starts, while opposing teams (Rays included) have walked away with wins in six of those games. You can read about the pitching matchup in our series preview.
Rays 9/6/14 Starting Lineup
Zobrist 2B
DeJesus DH
Longoria 3B
Loney 1B
Myers RF
Joyce LF
Escobar SS
Kiermaier RF
Casali C
Smyly LHP
Noteworthiness
- Alex Cobb has gone 11 straight starts with two runs or less. Only five pitchers in AL history have gone longer, including King Felix (17) this year and Babe Ruth (12).
- Today’s MLB On Fox broadcast will feature the Orioles announcer Gary Thorne, >Brian Anderson, and the incomparable Ken Rosenthal.
- Your tweet of the day:
Following lead of #Bucs & #Rays, #Lightning/Vinik donate $25k to @Greenlight2014 campaign: http://t.co/gXIqzUWw4r #wtsp
— Noah Pransky – WTSP (@noahpransky) September 6, 2014