If someone was to ask me what a Rays way win is like — say someone who may not be familiar with baseball, yet will be attending Saturday’s game for the Weezer concert — I’d use Friday’s 4-0, shutout win against the Mariners as a point of reference. After all, it had all the hallmarks of a Tampa Bay Rays win we’ve come to expect; strong pitching, solid defense, and timely hitting. And though I’m certainly not willing to proclaim “The Rays are fixed,” it was nice to see the team playing the way we know they’re capable of. The question begs, can Tampa Bay win like this consistently? Talk to me after they (if they) string together 14 more of those wins in the month of June.
As Drew Laing of DRaysBay wrote,
- The streaks are no more for the Tampa Bay Rays.
- 10-game losing streak…snapped.
- 16 games without a win for their starting pitcher…snapped.
- 100 straight at-bats without an RBI for Jose Molina…snapped.
Starting with the pitching, LHP Erik Bedard was able to avoid trouble throughout much of the game. He pitched well, and claimed his first win since May 10th on the back of an impressive 6 IP/4 H/0 ER/1 BB/8 K 103 pitch (66 strikes, 64% K%) outing. In fact, the only significant threat by the Mariners came in the third inning when they had runners in scoring position with no outs, following a booted play by Yunel Escobar which allow Stefan Romero (the leadoff runner) to reach. The veteran lefty showed great composure, and struck out the next three batters swinging, escaping the jam. Bedard looked almost unhittable against the fastball hungry Mariners, coaxing 11 swings and misses against his upper 80’s fastball which he threw for strikes 70% of the time.
Jake McGee, Joel Peralta, and Grant Balfour came on in relief in the seventh, eighth, and ninth innings (respectively), and absolutely dominated the Mariners. McGee, impressively, bounced back from his lackluster outing Thursday, facing the minimum number of hitters, and using his 97-98 mph fastball (editors note: there was a curve ball thrown in there for good measure) to put the M’s down in order — three strikeouts, one swinging.
Offensively, the Rays stranded 15 runners on base and went 2-12 wRISP, yet they were able to manufacture runs largely by playing small ball. Kevin Kiermaier provided a huge burst of energy Friday, adding another two hits including a hustle double on a hit that would have been a grounder up the middle for anyone other than he, or Desmond Jennings. Consider this: of his 13 total hits, seven have come in the XBH variety — three doubles, a triple, and three homers. Kiermaier has pumped life into a largely stagnant team, with his aggressive play in the box, in the field, and on the base paths.
Kiermaier moved to third on a fourth inning wild pitch, before Jose Molina knocked him in on a sac-fly — his first RBI of the season. In the fifth inning, Desmond Jennings laid down a beautiful safety squeeze bunt that would have made Zim proud. The bunt was executed perfectly, and Jennings reached base while Evan Longoria scored from third. Yunel Escobar plated an insurance run on an RBI base hit later in the fifth, while also scoring the fourth run on a wild pitch in the seventh.
The New What Next
Alex Cobb will take the mound against Roenis Elias this afternoon, as the Rays look to start another streak; this one of the winning sort. Elias features a knee buckling, wipeout curveball that, when paired with a fastball that sits 91-94 MPH, is downright filthy. He does have a downside however, his delivery isn’t repeatable at present, which leads to major concerns over his command/control profile. Ideally speaking, the Rays — who are traditionally good at working good at-bats — could have fun against Elias if they are patient at the plate, and can force mistakes. You can read about the pitching match up in our series preview, and I’ll post the starting lineup when it becomes available.
Rays 6/7/14 Starting Lineup
Jennings CF
Rodriguez LF
Longoria 3B
Zobrist DH
Loney 1B
Escobar SS
Forsythe 2B
Solis C
Kiermaier RF
Cobb RHP
Noteworthiness
- The Rays have designated Josh Lueke for assignment; recalling Kirby Yates as the corresponding move!
- Per Baseball Reference, Don Zimmer played with, coached or managed 1,254 players — nearly 7% of all players in MLB history. Furthermore, Zimmer played with, coached or managed 28 of the 211 MLB players in the Baseball Hall of Fame. That’s 13% of them!
- Per Marc Topkin, “The Rays announced plans for a ceremony honoring Zimmer, who died Wednesday at age 83, prior to Saturday’s 4:10 p.m. game against Seattle at Tropicana Field.” Don’t forget to bring a hanky, and a cursory warning to anyone sitting around me in section 141 this afternoon: be prepared to see a 30-something man-child cry like a baby.
- Your tweet of the day:
.@XRaysSpex is pretty much the best name for a sports fan twitter account.
— superchunk (@superchunk) June 6, 2014
Awe shucks Superchunk, we’re blushing! It’s safe to say that Superchunk has been one of my favorite bands for almost 20 years now.