The Tampa Bay Rays notched their second consecutive win, this time over the Houston Astros by a score of 6-1. A vintage “Rays” win if there ever was one, timely hitting and strong start by Alex Cobb were the keys to a convincing victory over the red-hot Astros. Don’t look now, but we’re almost in the midst of the Rays first winning streak since May. Truth told, the Rays looked more like the team fans came to expect heading into this season.
Cobb was dominant, going 6-1/3 innings, allowing only one run (a solo homer) and making Astros hitters look swing happy for most of the night — notching 11 strikeouts. As Drew Laing of DRaysBay asserted, “Tonight’s performance was important for Cobb who has been up-and-down since returning from injury back in late May. If the Rays are to make any sort of run before the All-Star break, they’ll have to get more starts like the one they got from Cobb tonight on a daily basis.”
Tampa Bay was able to get those all important timely hits when they needed to, ultimately going 4-15 wRISP (.266 BA). Matt Joyce, Ben Zobrist and Evan Longoria did what we hoped they’d do all season, come through with a big hit with runners on second or third.
For the second consecutive game, Joyce got the scoring started. The Rays OF smacked a double down the right field line in the top of the second inning after James Loney reached on an error, and Zobrist moved him to third on a double. Zobrist FINALLY broke out of a six-game streak without an RBI in grand fashion, finishing the night a mere homer away from the cycle. Zo plated a pair on a triple through the middle in the top of the fifth inning.
It wouldn’t be a prototypical Rays style win without an excellent defensive play. Desmond Jennings did not disappoint, chasing down a mammoth fly-ball driven to center (and up the hill) by Chris Carter. The ball was measured 430 feet off the bat, while Jennings navigated the hill in center and made the tough catch to rob Carter and the Astros of an extra base hit.
The New What Next
Chris Archer will get the start against Jarrod Cosart and the Astros Saturday afternoon. Archer will attempt to put up another quality start against the Astros starter who was incredibly good against the Rays last season. Cosart’s quick arm generates a mid 90s fastball with plenty of movement to boot. He also features a power curve and change that has good separation from his fastball. His change, however, doesn’t feature notable movement. Expect Cosart to coax a fair number of grounders and a few strikeouts along the way. A caveat for Cosart, his motion features little deception, giving hitters an opportunity to see the ball for extended periods of time. You can read about the pitching matchup in our series preview
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Rays 6/14/14 Starting Lineup
Noteworthiness
- With 16 combined strikeouts on the night, the Rays came two away from tying the team record for most strikeouts in a regulation game (18).