Day game after a night game. Chris Archer got the start for the Tampa Bay Rays in the middle contest of the current incarnation of the Citrus Series — part one if you will. Jarred Cosart got the start for the Miami Marlins; his first outing of the season after suffering a blister on his right middle finger. Cosart has a favorable history against Tampa Bay, while Archer gave up the ghost in his last outing against the Marlins in June 2014. And though both hurlers pitched well Saturday afternoon, only one pitched exceedingly well and remained victorious — Chris Archer, who blanked the Marlins over the balance of his seven inning start. The Rays hitters did just enough to squeak past Miami, allowing the team to knot the Citrus Series record at two games apiece.
I already covered the game (somewhat) at our Tumblr page, and I’m also somewhat hung-over. Taking both into consideration, what follows are a few highlights from Saturday’s contest.
— All hail King Archer! Anyone who follows the Rays knows that the Chris Archer who took the mound on Opening Day isn’t the ace in the making that we hoped would exceed our expectations in 2015. True, he didn’t pitch horribly last Monday, rather a costly throwing gaffe and a couple of misplaced pitches effected the outcome. But the true test was how he’d bounce back from adversity in his following start. After slashing 7 IP/1 H/0 R/1 BB/5 K (four swinging)/83 pitches (56 strikes; 67%K/BB; 11 pitches per inning) I’d have to say he bounced back really fucking well!
Archer mixed his pitches and depended heavily on a plus upper-90’s fastball and a power slider, while sprinkling in more than a few quality change-ups to keep the Marlins’ batters off-balance. The latter two pitches were solid whiff-worthy offerings, as Archer managed to get a combined nine swings and misses with his slider and change.
Archer got in trouble, at most, twice during the game — although I wouldn’t really call a sixth inning walk of Ichiro Suzuki trouble. More on that in a moment. In the fourth inning the righty gave up a one out double to Christian Yelich after leaving a 1-2 fastball over the heart of the plate. Archer got away with a similar pitch to start the at-bat, however, Yelich wasn’t fooled the second time through, lacing the errant pitch to left field. I say errant because the first pitch was obviously a show me fastball while the following two pitches were down in the zone. I can’t imagine he’d intentionally leave a very hittable, middle-middle pitch in the heart of the zone.
Archer got squeezed on a four pitch walk to Ichiro in the sixth inning. FoxTrax showed three well located borderline pitches, while Brooks Baseball showed two pitches that were inside the zone and a couple that were out. Whatever the case, it sure seems like the home plate umpire gave Ichiro a free pass.
All’s well that ends well, Bobby Wilson gunned down Ichiro a good three steps in front of second:
For what it’s worth, Archer made three nice throws to first base on three comebackers. Hopefully that wipes the slate clean after that awkward toss to first on Opening Day.
— With two outs in the fifth inning, Asdrubal Cabrera lined a 3-1 fastball into center field. Marcell Ozuna charged the hit and took a sliding stab fielding the ball, yet he couldn’t even get his glove on it. The ball rolled to the wall and Cabrera pulls into third with a triple.
Evan Longoria followed by sending a two-out double into right-center field, scoring Cabrera for the first run of the game. With his double, Longoria surpassed Carl Crawford in the Rays record books for extra-base hits with 425.
— Beckham goes boom! Tim Beckham jacked a monster solo shot to left field, the first of his career. Beckham became the first Ray whose first homer came in a pinch hit AB.
— Rays win, 2-0.
The New What Next
The Rays and Marlins will wrap up the Citrus Series Sunday afternoon. A pair of right-handers will toe the rubber against one another in the rubber game, with Nathan Karns getting the start opposite of Henderson Alvarez. You can read about the pitching matchup in our series preview, and I’ll post the starting lineup when it becomes available.
Rays 4/12/15 Starting Lineup
Kiermaier RF
DeJesus LF
Cabrera SS
Longoria 3B
Jennings CF
Dykstra 1B
Forsythe 2B
Rivera C
Karns RHP
Noteworthiness
- Marc Topkin wrote of a few below the radar, yet very interesting, moves on the part of the Rays’ new regime: “A new team dress code requires collared shirts or a jacket over a T-shirt on travel days and no sneakers. Among other new-regime changes: players on the field for the anthem, and batting practice for day games.” Interestingly enough, manager Kevin Cash left the decision of road-trip attire to a handful of player representatives including (but not limited to) Evan Longoria and Alex Cobb. If the players had a part in opting for a more professional approach to things, I can’t help but wonder what their level of appreciation for Joe Maddon’s hijinks may have been.