Prior to Tuesday night’s game, the Rangers hadn’t hit a homer in seven games… Hell, they’d lost seven straight. Then Jeremy Hellickson got the start, and Texas went yard three times in one game alone. Ouch. The short summary: Hellickson lasted 2-2/3 innings, relinquishing five runs on four hits — including a pair of homers. Tampa Bay starts the day tied with Texas for the first Wildcard spot once again, while Cleveland sits a mere half game back following their 5-3 win against the Royals.
If a picture (or in this case, a PNG) speaks a thousand words, the graph below must speak volumes.
The New What Next
Chris Archer will get the start against Derek Holland, in game three of Tampa Bay’s current four game set. The Rays have put together some decent numbers against Dutch Oven, posting a combined .262 BA/.325 OBP/.530 SLG/.856 OPS slash line, with 21 extra base hits including eight homers in 149 total at-bats. You can read about the pitching match-up here.
Rays 9/18/13 Starting Lineup
Jennings CF
Zobrist 2B
Longoria 3B
Myers RF
Young DH
Rodriguez LF
Loney 1B
Molina C
Escobar SS
Archer RHP
Noteworthiness
- Tim Beckham (top pick of 2008) has been called up, while Jake Odorizzi is expected to be recalled Friday for the Baltimore series. Brandon Guyer has been transferred to the 60-day DL in order to make room for the speedy Freddy Guzman.
- While it’s on my mind, I’d like to acknowledge the hard work of Brett Morgan in his attempt to Top Off the Trop, Wednesday night. I’m a firm believer that the Rays need to seek out more corporate sponsors around the area — especially if they are going to be sustainable over the long-term. Kudos to someone from the Bay Area business community, for stepping up and trying to help out on that end. If only others in the Bay Area business community, at large, would do the same.
- One of our cohorts suggested a great way for you to win one of the “Save Tampa Bay Baseball” stickers, so graciously donated to us by 98.7 the Fan: Like X-Rays Spex on Facebook or Tumblr, or recommend us to a friend on Facebook or Tumblr, and be entered to win a sticker. Simple as that! From there, we’ll draw a name at random on Friday. Consider this the playoff push… To help us to get more followers!
