Chris Archer took the mound and proved he was the heir apparent to King David’s throne. Although it took him 30 pitches to get through the first inning (and 60 through three), he was able to work around a single and a walk, and ultimately struck out the side. King Chris fanned five through the front two innings, and nine by the time he departed after six innings and 110 pitches (72 strikes).
It would be safe to say that Archer was amped up for his start. He routinely hit 99 mph on the in-house radar gun, and his energy level after making a big play (like the inning ending play against Ryan Flaherty in the third) went a long way to pump up the rest of the squad, who looked listless by comparison.
Archer kept the game scoreless until the fourth when the Orioles finally struck pay-dirt. Manny Machado led off the inning with a single up the middle. Chris Davis responded by slapping a rocket to the right of James Loney, who was playing the line in a defensive shift. The RBI double scored Machado all the way from first. The Rays’ ace eventually got Travis Snider to ground into a 1-6-3 double play, ending the frame and stranding a runner on third.
Cloudy with a Chance of several #Whiff(s). pic.twitter.com/YP54PQ05G1
— Tampa Bay Rays (@RaysBaseball) July 25, 2015
Archer, who logged his 12th start allowing 1 ER fewer (tying Hector Santiago of the Angels for most in the AL), spoke about his outing after the game:
Xavier Cedeno followed Archer and posted a hitless seventh, although it could have ended badly. Caleb Joseph hit a one-out chopper to third. Longoria lined up to make the play, yet the ball passed him by just wide of his glove. Cedeno masterfully navigated around Joseph and out of trouble. Longoria has now made two egregious defensive miscues in the last two games.
Alex Colome, who was credited with the victory, worked around a hit by pitch of Machado to put up a zero in the eighth. Machado attempted a take out slide of short-stop Jake Elmore on a fielder’s choice off the bat of Adam Jones — an obvious attempt at retaliation for the HBP that could have resulted in an injury. Machado has shown intent to cause harm to another player on a few other occasions, this is nothing new. It is no less despicable though — the Orioles’ young star needs to grow up, and soon.
While the pitching staff did its damnedest to keep the Rays in the game, Chris Tillman looked like an All-Star against Tampa Bay’s impotent offense. Tillman held the Rays to just two hits — one of which being a Kevin Kiermaier bunt single — and two walks over the previous seven innings. That changed when Kiermaier worked a leadoff walk in the eighth which spelled doom for Tillman.
Darren O’Day entered the game in relief. O’Day, who hadn’t allowed a run to Tampa Bay since June 23, 2014, got pinch-hitter Joey Butler to line out to Adam Jones in right-center for the first out of the inning. Kiermaier then swiped second, but Steven Souza Jr. struck out looking on a 3-2 pitch that appeared to be inside.
The stolen base paid dividends. John Jaso followed with a two-out liner to center, knotting the game at one apiece. Longo decided to joint in of the fun, and none too soon. After seeing eight pitches, Longoria muscled a broken-bat blooper into no-man’s land, moving Jaso to third. Loney was next, and worked a 3-0 count before being intentionally walked, loading the bases for Beckham.
Beckham fell behind 0-2 (as he’s wont to do) before he shortened his swing, and shot a grounder off the mound and into center field, plating Jaso and Longoria before Loney was thrown out at third — giving the Rays a two run advantage heading into the ninth.
Jake McGee got the call in the top of the inning to slam the door on Baltimore. And though he allowed a leadoff single to JJ Hardy, McGee forced a pair of ground-outs before punching Jonathan Schoop out to put a tally for his team in the win column, and earn the save. Previous to last night, the Rays were just 1-37 when trailing after seven innings, while the Orioles were 39-0 when leading after seven.
The New What Next
Erasmo Ramirez (8-3, 3.54 ERA) will take on Miguel Gonzalez (8-6, 4.21 ERA) in the second game of the series on Saturday. Ramirez accrued all of his wins since joining the rotation on May 14. Gonzalez will face Tampa Bay for the fourth time this season. He’s allowed one run in 15-2/3 innings over the past two starts against the Rays. You can read about the pitching matchup in our series preview.
Rays 7/25/15 Starting Lineup
Souza RF
Jaso DH
Longoria 3b
Loney 1b
Forsythe 2b
DeJesus LF
Beckham SS
Kiermaier CF
Casali C
Ramirez RHP
Noteworthiness
— Ramirez sees the skipper’s policy of pulling the starter the third time through the order as a challenge: Retire as many batters as efficiently as you can in the first two times through the order, before Cash turns to their bullpen.
That’s kind of the challenge they give you. If you win the challenge, you earn the sixth (inning), and you earn the seventh.
— Speaking of Erasmo…
Erasmo’s parents came all the way from Nicaragua to see him—and they were eager to meet Hickey, Cash & Charlie. pic.twitter.com/uoiy2qMM39 — Tampa Bay Rays (@RaysBaseball) July 24, 2015
— The team announced that LHP Drew Smyly will begin a minor league rehab assignment on Sunday Triple-A Durham at Norfolk. Smyly has been on the 60-day DL since he suffered a partially torn left labrum in May, in a game against the Boston Red Sox at Fenway.
— According to the Elias Sports Bureau, the Rays snapped the Orioles’ streak of 87 wins when holding a lead during or after the eighth inning.
— Tim Beckham has a .250 average with nine RBI when batting with two strikes. The league average with two strikes is .177. Moreover, the infielder has 18 RBI this season — 13 have come in the seventh inning or later.