Going into Saturday’s game against the Orioles, I almost forgot what it felt like to be on the other end of a blown save win (or loss, depending on your perspective). After all, the Rays have blown so many leads — and subsequently wins — thus far, it almost seemed inconceivable that the opposite could be true. But low and behold the opposite was true this fine day, as the Rays came from behind to score six runs in the ninth to win their second consecutive game against the O’s by a score of 10-6. This summary could be broken into three chapters: The Hernandez Innings, The Torres Innings, and The Ninth Inning. Note: If you’d like a blow by blow account of the game, check out our Tumblr page where our witty repartee can be read.
The Hernandez Innings
It was evident from the get-go that Roberto Hernandez didn’t have his stuff. It became even more evident after the first; an inning where he gave up four runs on seven hits — including back-to-back homers by Adam Jones and Chris Davis. Hernandez threw 28 pitches for strikes (36 total) in the first, but he left those strikes in very hittable locations and the Orioles made him pay.
He almost got out of the second inning unscathed, having given up a base hit to Nick Markakis who was subsequently thrown out trying to steal a base. Let me emphasize that once more: HE WAS THROWN OUT — BY MOLINA — TRYING TO STEAL A BASE. Fausto, urm…Roberto came out again in the third inning, following a Rays three run rally, and promptly plunked the first batter he faced, Chris Davis. Joe Maddon had enough of Hernandez’s shenanigans and pulled him in favor of Cesar Ramos.
Ramos saw his scoreless streak come to pass after Nate McLouth scored on a fielders choice in the fourth. Ramos ultimately posted a 2.0 IP/4 H/1 R/1 ER/1 BB/2 K slash line on 47 pitches (29 for strikes). Alex Torres came on in relief of Ramos, and what an outing he had.
The Torres Innings
Posting a 4 IP/0 H/0 R/2 BB/3 K slash line on 49 pitches (31 for strikes), Alex Torres was the quiet hero of the day, shutting down a dangerous Orioles lineup and keeping the Rays bats in the game. Leading the way with his two-seam fastball — which he threw for strikes almost 78% of the time — Torres attacked the Orioles hitters, keeping the Birds off balance by moving his pitches around the zone. Torres impressively jammed batters in on the hands, while inducing a good number of weakly hit ground-outs and pop-outs on pitches well inside and outside of the zone. Simply put, Torres was precisely what the Rays needed.
The Ninth Inning
Prior to Tuesday night’s match-up against the Padres, Orioles closer Jim Johnson hadn’t blown a save in 35 outings; a fact that Dick Stockton pounded into the collective heads of every viewer of Saturday’s game. A comeback against Johnson seemed improbable at best. But that’s the beauty of baseball — just because something is improbable, it’s not impossible. The Rays are evidence of that.
Johnson handily got Luke Scott to ground out to second-base for the first out of the inning, but the tide would begin to change in the next at-bat.
With a 3-1 count, Jim Johnson threw a ball up in the zone to Kelly Johnson who absolutely crushed the pitch — sending it 401 feet to left field — bringing the Rays within one run of a tie. The momentum shift began. Johnson couldn’t find the zone to save his soul and proceeded to walk the next two batters, Jose Lobaton and Yunel Escobar. With two on and one out, Desmond Jennings blooped a single to left field, just out of the reach of Nate McLouth. Matt Joyce — who up to that point plated three runs — joined in on the ninth inning fun, sending a two-run double to right-center. That would be all for the Orioles maligned reliever.
With the tough Darren O’Day on the mound, Ben Zobrist sent a 2-1 pitch to right-field, plating both Desmond Jennings and Matt Joyce. O’Day then gave up the third consecutive double to Rays, on an Evan Longoria bloop hit to shallow right which moved both runners into scoring position. O’Day would walk the next two batters, giving the Rays a four run lead that they would not relinquish. Ironically, the 10th run came on a bases loaded walk to — you guessed it — Luke Scott. As you may recall, Scott walked in the game winning run about two weeks prior.
Josh Leuke would come on in relief of Alex Torres after Kelly Johnson grounded into an inning ending double play. He handed the Orioles their fourth consecutive loss — their fifth in six days — while the Rays ended the night having won the series. Tampa Bay is once more two games over .500.
The New What Next
Matt Moore will take a stab at winning his eighth game of the season Sunday against Chris Tillman and the Orioles. You can read more on the pitching match-up here.
Rays 5/19/13 Starting Lineup
Jennings CF
Joyce RF
Zobrist 2B
Longoria 3B
Loney 1B
Scott DH
Johnson LF
Lobaton C
Escobar SS
Moore LHP
Noteworthiness
- Jake Odorizzi will be activated Monday (he’s already with the team in Baltimore), while LHP Jeff Beliveau will replace Alex Torres on the roster for Sunday’s game. Suffice to say, it’s sad to see Torres go back down to Triple-A, especially after his outing Saturday. But the Rays needed a pitcher who would be available to pitch Sunday, which Torres would not have been. Too, Torres would have been sent down to make room on the roster for Odorizzi.