David DeJesus gave the Rays an early lead with a solo shot to right center. (Photo credit: Tampa Bay Rays)

A little hope and a little despair. On the day that Alex Cobb was officially placed on the 60-day DL, Nathan Karns put together a solid seven plus inning outing, as the Tampa Bay Rays rolled to an 8-2 win over the Texas Rangers. Brandon Guyer extended the Rays lead with a sixth inning, pinch hit homer to back Karns’ solid start. Yet the night ended on a sour note, with news of another Ray, Drew Smyly, who was placed on the DL.

Karns, who was lifted after 66 pitches his previous outing, threw almost 50% more pitches on Friday night for a career-high 117. He struck out nine and held a shutout through seven innings.

Though Karns struggled with spotty command throughout the course of his start, getting into five three-ball counts (including two walks) in the front five innings, yet he was able to work through those issues and hold the Rangers to just four base runners through seven innings. It didn’t hurt that he was able to make that all important big pitch when he needed to.

Karns spoke about his start with the media following the contest:

In light of the current situation plaguing the pitching staff, one can’t help but worry that the decision to leave Karns in the game for almost two times as many pitches could pay negative dividends in the long-run. It’s a safe assumption that the number five pitcher, who was once likely to be optioned back to Triple-A Durham upon the reactivation of Matt Moore, will play an integral role in the starting rotation if Drew Smyly misses a significant amount of time.

The Rays gave the starter some cushion with a four-run rally in the sixth. The uprising started when shortstop Elvis Andrus committed his eighth error of the season on Kevin Kiermaier’s ground ball. Steven Souza Jr. followed by bouncing into a 5-4 fielder’s choice, yet James Loney followed with a single to left, moving Souza up 90 feet. Evan Longoria as next, working the count full before lining an RBI single to right with the runners in motion. Longo’s RBI base hit chased Yovani Gallardo, and moved Loney to third.

Rangers reliever Alex Claudio entered the game and threw one pitch to pinch-hitter Brandon Guyer — a middle-middle fastball — which he deposited into the left field seats. Guyer’s three run blast broke the game open after the Rays clung to a 1-0 lead, thanks to a David DeJesus solo shot in the second inning. Until the sixth, it was the only hit (and run) that Gallardo relinquished.

In spite of a 5-0 lead, the game almost got out of control in the eighth inning. Karns came out for the eighth and allowed a leadoff homer to Adam Rosales after having thrown 107 pitches through seven. Karns was lifted in favor of LOOGY Xavier Cedeno after allowing a Delino DeShields base hit.

Cedeno allowed a pair of singles (one a bunt hit) to load the bases before fanning Prince Fielder (swinging) for the first out. Kevin Jepsen entered the game, and Adrian Beltre hit a long sacrifice fly to right-center on the second pitch of the at-bat. Elvis Andrus advanced to second on the play. Jepsen re-loaded the bases on a walk, although he came back to strikeout Carlos Peguero swinging to end the threat and the inning.

All told, Tampa Bay collected 12 strikeouts, including one by Steve Geltz in the ninth.

The Team put up three more runs in the eighth on a Tim Beckham sac-fly, a Jake Elmore single, and another Texas error. In the end the Rays went 4-8 wRISP and totaled nine hits, with two each from Guyer, Longoria and Loney. Tampa Bay now has 21 RBI off the bench. Entering the game, no other American League team had more than six.

Unfortunately for the Rays, the good times didn’t last long. The team ended the night by announcing a series of roster moves extenuating from another injury, among other things. More on that below.

The New What Next

Matt Andriese has been recalled from the Durham Bulls, and he will start Saturday in place of RHP Jake Odorizzi who is exhibiting flu-like symptoms. The Rays do not yet know if Odorizzi will be able to pitch Sunday. Andriese will toe the rubber opposite of Ross Detwiler. Detwiler allowed one run in seven innings in his last start against the Astros. However, it was the first time in five starts the Rangers won with him on the mound. He has a 2.19 ERA in his last two starts after posting a 10.95 ERA in his first three. You can read about the pitching match-up in our series preview.

Rays 5/8/15 Starting Lineup

Guyer CF
Souza Jr. RF
Longoria DH
Forsythe 3B
Butler LF
Loney 1B
Cabrera SS
Beckham 2B
Rivera C
Andriese LHP

Noteworthiness

— Drew Smyly has been placed on the 15-day DL with left shoulder soreness, retroactive to May 6. He would be available to return on May 21, although whether he returns then depends on the severity of the injury. Manager Kevin Cash called the injury “left-shoulder stiffness,” and said Smyly will be evaluated shortly; the team will go from there. According to Cash, the lefty complained of having a bit of a hard time getting loose between innings in his May 5 start against Boston:

Smyly, who made three very encouraging starts following his most recent stint the DL, missed a significant amount of Spring Training after sustaining left shoulder tendinitis. Concerns over the potential for an injury arose following his most recent start against Boston, when the lefties velocity showed a sharp drop (see the velocity graph below). This  flareup also stoked fears for the potential of a recurring problem, leading many to speculate that Smyly may have been reactivated too soon.

 Drew Smyly's velocity graph. (Credit: Brooks Baseball)
Drew Smyly’s velocity graph. (Credit: Brooks Baseball)

As of now, Smyly is unsure of the severity of his injury, although one thing is certain — this isn’t something he can pitch through: “I can’t pitch right now,” Smyly said.

He is expected to have an MRI on Monday, maintaining his objective now is to stay upbeat. Speaking to the question of his concern about the injury being more serious than initially diagnosed, Smyly told reporters,

I hope not. You just have to be positive. I’m sure we’ll all find out soon.

On a related note, the team officially placed Rays RHP Alex Cobb on the 60-day DL and selected the contract of RHP Andrew Bellatti from the Durham Bulls.

Bellatti posted a 2-0 record with Durham this season, with a 2.11 ERA in 21-1/3 innings of work. He offers the team some depth out of the pen. Our friends at DRaysBay wrote a nice piece on Bellatti’s journey to the big leagues.

I’ll continue to update this piece with any related news as it breaks.

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