That was a huge win last night. Of course, the game certainly issn’t free of criticism. However, there were a lot of positives to focus on.
Tampa Bay now finds themselves just a game out of the second wildcard spot, behind the Angels, Tigers, Orioles, and A’s. Yes, the A’s are in the running for a wildcard berth. Let that blow your mind.
Any-who, I Dirty Harried this piece. That is to say, I broke it down into the good, the bad, and the ugly.
The Good
- Welcome back Juego G. Big Game James went a very solid 7-2/3 innings, giving up three runs on four hits and two walks, while striking out 10. Shields kept his fastball velocity down (avg. 92 MPH) and was able to locate his pitches well. 106 pitches were thrown, with 67 of them for strikes (18 called, 13 swinging) for a 63% strike ratio.
- The bullpen again came up big. Peralta, Rodney, Farnsworth, Howell, Badenhop, and McGee combined, posted a 6.1 IP/1 H/0 R/1 BB/7 K line.
- One Ben Zorilla Zobrist had a massive night at the plate, going 3-4, and reaching base safely six times on two walks, a hit by pitch, a double, a triple, and a single. Zo was a homer shy of the cycle. He drove in the winning run in the 14th, crossed the plate once, and swiped a bag.
- It goes without saying, but we like BJ Upton in the top of the lineup. Upton had good night at the plate, going 2-6 with a walk, two RBI, and a run.
- Kepp also reached base safely three times, while driving in a run.
- The Rays had over five hits at the end of the ninth. I like seeing that the Rays are starting to pile on the hits. They ended the night accruing 11 hits and seven walks.
The Bad
- 2-for-15 wRISP. Really? C’mon now. The Rays had ample opportunities to win the game within the framework of the nine innings. Looking back at the whole game, Tampa Bay had runners in scoring position in the first, fifth, seventh, tenth, eleventh, and twelfth innings, yet did nothing with those opportunities.
- SeanRod had two errors, with the Rays committing three errors overall. Ugh.
- Tampa Bay struck out 15 times. There were 32 strikeouts combined, setting a Rays record for the most strikeouts in one game.
The Ugly
- Hideki Matsui and Brooks Conrad. Need I say more? No, but I will.
- Matsui went 0-2 at the plate. Good old Godzilla found himself in two huge situations where he could have been the hero had he just put the ball in play. But as one would expect, he didn’t. In the tenth, Matsui stepped up to the plate with two outs and the bases loaded. He swung on the first pitch and lined out to left. In the twelfth, with two on and two out, Matsui struck out swinging.
- Conrad went 0-3 at the plate. He too could have come up big, but apparently there was a hole in his bat. With one on and one out in the eighth, Conrad ground into a double play, extinguishing any Rays rally. With two on and one out in the 10th, he struck out swinging. He also struck out with Zobrist on second and one out in the 12th.
- In the pinch hitting role, Matsui is 1-9 with a .111 BA/.200 OBP/.222 SLG/.422 OPS line, while Conrad is 2-20 with a .100 BA/.143 OBP/.150 SLG/.293 OPS line. There is one run and one RBI between them in that role.
Moving Forward
Just think kiddies, if the Rays win tonight, they’ll be on a three game winning streak. We like that. In even happier news, either Conrad or Matsui will be gone as early as tomorrow with the return of Super Sam Fuld returns. If Fuld doesn’t come back tomorrow, he will more than likely meet up with the Rays in Baltimore. But that’s neither here or now.
Jason Vargas (9-7, 4.09 ERA) will take on Alex Cobb (4-6, 4.92 ERA) and the Rays tonight at the Trop. Vargas is 2-0 with a 2.12 ERA in his last four starts, though the left-hander is 1-3 with a 3.90 ERA in five starts against the Rays. Cobb, on the other hand, is coming off of a 3-1/3 inning five hit, five walk outing against Cleveland on Monday. Cobb threw 86 pitches in that start.
The Rays have posted a combined .250 BA/.307 OBP/.440/.747 OPS line against Vargas, with Ben Zobrist leading the charge. Zobrist is 7-17 lifetime against Vargas with three doubles and three RBI. As sad as it is to acknowledge this, Matsui has put together good numbers against Vargas as well, going 7-25 with a double, three homers, and 10 RBI.
Rays 7/21/12 Starting Lineup
Upton CF
Pena 1B
Zobrist 2B
Keppinger 3B
Joyce RF
Matsui DH
Jennings LF
Lobaton C
Rodriguez SS
Cobb RHP