Best at-bat photo ever. Erasmo Ramirez stepped to the plate with a huge smile on his face in the second inning. (Photo credit: the Tampa Bay Rays)
The Tampa Bay Rays won their second consecutive game, this time by a 5-3 score over the Atlanta Braves on Tuesday. The team struck first and eventually scored in four of their first five at-bats, while the pitching staff, with Erasmo Ramirez at the helm, held the Braves to three runs on four hits. Tampa Bay is now 22-18 and tied for first in the AL East.

The Rays scored first, taking a 1-0 lead two batters into the game after Kevin Kiermaier hit a bloop triple into right field — a hit that would have been a single by a mere mortal.

The Outlaw scored on a single to right off the bat of Steven Souza Jr.

Yet on the heels of the lead and an efficient 14-pitch, 1-2-3 first by Erasmo Ramirez, Atlanta took a short lived 3-1 lead in the second. Nick Markakis led off the inning with a walk, then moved to third on Todd Cunningham’s double to right. A.J. Pierzynski followed by dropping his elbow into the the path of an 0-2 pitch, consequently loading the bases. Andrelton Simmons tied the game with an RBI walk, and Cameron Maybin singled to right to put the Braves ahead. Ramirez was able to limit the damage from there, allowing just one more run on a Jace Peterson ground ball out to first.

The righty pitched his way into a big jam, due in part to his struggles with the grip on his fastball:

It was rare for me, but with (catcher Rene Rivera’s) help, I just tried to mix it up and see which pitches I was feeling at that time, Ramirez said. That was the only way we got out of the inning.

Yet Erasmo did something he hadn’t before after relinquishing three or more runs in an inning — Ramirez went into lock-down mode. The righty made the proper in-game adjustments and pitched his way into his second straight win. The adjustments allowed him to retire 12 of his last 13 hitters.

In the end, Ramirez proved he could make another effective start. He also proved that a shaky inning does not an unsteady outing make, telling Marc Topkin (Tampa Bay Times), “you try just to fight back.” He did just that and offered his team a solid five inning start on 80 pitches (52 strikes, 65% K%).

Down by two, Tampa Bay tied the game with single tallies in the third and fourth innings against Mike Foltynewicz. Souza singled and quickly stole second to get into scoring position. Evan Longoria, who has now driven in 14 runs in the month of May, cut the Braves lead to one on a single through the middle in the third inning, and Asdrubal Cabrera crushed a solo shot to deep right to knot the game at three in the fourth.

Tampa Bay took the lead for good in the fifth, and it all started with a two-out walk of James Loney. The Rays first baseman was wild pitched to second just prior to an RBI single to left-field by Logan Forsythe, scoring the lead run. David DeJesus padded the lead on an RBI double to left. That run proved important, as the final 13 Rays were retired in order. The team collected eight hits on the night — including two from Souza who lead the attack.

Xavier Cedeño took over for Ramirez in the sixth and put down the front two batters before allowing a double to Pierzynski of all people. Manager Kevin Cash called upon Brandon Gomes to get the final out of the inning, and he did not disappoint. Gomes needed just two pitches to force a foul-ball out to Longoria from Simmons.

Kevin Jepsen worked the seventh and worked around a lead off walk. While his command appeared to evade Jepsen after he got into three consecutive three-ball counts, the reliever put down the next three batters, stranding the Braves catcher at second.

Cash turned to Jake-and-the-Box for the eighth and ninth innings. Jake McGee put together another strong appearance, striking out two while allowing just a single, and Brad Boxberger pitched a 1-2-3 ninth for his 11th save.

To review: Ramirez had it in the first, lost it in the second, and regained it once more in the third through fifth innings. Meanwhile Cedeño allowed a double and nothing else, Gomes worked around an inherited runner, and Jake-and-the-Box combined to post two scoreless innings.

The New What Next

The Rays and Braves will wrap up the short two-game set tonight. Contrary to what I wrote previously, Jake Odorizzi (not Nathan Karns) will start opposite of Williams Perez. Karns instead will start Saturday against the A’s at the Trop. A Rays win and a Yankee loss will find Tampa Bay in sole possession of first place. You can read about the matchup in our series preview.

Rays 5/20/15 Starting Lineup

Kiermaier CF
Souza RF
Longoria 3B
Loney 1B
Forsythe 2B
DeJesus LF
Cabrera SS
Rivera C
Odorizzi RHP

Noteworthiness

— In a surprising move, LHP Drew Smyly has apparently opted to try to pitch again this season after undergoing a regimen of rest and rehab for the torn labrum in his left shoulder.

In a media session Tuesday, Cash said the team is very “optimistic” and has heard good things, which may imply that Smyly was opting to try and come back this season:

I’ll say this about Smyly, everything is going, we’re optimistic, but we’re going to wait until we get back when Drew is there to where we can kind of sit down with Drew and talk.

According to Topkin, under a rest and rehab program, it would seem the best case for Smyly to return — if all goes well — would be sometime in August. If he had the surgery, he would be out for the rest of this season and possibily part of 2016.

Team officials should know more after they return from Atlanta, either Thursday or Friday.

— The Rays have the sixth best ERA in baseball (3.43, second best in the AL), and the fifth most strikeouts in the bigs (340).

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