Going into last night’s game, Roberto Hernandez hadn’t put together a complete game — or a shutout — since 2010. Two hours and thirty-four minutes *later, Hernandez walked off the mound with his eighth career complete game — having taken a shutout two-outs into the ninth inning. Tampa Bay was able to maintain its status as the top team in the AL East, after Hernandez and the Rays took the first game of a two-game set against the Diamondbacks by a score of 5-2.
So how did Hernandez put together the Rays seventh complete game — spread out among four different starters — in the last 19 games? It’s simple, really. He kept the ball down. As BA pointed out during the broadcast, Hernandez’s pitches have a lot of life when he keeps them down in the zone.
Hernandez alternated his pitches — throwing sinkers primarily, then change-ups at the bottom of the zone once he got ahead. Walking that fine line between forcing the Diamondbacks to pound the ball into the turf, and posting more than a handful of strikeouts, he induced 15 easy ground balls for the Rays defense, while striking out six. It bears mentioning, like Price and Archer before him, Robo was insanely efficient, throwing 15 pitches in a single inning only once.
In the end, Hernandez gave up only five hits and one walk, all on 107 pitches (70 for strikes, 65% K/BB). The only runs he gave up came with two-outs in the bottom of the ninth, on an Eric Chavez home run that hit off the foul pole in right-field. If Robo did anything last night, it’s prove that he won’t be sent to the bullpen quietly.
On the offensive end of things, the Rays swarmed Ian Kennedy in the bottom of the first inning, tagging him for a pair of runs. Desmond Jennings got the ball rolling early, sending a changeup near the top of the zone into left-cetner field. Jennings legged it out, turning a single into double and quickly getting into scoring position. Ben Zobrist plated the first run of the game on the very next pitch, sending an RBI single into right field. Evan Longoria was next, however he grounded into a fielder’s choice and replaced Zobrist at first. But James Loney came through, doubling to deep to right-center, and driving in Longoria who beat out a play at the plate. As Ian Malinowski of DRaysBay noted, “A good throw and a good relay nearly nabbed Longo at the plate, but his slide got his feet over the plate before Wil Nieves’s tag caught his body.”
Tampa Bay was relatively quiet until the fourth inning when Yunel Escobar gave the Rays a 3-0 lead on a solo shot to right-field. The Rays were able to hit the ball hard off Ian Kennedy, however the Diamondbacks fielders were able to chase down those potential hits (two of which could have been homers), and converted them into outs.
In the top of the sixth inning, Kennedy was replaced with Will Harris who promptly walked Matt Joyce. With the runner in motion and Aaron Hill following him to bag to receive the throw, Jose Molina slapped a base-hit right where Hill had been, moving Joyce to third base with no outs. Yunel Escobar drove in his second run of the night — and the fourth run overall — on a sac-fly to right-field, just deep enough to bring Joyce home. The Rays tagged on one more run in the eighth inning, when Zobrist doubled in Molina from third.
The New What Next
Jeremy Hellickson will toe the rubber against Wade Miley and the D’Backs in this, the final game of a two-game set. You can read about the pitching match-up here.
Rays 7/31/13 Starting Lineup
Jennings CF
Longoria DH
Myers RF
Zobrist 2B
Rodriguez 1B
Roberts 3B
Escobar SS
Lobaton C
Fuld LF
Hellickson RHP
Noteworthiness
- The Rays have announced that Matt Moore is headed to DL with elbow soreness, and he’s projected to miss only one start thanks to an August filled with off-days. Ryan Roberts has been added to the roster, and the Rays will shift to a four man rotation for the time being.
- In better news, Wil Myers leads the majors in hitting since the All-Star Break with a .457 batting average.
- Brandon Gomes will continue his rehab stint in Triple-A Durham on Thursday.
- It bears mentioning, only one starter in the active starting rotation rotation (Hellickson) has not thrown a complete game this month. No other team in baseball has more than two pitchers with a complete game.
*That includes a 20-minute delay of play due to a lightning strike which knocked out the power at the Trop. We’ve had some wild weather in the area the last few months, and last night was no different. Say what you will about Tropicana Field. However, be grateful for the dome.