Put a fork in it, the Rays drop the series to the Blue Jays following a 4-3 loss to Toronto, Wednesday. The redundant culprits struck again; Fernando Rodney blew the save in the ninth, giving up the game tying home run to Jose Bautista, while Kyle Farnsworth — charged with getting the final out of the tenth — gave up an RBI base hit to (you guessed it) Jose Bautista, plating Colby Rasmus.
Don’t get me wrong, I get the concept of team sports. I get that it was the Rays — as a team — that lost, not just Rodney or Farnsworth. To that end, the offense should have scored more than three runs. They’re ultimately just as much to blame as Rodney or Farnsworth.
However if I were Jeremy Hellickson, I’d have to be miffed at all the players that allowed an excellent eight inning performance go by the wayside in some way, shape, or form. I’m fully aware that Jeremy Hellickson wouldn’t publicly implicate anyone for the loss, though privately I’d imagine that he’s none to thrilled — and rightly so — to be sitting on a 2-2 record after a game that was winnable.
Here are some bulleted points to ponder following Wednesday’s loss:
- On the plus side, Evan Longoria was able to extend his hitting streak to 16 consecutive games after hitting a ninth inning double. James Loney plated Longo on a single to center, giving the Rays a fleeting 3-2 lead.
- Kyle Farnsworth has now given up four runs in his last 2-1/3 innings of work. He has also given up six hits — including two homers (accruing a 6.75 HR/9) — and a walk in that span. The once mighty Farnsworth has struck out a measly five batters in 11-2/3 total innings, while relinquishing 10 runs. Yeah, umm…I’d imagine that his “effective” years may be behind him.
- Fernando Rodney has now blown four saves. As with Farnsworth, Fernando has given up four runs over his last three outings (3-1/3 innings overall), while giving up two hits and walking five. Granted Rodney’s strikeout percentage is up over last season (29.8% vs 27%), so are his walks (19.1% vs 5.3%).
- Can anyone tell me why any of the Rays pitchers threw anything in the zone to the one man wrecking crew, that was Jose Bautista? Simply put, Joey Bats was the Jays offense, plating four runs while crossing the plate twice.
- CB Bucknor had one of the most lopsidedly inconsistent strike zones I’ve ever seen. To say that he was incredibly stingy with Hellickson, while being incredibly liberal with Buehrle, would be the understatement of the year. Take a gander:
Tampa Bay is again a mere two games over five hundred, as they prepare to take on the Yankees in a three game series at the Trop, starting Friday. Be on the lookout for our series preview Thursday.