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Drew Smyly put together another outstanding start Saturday afternoon. His final line 6 IP/4 H/1 ER/2 BB/8 K on 96 pitches (63 strikes, 66% K%). (Photo courtesy of the Tampa Bay Rays)

It a shame that Drew Smyly had to be pulled early because of his inning watch, especially since he put together another outstanding start Saturday afternoon. It’s also a pity that the Rays couldn’t preserve the one run lead that unfortunately found Smyly in no decision territory. Nevertheless, both scenarios came to pass in the Rays 3-2, walk-off victory against the Orioles. The Rays have now made it two in a row against the Orioles, and they’ll attempt a sweep in the series finale this afternoon.

With the exception of a pitch down, and on the outer third of the plate — which Chris Davis powered for a solo shot down the right field line — Smyly was dominant once again.

Credit where it's due, Chris Davis converted a well executed pitch into a run in the second. (Courtesy of Brooks Baseball)
Credit where it’s due, Chris Davis converted a well executed pitch into a run in the second. (Courtesy of Brooks Baseball)

A common theme has arisen in his seven starts with Tampa Bay, Smyly again coaxed good number of weak poppers on his riding fastball which he threw up in the zone (46 total, 26 strikes, 12 whiffs), while also forcing the Orioles sluggers to pound the ball into the turf on pitches at the bottom of the zone. Despite three wRISP scenarios in the first, second and fifth innings, Drew calmly made those all important big pitches to limit the Orioles to just one run in six innings — a Nelson Cruz comebacker in the first; a Jonathan Schoop groundout, and a Nick Markakis strikeout with a runner on third in the second; a Steve Pearce foul out to Smyly, and a Adam Jones strikeout with a runner on second in the sixth. Much like Alex Cobb Friday, Smyly did what he does best: move the ball around the zone and effectively change speeds on the batters to keep the Orioles off balance.

Drew Smyly at-bat outcome chart. (Courtesy of Brooks Baseball)
Drew Smyly at-bat outcome chart. (Courtesy of Brooks Baseball)

I hate comparing David Price and Smyly because it really is like trying to find analogous connections between apples and oranges. While it really is low hanging fruit, I can’t help but indulge.

Drew Smyly: 3-1 with a 1.70 ERA and 41 strikeouts in seven starts since joining the Rays; Smyly’s ERA is the lowest for any pitcher in their first seven starts in Tampa Bay Rays history.
David Price: 2-3 with a 4.96 ERA and 53 strikeouts in seven starts since the trade.

Joel Peralta took over for Smyly in the seventh, and promptly gave up a line drive off Nick Hundley’s bat that bounced off of the wall — one railing (or a couple of inches) shy of being the game-tying homer. Instead, Hundley was held to a hard hit single. Peralta recovered quickly and paired with lefty Jeff Beliveau to strike out the rest of the side.

In a moment of role reversal, Jake McGee took over in the eighth, though he did not have one of his better innings. After a leadoff walk of Steve Pearce — who was immediately replaced by pinch-runner Quentin Barry — McGee got Jones to pop up for the first out, yet things unraveled with Nelson Cruz at the plate.

Jake attempted a pick off throw to first that went well beyond the outstretched arm of James Loney, advancing Berry to second. Cruz converted the errant throw into a run with a game tying base hit. Chris Davis moved Cruz to second on a single of his own — Showalter pinched Cruz for the quicker David Lough. Looking to take the lead, Delmon Young hit a screamer that Longo was able to grab. With a snap throw to Zobrist at second, Lough was doubled up to end the inning.

Boxberger came out in the ninth and put together a 1-2-3 top of the inning, featuring two beautiful strikeouts.

Offensively, Tampa Bay answered the above mentioned Chris Davis homer in the third inning with a pair of runs. After a Curt Casali strikeout and a Ben Zobrist walk (one of four), David DeJesus moved Zo to third on a base hit to put runners on the corners. Longo followed with a sac-fly to center to knot the game at one apiece, bringing Loney to the plate. Loney hit a single to left that allowed  DeJesus to advance to second. Wil Myers capped off the scoring in the third with a liner to center to which scored DeJesus from second. The typically dependable Adam Jones got a glove on the ball, but couldn’t keep it in the webbing.

Ryan Flaherty helped the Rays stage a walk-off in the ninth with some shotty defense. Flaherty had some trouble with Yunel Escobar’s hard grounder, following with a throw (to first) that Chris Davis couldn’t handle. While the throw looked catchable, Flaherty was charged with the error, and Escobar was safe at first base. Kevin Kiermaier moved Escobar to second on an excellent sac-bunt to second, and Curt Casali sent him to third on a sac-fly to center. Brad Brach intentionally walked Ben Zobrist before being replaced by Andrew Miller.

Ryan Hanigan would be called upon to pitch hit for DeJesus against the left handed Miller — an interesting decision since Hanigan has better splits against righties. On the second pitch of the at-bat, Miller let loose with a pitch that was well out of the reach of Nick Hundley’s glove. Escobar hustled home from third to give the Rays a passed ball walk-off win.

While the game was meaningless in the context of things, it is nice to see a win. As I alluded to previously, solid performances at the end of a meaningless season can be viewed as a springboard for the upcoming season. If anything, we can get a general idea of who will fit where next year.

The New What Next

Jeremy Hellickson will attempt to close the door on the Orioles and the home stand this afternoon against Bud Norris. Helly is coming off an abysmal four inning start against the Red Sox. I’d argue, if anything, he’s fighting for his spot in the 2015 starting rotation. While Norris (12-8, 3.83 ERA) was very good against Tampa Bay last season — posting a 1-1 record in 9-1/3 innings of work — the Rays were able to tag him for four runs on six hits, back on Augsut 28th. His most impressive start came as an Astro, putting together a 7 IP/6 H/1 R outing against Roberto Hernadez. Norris’ change-up has vastly improved over previous seasons. It’s coaxed a modest number of whiffs (10.3%), and a hefty number of grounders (65.7%). His change-up pairs well with a plus slider. You can read about the pitching matchup in or series preview.

Rays 9/7/14 Starting Lineup

Zobrist SS
DeJesus DH
Longoria 3B
Loney 1B
Guyer LF
Joyce RF
Forsythe 2B
Kiermaier CF
Molina C
Hellickson RHP

Noteworthiness

I think I had a great season in Detroit and I think here, I definitely took it to another level, and maybe that’s where I can be, season-end, throughout the season. I don’t know. I mean next year’s a new year, next game’s a new game. But if you can do it once, why can’t you do it again? So that’s definitely the mind-set. I pitched really good for seven starts here, so why I can’t I do it for 30 starts next year?

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