Ever heard the saying SSDD? No? Hmm… How about Déjà vu? Think back to last Wednesday when Wade Miley and the Diamondbacks handcuffed Jeremy Hellickson and the Rays in a 7-0 loss, at the Trop. Helly couldn’t command any pitches in that game and Arizona made him pay. The Diamondbacks tagged Helly for four runs on seven hits in 4-1/3 innings of work, while Miley shutdown the Rays, holding Tampa Bay to two hits and no runs over 6-1/3 innings of work.
Welp, at least the Rays got five hits and a run off Miley this time around — that’s approximately a 75% improvement in the hits column, and a 100% improvement in the runs column. And Hellickson? He, uh…at least he reached base twice on a fielder’s choice and his first major league hit — a single to left. Oh, and he pitched an out deeper into the game.
To his credit, Hellickson did a better job of commanding his pitches this time around — throwing 37 fastballs (one swinging) and 14 change-ups (two swinging) for strikes. However, too many of those pitches were left in hittable spots and he, again, was punished with four runs on five hits (including a fourth inning Cody Ross three-run blast to right-center), and three walks.
Oof.
The New What Next
AL pitcher and rookie of the month Chris Archer will attempt to recover from his 7 IP/7 H/4 ER loss last Friday. He’ll toe the rubber against 23-year old RHP Randall Delgado. The D’Backs acquired the fastball/curveball/change-up pitcher in the Justin Upton trade. Delgado’s fastball has good velocity, though it tends to flatted out when he leaves it up in the zone. That leads to a lot of flyballs and homers. Too, his change-up and curveball still need work. The curveball is his best offspeed pitch, though he doesn’t have a consistent feel for it. It can be a good swing-and-miss weapon when it is right. Don’t forget, you can check out our series preview here.
Rays 8/7/13 Starting Lineup
Zobrist 2B
Joyce RF
Longoria 3B
Myers CF
Loney 1B
Escobar SS
Johnson LF
Molina C
Archer RHP
Noteworthiness
- The Rays start the day a game-and-a-half behind the Red Sox after Boston’s 15-10 (yes, you read that right) win over the Astros last night.
- Hopefully Longo’s solo shot to left is another sign that he’s getting toasty once more.
- With Desmond Jennings slated to miss the next two weeks, Sam Fuld figures to shoulder some added burden. The Process Report’s RJ Anderson asserts that this a good time to examine some of the recent changes to Fuld’s swing.
- Dear friends who opine that Matt Joyce is a horrible left-fielder, at least he’s not Raul Ibanez.
- If you haven’t noticed, the Stadium Saga is once again heating up. Not so fast buckeroo, John Romano of the Tampa Bay Times notes, “There are still plenty of details to be worked out. For instance, an amendment to allow the Rays to look at stadium sites outside of St. Petersburg must be written.” While Ken Hagan of the Hillsborough County Commission is expected to cull together a search committee across the bay, Michael Sasso of the Tampa Tribune reports, “Coincidentally, the Pinellas County Commission is expected to discuss how to divvy up some of its hotel bed taxes at a Tourist Development Council meeting this week. One possibility is redirecting some of the bed tax money now going to pay off Tropicana Field bonds toward a new potential stadium, Pinellas County Commission Chairman Ken Welch said.” Noah Pransky of Shadow of the Stadium (and WTSP) adds “Pinellas County, home to Tampa Bay’s beaches, brings in a lot more bed tax money than Hillsborough County.”
- The Rays have announced a number of ticket promotions designed to boost attendance down the stretch. Among them are:
1,000 lower level seats at Tropicana Field will be available online through raysbaseball.com for $9.53 for every remaining home game this season, in partnership with WDAE 620 AM/95.3 FM.
A Buy Two, Get Two free deal on outfield seats for all for all remaining Tuesday home games beginning with the Mariners game on Aug, 13 – and including Sept. 10 vs the Red Sox. This offer is available online through raysbaseball.com via coupons that will be appearing regularly in the Times.
Another $2 Kids Night on Wednesday, Aug. 14 vs. Seattle. Fans who buy one full-priced ticket online in select seating areas can buy up to three tickets for kids 2-14 for $2 each. There also will be free parking in team lots for cars with four or more passengers. The first $2 Kids Night on July 31 drew drew 25,095, including approximately 9,700 kids.
And for any game, fans who buy four or more tickets via raysbaseball.com will receive 10 percent off face value.
No excuses, get out to Tropicana Field!