The Tampa Bay Rays fell to the Boston Red Sox on Sunday, 7-5. (Photo Credit: Tampa Bay Rays)

Not even a three-run first, and a pair of homers, could find the Tampa Bay Rays on the winning side of the ledger Sunday afternoon, as they fell to the Boston Red Sox, 7-5. And while they had opportunities to pull past Boston, the BABIP luck dragons, poor pitching performances and mismanagement on the part of Kevin Cash find Tampa Bay under .500 for the first time this season.


If anything, the WPA graph above shows that the game was in reach until it wasn’t. Source: FanGraphs

— In his post game presser (seen below) Cash mentioned in no certain terms that Alex Cobb battled the BABIP luck dragons, and, well…lost.

To an extent Cash was correct, and Cobb’s .455 BABIP on the day speaks to that. More than a few balls fell into play, or were hit just out of the reach of the Rays’ fielders. For example, Mookie Betts’ hit a first inning ground rule RBI double that fell into play on the fair side of the foul line in right-field, then bounced into the stands.

 

However, Cobb lacked fastball command, and he ultimately gave up his share of costly hits. To his credit, the right-hander was able to coax double plays in the first and fifth innings, and pick off Betts at first in the third.

— Why would you bring Xavier Cedeno — a pitcher that’s had considerable problems in medium (3.00 WHIP/9.00 BB:9/0.00 K:9/62.5% LOB/16.14 FIP) and high leverage (1.80 WHIP/16.20 BB:9/0.00 K:9/100% LOB/8.34 FIP) situations — into the game with the bases loaded and just one out? Moreover, Cedeno has been incredibly shaky thus far, especially with inherited runners on the bags; 10-of-14 inherited runners have now scored against the southpaw this season.

Perhaps a better plan of attack would have been to let Cedeno start the seventh, instead of mop up the mess in Farquhar’s wake

— Because Austin Pruitt threw 41 pitches on Thursday, it was widely assumed that the addition of Chase Whitley was to alleviate some of the pressure on the rookie, while also adding a quality fresh arm to the ‘pen. With that in mind, it was kind of surprising to see Pruitt take the mound in the eighth, especially since he hasn’t fared well (to put it nicely) this season, and since Whitley had previously warmed.

It would be incredibly harsh to call out Pruitt, after all his .750 BABIP on the day only added to his incredibly unlucky .576 BABIP overall. However, I will say that if you have a fresh arm that’s ready to go — one that’s proven to be effective at the big league level — why not go with him? Instead, Pruitt got them through the eighth with what amounted to an insurmountable two-run deficit, especially since the specter of Craig Kimbrel loomed large.

The New What Next

The Rays wrap up their first road trip on Monday against the Red Sox. Blake Snell (0-1, 3.18 ERA, 5.16 FIP) will get the start, opposite knuckleballer Steven Wright (0-1, 13.50 ERA, 11.70 FIP).

Snell still has work to do on his fastball command, but that’s a well worn diatribe by now. His 3.18 ERA looks great, yet his 6.35 BB/9 does not. It’s undoubtable that the Red Sox’s game plan will be to be patient against Snell. If — for some reason — they aren’t, or if he can lock it in, Snell can dominate Boston on Patriot’s Day.

Wright, the knuckle baller, lasted just 1-1⁄3 innings in his last start, including four home runs while recording only four outs. The Rays have faced Wright just once, although they tagged him for four runs (all earned) on seven hits, including a pair of homers, over four innings last season. Key matchups: Tim Beckham (1-2), Kevin Kiermaier (2-3), Brad Miller (2-5, 2B, HR, 2 RBI, 3 BB), Logan Morrison (2-4, HR, RBI)

You can read about the pitching matchup, and so much more, in our series preview.

Rays 4/17/17 Starting Lineup

Dickerson LF
Kiermaier CF
Longoria 3B
Miller 2B
Souza RF
Morrison 1B
Weeks DH
Norris C
Beckham SS
Snell LHP

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