The Tampa Bay Rays bid adieu to the Trop Sunday afternoon following their 3-0 loss to the Texas Rangers. All is not lost however, the Rays went 4-3 in their first home stand of the year, leaving the confines of the big top as the only team in the AL East with a +.500 record. I know… It’s still really early, but it feels really good to mention that Tampa Bay is in first place. They’ll begin a long nine game road trip in Kansas City, Monday. The Royals are coming off of a tough 5-1 loss to the Chicago White Sox, one in which James Shields tossed seven innings of one run ball. The ChiSox blew the game open after Juego G was pulled.
For Jake Odorizzi and Wil Myers, the trip to Kansas City will be a homecoming of sorts. Mind you, both Odorizzi and Myers came over from the Royals organization in the much heralded James Shields trade. “It’s pretty special,” Odorizzi said in a Tampa Bay Times piece. “Between Wil and I going back there together at the same time, I think it’s going to be pretty cool just because we’re not that far removed from being traded. It’ll be cool to go back and play on the other side of the dugout.”
Kansas City’s offense is off to a slow start. The Royals are batting a combined .244 and is the only team in the majors without a home run. Salvador Perez is batting .438 and Alex Gordon has knocked in five runs for the Royals, however Mike Moustakas and Alcides Escobar are a combined 1-for-32.
Jason Vargas: Vargas will make his second start of the year following a five hit/seven inning no-decision against the Tigers Wednesday. He struck out six, walked one, and gave up one run. Over the last three seasons against the Rays, Vargas has gone 3-2 while putting together a healthy 2.59 ERA. In kind, the Rays have combined to slash .260 BA/.326 OBP/.382 SLG/.708 OPS against the left handed fastball/curve ball/changeup pitcher. Key match-ups: James Loney (4-8, RBI), Evan Longoria (4-17, HR, 2 RBI, 2 BB), Jose Molina (3-5, 2B, BB), Ben Zobrist (4 2B, 5 RBI, 3 BB).
Yordano Ventura: Nicknamed Lil Pedro’ his comparison to Pedro Martinez, Ventura is a power pitcher that has touched 100 mph on several occasions, hitting 98 almost every time out and sits at 94-97. Per his scouting report, his stuff, size and arm slots have prompted comparisons to Neftali Feliz and the aforementioned Pedro Martinez. Many have opined Ventura’s fastball/curve ball combination is downright deadly, however there are a couple of gripes surrounding Ventura: the overall quality of his changeup, and a lack of consistency with his command. On the subject of his 2013 cameo with the Royals, Bleacher Report‘s Zachary Rymer writes, “Ventura was solid in his 2013 cameo, but really only solid. His 3.52 ERA was nice, but his 1.83 K/BB ratio was less than nice and FanGraphs put his WAR at an even 0.0. Basically, he was what the “R” in WAR is all about: a replacement-level player.”
Jeremy Guthrie: In his last three seasons against the Rays, Jeremy Guthrie has posted a 3-4 record, with a 4.06 ERA, and just a 37/19 K/BB over 51 innings of work. In his last outing, Guthrie allowed four runs on seven hits and four walks with three strikeouts over 5.2 innings against the White Sox on Friday. Key match-ups: Brandon Guyer (1-3), Desmond Jennings (2-7), Matt Joyce (13-32, 3 2B, 3B, 2 HR, 7 RBI, 4 BB), Evan Longoria (12-42, 5 2B, 2 HR, 11 RBI, 3 BB), Sean Rodriguez (2-7, HR, 2 RBI), Ben Zobrist (13-38, 3 2B, 3B, 4 RBI, 3 BB).
Noteworthiness
- Myers went 0-for-4 with two strikeouts in an 11-1 loss in his initial return to Kansas City, last season. Since then, he’s won the Rookie of the Year, and drove in four runs in the Rays opening week of baseball.
- The Rays have limited opponents to three runs or fewer in five of seven games this season, ranking in the majors’ top 10 with a 2.57 ERA. They, however, surrendered seven or more runs five times while dropping six of the seven meetings with the Royals in 2013. Tampa Bay ended up with a 7.95 ERA in the series, its highest mark versus any opponent.
- Tampa Bay is the majors’ best team on the road over the last four years, but are 3-13 all-time in road openers. They’ll be looking to reverse the curse Monday night.
- Entering Sunday, the Rays were the only team in the majors yet to commit an error. The streak of six errorless games tied their longest run in club history to start a season, repeating last year’s feat.
- “While there’s a strong likelihood of a David Price trade next offseason,” writes Cork Gaines of Rays Index, regarding the state of the Rays moving forward, “much of the team is controlled through at least the 2016 season. Ben Zobrist and Matt Joyce are exceptions to that rule, but each is controllable through 2015. It’s unlikely, Gaines writes, that the Rays will feel pressured to make any big additions next winter, with the possible exception of the bullpen.” I’d argue that Ben Zobrist may be the next Ray to receive a contract extension.
A Non-Series Preview Related Aside
“I can’t give enough praise to the surrounding neighborhood to Tropicana Field,” writes Jim Dietrich of Stadium Reviews. “While the argument that the stadium is located “too far from the base of population in Tampa” seems to be gaining steam (no matter how untrue that statement actually is; see “Access”), anyone who prejudges the Trop based on where it is located on a map is sorely missing out on one of the most vibrant Major League neighborhoods in the country. Located in downtown St. Petersburg, the Trop is walking distance to numerous bars, clubs, shops, restaurants, dives, concert venues, and Tampa Bay itself, the body of water to which the team is named after and what makes this area famous.”
Dietrich goes on to write,
If it’s not the playoffs or an important game, attendance can be below 50% capacity. If it is one of those games, though, sellouts are not uncommon. Because the attendance is so up and down, despite the loyalty and passion the fans do have, they show it on Twitter from their sofas instead of their voices in the stands, and I have to low-ball this category. There really is no good excuse anymore why no one is attending, and where I once gave benefit of the doubt from personal experience, I have to face reality and call it for what it is. Don’t get me wrong: the 2013 ALDS Game 3, the first one at home for the Rays since the 2011 Playoffs, sold out two days before the scheduled match (better than can be said for the Red Sox in Game 1 of that series), and all but one home playoff game the Rays have ever hosted have sold out, but this is where I have to evaluate the two versions of the Trop, and in this case, the regular season outweighs the otherwise-fantastic postseason presentation.
You’ve been called out, Rays fans. I’m not denying the Rays deserve more — they do. I, like a good number of you, would love to see a new, sparkling facility for our guys. However, the Trop is home for the foreseeable future, and every fan that can make the jaunt to the Trop, should make the jaunt.