Rays look to sweep the Nationals after 11-0 shellacking

The Rays throttled the Nationals on Monday night, 11-0, thanks in part to a dominant pitching performance by Blake Snell. Too bad more people weren’t on hand to see it. (Photo Credit: X-Rays Spex)

After delivering an 11-0 shellacking on Monday night, the Tampa Bay Rays look to complete a two-game series sweep over the Washington Nationals on Tuesday afternoon. The Rays have now won seven consecutive home games, and six of their last eight.

On Blake Snell’s dominant performance last night…

Snell started the game by walking the first two batters he faced, yet slammed the door on the Nationals over the balance of his seven inning, one hit start.

I got pissed; I was annoyed, said Snell on the subject of walking the first two batters.

The left-hander carried a no-hitter into the seventh inning until Anthony Rendon led off the frame with a double off the left field wall. Snell walked two more batters in the frame, although he was able to escape with the shutout intact. Snell fanned 10 and lowered his home ERA from 0.96 to 0.70, extending his club record by allowing just one earned run or fewer in a 10th straight home start.

Marc Topkin (Tampa Bay Times) also dished some noteworthiness relating to Snell’s phenomenal outing:

Retired 18 straight, tying the third-longest streak of consecutive batters retired in team history, behind Matt Garza (22) on July 26, 2010, vs.
Detroit and Chris Archer (19) on July 29, 2015 vs. Detroit.

Made the 11th scoreless start of his career and matched the longest scoreless start of his career.

Reached double-digit strikeouts for the fourth time in his career, third this season. No other Rays pitcher has done so.

Became the seventh Ray to reach double-digit wins
before the All-Star break, first since Matt Moore (13) in 2013.

Allowed two runs or fewer for an AL-most 14th time this season, matching Washington’s Max Scherzer for most in the majors. And allowed one run or fewer for the 10 time, matching most in the majors.

All told, the Rays plated 11 runs on 12 hits including three home runs by Kevin Kiermaier (second inning grand slam) and Wilson Ramos (two homers).

The New What Next

Nathan Eovaldi Nathan Eovaldi (1-3, 4.91 ERA) will get the start for Tampa Bay, pitching opposite of Max Scherzer (10-3, 2.09 ERA).

Eovaldi allowed four runs on seven hits across six innings of a loss to the Astros on Wednesday. All the damage against Eovaldi came on four solo home runs — three on consecutive pitches in his final inning of work. To his credit, he was sharp for the first five innings of his start before he surrendered the solo homers to the top of Houston’s lineup. Despite having good stuff, Eovaldi has relinquished eight homers over his last four starts, including one against Washington in a 4-2 loss on June 5. The right-hander is 2-5 with a 5.30 ERA in 10 career starts against the Nationals. With a rested bullpen staff (thanks, Blake and Austin) perhaps it is wise for Kevin Cash to have a reliever warming the second time through the order, when Eovaldi has performed to a 4.38 ERA and a 5.05 FIP, and pull the right-hander before he gets penalized the third time through, when he has performed to a 7.20 ERA and a 10.11 FIP. Just a thought.

Scherzer threw seven innings of two-run ball in a 4-2 win over Baltimore. He allowed five hits (including two solo homers), walked one and struck out nine. Overall it was a strong start even though Scherzer made two mistakes on the solo shots by former Ray Colby Rasmus and Mark Trumbo. Scherzer still owns a ridiculous 6.71 K/BB in 107-2/3 innings, and has given up more than two runs in just one of his 16 starts this season — back on May 25 when he allowed four runs to the Marlins in a 9-5 defeat over Miami. In his previous start against Tampa Bay, Scherzer allowed just two runs on five hits over eight innings. He fanned 13. Overall, Scherzer is 5-2 with a 2.82 ERA in nine career starts against Tampa Bay, but is 2-1 with a 4.11 ERA in five starts at the Trop. Key Matchups: Matt Duffy (3-5, 2B, HR, 2 RBI), Johnny Field (1-3, 2B), Carlos Gomez (2-7), Mallex Smith (2-7), Joey Wendle (1-3)

You can read about the series in our preview.

The New What Next: Rays vs Nationals part two — an interleague series preview

Rays 6/26/18 Starting Lineup

Kiermaier CF
Duffy 3B
Bauers 1B
Ramos C
Wendle LF
Cron DH
Robertson 2B
Smith RF
Hechavarria SS
Eovaldi RHP

Noteworthiness

— A Tampa Bay win, and losses by Oakland, Anaheim and Seattle, would put the Rays 1-1/2 games behind the Athletics and Angels in the Wildcard race, and six off the pace of the Mariners.

— Why Austin, why?

The New What Next: Rays vs Nationals part two — an interleague series preview

Walk it off, Jake. (Photo Credit: Tampa Bay Rays)

After an exhilarating weekend of play, the Tampa Bay Rays will play host to the Washington Nationals in a brief two-game interleague series, starting Monday night. The Rays are coming in off a sweep of the Yankees, after defeating the top team in the AL East, 7-6, in 12 innings Sunday afternoon. The Nationals avoided a sweep of their at home against the Phillies.

Washington swept the two-game series against Tampa Bay at Nationals Park earlier this season.

(Stats Credit: ESPN)

The Rays improved to 37-40 on the season and look to maintain some momentum despite trailing Seattle by 10 games in the Wildcard race. Jake Bauers, Carlos Gomez and Jesus Sucre each had two hits in the series finale for Tampa Bay. Bauers hit a walk-off homer (his second of the season) on the first pitch of the bottom of the 12th inning.

The solo shot marked Tampa Bay’s first hit since the third inning: five Yankee relievers had combined for eight no-hit innings prior to that. It should be noted, however, that the Rays were able to chase Domingo German after tagging the right-hander for six runs in the first three innings.

Washington dropped the first two games of their series against the Phillies, yet bounced back to defeat Philadelphia by an 8-6 margin in the finale. The Nationals enter the series 41-35 on the season, putting them three games behind the Braves in the NL East. In spite of their plus .500 record though, the Nats have gone just 5-10 over a 15-game span following the above mentioned two-game sweep of the Rays in DC. They’ve averaged just 3.6 runs per game along the way.

(Stats Credit: FanGraphs)

Yes it’s true that the Nationals are a powerful team, and in all fairness they have outpaced the Rays in most offensive categories over the last 14 days. Even so, they have scored just four more runs than Tampa Bay over that that span, and their -0.7 wRAA certainly isn’t anything to write home about. In fact, according to BaseRuns, the Rays and Nationals should have essentially the same Win/Loss record; 42-35 with a .540 theoretical WP for Tampa Bay, 42-34 with a .549 theoretical WP for Washington.

It also is true that the Rays are coming off a 10-game stretch of play where they scored more than three runs just once. Be that as it may, Tampa Bay scored 13 runs against a very good Yankees’ pitching staff, and has shown it can win games if the hurlers can keep the ball in the park.

Pitching Probables

Over the next two days Kevin Cash will lean on Blake Snell (9-4, 2.48 ERA) and Nathan Eovaldi (1-3, 4.91 ERA). Dave Martinez will counter with Gio Gonzalez (6-4, 3.08 ERA) and Max Scherzer (10-3, 2.09 ERA).

(Stats Credit: FanGraphs)

Blake Snell was credited the win last Tuesday after he allowed one run on three hits and seven walks while fanning six over seven innings against Houston. Snell wasn’t at his sharpest with a season-high seven walks and only just over half of his pitches going for strikes (57 of 102, 56% strike rate), though he allowed just three base hits and was helped out by his defense with a couple of double plays and another out on the basepaths. Snell’s nine wins trail only Corey Kluber and Luis Severino in the American League, and he now sports a sterling 2.48 ERA. The southpaw has struggled with command of late with a 1.15 K/BB in his last three starts (18 innings), yet he’s now at 9.8 K/9 on the season.

Gio Gonzalez allowed two runs on five hits and struck out two over four innings of a rain delay-shortened loss Wednesday against Baltimore. Gonzalez allowed a second inning home run to Mark Trumbo but was otherwise sharp. The rain delay lasted two hours and 43 minutes, leaving the Nationals with no choice but to go to the bullpen. Prior to that start, the southpaw allowed at least three runs in three consecutive starts, with the shortest lasting just 3-1/3 innings against San Francisco (6/9). Gonzalez is 2-2 with a 5.54 ERA in six career starts against the Rays (26 innings of work), and 0-1 with an 11.25 ERA in three career appearances (one start) at Tropicana Field. This season he has relied primarily on a 90 mph sinker, a whiffy 91 mph four-seam fastball, an 83 mph changeup with some natural sink, and a 76 mph curveball with exceptional bite and sweeping glove-side movement. Key Matchups: CJ Cron (2-3, HR, RBI), Kevin Kiermaier (1-2, 2B)

Nathan Eovaldi allowed four runs on seven hits across six innings of a loss to the Astros on Wednesday. All the damage against Eovaldi came on four solo home runs — three on consecutive pitches in his final inning of work. Despite having good stuff, Eovaldi has relinquished eight homers over his last four starts, including one against Washington in a 4-2 loss on June 5. The right-hander is 2-5 with a 5.30 ERA in 10 career starts against the Nationals.

Max Scherzer threw seven innings of two-run ball in a 4-2 win over Baltimore. He allowed five hits (including two solo homers), walked one and struck out nine. Overall it was a strong start even though Scherzer made two mistakes on the solo shots by former Ray Colby Rasmus and Mark Trumbo. Scherzer still owns a ridiculous 6.71 K/BB in 107-2/3 innings, and has given up more than two runs in just one of his 16 starts this season — back on May 25 when he allowed four runs to the Marlins in a 9-5 defeat over Miami. In his previous start against Tampa Bay, Scherzer allowed just two runs on five hits over eight innings. He fanned 13. Overall, Scherzer is 5-2 with a 2.82 ERA in nine career starts against Tampa Bay, but is 2-1 with a 4.11 ERA in five starts at the Trop. Key Matchups: Matt Duffy (3-5, 2B, HR, 2 RBI), Johnny Field (1-3, 2B), Carlos Gomez (2-7), Mallex Smith (2-7), Joey Wendle (1-3)

Noteworthiness

— Relief pitcher Jonny Venters left Sunday’s game with a strained right hamstring after trying to cover first base on a bunt play.

Rays manager Kevin Cash said that Venters will be placed on the 10-day disabled list. The Rays responded by again promoting RHP Austin Pruitt, who can provide length after the bullpen was taxed over the weekend.

— According to Marc Topkin (Tampa Bay Times) both Chris Archer and Jake Faria threw bullpen sessions at the Trop on Monday. While there is no word on how Faria, well…fared in his 30-pitch bullpen, Archer reportedly did well in his 40-pitch session, complete with PFP drills throwing to bases.

Tampa Bay Rays look for a sweep of the Yankees Sunday afternoon

The guys go for the sweep against the Yankees this afternoon. (Photo Credit: Tampa Bay Rays)

After winning the first two games of the series against the Evil Empire, the Tampa Bay Rays look for a sweep of the Bronx Bombers afternoon, at Tropicana Field.

Moments that mattered from Saturday’s game

— Wilmer Font shut down one of baseball’s most potent offenses on Saturday, stymying a silent Yankees team.

Font threw 5-2/3 solid innings — his longest outing in the Majors — and allowed just three hits, walking just one and striking out four. It was the 28-year-old’s first big league victory (in his 26th appearance and fourth start). He has progressively increased the length of his appearances, from 2-1/3 innings to 3-1/3 to 4-2/3 and now 5-2/3.

It’s exciting, and I’m very happy, said Font, who was acquired by the Rays on May 25 and is playing with his third organization (Dodgers, Athletics) this season. I was trying to attack from the start. The first pitch was very important. After that, work the corners. I felt very, very good today.

While there is still a lot of work for him to do, as Marc Topkin (Tampa Bay Times) writes, Font may turn out to be a steal for the Rays off the discard pile given his physical tools, maturity and hunger at age 28 to finally succeed.

— In the first inning, Kevin Kiermaier led off with a single — his first hit since being reinstated from the disabled list, snapping an 0-13 skid — and scored on Jake Bauers’ opposite-field double to left.

— In the second inning, C.J. Cron and Daniel Robertson hit back-to-back doubles to lead off the inning. Robertson then reached third on Mallex Smith’s sacrifice bunt and scored on Willy Adames’ single. Why was it important, aside from the obvious?

Cron turned on a knee high fastball over the inside part of the plate and pulled it down the left field line. When he’s going well, that’s a pitch he doesn’t miss as he had over the span of his 1-31 skid.

— In the third inning, Brett Gardner lifted a one-out fly ball into short center field that seemed destined to drop in front of Kevin Kiermaier. But after a long run, Kiermaier slid and made the spectacular catch.

— Up by three in the seventh, Adames gave the Rays an insurance run by hitting an opposite field homer.

— The Yankees, who lost back-to-back games for the first time since May 22 and 23 (vs. TEX), have scored just two runs in their past 27 innings. It was only the second time this season they have been shut out. More proof that if you negate the power of players like Aaron Judge, Giancarlo Stanton and Didi Gregorious, even a team like the Yankees becomes beatable. That is a lesson that Tampa Bay will need to take into the upcoming series’ against the Nationals and Astros.

The New What Next

The Rays originally planned to start left-hander Blake Snell (9-4, 2.48) this afternoon, however, they instead will have a bullpen day and use right-hander Matt Andriese as the “opener,” tasking him with getting the first 3-6 outs. Meanwhile, they’ll face fast-rising Yankees rookie Domingo German (2-4, 4.77 ERA), who earned his first win of the season against Tampa Bay earlier this month.

Over the last 15 appearances (two starts) Andriese has a 2.55 ERA, lowering his overall ERA from 8.31 to 3.68 in the process.

German will make his ninth start of the season in the series finale against the Rays. Last time out, the righty pitched a career-high seven innings, allowing just a solo home run and two hits to the Mariners. German (2-4) earned the win against the Mariners on Tuesday, allowing two runs (one earned) on two hits across seven innings. He walked none and recorded nine punch outs. This season German has relied primarily on a whiffy 83 mph 12-6 curveball and a hard 96 mph four-seam fastball that generates plenty of swings and misses, while also mixing in an 88 mph changeup with obvious armside fade, and a 96 mph sinker with natural sink. Key Matchups: Willy Adames (1-3), Matt Duffy (2-3, HR, RBI), Wilson Ramos (1-3, RBI), Joey Wendle (1-3, RBI)

You can read about the series in our preview.

The New What Next: Rays vs Yankees part three — a series preview

Rays 6/24/18 Starting Lineup

Kiermaier CF
Duffy DH
Bauers 1B
Wendle 3B
Gomez RF
Smith LF
Hechavarria SS
Sucre C
Adames 2B
Andriese RHP

LBWMF: Rays shutdown the Yankees in series opener, 2-1

A ton of meatheads left “their homes in New York” and turned out for the Yankees last night. They enjoyed watching the Bronx Bummers get held to just one run. (Photo Credit: X-Rays Spex)

The Tampa Bay Rays took a two-run lead against CC Sabathia in the middle innings, then held on to win the first of a three-game series, 2-1 over the New York Yankees. Tampa Bay has won its last two games against New York, holding the Yankees to just one run in each contest.


Source: FanGraphs

The Tandem of Ryne Stanek and Ryan Yarbrough opened/started the game against the American League’s best team (that is, if we are looking at W/L record alone).

Stanek, despite throwing 25 pitches, and allowed a runner to second with none out — thanks to a base hit by Brett Gardner and an error by Carlos Gomez — yet no runs. The right-hander caught Aaron Judge looking, coaxed a ground ball from Giancarlo Stanton, and ended the frame on a fly ball to center from Gary Sanchez to strand Gardner at third, ending the threat.

Ryan Yarbrough walked three over 3-1/3 scoreless innings; allowing a double to Aaron Hicks to start the second. He, however, did not allow a runner beyond second base.

Diego Castillo followed Yarbrough, and though he walked the first batter he faced, Castillo retired the next five hitters in a row, striking out a pair. Adames punctuated a scoreless fifth inning with a leaping catch of a Didi Gregorious liner to short.

As for Castillo, he’s now thrown scoreless ball in five straight outings, covering seven innings.

Meanwhile, the Rays took a 1-0 lead in the fourth inning against Grimmace…erm, Sabathia. Daniel Robertson got things started when he lashed a one out double down the left field line, and into the corner, before Carlos Gomez was hit by a pitch. Willy Adames followed with a bloop single to right, scoring Robertson from second for the lead.

Gomez advanced to third, and Adames moved up to second on the throw home.

Sabathia was able to limit the damage, getting Johnny Field to ground to third, with Gomez thrown out between third and home, thanks to some poor base running on his part That’s not entirely unexpected out of Gomez, after all we’ve seen plenty of base running gaffes from the right fielder. Kevin Kiermaier bounced to short to end the inning.

Tampa Bay extended the lead to 2-0 in the fifth, although they did leave a lot of chicken on the bone in the process. Matt Duffy led off the frame with a comebacker that Sabathia deflected, then threw past Greg Bird for an infield hit and an error, allowing Duffy to move into second. Duffy was able to move up 90 feet when Wilson Ramos notched an infield hit that spun past Miguel Andujar. C.J. Cron made a bid for extra bases, lifting a ball to deep right field, however, Stanton made a leaping catch at the wall, relegating Cron to a sacrifice-fly and just one RBI. With Sabathia on the ropes, Jake Bauers grounded into an inning ending double play, limiting the damage.

After Tampa Bay left the bases juiced for the second time in the contest, in the sixth inning, New York got on the board in the seventh. Chaz Roe appeared to want nothing to do with Gleyber Torres and walked the second baseman on four pitches with one out. Gardner followed with a seeing-eye single to right, putting runners on the corners for Judge. With the Yankee fans in attendance loud and on their feet, the mighty Judge hit a weak looper to right, off the end of his bat, making it a one-run game. Roe came back to retire Stanton on a soft comebacker.

Kevin Cash called on left hander Jose Alvarado to face the southpaw hitting Gregorious with a pair of runners in scoring position. Alvarado fell behind 2-0 before he got Gregorius to hit a broken-bat grounder to second, ending the threat.

Alvarado followed with a 1-2-3 eighth, despite falling behind all three batters.

Sergio Romo came on to close out the game in the ninth. And though he allowed a leadoff single to Andujar, Romo got Gleyber Torres to fly to left for the first out. With the game in the balance and a dangerous hitter at the plate, Romo fell behind Gardner 3-2 before he coaxed a game ending 6-3 double play.

All told, the Rays collected 10 hits: three from Wilson Ramos, and two apiece from Duffy, Gomez and Adames. Even though they failed to score more than four runs for the 10th consecutive game, they improved to 5-5 in those games.

The New What Next

Game two of the series is on Saturday in what is expected to be a sell out. Wilmer Font (0-1, 2.20 ERA with Tampa Bay) will get the start opposite of Sonny Gray (5-4, 4.89 ERA).

Wilmer Font has made three consecutive starts, pitching deeper each time — going from 2-1/3 innings to 3-1/3 to 4-2/3 against the Yankees on Sunday. The right-hander has allowed three runs on eight hits during that 10-1/3-inning stretch, lowering his ERA from +12 to 7.56. And while Rays remain committed to using an “opener” three times in five game stretches, Font showed that he should be able to handle starting, at least until Chris Archer returns.

Sonny Gray allowed two runs on six hits and one walk over five innings on Monday. He struck out seven. Aside from the second and fourth innings, when Gray put multiple men aboard and allowed an RBI groundout and a sacrifice-fly, he limited baserunners effectively. He pounded the strike zone at a 71% clip while coaxing 16 whiffs. Six groundball outs also helped him mitigate the damage. Gray has begun to turn things around after an abysmal start and has now allowed two earned runs or fewer in four of his last six starts, allowing him to lower his ERA to 4.89. This season Gray has relied primarily on his 94 mph four-seam fastball with some natural sinking action, 94 mph sinker with armside run and above average velocity, and an 82 mph curveball with sweeping glove-side movement and exceptional bit, while also mixing in an 86 mph sweeping slider with exceptional depth. Key Matchups: Matt Duffy (1-3, HR, 2 RBI), Adeiny Hechavarria (2-6, HR, RBI), Kevin Kiermaier (4-16, 2B, 2 HR, 4 RBI), Wilson Ramos (3-11, 2B, HR, 3 RBI, BB), Mallex Smith (3-9)

You can read about the series in our preview.

The New What Next: Rays vs Yankees part three — a series preview

Rays 6/23/18 Starting Lineup

(Photo Credit: Steve Carney)

Noteworthiness

— Yes, you saw correctly, Joey Wendle will make the start in right field today, hitting fifth. Wendle told Marc Topkin (Tampa Bay Times) he’s never played outfield at any level with the exception of “a couple of emergency innings when I was 13 or 14.” He, however, is excited for the opportunity. Wendle has been working with Kevin Kiermaier and Rocco Baldelli and reportedly seemed surprised about starting in right, telling reporters who were asking about it pregame:

I hope it’s a non-story after the game.

— RHP Chris Archer told reporters he feels great today after throwing a 20-pitch bullpen on Friday. He is “highly encouraged” by how he feels and will throw another bullpen on Monday. He is hoping for an early July return.

— The Rays rotation is getting a bit of a flip-flop, as to be determined moves from Monday’s starter to Sunday, and Blake Snell will now pitch on Monday vs the Nationals.

— Not only do I love what Pride stands for, I love that the routing — and timing of tonight’s parade — is going to make it incredibly difficult on the Yankees to get back to the team hotel. The parade starts after 7:00 and is routed near the Vinoy, where the Yankees are staying. Today’s ball game starts at 4:00 and should be over around the start of the parade.

Rays Roster Moves: Daniel Robertson activated from DL, Austin Pruitt optioned

Daniel Robertson returned from a stint the DL this afternoon, yet to a logjam on the infield.

The Tampa Bay Rays made a couple of pregame roster moves this afternoon, activating Daniel Robertson from the 10-day DL, and optioning RHP Austin Pruitt back to Triple-A Durham.

Rob Refsnyder also cleared waivers and accepted an outright assignment to Durham.

With Adeiny Hechavarria’s position on the starting roster having been filled by Willy Adames — not to mention the Rays already have Matt Duffy, Christian Arroyo, and Joey Wendle crowding the infield — the activation of Daniel Robertson means that someone will eventually have to go. It has been presumed that the Rays are currently shopping La Pantera. Unfortunately with the trade market currently in a stalemate due to Manny Machado, the likelihood of Hechavarria being traded anytime soon is slim, hence the reason Pruitt was bumped down to Triple-A.

Robertson is back in the lineup, hitting sixth at second base.

Rays 6/22/18 Starting Lineup

Kiermaier CF
Duffy 3B
Ramos C
Cron DH
Bauers 1B
Robertson 2B
Gomez RF
Adames SS
Field LF
Stanek RHP

Noteworthiness

— Don’t forget, you can read about the Rays/Yankees series in our preview:

The New What Next: Rays vs Yankees part three — a series preview