LBWMF: Odorizzi one-hits the Twins while the Rays win their second straight, 2-1

Jake Odorizzi was impressive Tuesday night, tossing 6-2/3 innings of one hit baseball. (Photo Credit: Tampa Bay Rays)

Jake Odorizzi threw no-hit ball for 6-1/3 innings on Tuesday night, while Lucas Duda homered and drove in both of Tampa Bay’s runs. When all was said and done, the Rays held on to a slim lead against Minnesota, defeating the Twins 2–1. Tampa Bay now has won the first two games of their series with the AL Wildcard leaders, and end the night two-games back with 22 left to play.

Odorizzi retired the first 12 batters in order, thanks to a lively cut fastball that kept Minnesota’s batters off-balance for much of the night. The right-hander worked the four quadrants of the zone very effectively, especially up in the zone (if not above it), coaxing a fair number of swings and misses, as well as weak fly-ball outs that — surprising to most — stayed inside the park. When he didn’t throw his cutter, he leaned on a plus curveball which he used to get ahead of lefties. Minnesota didn’t get its first baserunner until the fifth inning, when Eddie Rosario led off the frame with a walk, although he was quickly erased on a 6-4-3 double play.

The Twins didn’t collect their first hit until the seventh inning after Joe Mauer slapped a sharp grounder up the middle that ricocheted off of second-base and high up into the air. Adeiny Hechavarria was able to field the ball barehanded, however, he couldn’t couldn’t throw out the hustling Mauer. Odorizzi struck out the next hitter, then was pulled in favor of LOOGY Dan Jennings afterward. He struck out seven.

Bartolo Colon allowed just two earned runs while scattering five hits over 6-2/3 innings. He struck out five and walked one.

Duda broke a scoreless tie with a solo home run in the fourth inning — his 27th of the season.

Duda plated the second run in the bottom of the sixth, driving in Evan Longoria on a double off the right-field wall.

Moments That Mattered

— With runners on the corners in the sixth inning, reliever Steve Cishek, who took the mound in relief of Jennings, was able to get Byron Buxton to fly out to centerfield to end the threat. Cishek has not allowed a run in 17 appearances since joining the Rays (18 IP).

— Robbie Grossman, in his first game since being activated from the disabled list, led off the ninth inning against Alex Colome with a solo homer to right field, pulling the Twins within a run. Colome walked Mauer before he allowed a single by Polanco to put runners on the corners with just one out. The right-hander came back to coax a 6-3 double play to end the game.

If I may, Colome made things a little too interesting, and he owes Hechavarria at least a beer.

The New What Next

The Rays look to sweep Minnesota in the series finale on Wednesday afternoon with Blake Snell (3-6, 4.02 ERA, 4.37 FIP) on the mound. He will be opposed by 6′ 10″ right-hander Aaron Slegers (0-0, 2.84 ERA, 5.19 FIP).

Snell pitched well in his last start, tossing 6-2/3 innings of one-run ball on an efficient 85 pitches. At times he worked ahead of batters, and at others he fell behind. However, he did a good job to battle and get back into those at-bats. Snell took advantage of an aggressive White Sox lineup, although he wasn’t dominant per se. In all fairness, the southpaw was helped in the fifth, sixth and seventh innings by ground ball double plays — each of which was started by Adeiny Hechavarria.

Slegers will be recalled from Triple-A Rochester to make his second big league start. The right-hander struck out 10 batters in each of his last two outings in the Minors.

The scouting report on Slegers (per Puckett’s Pond):

Fastball (55) – Slegers will work typically around the 90 MPH mark with his fastball, usually working 90-92, touching 94. What makes his fastball effective is the plane he gets from his 6’10” height and the tremendous late vertical movement he gets on the pitch, with a bit of arm side sink. When he “dips” to a traditional 3/4 arm slot, he can get a touch of cut on his fastball as it moves in on lefty hitters.

Change Up (50) – Slegers does not get the same sort of movement on his change as he does on his fastball, which does make the pitch easier to distinguish, but he has excellent arm deception on the pitch. If he struggles in location on a pitch, it seems as if this is the pitch he struggles most on, however, and the more “straight” movement on the pitch allows the ball to get driven hard.

Slider (45) – Many guys get a “sweeping” slider from a tall angle, but Slegers typically has more of a slurvy slider that has a short horizontal break as well as vertical break. While the pitch would be an excellent ground ball pitch in the lower third of the zone, he seems to get better break on the pitch when he works the ball roughly thigh-high to belt-high. Slegers also can get more of a sweeping movement to lefties by “dipping” to a traditional 3/4 arm slot. The fact that the pitch’s movement is fairly gradual and not exceptionally sharp is what keeps the pitch from rating higher.

You can read about the series in our preview.

Rays 8/6/17 Starting Lineup

Kiermaier CF
Dickerson DH
Longoria 3B
Duda 1B
Souza Jr. RF
Miller 2B
Hechavarria SS
Smith LF
Sucre C
Snell LHP

Noteworthiness

— According to Marc Topkin (Tampa Bay Times), the Rays are making contingency plans as Hurricane Irma approaches. As we noted on Tuesday, the team pushed their departure to Boston back from Wednesday until Thursday afternoon to allow more time for players and traveling staff to get their families situated or headed out of town.

They also will pack for extra days in case they can’t fly back into TIA as planned on Sunday night and/or if next week’s series against the New York needs to be relocated from Tropicana Field.

Topkin writes,

Rays executives expect to talk extensively today with Major League Baseball officials about that scenario, with a decision expected by Friday.

The most logical option would be to play the games at Yankee Stadium as the home team, but while convenient, that would present a competitive disadvantage. The Rays visit Yankee Stadium Sept. 26-28, but it’s unlikely they would seek to swap series given the revenue difference.

Another option would be to play at a neutral site, as the Astros and Rangers did at the Trop last week due to Hurricane Harvey damage in Houston. Available options in the northeast could include the Mets’ Citi Field and the Orioles’ Camden Yards.

…Of Chris Archer, more Rays September call-ups, and hurricanes

(Photo Credit: MLB.com)

Lots of Tampa Bay Rays relevant news on this Tuesday afternoon, ahead of tonight’s matchup against the Minnesota Twins.

Chris Archer played catch this afternoon at Tropicana Field and said it went very well. The right-hander is still hopeful that he will be able to pitch in the weekend series against Boston depending on how he feels tomorrow, although it was announced that Austin Pruitt will start Friday’s contest. Last night the Rays received good news on the status of Archer, who was pulled from Saturday’s contest due to right lateral forearm tightness after throwing just eight pitches. Archer’s exam with team doctors showed no structural damage to his right arm.

In other injury news, Jake Faria (left abdominal strain) tossed a three inning simulated game at the Trop and told Neil Solondz (Rays Radio) that he felt really good about how he pitched and how he felt.

The team announced a series of roster moves this afternoon, promoting RHP Chaz Roe, LHP Jose Alvarado, and OF Mallex Smith. In order to clear room on the 40-man roster for Roe, the team recalled RHP Taylor Guerrieri then placed him on the 60-day DL.

Tampa Bay acquired Roe — who has pitched in a combined 93 big league games with the Diamondbacks, Yankees, Orioles and Braves —  from Atlanta on July 18 in exchange for cash considerations. During his time with Triple-A Durham, he performed to an 0-3 record but a 3.00 ERA over 21 innings, while striking out 35 of 88 batters (40%).

Roe said he was excited to get back to the Major Leagues after a hectic bout with things before his acquisition by the Rays.

Finally, the Rays met this afternoon to discuss the logistics related to Hurricane Irma. The plan over the short-term is to leave for Boston on Thursday, giving the teammates an extra day with their families for storm preparations. As for how it may effect the team on their pending home stand against the Yankees, that situation is fluid. The players and staff will pack for extra days just in case the series needs to be relocated to the Bronx, or another neutral site.

LBWMF: Tampa Bay Rays, Steven Souza Jr. pummel the Twins, 11-4

Steven Souza Jr. and the Rays pummeled their way to an 11-4 victory over the Twins Monday night. (Photo Credit: Tampa Bay Rays)

The Tampa Bay Rays opened the crucial series with Minnesota in dramatic fashion Monday night, pummeling the Twins — both literally and figuratively — 11-4. Tampa Bay ended the night one-game under .500 and three-games back of the Twins in the Wildcard race, with 23 games left to play.

Tampa Bay found itself with an early scoring opportunity in the first inning after Kevin Kiermaier lashed a double to left. He inevitably made his way to third base with none out on a passed ball by Jose Berrios. However, the Twins’ right-hander put down the next three batters (Lucas Duda, Evan Longoria, and Logan Morrison) in order on a pair of strikeouts and a pop-out. It looked like the start of another one of those games by the Rays, thanks to a presumed listless offense.

Adding insult to injury, the Twins took a 1-0 lead against Alex Cobb in the top of the second inning, after Byron Buxton singled to right field then promptly swiped second — his 20th stolen base in a row without being nabbed. He later scored on Max Kepler’s base hit to right. Yet from there Cobb went to work.

Alex put down 12 of the next 13 batters on six strikeouts, a double play, and five ground ball outs — keeping the Rays in the ball game until they could break things open in the sixth inning.

Down by a run in the second, the Rays tied the game on Corey Dickerson’s line drive homer to centerfield.

It was Dickerson’s 26th homer of the season, snapping an 0-for-13 skid at the plate.

Tampa Bay played aggressive ball in the third inning, and consequently took a one-run lead. After Kiermaier singled to right with one out, he stole his way into second base before he came home on Longoria’s bloop single to right — Longo’s 74th RBI of the season.

The Rays remained quiet for the next three innings while Cobb kept the Twins in check until the sixth, when he was pulled after two outs with Joe Mauer at third. Dan Jennings got the final out of the frame on one pitch, getting Eddie Rosario to groundout to second to end the threat.

The red hot Morrison helped the Rays break the game open in the bottom of the inning with a single to center off Berrios. LoMo moved up to second when Souza worked a full count walk, before Dickerson drove him home on a double to right-center, extending the lead to a pair. With the game in the balance, Paul Molitor pulled Berrios in favor of Ryan Pressly.

Pressly fanned Wilson Ramos for the first out of the inning before Brad Miller was walked intentionally, loading the bases. Adeiny Hechavarria followed with a liner to center, while Souza tagged up from third and scored on Byron Buxton’s throw home.

Souza, playing the part of clock cleaner, plowed through Matt Garver, allowing him to safely cross the plate. He, however, left the game with neck/back soreness following the collision, and is listed as day-to-day.

All the baserunners moved up 90 feet, and Kiermaier singled to center off southpaw Buddy Boshers scoring two runs, pushing the lead to five runs, and capping the breakout rally. The surge assured that Cobb — who battled his way through 5-2/3 innings on three hits and two walks — was on the winning side of the ledger. The right-hander struck out seven.

Steve Cishek entered the game and threw a scoreless, and efficient, seventh inning on 11 pitches.

Then at the bottom of the inning, Morrison pushed the lead to 7-1 on an opposite field homer off John Curtiss.

It was Morrison’s 36th homer this year, and seventh in eight games.

With a sizable lead in tow, Andrew Kittredge took over in the eighth. Brian Dozier welcomed the hurler rather rudely with a two-run homer, however, Tampa Bay countered with four-runs in the bottom of the inning when Trevor Plouffe and Morrison each drove in runs on singles, while Longoria drove in a pair on a base hit to center.

Finally, Ryne Stanek allowed a run in the ninth inning, but struck out the side to end the game.

The New What Next

Jake Odorizzi (7-7, 4.85 ERA, 5.97 FIP) will take the mound in the second game of the series on Tuesday, pitching opposite of Bartolo Colon (4-2, 4.09 ERA, 5.08 FIP).

Odorizzi allowed three runs over five innings while notching a win against over KC in his last start. He, however, has struggled to pitch deeply into games as of late, tossing at least six innings in just one of his last six starts. On the bright side, all of the Royals’ runs came on one swing — a three-run homer by Whit Merrifield in the third inning. More concerning though, his the lack of command, paired with the inability to keep the ball in the park, has plagued Odorizzi this season. In his last 10 outings, the right-hander has given up 34 runs in 48 innings — good for a 6.38 ERA.

Colon gave up three runs over six innings in a no-decision against Chicago his last time out. He was solid over the month of August, performing to a 3.40 ERA over six starts, yet he wasn’t nearly as good over the first half of the season, performing to a 8.14 ERA/5.07 FIP over 63 innings of work. Colon is 9-6 with a 4.07 ERA in 24 career starts against the Rays. Key Matchups: Peter Bourjos (5-15, 2B, 3B, RBI, 2 BB), Corey Dickerson (3-3, 3B, RBI), Lucas Duda (1-4), Adeiny Hechavarria (4-13, 3 2B, RBI), Evan Longoria (5-14, 2 2B, 2 RBI, 3 BB), Mallex Smith (1-4)

You can read about the series in our preview.

Rays 9/5/17 Starting Lineup

Kiermaier CF
Dickerson DH
Longoria 3B
Duda 1B
Souza RF
Miller 2B
Ramos C
Smith LF
Hechavarria SS
Odorizzi RHP

Noteworthiness

— The Rays received good news on the status of Chris Archer, who was pulled from Saturday’s contest due to right lateral forearm tightness after throwing just eight pitches. Archer’s exam with team doctors showed no structural damage to his right arm. He will play catch tomorrow afternoon then be reevaluated afterward.

— Jason Collette (The Process Report) made a good point: One thing that stands out with Kiermaier since his return, he has done a good job working up the middle and the other way, while not pulling the ball as frequently.

The New What Next: Rays vs Twins — a series preview

The Rays head home for a three-game home stand, starting Monday. (Photo Credit: Tampa Bay Rays)

The Tampa Bay Rays return home from a 5-4 road trip (but also a series loss to the worst team in the American League) on Monday, where they will face their biggest challenge of the season — the Minnesota Twins. The Twins are coming off a two-game series loss, yet one with a +15 run differential, thanks to a 17-0 shutout of the Royals on Saturday.

(Stats: ESPN)

After a rough and less-than-inspiring weekend, the Rays have reached the point where it’s time to — if I may — put up or shut up. It’s crunch time … a sink or swim moment … abandonar a su suerte.

The Twins are the surprising leaders in the race for the second AL Wildcard spot, and as it was written elsewhere, this series will be the point of demarcation for the Rays.

They still see themselves in the thick of things in spite of the fact that they trail Minnesota by four games, while their chances of a postseason berth, per FanGraphs, are down to 6.3% as of Monday.

I’m not going to lie, I wouldn’t have thought the Twins were going to be the biggest series of our season in September, but they are, Alex Cobb told the Tampa Bay Times. That really kind of is our season in a series.

If the Rays have any plausible playoff aspirations, they have got to break out of this rut that keeps them from making up the ground they lost after the Rays dropped 12 of 15. Even more challenging, they are slated to face contenders with winning records over the final 24 games of the season.

Cobb continued,

I get that the chances mathematically, whatever the computer program puts out, only has us at a low percentage. “But when we look at those standings and we see the teams in front of us, we really feel like there’s no way that we shouldn’t be in that playoff scenario. We feel like we have a good enough ballclub to at least be in there.

Tampa Bay relished these kinds of opportunities under the tutelage of former manager Joe Maddon. The question begs, do the Rays still have the verve and cool needed to weather this storm?

Tampa Bay took 2-of-3 from Minnesota in their previous meeting this season.

(Stats: FanGraphs)

The Rays have played much better of late, however, so have the Twins. They’ve gone on a 21-12 streak since the trade deadline, with a +72 run differential, thanks to solid defense, timely hitting and a pretty good pitching staff. And while Tampa Bay’s hurlers have pitched well of late, so has Minnesota, which has bested the Rays … at least over the last 14 days.

(Stats: FanGraphs)

Over the next three days Kevin Cash will throw Alex Cobb (9-9, 3.72 ERA, 4.26 FIP), Jake Odorizzi (7-7, 4.85 ERA, 5.97 FIP), and Blake Snell (3-6, 4.02 ERA, 4.37 FIP). Paul Molitor will counter with Jose Berrios (12-6, 3.80 ERA, 3.81 FIP), Bartolo Colon (4-2, 4.09 ERA, 5.08 FIP), and Aaron Slegers (0-0, 2.84 ERA, 5.19 FIP).

(Stats: FanGraphs)

Pitching Matchups

Cobb went six innings and allowed three runs in his last start against the Royals. He struck out six. The right-hander allowed a run over five innings against the Twins in May — a 15-inning affair resulting in a Rays win.

Berrios tied a career high with 11 strikeouts against the ChiSox in his last start, tossing seven scoreless innings while scattering four hits. His last six starts, however, have been a mixed bag, as he has allowed one run or fewer in three starts, but five or more in the other three. Berrios did not face the Rays earlier this season. The right-hander has relied primarily on a whiffy 94mph four-seam fastball, a hard 82mph curveball with slight glove-side movement, and a 93mph sinker with slight armside run. He also has mixed in a fly-ball inducing 84mph changeup.

Odorizzi allowed three runs over five innings while notching a win against over KC in his last start. He, however, has struggled to pitch deeply into games as of late, tossing at least six innings in just one of his last six starts. On the bright side, all of the Royals’ runs came on one swing — a three-run homer by Whit Merrifield in the third inning. More concerning though, his the lack of command, paired with the inability to keep the ball in the park, has plagued Odorizzi this season. In his last 10 outings, the right-hander has given up 34 runs in 48 innings — good for a 6.38 ERA.

Colon gave up three runs over six innings in a no-decision against Chicago his last time out. He was solid over the month of August, performing to a 3.40 ERA over six starts, yet he wasn’t nearly as good over the first half of the season, performing to a 8.14 ERA/5.07 FIP over 63 innings of work. Colon is 9-6 with a 4.07 ERA in 24 career starts against the Rays. Key Matchups: Peter Bourjos (5-15, 2B, 3B, RBI, 2 BB), Corey Dickerson (3-3, 3B, RBI), Lucas Duda (1-4), Adeiny Hechavarria (4-13, 3 2B, RBI), Evan Longoria (5-14, 2 2B, 2 RBI, 3 BB), Mallex Smith (1-4)

Snell pitched well in his last start, tossing 6-2/3 innings of one-run ball on an efficient 85 pitches. At times he worked ahead of batters, and at others he fell behind. However, he did a good job to battle and get back into those at-bats. Snell took advantage of an aggressive White Sox lineup, although he wasn’t dominant per se. In all fairness, the southpaw was helped in the fifth, sixth and seventh innings by ground ball double plays — each of which was started by Adeiny Hechavarria.

Slegers will be recalled from Triple-A Rochester to make his second big league start. The right-hander struck out 10 batters in each of his last two outings in the Minors.

The scouting report on Slegers (per Puckett’s Pond):

Fastball (55) – Slegers will work typically around the 90 MPH mark with his fastball, usually working 90-92, touching 94. What makes his fastball effective is the plane he gets from his 6’10” height and the tremendous late vertical movement he gets on the pitch, with a bit of arm side sink. When he “dips” to a traditional 3/4 arm slot, he can get a touch of cut on his fastball as it moves in on lefty hitters.

Change Up (50) – Slegers does not get the same sort of movement on his change as he does on his fastball, which does make the pitch easier to distinguish, but he has excellent arm deception on the pitch. If he struggles in location on a pitch, it seems as if this is the pitch he struggles most on, however, and the more “straight” movement on the pitch allows the ball to get driven hard.

Slider (45) – Many guys get a “sweeping” slider from a tall angle, but Slegers typically has more of a slurvy slider that has a short horizontal break as well as vertical break. While the pitch would be an excellent ground ball pitch in the lower third of the zone, he seems to get better break on the pitch when he works the ball roughly thigh-high to belt-high. Slegers also can get more of a sweeping movement to lefties by “dipping” to a traditional 3/4 arm slot. The fact that the pitch’s movement is fairly gradual and not exceptionally sharp is what keeps the pitch from rating higher.

Noteworthiness

— The Rays designated LHP Adam Kolarek for assignment to clear a 40-man roster spot following Sunday’s 6-2 loss, and are expected to add INF Trevor Plouffe back to the roster on Monday.

— It bears mentioning:

Rays pull Chris Archer due to right lateral forearm tightness

    Chris Archer was removed from Saturday’s game as a precaution due to right lateral forearm tightness. (Photo and Caption Credit: Tampa Bay Rays)

Update: Marc Topkin (Tampa Bay Times) tweeted that Archer feels better this morning, although he still has some tightness in his right lateral forearm. The hurler remains optimistic that there is nothing seriously wrong. The plan, assuming Dr. Eaton concurs that the injury is muscular and not structural, is to play catch on Monday, and throw a bullpen session later in week.

Last night Chris Archer was pulled from his start after two home runs, diminished velocity, a lack of fastball command and just eight pitches. The reported culprit: right lateral forearm tightness.

The team called the decision to take him out of his start a precautionary one, giving the Rays — who are playing relevant baseball in the month of September — a glimmer of hope moving forward.

Archer felt tightness toward the tail end of his pregame bullpen session, and the discomfort was obvious when he took the mound in the first inning — given the homers by the first two batter in the lineup, and just one pitch topping 94mph.

It’s not pain, it’s tight. And didn’t allow me to get to full extension. And that’s what leads to more serious injuries, when you’re trying to alter your delivery. And I knew from those first eight pitches I threw I couldn’t get anything down in the zone.

In the bullpen prior to going into the game I just started feeling a little tightness in my forearm on the back side, Archer said. I think they call it the lateral side. We feel stuff all throughout the year, every player, pitchers and position players, I thought after I warmed up in the game it would just be gone, but it didn’t (go away). Every time I tried to get to full extension, I couldn’t get there. It just felt like it was smarter to not risk any further injury trying to force myself through some tightness in my arm.

Archer was reassured by head athletic trainer Ron Porterfield, who told him the tightness was in an area where “there is nothing major,” just muscle.

The lateral forearm also isn’t directly connected to the UCL, which should quell the fears of anyone presuming Tommy John surgery to be in Archer’s future. You can see the area in question in the illustration below.

We’re cautiously optimistic there’s no real issue, manager Kevin Cash said after the game. That’s probably the best news of the night.

Archer will fly home with the team after Sunday afternoon’s contest, and is scheduled to see team doctor Koco Eaton on Monday.

Archer is cautiously optimistic as well, hoping that he will be able to make his next scheduled start on Friday in Boston, “If I’m capable.”

Hopefully, Archer said, this is something that will subside in the next 24-48 hours.

Since he was called up to stay in the big leagues in 2013, Archer has made 151 starts — the most anyone has made in the majors in that span. His durability has benefitted the team, as Archer — thanks to the fact that he has never been on the disabled list — has been the most dependable hurler in the Rays rotation.

Interestingly enough, the right-hander does not find himself in unchartered waters, as he had a similar injury scare on August 7, 2013, when he left a game in Arizona for precautionary reasons due to forearm tightness. He took the mound again six days later.

That before was technically a cramp, Archer said. We were in Arizona, it was super hot, but it was in the same area. This is more — it’s not pain, it’s just tight and didn’t allow me to get to full extension. That’s what leads to more serious injuries, when you’re trying to alter your delivery.

In spite of the team’s recent struggles, the Rays are still positioned to make a run at a playoff berth. However, that difficult task won’t be any easier if Archer has to miss an extended amount time in September, the final month of play.