Don’t let the early exit deceive you, Colome was terrific in his first start of the season. El Caballo, who was sidelined to start the season as he recovered from pneumonia, went five strong innings, and needed just 60 pitches against the Orioles. He scattered three hits — all base hits — and struck out six. Colome had command of his four pitches (fastball, curveball, change-up, cutter) and used them to great effect.
His fastball averaged 94 mph, and topped out at 96 mph — not bad for Colome, who may not be completely stretched out. The change-up averaged 84 mph and had great depth. Colome’s cutter, which like Smyly’s is essentially a slider, averaged 87 mph, and the curveball averaged 78 mph.
- He sets Jones up with fastballs high in the zone and then puts him away with a curve that falls off the table beneath the zone.
- He sets Davis up with a backdoor slider that should have been called strike three and puts him away by freezing Davis with a fastball over the outside corner.
- He sets Pearce up with a 95 mph fastball in on the hands, and then puts him away with a filthy 88 mph cutter moving off the outer edge of the plate.
If Colome continues to pitch like this, he could give Matt Moor some stiff competition for the fifth starter’s spot when he comes off the DL. …That is, unless manager Kevin Cash opts for a six man rotation, which seems highly unlikely. Colome’s final line: 5 IP/3 H/0 ER/0 BB/6 K/60 pitches (42 strikes, 70% K/BB).
Brandon Gomes followed Colome in the sixth inning, and worked around a one-out single by Jimmy Paredes. Steve Geltz followed in the seventh and retired the side, striking out a pair. Geltz has now struck out eight of his last nine batters. In the eighth, Kevin Jepsen matched Geltz with a pair of strikeouts, and Brad Boxberger struck out the side in the ninth.
Boxberger relied heavily on his plus curveball, something that is atypical for the fastball/change-up throwing righty. He most notably used the curve against Adam Jones to set up the game ending, strike three fastball. Boxberger spoke about his use of the filthy pitch following the game:
Tampa Bay took the lead in the fourth inning, thanks to a two-out rally against Chris Tillman. Asdrubal Cabrera worked a walk, and Evan Longoria doubled into the left field corner, scoring Cabrera from first on Longoria’s 998th career hit. James Loney followed with a single to left-center, scoring Longoria and giving the Rays an insurance run.
The New What Next
Chris Archer (3-2, 0.84 ERA) will take the hill for Rays on Saturday night. He’ll be opposed by Miguel Gonzalez. Archer has been brilliant in four starts since his Opening Day, allowing no earned runs and 12 hits in 26-2/3 innings with 32 strikeouts. You can read about the pitching match-up in our series preview.
Rays 5/2/15 Starting Lineup
DeJesus DH
Souza RF
Cabrera SS
Longoria 3B
Loney 1B
Jennings LF
Forsythe 2B
Kiermaier CF
Wilson C
Archer RHP
Noteworthiness
— The Rays and Orioles are now deadlocked after 300 regular-season matchups, with both clubs having recorded 150 victories in 17-plus seasons of play, writes Brittany Ghiroli and Michael Kolligian (MLB.com).
— Friday night’s game was void of all the typical home-game trappings we’ve grown accustomed to. Absent were the between inning promotions, DJ Fresh hyping up the crowd, and the Rays in-house MC doing what he does. I’ve got to say, it was pretty nice! Big ups to the people who started both the “Let’s go Rays,” and “Let’s go O’s” chants without being prompted; the chants felt organic, not stale.
— After being released from his contract this week, Grant Balfour agreed to a minor league deal and accepted his assignment with Triple-A Durham.
— Desmond Jennings received a cortisone shot in his sore left knee on Thursday, and is expected to be in the Rays lineup Saturday for the first time in a week. If Jennings gets through game okay, the team will proceed cautiously, scheduling him for DH and off days until the bursitis in his knee is gone. If he doesn’t play, then he is likely headed to the DL, writes Marc Topkin (Tampa Bay Times).
— Thanks to a setback free month of April, Matt Moore is now targeting a mid June return to the Rays rotation.
— Jake McGee made another rehab appearance (his second) Friday, walking two but allowing no hits, in one inning for Class-A Charlotte. He threw 22 pitches.
McGee hoped to rejoin the team by the end of next week, though Cash said he will need to make several more rehab appearances, working in multiple innings, and in back-to-back games. It’s more probable he will return in late May.
— Nick Franklin is slated to work out with the team through the weekend, than is scheduled to leave Monday for rehab assignment which is expected to run at least two weeks. Alex Cobb is continuing to throw bullpen sessions, although he does not have a date to face hitters. Kirby Yates is on a program of anti-inflammatories and rest; he expected to be out two-three weeks.
— Another day, another injured Ray. RHP Jose Dominguez, who was up previously, has been placed on the seven day, Triple-A DL. The cause is unknown.
