Kevin Kiemaier bats against the Miami Marlins during the first inning of a baseball game Sunday, April 12, 2015. (Photo courtesy of Pat Carter/AP Photo)
The Tampa Bay Rays kicked off their first road trip of the 2015 season well, recovering from a tough loss Friday by winning the final two games of the Citrus Series, and taking their first series win of the season. Sitting pretty with a .500 record, the Rays make their way to Toronto where they’ll take on the formidable Blue Jays in a four game set.
At 4-2 on the season, Toronto has outscored its previous opponents (Yankees, Orioles) 36-25. Tampa Bay batted .275 and plated 19 runs in the Citrus Series after hitting .202 and scoring nine runs against Baltimore. Asdrubal Cabrera, is batting .355 in his last eight games against Toronto, while Kevin Kiermaier is hitting .361 in 13 career match-ups with the Blue Jays.
Toronto really turned a corner against the Rays last season, posting a winning record against Tampa Bay for the first time since 2006 (11-8, five of those wins came at the Rogers Center). The usual suspects — Jose Reyes, Kevin Pillar, and Edwin Encarnacion — have been productive thus far, while newcomers Justin Smoak and Devon Travis have added to the Toronto hit show. There is a caveat for the Blue jays: Jose Bautista dealt with cramping in his legs this weekend past, Reyes has been dealing with an ailing left oblique — little consolation considering they, along with the stacked lineup, are pretty damn potent.
Rays and Blue Jays series starters.Rays and Blue Jays overall offensive output.Rays and Blue jays, by the numbers.
RA Dickey: Dickey was very good in 6-1/3 innings of work, giving up only a run before the bullpen dropped the ball. The knuckleballer was 2-1 with a 3.15 ERA over his final three starts against the Rays last season. Key match-ups: Asdrubal Cabrera (4-9, 2B, 2 HR, 4 RBI, BB), Logan Forsythe (3-11, 2 2B, 2 RBI), Evan Longoria (8-30, 3 2B, 2 HR, 7 RBI, 4BB).
Daniel Norris: Colloquially called the Van Man, the 21 year-old left-hander has explosive late life to his fastball with a great finish, making his 92 mph seem more like 96. According to Baseball America, his slider rates average to plus and his change-up flashes plus. Norris also features what has been described as a hammer curve ball that has been described as devastating.
Daniel Norris’ heat map of his 138 pitches from 2014. (Courtesy of FanGraphs)
Mark Buehrle: What is there to say about the soft tossing Buehrle that hasn’t already been said? Buehrle chronically throws strikes and induces weak contact. He’s been a thorn in the side of the Rays for many years. Two things bode in the favor of Tampa Bay: 1. The Rays beat up on Buehrle in Spring Training, tagging the righty for three runs on seven hits (including an Evan Longoria homer) in 4-1/3 innings. 2. In an ideal world, facing the soft tossing Dan Haren on Friday may give the team an idea of what’s to come Wednesday night. Key match-ups: Logan Forsythe (6-16, 2 2B, RBI, BB), Brandon Guyer (4-13, 2 2B), Desmond Jennings (9-22, 2B, RBI, 4 BB), Kevin Kiermaier (2-6, RBI), Evan Longoria (12-42, 2 2B, HR, 6 RBI, 3 BB).
Aaron Sanchez: Tampa Bay faced the 22 year-old Sanchez over four appearances and 5-2/3 innings last season. The righty comes armed with a high-octane fastball, a plus curveball and a solid change up — an arsenal that could make him a weapon. What he lacks, however, is control. With the exception of his 33 innings with the big league team last season, Sanchez has always had high walk numbers.
Noteworthiness
As of now, RHP Matt Andriese will make his first major-league start Tuesday in Toronto, with RHP Erasmo Ramirez available to work in relief. That leaves either an open slot for Wednesday, or another group effort could be in play as it is the first day optioned players can be recalled so they can add fresh arms.
Asdrubal Cabrera is 4-9 with two homers versus Dickey.
Jake Odorizzi is 1-0 with a 2.37 ERA in three career starts against Toronto, racking up 16 strikeouts in 19 innings with three walks. Bautista is 0-8 with three strikeouts against Odorizzi and the current Toronto roster is a combined 4-37.
Of injuries… The team is leaning toward having Drew Smyly make a fourth rehab start, which will delay his return until April 29 or later. Kevin Cash told the media they want to make sure Smyly, who is scheduled to make his second rehab start Tuesday, is fully built up. “He feels great, which is a good thing, so we want to make sure we do it right.” Alex Colome performed well in his three-inning rehab start Saturday, and will make another Thursday. Jake McGee is scheduled to throw live batting practice Monday, his potential last session before moving on to extended spring then rehab games. Alex Cobb remains limited to playing catch: “There is not a time frame on him at all,” Cash said.
Rays short stop Asdrubal Cabrera stands next to manager Kevin Cash in the visitor’s dugout before Saturday afternoon’s game. (Photo courtesy of the Tampa Bay Rays)
Day game after a night game. Chris Archer got the start for the Tampa Bay Rays in the middle contest of the current incarnation of the Citrus Series — part one if you will. Jarred Cosart got the start for the Miami Marlins; his first outing of the season after suffering a blister on his right middle finger. Cosart has a favorable history against Tampa Bay, while Archer gave up the ghost in his last outing against the Marlins in June 2014. And though both hurlers pitched well Saturday afternoon, only one pitched exceedingly well and remained victorious — Chris Archer, who blanked the Marlins over the balance of his seven inning start. The Rays hitters did just enough to squeak past Miami, allowing the team to knot the Citrus Series record at two games apiece.
— All hail King Archer! Anyone who follows the Rays knows that the Chris Archer who took the mound on Opening Day isn’t the ace in the making that we hoped would exceed our expectations in 2015. True, he didn’t pitch horribly last Monday, rather a costly throwing gaffe and a couple of misplaced pitches effected the outcome. But the true test was how he’d bounce back from adversity in his following start. After slashing 7 IP/1 H/0 R/1 BB/5 K (four swinging)/83 pitches (56 strikes; 67%K/BB; 11 pitches per inning) I’d have to say he bounced back really fucking well!
Archer mixed his pitches and depended heavily on a plus upper-90’s fastball and a power slider, while sprinkling in more than a few quality change-ups to keep the Marlins’ batters off-balance. The latter two pitches were solid whiff-worthy offerings, as Archer managed to get a combined nine swings and misses with his slider and change.
Archer got in trouble, at most, twice during the game — although I wouldn’t really call a sixth inning walk of Ichiro Suzuki trouble. More on that in a moment. In the fourth inning the righty gave up a one out double to Christian Yelich after leaving a 1-2 fastball over the heart of the plate. Archer got away with a similar pitch to start the at-bat, however, Yelich wasn’t fooled the second time through, lacing the errant pitch to left field. I say errant because the first pitch was obviously a show me fastball while the following two pitches were down in the zone. I can’t imagine he’d intentionally leave a very hittable, middle-middle pitch in the heart of the zone.
Strikezone plot courtesy of Brooks Baseball.
Archer got squeezed on a four pitch walk to Ichiro in the sixth inning. FoxTrax showed three well located borderline pitches, while Brooks Baseball showed two pitches that were inside the zone and a couple that were out. Whatever the case, it sure seems like the home plate umpire gave Ichiro a free pass.
Strikezone plot, courtesy of Brooks Baseball.
All’s well that ends well, Bobby Wilson gunned down Ichiro a good three steps in front of second:
For what it’s worth, Archer made three nice throws to first base on three comebackers. Hopefully that wipes the slate clean after that awkward toss to first on Opening Day.
— With two outs in the fifth inning, Asdrubal Cabrera lined a 3-1 fastball into center field. Marcell Ozuna charged the hit and took a sliding stab fielding the ball, yet he couldn’t even get his glove on it. The ball rolled to the wall and Cabrera pulls into third with a triple.
— Beckham goes boom! Tim Beckham jacked a monster solo shot to left field, the first of his career. Beckham became the first Ray whose first homer came in a pinch hit AB.
— Rays win, 2-0.
The New What Next
The Rays and Marlins will wrap up the Citrus Series Sunday afternoon. A pair of right-handers will toe the rubber against one another in the rubber game, with Nathan Karns getting the start opposite of Henderson Alvarez. You can read about the pitching matchup in our series preview, and I’ll post the starting lineup when it becomes available.
Rays 4/12/15 Starting Lineup
Kiermaier RF
DeJesus LF
Cabrera SS
Longoria 3B
Jennings CF
Dykstra 1B
Forsythe 2B
Rivera C
Karns RHP
Noteworthiness
Marc Topkin wrote of a few below the radar, yet very interesting, moves on the part of the Rays’ new regime: “A new team dress code requires collared shirts or a jacket over a T-shirt on travel days and no sneakers. Among other new-regime changes: players on the field for the anthem, and batting practice for day games.” Interestingly enough, manager Kevin Cash left the decision of road-trip attire to a handful of player representatives including (but not limited to) Evan Longoria and Alex Cobb. If the players had a part in opting for a more professional approach to things, I can’t help but wonder what their level of appreciation for Joe Maddon’s hijinks may have been.
Steven Geltz pitches against the Miami Marlins in the first inning Friday. (Photo courtesy of Alan Diaz/AP Photo)
This is the best/worst game.
— Rickie Dixon
I could be wrong, yet I can’t help but feel that Rickie offered the best recap of the Tampa Bay Rays 10-9, extra inning loss to the Miami Marlins Friday night — and he did so in only six words. Still for whatever reason, I just couldn’t leave well enough alone. My compulsion, sadly, was to add to his summary. Wordiness is my cross to bear. Whatever the case, it was the best game because the Rays were able to close a seven run deficit in one inning, then rally once again to push the game into extra innings. And let’s be honest, this extra inning game was much more exciting than that six-hour-plus behemoth in the Bronx. Yet in true yin/yang fashion, Tampa Bay got into a huge hole early on, then inevitably lost.
Instead of a complete game summary, what follows is a recap by way of the pitchers.
Kevin Cash went into things with an ambitious idea: don’t allow a Rays pitcher to step into the batter’s box. In doing so, he cobbled together what amounted to a bullpen rotation. Cash was successful in some respects, yet he also shot himself in the foot in others — had the game gone longer than 10 innings, only Kevin Jepsen was left in the bullpen, and no batters were left on the bench. Anyhow, the Rays manager chose to start Steve Geltz; a pitcher who hadn’t started a game since his senior year in high school (2005).
Steve Geltz
Geltz quickly gave up a leadoff hit to the speedy Dee Gordon, who promptly swiped second base. To be fair Rene Rivera (in trying to gun down Gordon) threw a strike to Asdrubal Cabrera who was covering second base, but the Marlins’ infielder got in just ahead of the tag. Geltz remained poised and coxed a chopper back to the mound by Christian Yelich. The Rays starter caught Gordon off second base and fired the ball behind him, yet Gordon was able to stay in the run down long enough for Yelich to move up to second. Yelich then moved to third on a wild pitch, and came home when Michael Morse poked a base hit through the right side on a good fastball on the outside corner.
Geltz struck out Martin Prado to end the inning, then worked around a walk to pitch a clean second frame. Interestingly enough, it was apparent that Mike Redmond (Marlins manager) had his crew read the scouting report on the Rays’ hurlers, and they expected the rising fastball to be a part of the repertoire. Ian Malinowski (DRaysBay) spoke to that in his game recap:
I saw that both Stanton and Morse were actually swinging a little bit high on Geltz’s fastball, which is unusual with all the rise it has. Seemed to me like they’d gotten the scouting report. I was happy Geltz would not have to face them a second time this game — one of the perks of being a reliever.
Erasmo Ramirez
Miami built a seven-run lead, thanks to a six-run fourth against Erasmo Ramirez. Ramirez had no command of his pitches, and he was unable to establish his fastball because of it. When a pitcher who depends upon a change-up cannot establish his fastball, there is approximately a 0.0% chance that (or any) pitch will be effective. Marcell Ozuna started the inning from hell with single to second. Jarrod Saltalamacchia followed with a four pitch walk. Adeiny Hechavarria laced an outside slider to center for an RBI double. Two batters later Ramirez walked the bases loaded before Yelich singled to center, scoring Saltalamacchia and Hechavarria in the process. The carnage wasn’t done.
Giancarlo Stanton plated two more on a double to left, then Morse drove in Stanton on a single to right. By the time Ramirez struck out the final two batters (Prado and Ozuna) to end the inning, the Rays were down 8-1. Ouch.
Grant Balfour and Matt Andriese
Grant Balfour and Matt Andriese combined to post scoreless frames in the fifth and sixth innings. In the case of Balfour, he worked around a Saltalamacchia double to right by forcing a pair of grounders to short out of Hechavarria and Gordon, with a Dan Haren fly-ball out to right sandwiched in between. Andriese worked around a Stanton walk, and notably struck out Morse (swinging) on a filthy sweeping slider.
Kirby Yates
Kirby Yates got the nod in the seventh after the Rays put up a seven run top of the inning. Yates worked a foul out from Ozuna, then posted back-to-back strikeouts of Saltalamacchia and Hechavarria. He came back out in the eighth and gave up a 1-1 single to center off the bat of Donovan Solano.
Jeff Beliveau
Beliveau came into the game and quickly coaxed a bunt out of Gordon which Rivera fielded quickly, and fired to second to get the lead runner. Athough, with an open base, Gordon swiped his second bag of the night before striking out Yelich (swinging). With two outs and a fast runner on second, Cash called upon Ernesto Frieri to face Stanton.
Ernesto Frieri
Despite a lucky foul popper (which landed in the stands) on a very obvious mistake that leaked over the heart of the plate, Frieri got ahead of Stanton with an 0-2 count. Frieri was one pitch away from getting out of the inning, leaving one to wonder what pitch he would throw; A sweeping slider? A change-up down in the zone? A fastball outside of the zone? The answer was, none of the above. Frieri came back with a similar pitch (to the previous two) in a similar location!
Strikezone plot, courtesy of Brooks Baseball.
Stanton did what he’s wont to do, send an RBI single up the middle. Now down by one, Frieri allowed a stolen base and a walk before getting Ichiro Suzuki to end the inning on a ground out to short. Tampa Bay scored a run in the top of the inning, and the reliever came back in the ninth. Frieri worked a beautiful seven pitch 1-2-3 frame (two fly-ball outs, and a foul out) to send the game into extra innings.
Brad Boxberger
Down to two relievers left in the pen, Cash called upon Boxberger in the 10th. Boxy struck out Solano on three pitches, but allowed a Gordon double on a good change-up that fell just fair up the right side. Yelich was next. The left-fielder saw only fastballs from Boxberger, three low (ball, strike, strike) and one of the rising variety. Yelich swung over the pitch for an opposite field base hit which scored Gordon easily. A bad pitch? Not necessarily. Credit Yelich for reading the scouting report and guessing right.
Strikezone plot, courtesy of Brooks Baseball.
I’d be remiss if I didn’t mention the pair of rallies by Tampa Bay. For that, I’ll depend upon the wise words of Neil Solondz:
Down 8-1 heading to the seventh inning, the Rays sent 11 hitters to the plate against three Marlins relievers, tying the score on an Asdrubal Cabrera single, his third hit of the night. A batter prior, pinch-hitter David DeJesus belted a three-run double to right that was nearly a grand slam. The previous three runs in the inning scored on bases-loaded walks to Logan Forsythe, Brandon Guyer and Kevin Kiermaier. Prior to the seventh, Kevin Kiermaier’s solo homer had been the only Rays tally.
The Rays rallied in the ninth against closer Steve Cishek to tie the score again. Brandon Guyer doubled to right, and held as Kiermaier struck out. Bobby Wilson in his first at-bat as a Rays player blooped a single to right. Cabrera then beat about a potential double play ball to first as Guyer scored to tie the game.
The New What Next
Chris Archer will make his second start of the season. He will butt heads with Jarred Cosart who was pushed to the fifth starter spot due to a blister. Archer faced the fish once in his career, losing 1-0 on a bases-loaded walk by Yelich. It was the second time in club history the Rays were defeated 1-0 on a bases-loaded walk, along with June 26, 2005 against, you guessed it, the Marlins. You can read about the pitching match-up in our series preview.
