Looking Backward While Moving Forward: Archer, Rays Dominate Rangers in 10-1 Shellacking

Chris Archer set a career high in strikeouts Wednesday night with 12. (Photo courtesy of the Tampa Bay Rays)
Chris Archer set a career high in strikeouts Wednesday night with 12. (Photo courtesy of the Tampa Bay Rays)

Had you asked Joe Maddon or Jim Hickey what they hoped for out of Wednesday night’s game, they would have said a win, and the opportunity to allow the tired relievers some rest following Tuesday night’s 14-inning marathon. Two pitchers, 13 strikeouts, and two hours and 51 minutes later, the Rays not only met Maddon and Hickey’s expectations, they exceeded them. Tampa Bay put together a 10-1 shellacking of the Rangers, thanks to a masterful seven IP start by Chris Archer, and a 12 hit/10 run offensive charge (which included three early home runs) led by Matt Joyce, Sean Rodriguez, and Brandon Guyer.

With an early one-run lead in the first inning, Archer got off to a rocky start by walking two batters. From there, however, he had his way with the Rangers’ swing happy lineup en route to his eighth victory.

His most effective pitch by far was the slider. Per Brooks Baseball, Archer threw it 29 times (19 for strikes), while coaxing eight of his twelve strikeouts (all swinging) on the pitch. His four other strikeouts (swinging as well) came on his fastball at the top of the zone. With the ability to move the ball around the zone on this fair eve, it’s easy to see why Archer was so dominant.

Chris Archer at-bat outcomes. (Courtesy of Brooks Baseball)
Chris Archer at-bat outcomes. (Courtesy of Brooks Baseball)

Granted he had to deal with a man in scoring position in three different innings, he allowed only one run to cross the plate via a fifth inning Aducci sac-fly. His ERA, over the past month, sits at a paltry 2.60 and he’s averaged one strikeout per inning. When comparing Archer and former ace David Price in their second full year in the bigs, it’s striking how similar they are number wise — 3.24 ERA (Archer) vs. 3.49 ERA (Price), 8.40 K/9 (Archer) vs. 8.75 (Price), 3.04 FIP (Archer) vs. 3.32 FIP (Price), 3.36 BB9 (Archer) vs. 2.53 BB9 (Price).

The recently recalled Brandon Gomes followed with a pair of perfect innings to round out the eighth and ninth innings, inducing a swing and miss strikeout of his own.

On the offensive end of things, Matt Joyce put the Rays on the board with a two-out home run to deep right field in the first inning. Sean Rodriguez and Brandon Guyer added a pair of two-run homers in the second, and both James Loney and Ben Zobrist atoned for their combined 0-11 night Tuesday, by going 4-6 with three runs batted in and a run.

Interestingly enough, it’s almost as if the Rays and Rangers were polar opposites last night. While everyone in the Rangers starting lineup struck out at least once, everyone in the Rays lineup — with the exception of Kevin Kiermaier — got at least a hit. Even then, Kiermaier reached base safely on a seventh inning walk.

The New What Next

The Rays will dodge a bullet in the series finale tonight. Jake Odorizzi will take the mound against Robbie Ross, not ace Yu Darvish. Ross (2-4, 5.61 ERA) will take the place of Darvish who was placed on the DL for the second time this season. Ross has spent most of his time in the pen this season. Though he’s had some success as a reliever, that success hasn’t translated well in the longer outings for the 25 year-old LHP. You can read more about Odorizzi in our series preview.

Rays 8/14/14 Starting Lineup

Guyer LF
Zobrist RF
Longoria DH
Loney 1B
Rodriguez 3B
Escobar SS
Forsythe 2B
Molina C
Kiermaier CF
Odorizzi RHP

Noteworthiness

  • Per Elias, the Rays pitchers 78 strikeouts match the 2013 Tigers for the most by an MLB team over a six-game span since 1900. Additionally, Tampa Bay leads the majors with a 2.14 ERA since the All-Star Break.
  • Since June 11, the Rays have a .267 batting average — the fourth best in majors. They also have a .339 OBP, good for second best in the majors.
  • on the subject of Matt Joyce’s future with the Rays, Erik Hahmann made an excellent point in his game recap for DRaysBay,

    Let’s talk about Joyce. Yes, you have to platoon him against most left handed pitchers, but Joyce’s .374 on-base-percentage ranks seventh in the American League. His power isn’t where you’d prefer it, but he’s been an excellent player for four out of five months of the season. It would make sense to trade him fairly soon, with David DeJesus signed for two more seasons, Wil Myers needing to play every day, and Kevin Kiermaier getting paid substantially less. If so, some team is going to be very pleased next season.

Looking Backward While Moving Forward: Rays Fall in Extra Innings, 3-2…Again

Jeremy Hellickson pitching in Tuesday night's game against the Texas Rangers. (Photo courtesy of AP Photo/Tony Gutierrez)
Jeremy Hellickson pitching in Tuesday night’s game against the Texas Rangers. (Photo courtesy of AP Photo/Tony Gutierrez)

We awaited the triumphant return of Jeremy Hellickson from the DL with baited breath, only to be somewhat letdown by his first three starts — I say somewhat, because though he wasn’t terrible, Hellickson certainly wasn’t at the top of his game. The former Rookie of the Year pitcher turned the corner in his August 6 start against Oakland, yet a question still lingered — could he string together quality starts with consistency? If his start against the Texas Rangers Tuesday night was indicative of anything, it’s yes he can. Yet what started as a pitching duel between he and Nick Tepesch, turned into a 3-2 Rangers’ victory in 14 innings — one that sadly obscured Hellickson’s quality start.

Of the 24 batters Hellickson faced, seven reached base safely on six hits and a walk. And while a handful of those runners made it into scoring position (only one, Leonys Martin, made it into scoring position as a consequence of Hellickson), the Rays righty did a good job of making the big pitch when he needed to, putting the skids on the Rangers’ early threats.

With two outs in the second inning and Martin on second, Hellickson struck out Geovany Soto swinging to end the inning. Then with a runner on first in the fifth, Helly induced a comeback double play out of Soto, and followed with an inning ending popper off the bat of Shin-Soo Choo. The Rangers threatened once again in the sixth, but Helly responded with a swinging strikeout of Jim Adduci, and a J.P. Arencibia grounder to third.

The Rays were able to offer Hellickson a little run support in the sixth when Ben Zobrist plated Desmond Jennings from third, after he led off the inning with a triple to center. Matt Joyce followed with a triple of his own, and was ultimately able to score on the error by Rougned Odor.


But after a 1-2-3 frame in the top of the seventh, Texas stormed right back to tag Joel Peralta with a pair of runs on four hits. Peralta lacked the command he’s exhibited of late, leaving pitches in hittable places and being punished for doing so. Let me put it to you this way, in his previous eight outings (or 7-1/3 innings) Peralta gave up only two hits — no runs or walks, just two hits.

The game sat knotted at two runs apiece for the next seven innings. The pitchers from both staffs deserve credit for making some big pitches. Additionally, the Rays’ fielders made some outstanding plays that should not go overlooked.

The Rangers threatened to score even more runs off Peralta in the seventh. Choo was off and running from second when Elvis Andrus lined a hard hit single to right. Kevin Kiermaier cleanly fielded the play however, and quickly fired the ball home — well in advance of Choo. The throw was on the line, and Jose Molina was able to hold on to the ball to save a run from scoring.

With a runner on second in the eighth, Martin hit a towering fly ball to deep center. Desmond Jennings successfully flagged the ball down and made an excellent over-the-shoulder catch before crashing into the wall.

In the 10th inning, Kevin Kiermaier became the first Rays rookie since Justin Ruggiano in 2008 to have a pair of OF assists in the same game. Kiermaier was able to double up Rosales at first on an Adrian Beltre liner to right.

Similar to the AL worst Texas Rangers, the Rays put together plenty of opportunities to win the game (0-6 wRISP, 7 LOB), but they couldn’t capitalize. While the offense went dormant from the 10th inning until one out into the 14th, Longoria put himself into scoring position after legging out a double. His effort was for naught — the next two batters swung at the first pitches and both flew out.

Only one reliever, Kirby Yates, didn’t make it into the 14 inning marathon. And the relievers who did make it into the game posted strong outings — that is, with the exceptions of Peralta and Cesar Ramos. Hell, even Grant Balfour put together a pair of well pitched innings (atonement for Sunday?).

Ramos, tasked with holding the game until the 15th, quickly got Martin to fly out to left for the first out. However, the wheels fell off when Soto reached safely, thanks to an error by Longo. Odor was next, singling to right and moving Nick Martinez (pinch running for Martin) to second. Choo loaded the bases on a seeing eye flare just over Zobrist’s head, and Maddon opted to bring in the five man infield. Ramos was able to induce a weak popper out of the ever dangerous Andrus to right, but then came back with a four-pitch walk to Rosales which drove in Martinez for the third — and winning — run.

Another winnable game went down in the register as another frustrating loss. DeWayne Stats said it best,

With the ratio of strikeouts to walks this year, it’s ironic that the game ended on a bases loaded walk.

Also ironic, all three extra innings losses on this road trip have been by a one run, 3-2 margin.

The New What Next

Chris Archer will butt heads with RHP Miles Mikolas (1-4, 6.57 ERA) Wednesday night. Mikolas was called up from Triple-A Round Rock to replace Joe Saunders. Featuring above-average fastball velocity and a big curve, Mikolas has improved his command this season — though it has yet to translate in the bigs. He had 38 strikeouts to just three walks in 44 total innings in Round Rock, boasting a 5-1 record with a 3.22 ERA. Mikolas held hitters a .283 batting average. You can read about the pitching matchup in our series preview.

Rays 8/13/14 Starting Lineup

Guyer LF
Zobrist RF
Joyce DH
Longoria 3B
Loney 1B
Rodriguez 2B
Escobar SS
Casali C
Kiermaier CF
Archer RHP

Noteworthiness

  • Per a Marc Topkin tweet, Jennings said he thought the bunt in 10th was the better play so that’s why he tried it a third time.
  • “I didn’t have it tonight. … They got me.” — Joel Peralta
  • It was “unacceptable” and “pretty embarrassing” to lose on a four pitch bases loaded walk.” — Cesar Ramos
  • The Rays have called up Brandon Gomes, responding by sending Cole Figueroa down to Triple-A Durham. The move gives the Rays a three man bench and an eight man bullpen
  • Your tweet of the day:

Looking Backward While Moving Forward: Smyly, Rays Blank the Rangers, 7-0

Despite getting pulled in favor of Kirby Yates two outs into the eighth inning, Drew Smyly tossed an excellent 7.2 IP/3 H/0 R/3 BB/9 K ball game on 116 pitches.
Despite being pulled in favor of Kirby Yates two outs into the eighth inning, Drew Smyly tossed an excellent 7.2 IP/3 H/0 R/3 BB/9 K ball game on 116 pitches. (Photo courtesy of the Tampa Bay Rays)

Daniel Russell said it best in the lead in to his game recap, over at DRaysBay,

This was the sort of game that became a breath of fresh air, particularly as the Rays prepare for an grueling stretch of 32 games, including 29 against AL East opponents, with a three game series against Detroit mixed in. Before all of that, thankfully, is a four game series in Arlington.

In short, Tampa Bay was able to tag Colby Lewis and the Rangers for seven runs in the series opener, behind an excellent start by Drew Smyly.

If Smyly was great in his first start with the Rays, then he was flat out excellent Monday night in his second. In what is now his longest career outing, Smyly blanked the Texas Rangers over 7-2/3 innings, ringing up nine batters while tossing 116 pitches (71 strikes, 55 SNIPs). The  lefty changed velocity effectively, ranging from 75 MPH to 93, and his fastball had great movement at the top of the zone (coaxing five whiffs). Meanwhile, his off-speed stuff looked crisp and he was able to notch eight whiffs.

With 93 pitches under his belt, Maddon allowed Smyly to start the eighth inning. However, he started to lose his command as he exceeded the 100 pitch mark. After a line out, a double off the bat of Rougned Odor, a Daniel Robertson walk, and a Shin-Soo Choo  foul tip strikeout, Maddon called on Kirby Yates to face Elvis Andrus.

Smyly did an outstanding job of eating innings and putting together a dominant outing overall. Culling together an impressive 2.08 ERA in his 13 innings of work with Tampa Bay, the Rays newest lefty has fanned a total of 15 batters. In short, he’s doing what he can to fill the hole left in David Price’s wake.

Drew Smyly at-bat outcomes. (Courtesy of Brooks Baseball)
Drew Smyly at-bat outcomes. (Courtesy of Brooks Baseball)

Before I move on, I stumbled upon an interesting graphic (below) of the rest-of-the-season projections between Smyly and David Price (courtesy of Dan Szymborski’s and Fangraphs). Smyly is projected to perform just a hair below what Price should contribute overall.

Screen Shot 2014-08-11 at 11.16.28 PM

Yates promptly waled Andrus, which lead to on field confusion. Jim Hickey immediately met with the rookie reliever, and while discussions were ongoing, the Rangers opted to pinch hit with Jim Aducci.

Once Aducci was announced, Joe Maddon slowly made his way to the mound, ready to make a pitching change in favor of Joel Peralta. Confused, Ron Washington took the field to discuss two coaching visits, which led to an on-field delay — playing right into Maddon’s hands. Fully warm, Peralta coaxed a tapper to short, and the Rays escaped a bases loaded jam. Grant Balfour followed with a shaky ninth, but the Rays remained unscathed.

Offensively speaking, Tampa Bay got on the board early in the contest. With a pair of runners on base, Curt Casali laid down a bunt right back to the mound — leading to a throwing error by Lewis at third, and allowing the first run to score. After Kevin Kiermaier struck out (looking), Desmond Jennings followed with a sac-bunt of his own. Attempting to score from third, Yunel Escobar was called out at the plate.

Joe Maddon requested that the call at home be reviewed — not challenged. In question, had the Rangers’ catcher, Robinson Chirinos, blocked the plate. The review confirmed he did not block the plate. An aside, Maddon was able to avoid using his challenge by encouraging the review.

Tampa Bay scored a couple more in that inning, thanks to a Ben Zobrist walk and a Matt Joyce single to right with bases loaded. The Rays tacked on a few more runs from there, with a Zobrist RBI double to score Kevin Kiermaier (who left the game in the seventh with lower back stiffness), RBI singles by Longoria and Jennings, and an RBI triple off the bat of Cole Figueroa in the ninth which scored Loney from first.

The New What Next

Jeremy Hellickson will look to build on his excellent outing against the A’s against Nick Tepesch and the Rangers. Tepesch (4-7, 4.83 ERA) followed a string of losses by tossing 5-2/3 scoreless innings Wednesday against the White Sox. In his only outing against Tampa Bay last season, the 25 year-old RHP held the Rays to one run on four hits in 7-1/3 innings of work. In the Rays favor, Tepesch’s strikeout numbers are down over his career norms, while his walk rate is up slightly (and significantly over last season). You can read about the matchup in our series preview.

Rays 8/12/14 Starting Lineup

Jennings CF
Zobrist SS
Joyce LF
Longoria 3B
Loney 1B
Rodriguez DH
Forsythe 2B
Molina C
Kiermaier RF
Hellickson RHP

Noteworthiness

  • Ben Zobrist hit his franchise leading 222nd double Monday night. He also reached base three times — having now done so in four consecutive games. He’s posted a .444 average and ten walks over a 16 game span.
  • Kevin Kiermaier is listed as day-to-day.
  • Rays OF prospect Josh Sale has been suspended for 50 games after his second positive test for drug abuse. Sale has spent his playing time with Class-A Charlotte this season. This is the third time he has been suspended, (the second time for violating the drug policy). He was also suspended for conduct detrimental to the organization. Sale was quoted in January after returning from his last suspension, “I was able to grow up. That’s what really needed to be worked on, just me as a person.”
  • The Rays have not allowed more than three runs in 15 consecutive road games, tying the 1968 Indians for the AL record. The MLB record is 21 set by the 2008 Cubs. Monday was the Rays 14th shutout — all of them combined. Drew Smyly became the eighth different starter involved in a shutout. Additionally, the pitching staff has struck out 54 batters over the past four games — a club record for most strikeouts over four games.
  • Your tweet of the day:

Rays 8/11/14 Starting Lineup, Etc

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Rays 8/11/14 Starting Lineup

Jennings CF
Zobrist LF
Joyce DH
Longoria 3B
Loney 1B
Figueroa 2B
Escobar SS
Casali C
Kiermaier RF
Smyly

Noteworthiness

  • Jake McGee was unavailable Sunday and is questionable for tonight after being hit on the right leg by a ball in Saturday’s game.
  • Per Marc Topkin, “LHP Drew Smyly makes his second start for the Rays tonight, saying he doesn’t see why his preference for having the catcher use hand signals, touching different spots on his body rather than the usual finger indicators to call pitches, is a big deal. He does it because he has trouble seeing in some ballparks, but he said sometimes he just prefers it that way and in Detroit would switch even during games. “I mix it up,” he said. “It’s just kind of what I like to do. I don’t see why you guys (reporters) are talking about it. It’s how I get my signs. … Everyone has different signs.'”
  • Wil Myers went 1-for-3, with a single and two strikeouts, in the first game of his rehab assignment with Durham as the DH in the first game of Sunday’s doubleheader. He may play again today.
  • Don’t forget to read our series preview, including information on tonight’s pitching matchup.

The New What Next: A Rays and Rangers Series Preview of Sorts

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Thank you for everything Wrigley, you were an exceptional host. (Photo courtesy of X-Rays Spex)

Despite falling to the Cubs in extra innings Sunday afternoon, the Tampa Bay Rays will head to Arlington for a four game set against the Rangers with a series win under their belts. The Rangers, like the Cubs, are a team the Rays can — and should — beat.

Suffice it to say, though still dangerous, this Texas team is a far cry from the one who dominated the AL West in previous years. Owners of the worst home record at 21-33, the Rangers are coming off a series loss to the Astros, and are 6-9 over a 15 game span. Tampa Bay has played well on the road lately to boost its away mark to 30-28 and is three games below .500 overall after Sunday’s loss.

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Rays and Rangers series starters (over the last 30 days).

Rays and Rangers offensive production (at home, away, and over the last 30 days).
Rays and Rangers offensive production (at home, away, and over the last 30 days).

Rays and Rangers, by the numbers.
Rays and Rangers, by the numbers.

Colby Lewis: The fastball/slider/change up throwing Lewis (8-8, 5.50) has excelled against the Rays, going 4-0 with a 3.47 ERA in five career regular-season appearances (four starts). He is coming off his second career shutout as he blanked the Chicago White Sox on six hits Tuesday. Lewis has allowed two or fewer runs in five of his last seven turns. Key matchups: Yunel Escobar (3-12), Ben Zobrist (1-4, 2B, BB).
Nick Tepesch: Tepesch (4-7, 4.83 ERA) followed a string of losses by tossing 5-2/3 scoreless innings Wednesday against the White Sox. In his only outing against Tampa Bay last season, the 25 year-old RHP held the Rays to one run on four hits in 7-1/3 innings of work. In the Rays favor, Tepesch’s strikeout numbers are down over his career norms, while his walk rate is up slightly (and significantly over last season). Key matchups: Desmond Jennings (2-4, 2 2B), James Loney (1-3).

Miles Mikolas: RHP Miles Mikolas (1-4, 6.57 ERA) was called up from Triple-A Round Rock to replace Joe Saunders. Featuring above-average fastball velocity and a big curve, Mikolas has improved his command this season — though it has yet to translate in the bigs. He had 38 strikeouts to just three walks in 44 total innings in Round Rock, boasting a 5-1 record with a 3.22 ERA. Mikolas held hitters a .283 batting average.

Yu Darvish: Darvish (10-7, 3.06 ERA) has been incredibly tough against the Rays, posting a 3-0 record and a 1.33 ERA in 27 innings of work. The caveat for Darvish, he’s relinquished four or more runs in seven outings this season, including his most recent outing against the Astros when he gave up six runs — five earned — on nine hits over four innings. Many have questioned whether Darvish is hiding an injury. Whatever the case, his xBABIP (.321 BABIP, .320 xBABIP) is the second highest among all pitchers with over 100 IP. Even though both values are high, Darvish is still good otherwise. He is still striking out more than one batter per inning (11.2 K/9) and has dropped his walk rate to a career low (2.9 BB/9). Key matchups: Desmond Jennings (2-8, RBI, BB), James Loney (2-6, 2B, RBI).

Noteworthiness

  • The Rays have allowed three runs or fewer in all six games of their road trip. The team record for most games three-runs or fewer is seven.
  • Ben Zobrist reached base three times in the finale against the Cubs and is 9-16 with four walks over the last four games.
  • Drew Smyly is 1-1 with a 2.96 ERA in eight career appearances (three starts) against the Rangers with the victory occurring on June 24 when he allowed one unearned run and five hits in six innings.
  • Tampa Bay set a franchise record for a three-game series by striking out 44 Chicago hitters this weekend past.
  • Alex Rios (ankle) left Sunday’s game after re-injuring his right ankle but is hopeful of starting the opener.
  • Adrian Beltre homered in Sunday’s loss to Houston and is three long balls away from his 12th career 20-homer season.
  • Per Marc Topkin, “What’s new: The Rangers have the AL’s worst record after losing 36 of 47. Injuries have been the major issue, with 1B Prince Fielder, INF Jurickson Profar and Ps Matt Harrison, Derek Holland, Alexi Ogando and Martin Perez among an MLB-most 12 players on the DL. 3B Adrian Beltre is having a good-not-great season, OF Shin-Soo Choo just okay. The rotation sports an AL-worst 5.06 ERA, and the bullpen has blown 13 saves in 35 tries. The Rangers have used a majors-most 55 players, 33 pitchers, 16 rookies.”
  • Rays lead the season series 2-1, though the Rangers lead 82-68 overall (and 6-3 in ALDS), and are 48-28 in Texas.