Photograph shows Fielder Allison Jones, baseball player for the St. Louis Terriers facing left, in uniform, swinging bat. The photo dates to 1914.
Rays 7/22/14 Starting Lineup
Jennings CF
Zobrist 2B
Joyce LF
Longoria 3B
Loney 1B
Escobar SS
Molina C
Odorizzi RHP
Kiermaier RF
Noteworthiness
Jake Odorizzi is batting eighth tonight. Maddon did something similar last year with Jeremy Hellickson, and earlier this year with Cesar Ramos.
The Rays are trying to become the fourth team to get to .500 after being 18 games under. Others: 1899 Louisville Colonels, 2004 Devil Rays, 2006 Marlins.
Hellickson is expected to rejoin the rotation this weekend, but it won’t be Friday. David Price is listed as the starter that night, though the rest of series is TBA.
Busch Stadium, as seen through the lense of Evan Longoria. (Photo courtesy of Evan Longoria)
Back at it Tuesday night. The Tampa Bay Rays are primed and set to start another quick, two-game series against the Cardinals, this time in St. Louis. The red-hot Rays, owners of a 23-11 record since June 11, are coming off a huge three-game sweep of the Minnesota Twins. Not only did they make up ground in both the AL East and in the Wildcard standings, they also walked away with the Knutson Cup.
Tampa Bay played host to St. Louis back in June, in the series that marked the mid-June turn around for the Rays. They split that series. As was true then, the Cardinals strength is their impressive pitching staff.
Led by Adam Wainwright, the Cardinals’ pitchers have held opponents to a combined .240 BA/.307 OBP/.349 SLG/.656 OPS slash line. Not so fast buckaroo, the Rays’ hurlers haven’t been too shabby themselves, especially since the beginning of June. David Price, Jake Odorizzi and company have held opponents to a combined .219 BA/.281 OBP/.346 SLG/.627 slash line for the better part of a month and a half.
Despite giving up three runs in the All-Star game, Wainwright has yielded two or fewer in seven straight starts while going 4-1. The He boasts 115 strikeouts and 27 walks while allowing only four homers – none in the last seven games – over 138 innings. Wainwright scattered seven hits over seven innings against the Rays in June. He’ll be opposed by Jake Odorizzi who continues to solidify his spot in the rotation; surrendering two or fewer earned runs in six of his previous seven starts and recording three wins over his last four decisions. Odorizzi has struck out 116 in 101 innings with 39 walks. Matt Holliday homered for the Cardinals’ only run last month against Odorizzi, who gave up three hits, one walk and struck out five over 7-1/3 innings. Alex Cobb will get the start against Lance Lynn Wednesday night; you can see their numbers (over the last 30 days) below.
Marc Topkin writes,
Since the loss of All-Star C Yadier Molina to injury, the big question about the Cardinals is whether to seek to improve an offense that ranks 29th in runs and homers or focus on an injury-depleted rotation, with Rays ace LHP David Price an option. Despite those woes, they have 54 wins, second most in the NL. 1B Matt Adams and SS Jhonny Peralta provide what power they do have, but OF Matt Holliday is their biggest threat. RHP Trevor Rosenthal anchors a powerful bullpen.
Rays and Cardinals series starters, over the last 30 days.Rays and Cardinals offensive production at home, away, and over the last 30 days.Rays and Cardinals, by the numbers.
Adam Wainwright: Everyone should be familiar with what Wainwright has to offer by now. The cutter/fastball/sinker/curve ball throwing RHP has superb control of all his pitches. The Rays were able to tag Wainwright to the tune of nine base runners (seven hits, two walks) and get into scoring position when they faced him in June. The question begs, will they do anything with any opportunities they may get Tuesday night? If they can, Tampa Bay could walk away with a win against one of the best pitchers in baseball. Key matchups: Desmond Jennings (1-4), Kevin Kiermaier (1-3), James Loney (12-26, 3 2B, HR, 2 RBI), Evan Longoria (2-5, RBI, BB), Jose Molina (2-5, 2B), Ben Zobrist (1-3, 2B).
Lance Lynn: The Rays beat up Lynn the last time they faced him (as a reliever), tagging the 27 year-old RHP for three runs in an inning of work. He has been good this season, though he isn’t infallible; opponents have touched the righty for four or more runs on five different occasions, and he’s walked three or more batters nine times — something that bodes well for the Rays’ patient hitters. Lynn can work his fastball into the 98 mph range out of the bullpen, though he’s more inclined to throw a low 90s fastball (touching 93) with sink as a starter. He also features an above average curve ball with tight spin, and an average change up. It should be noted, his curve pairs better with his fastball out of the pen due to the separation in velocity. Key matchups: Matt Joyce (1-1, HR), James Loney (2-3, 2B, RBI), Evan Longoria (1-1, 2B, RBI).
Noteworthiness
Wainwright, who has a 1.24 ERA in his last six interleague home starts, could be in for a stiff test against the Rays. Tampa Bay has won 14 of 18, including a season best-tying five straight by a combined 29-9 score.
The Rays last visited St. Louis in 2008, when the Cardinals won two of three games. The Cards lead 7-4 overall, 2-1 in St. Louis.
Desmond Jennings is congratulated by teammates in the dugout after scoring on a two-run single by James Loney during the first inning of a baseball game against the Minnesota Twins. (Photo courtesy of AP Photo/Ann Heisenfelt)
The Rays put the icing on the cake Sunday afternoon, finishing off the Twins in grand sweeping fashion. Chris Archer put together strong outing, and the offense was able to put together another good performance.
Archer pitched into the seventh inning and allowed three ones (one earned) while striking out four. He’s now yielded one run in three starts against the Twins, extending back to 2013. Archer was directly responsible for a second inning run, after he fielded a ground ball and threw it by James Loney at first — allowing the runner to advance to second and score on a base hit.
Archer got into another jam in the sixth inning. Two base hits and an error by Kevin Kiemaier (when he over ran a hit to right) later, Minnesota found themselves with men in scoring position and one out. The Twins were able take advantage of the situation, to the tune of two runs, thanks to a wild pitch and a fielder’s choice.
The Rays were able to hold the Twins to three runs after Brad Boxberger, Jake McGee, Grant Balfour, and Kirby Yates combined for the final eight outs of the game. That’s not to say they were an easy or pretty eight outs.
Balfour was tasked with closing out the game, yet he failed to do so once again. Balfour walked two consecutive batters after getting Eduardo Escobar to fly out to left. Joe Maddon had seen enough. Since Joel Peralta was unavailable, the Rays skipper called upon Yates to get the final two outs. Yates was up to the task and quickly retired the final two batters — coaxing a groundout to third and a fly-ball out to Logan Forsythe in foul territory.
Offensivly speaking, the Rays recorded at least ten hits and five runs for the third consecutive day. Every starter, aside from Curt Casali, reached base at least once. James Loney put the Rays on the board early, with a two run single in the first inning. Ben Zobrist added to the lead with a sac fly in the second, Yunel Escobar plated the third run on an RBI double in the third, and Evan Longoria also doubled in a run in the sixth.
The Rays improved to 47-53, putting them 7.5 games out of first in the AL East (six games in the Wildcard standings; 1/2 game behind the ChiSox), also making it more unlikely they decide to move David Price before the July 31 trade deadline.
Noteworthiness
Evan Longoria surpassed Carl Crawford and now holds the franchise record for the most doubles at 216, after hitting a pair of two-baggers in Sunday’s game. He also tied Crawford for the most runs batted in at 592. Ben Zobrist is right on their heals with 214 doubles.
Let me understand this: Three Reds couldn’t make a play on an inning ending popper, yet Longo was able to catch a high, infield pop-fly whilst toppling over. Cincinnati had the chance to salvage a game — helping the Rays in the process — yet the Reds suck so hard, they were swept by the Tankees.
Ben Zobrist, Kevin Kiermaier and Desmond Jennings celebrate a win of the game against the Minnesota Twins. The Rays defeated the Twins 5-1. (Photo courtesy of Hannah Foslien/Getty Images)
Amidst the trade speculation and rumors, the Tampa Bay Rays have quietly put together a run. Winners of their last four, including a 5-1 victory last night against the Minnesota Twins, the Rays have gone 23-12 since June 11. David Price put together another excellent bid to keep Tampa Bay in the thick of things, tossing an eight-plus inning gem for his fifth consecutive victory.
If the name of the game is winning series from here on out — from the middle of June on out, that is — the Rays have done that, now winner seven of their last 11 series’. The results have been noticeable. Tampa Bay now sits 4.5 games behind the Yankees and Blue Jays, who are third in the AL East, and seven games out in the Wildcard race (just a game and-a-half behind the Chicago White Sox).
Below are a few game peripherals and highlights from last night’s game.
Game Peripherals and Highlights
Joe Maddon called it last night. Before the game, Maddon told several people he really liked Rodriguez’s chances and expected him to hit a homer into the second deck. Low and behold, Rodriguez did just that — following two singles, a double-play grounder by Yunel Escobar and a Jose Molina RBI single, SeanRod hit a mammoth shot into the second deck in left field.
How about the bottom five batters in the lineup?! James Loney, Logan Forsythe, Yunel Escobar, Jose Molina and Sean Rodriguez teamed up to go 10-23 with five runs. More impressively, the eight and nine hitters (Molina and Rodriguez) were credited with driving in all five runs.
If the Rays are going to go anywhere, they’re going to need contributions from everyone in the lineup. And if the last two games are indicative of anything, it’s that (most) everyone in the lineup has contributed something. Consider this: Cole Figueroa is the only Ray who hasn’t at least reached base. The big offensive producers (Ben Zobrist, Evan Longoria, and James Loney) have done their part, while the supporting role players (Kevin Kiermaier, Desmond Jennings, Logan Forsythe) have also contributed. Hell, even Molina has come around. Now, if only the relievers could do the same.
Following the game, Joe Maddon was quoted as saying, “We were talking before the game about how well he’s been pitching and trying to compare it to his Cy Young Award-winning year (2012),” manager Joe Maddon said. “And I’m telling you, he’s right there now.” Well put, skip! Despite lacking fastball command in the first inning, and needing 23 pitches to get through the inning, Price was absolutely dominant in his 8.0 IP/4 H/0 R/0 BB/4 K 119 pitch (87 strikes, 73% K%) outing. 18 of his 87 strikes were whiffs (21%), with 10 coming on the fastball. Price set up the Twins hitters well, coxing swings and misses on pitches well outside the zone.
(Courtesy of Brooks Baseball)
My biggest criticism: Besides Brad Boxberger and Jake McGee, the Rays really don’t have a true shutdown reliever. Both Joel Peralta and Grant Balfour have been inconsistent, while Juan-Carlos Oviedo has followed in their footsteps — last night being no different. Oviedo lasted a third of an inning, yielding a run on a hit and a walk. Maddon had to call on McGee to get the final two outs of the game. Taking things back further, in his last five appearances (totaling 4-2/3 IP), Oviedo has given up six runs on nine hits and three walks, while striking out only three. Though Price and Zobrist have dominated the trade rumors of late, I can only hope that Andrew Friedman is looking for someone to bolster the bullpen. That someone could be in Durham — CJ Riefenhauser (1-2, 1.75 ERA) and Jeff Beliveau (0-0, 1.50 ERA) come to mind — or on the market. Whatever the case, if this run is legitimate, something needs to be done to shore up the ‘pen going into August and September.
The New What Next
The Rays took the series last night, and they’ll attempt to put the Twins out of their misery this afternoon with Chris Archer on the bump. Archer will butt heads with Kevin Correia (5-11, 4.61 ERA). The Rays haven’t faced Correia this season, though in his previous two starts against Tampa Bay, they handed the 33 year-old RHP an 0-1 record, with a 4.76 ERA. Then again, Correia’s posted a 2.30 ERA over his last seven starts, compiling a 1.21 WHIP despite a 3-4 record in that span. Over that period, Correia made four starts in which he surrendered just one earned run or less. He changed his pitch selection slightly, cutting back on his cutter and relying more on his curveball and change up after he began the season with a 6.11 ERA and 1.55 WHIP. You can read about the pitching matchup in our series preview.
Rays 7/20/14 Starting Lineup
Jennings CF
Zobrist 2B
Joyce LF
Longoria 3B
Loney 1B
Guyer DH
Escobar SS
Casali C
Kiermaier RF
Archer RHP
Noteworthiness
Evan Longoria starts play today 1 RBI and 1 double behind Carl Crawford’s franchise records (592, 215). Ben Zobrist is also at 214 doubles.
Per Fangraphs, the Rays again increased their playoff odds, this time to 7.7%. Meanwhile, the Red Sox have notched down a tenth of a point, to 7.9%.
Curt Casali, Ben Zobrist, and Desmond Jennings, score on a bases-loaded double by Evan Longoria off Kyle Gibson in the third inning. (Photo courtesy of AP Photo/Jim Mone)
A big question preceded the start of the All-Star Break: Could the Rays keep maintain their momentum in the (symbolic) second half of the season? After all, Tampa Bay went 21-12 — extending back to June 11 — while a cloud of uncertainty, over the future of David Price and Ben Zobrist with the team, lingered overhead. If their 6-2 victory against the Minnesota Twins did only one thing, it’s answer the question to an extent — yes they can. The victory also found them 4-1/2 games out of third in the AL East, and 7-1/2 out in the Wildcard race.
Kyle Gibson started off looking pretty strong, needing only 10 pitches to mow down the Rays in the first. Alex Cobb, who’s been faced with his own set of, ahem…extenuating circumstances of late, was able to work around a two-out, Kendrys Morales single with no damage done.
In the second inning, James Loney got a one out base hit, bringing Yunel Escobar to the plate. And though Escobar made a bid to put a runner in scoring position, Brian Dozier made an excellent play to keep the ball in the infield. The Twinkies settled for a fielder’s choice, even though they almost doubled up Escobar. Cole Figueroa was next, grounding out to end any threat. Cobb ran into a bit of trouble in the bottom of the inning. After coaxing a ground ball out from Oswaldo Arcia, Cobb gave up a one out walk and a base hit put Twins on first and second with two outs, bringing former Rays Sam Fuld to the plate. But Cobb was able to get Fuld to fly out harmlessly to left.
Both teams exchanged runs in the third inning. The recently recalled Curt Casali led off the inning with a line drive single to center — his first major league hit in his first at-bat. Kevin Kiermaier made a bid for an opposite field hit in the next at-bat, but was stopped by a diving Sam Fuld. However, Desmond Jennings came through with a single, and Ben Zobrist followed with a walk, loading the bases with one out. With the bases juiced, Matt Joyce did what he’s wont to do — pop out in foul territory. If anything was going to come of the situation, it would be up to Evan Longoria. And Longo did not disappoint, scorching a 2-0 pitch to center; plating three runs and giving the Rays an early lead.
The Twins struck back in the bottom of the inning, with a two-out, two-run homer to left field off the bat of Trevor Plouffe. Cobb, despite allowing a one out single to Dozier, was ahead of everyone to this point — Plouffe included. And he wasn’t happy about not putting a zero on the board after the Rays took a three-run lead.
Both Cobb and Gibson settled down in the fourth, both needing only 10 pitches to set their opponents down in order. In the fifth, Kiermaier (being Kiermaier) hustled out an infield, bunt single on which he was originally called out. Joe Maddon quickly exited the dugout, only to make the slow walk to the umpires, requesting that the play be reviewed. The replays were pretty definitive on the first look, and the call was quickly overturned. Zobrist, with one out, then launched a ball into the right field, putting the Rays up 5-2.
The Twins mounted yet another threat against Cobb. After giving up a seeing eye single, Cobb plunked Brian Dozier on the finger while he tried to bunt — his first of two HBP’s on the night. Fortunately he was able to work around the jam with no runs allowed. If anything, it illustrated that he hasn’t been nearly as sharp this season.
The Rays went down quietly in the sixth, on just seven pitches. The Twins, however, did not.
Cobb quickly got the first two outs on a pair of flat split-changeups, yet he hit Kurt Suzuki in the next at-bat on…you guessed it, an inside split-change. He followed with a two-out walk, spelling his doom. Cobb was pulled in favor of Brad Boxberger. After giving up an uncharacteristic walk to Sam Fuld (on 10-pitches) to load the bases, Boxberger was able to induce a groundout to end the inning.
Kevin Kiermaier led off the seventh with a ball hit so hard to right field, that even could not stretch it into a double. Jennings moved Kiermaier to second on a sac-bunt, and Zobrist followed with another walk, bringing Joyce to the plate with runners on first and second. Joyce didn’t disappoint this time around, lining a ball to right field off of reliever Matt Guerrier — scoring Kiermaier in the process, and putting the Rays up 6-2. Longo grounded into a double play to end the inning, but not before the damage was done. Boxberger came back out in the bottom of the inning and struck out the side on 11 pitches.
Maddon trusted Balfour with the eighth inning, and he — somewhat surprisingly — set down the Twins 1-2-3, without allowing a walk no less.
Despite a Jennings a hit in the ninth, the Rays went down quietly. Jake McGee came in for the final three outs. And though the Rays ace reliever allowed Eduardo Escobar to reach second on a single and a steal, he put down the final three batters in order; all on swinging strikeouts.
The New What Next
David Price will get the start against Phil Hughes Saturday night. The Rays have had previous success against Hughes (10-5, 3.92 ERA) over the last few seasons, tagging the 28 year-old RHP with a 1-2 record, and a 4.78 ERA. Still, Hughes has been has been very good this season — producing a slightly higher WAR than Mashiro Tanaka this season (the highest of his eight-year career), while putting together a league-best walk rate of just 2.4%. If Hughes’ overall ERA speaks to anything, it’s that he’s been somewhat inconsistent. In eight of his 19 starts, Hughes gave up four (or more) earned runs. You can read about the pitching matchup in our series preview, and I’ll post the starting lineup when it becomes available.
Rays 7/19/14 Starting Lineup
Jennings CF
Zobrist RF
Guyer LF
Longoria 3B
Loney 1B
Forsythe 2B
Escobar SS
Molina C
Rodriguez DH
Price LHP
Noteworthiness
Well what d’ya know? The Rays increased their playoff odds from 6% to 7.4%. How the Red Sox still have a better chance of a postseason berth is well beyond the realm of my understanding.
Ben Zobrist is batting .359 with 2 HR, 10 RBI, 6 2B, and 12 BB in the last 16 games.
Thanks to all who attended our watch party. What better way to end it than with a huge 6-2 victory?! There’s a proverbial bun in the oven… That is, our next watch party is in the works. We’ll keep you posted!
