Per the online gambling site Bovada, the odds on the Rays making the playoffs are 12-1. Fangraphs updated their odds to 6%.
With the call up of Curt Casali, the Rays now have six rookies on roster, and have used 11 this season. They used only nine last year, and seven in 2012.
Speaking of Casali, he’s in the lineup hitting. Desmond Jennings is also back in the thick of things, hitting.
On Friday, July 18th at 7:00 p.m. X-Rays Spex , Green Bench Brewing Company, and Star Booty are teaming up to host a proper Rays Watch Party, when the Rays take on the Minnesota Twins, in Minneapolis. We’re bringing all of the camaraderie of the game, some delicious foodstuffs, and some wonderful sounds — all just a stones throw from The Trop.
Enjoy the game on one of the flatscreen televisions in the tasting room, then make your way to the beer garden where the game will be projected once the sun sets.
The first pitch is set for 8:10 p.m., but be sure to get down to Green Bench early to enjoy the sweet sounds of the Galbraith Group and pre-game with your friends and your favorite brew. Outdoor games (including whiffle ball, corn hole, and more) will be available, so bring the entire family. Local barbecue provisionersUrban Brew and Barbecue will be on site, providing you with all your smoked food needs.
Throughout the night Green Bench will be offering $1.00 off beers to folks wearing Tampa Bay Rays gear, including X-Rays Spex’s very own “Raymones” shirt.
Yunel Escobar motions he is safe after sliding into home against Josh Thole as umpire Sean Barber begins to call him out. Barber called Escobar out, but the call was reversed after video review. (Photo courtesy of AP Photo/Mike Carlson)
Play resumes in the (symbolic) second half of the season, when the Tampa Bay Rays kickoff a three game series against the Minnesota Twins, at Target Field Friday. Neither the Rays nor the Twins were particularly happy with the first half of the season, and both will need strong starts following the All-Star Break to avoid irrelevancy.
For the Rays, they seek a ninth road win in 10 games. This series presents Tampa Bay with an opportunity to make up some ground in the Wildcard standings, against the team that is directly over them. They start the day eight games out of a Wildcard spot (behind the Twins) and 9-1/2 back in the AL East. What’s more, their 13-5 record since June 25 is the second-best in the majors.
A cursory warning, it will not be as easy as in previous years. The Rays walked away with the Knutson Cup in Spring Training, however the Twins took two-of-three from Tampa Bay back in April. Minnesota won five of their last six prior to the All-Star Break (outscoring opponents 38-17) as well.
Rays and Twins series starters, over the last 30 days.Rays and Twins offensive production at home, away, and over the last 30 days.Rays and Twins, by the numbers.
Kyle Gibson: Gibson (4-4, 3.70 ERA) lasted just two innings back on the Fourth of July, surrendering six runs (five earned) on six hits and a walk while recording zero strikeouts against the Yankees. That start was but one of seven where the ground ball pitcher yielded four or more earned runs, including his last outing against the Rays. Mike Podhorzer of Fangraphs writes,
Gibson doesn’t have quite the velocity… .but he does throw three pitches, complementing the fastball with a slider and change up. Both his secondary pitches have been quite effective, inducing swinging strikes at a slightly better than league average clip, while also generating lots of grounders.
His four-seam fastball, though it does gets grounders at a better than average rate, simply doesn’t miss enough bats. Oddly, his two-seamer has been significantly better at inducing swinging strikes, which isn’t usually the case for the typical pitcher. The two-seamer also generates more grounders.
Key matchups: Desmond Jennings (2-5, BB), Matt Joyce (2-5, 2 RBI), James Loney (2-4, 2B, 2 RBI, BB), Evan Longoria (1-4, BB), Ben Zobrist (2-5, BB).
Kevin Correia: The Rays haven’t faced Correia (5-11, 4.61 ERA) 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. Key matchups: Yunel Escobar (7-12, 2 2B, 2 RBI, BB), Logan Forsythe (1-4, 3 RBI), Jose Molina (1-4, 2B).
Phil Hughes: 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. Key matchups: Yunel Escobar (7-20, 2 2B, RBI, 2 BB), Matt Joyce (7-15, 2B, 3B, 2 HR, 5 RBI, 5 BB), James Loney (7-11, 2 2B, RBI), Evan Longoria (8-24, 2B, RBI, 3 BB).
Noteworthiness
Per STATS writer Jordan Garretson, The Twins are the only AL club — besides the Rays — Alex Cobb (4-6, 4.14 ERA) has yet to face. Cobb gave up two runs over 6-2/3 innings and did not get a decision in a 5-4 loss to Kansas City on July 9.
Matt Joyce went 5-for-11 when the wins won two of three in April, and has hit .395 with 14 RBI over his last 12 contest versus Minnesota.
Per Marc Topkin, “The Twins went 5-2 at Seattle and Colorado before the All-Star break but are at the bottom of the American League Central (though 1½ games better than the Rays). Star Joe Mauer is sidelined with an oblique strain. The offense isn’t much overall, though 2B Brian Dozier has joined DH Kendry Morales and OF Josh Willingham as a power threat. The rotation, despite expensive upgrades, is a mess. All-Star closer Glenn Perkins anchors a strong bullpen.”
Ex-Ray Sam Fuld has reached base 15 of his past 24 times, hitting .450 (18-for-40) over his past 13 games.
The Twins lead 2-1 this season. They’re tied 63-63 overall, and while the Twins lead 35-29 at home, the Rays are 12-4 at Target Field.
If I may, David Price bested it during the All-Star week
Here are a handful of updates ahead of the start of the symbolic second half of the season:
C Ryan Hanigan has been placed on the 15-day DL with a strained oblique (retroactive to July 9); the Rays have corresponded by recalling Curt Casali from Triple-A Durham. Tampa Bay also moved Wil Myers to the 60-day DL — clearing room on the 40-man roster. Myers will be eligible for re-activation on July 30, though he was expecting to return in mid-August anyway. Per Marc Topkin, Casali provides the potential for much more offense than Ali Solis, who was up earlier when Hanigan was hurt.
Class act, that David Price! When his name was announced prior to Tuesday’s Midseason Classic, David Price tipped his hat then touched the Zim patch on his jersey — a nod to the late Don Zimmer.
(Photo courtesy of Marc Topkin)
At 44-53 (.454 WP) overall, the Rays are finally catching up with their overall Pythagorean Expectation (46-51, .474). In fact, the Rays’ winning percentage has significantly increased from the middle of June until now. To put it another way, from the middle of June until Sunday, July 13, the Rays have significantly exceeded the expectation — as it relates to runs scored vs. runs allowed. The question begs: Can they keep it up throughout the (symbolic) second half of the season?
Per Jim Bowden of ESPN (via Jeff Todd of MLB Trade Rumors), the Rays are in no hurry to deal David Price, while some possible trade partners believe that he will not change hands before the deadline. Todd writes, “The club still wants to see if a post-season run remains possible; though the club sits 9.5 games back at the break, the division does still look somewhat vulnerable. If Tampa does look to move Price, arguably the best potential trade chip in baseball, it will demand more in return than the Cubs received for Jeff Samardzija — who, you may recall, was the key piece in a package that brought back one of the game’s elite prospects in Addison Russell. Needless to say, Price is a rare commodity, especially given his additional season of control, and his potential absence from the market (combined with the A’s early strike for two other top starters) could have interesting repercussions.”
David Price answered a myriad of questions Monday, in Minneapolis. (Photo courtesy of the Tampa Bay Rays)
There isn’t much to write about today. Sure, I’m sure I could whip up something on the All-Star Game, though I cannot help but feel that there is a far greater narrative embedded within the Rays’ battle to stay relevant going into the symbolic second half of the season. That is, I’m more concerned with my team making it to the playoffs in the first place, than I am with which league will receive home field advantage in the World Series. Nevertheless, I was able to cull together a few Rays-centric, newsworthy items bulleted below.
ESPN’s Mark Simon put together an interesting graphic of which starting pitching staffs allowed hard-hit contact least often. Spoiler alert: The Rays are ranked second.
(Courtesy of Mark Simon/ESPN)
It is sounding as if Brian Anderson’s prediction, that David Price will not be traded before the July 31 trade deadline, could be coming to fruition. Ned Colletti, General Manager of the Los Angeles Dodgers, (lauded as one of the top contenders for Price) was quoted as saying, “Any deal for a top-tier player would require the Dodgers to trade prospects,” adding, “probably more so than yours truly would like to part with at this particular time.” He went on to say, “Based on what I know of who can be acquired, even those of upper-echelon ability that are going to require more than others, I don’t see us doing anything that’s going to tear apart the farm system,” Colletti said. That’s not to say there aren’t viable contenders for Price, within or outside of the Rays’ league of division, i.e.: the Cardinals. However, if the last few weeks have done anything, it’s bring clarity to a few things related to the rumors surrounding Price:
As I mentioned previously, if Tampa Bay can continue its winning ways, the chances of a Price trade (or Zobrist, for that matter) are drastically reduced.
FWIW, super agent Scott Boras: Tough for #Rays to find match for Price deal in July, + “If the team was in Montreal he wouldn’t get traded”— Marc Topkin (@TBTimes_Rays) July 14, 2014
Super dick, urm…agent Scott Boras was caught, once again, calling out Tampa Bay. “I’m not buying it, even if you were to agree that the city — and not the stadium and its location — is the problem. Price is on the block because of the Rays’ place on the win spectrum, not (just) because they can’t afford to extend him,” wrote Justin Bopp of MLB Daily Dish. I concur.
In related news, MLB commissioner Bud Selig said of the Rays, “It’s obvious they need a new stadium.” He went on to mention that the demographics of our small market “are good.” He also spoke highly of the exhibition games in Montreal prior to opening day, calling them “very impressive,” though he declined to address possibility of any relocations. Per Mark Topkin, Selig said repeatedly that the Rays stadium/overall franchise situation is in (Rays Principal Owner Stu) Sternberg’s hands, and there could be progress by Selig’s January retirement.
