Looking Backward While Moving Forward: Price, Rays End Losing Skid with 5-1 Win

The Tampa Bay Rays finished their home stand with a 5-1 win Wednesday, in front of 23,761 attendees.
The Tampa Bay Rays finished their home stand with a 5-1 win Wednesday, in front of 23,761 attendees. (Photo credit Anthony Ateek/X-Rays Spex)

It kind of felt like October 2, 2012 at the Trop, Wednesday afternoon. If you recall, that was the last time James Shields took the mound in a Rays uniform. And much like that outing, David Price — amongst a ton of trade speculation — took the mound and put together a gem. Price took the mound by himself, arguably in a moment of reflection, then let loose with a dominant 8-1/3 inning outing in which he struck out 11 Pirates. And with his fifth consecutive double-digit strikeout game, Price set a new record for the most strikeouts in a month at 51 — also becoming the first pitcher in a decade to post double digit strikeouts in five consecutive starts. In the end, the Tampa Bay Rays ended their 10-game home stand with a series salvaging, 5-1 win against the Pittsburgh Pirates. Credited with the win, David Price was excellent in his 8-1/3 inning outing, giving up only one run on an Andrew McCutchen ninth inning solo shot.

(Photo collage, courtesy of the Tampa Bay Rays)
(Photo collage, courtesy of the Tampa Bay Rays)

Price walked off the field to the roar of a standing ovation from the appreciative crowd, tipping his cap and waving as if to thank the fans, saying, “If this is my last game here, thanks.”

On the other end of things, the Rays offense was able to take advantage of the breaks that came their way, in the first and eighth innings. Fangraphs’ scoring summary (below) tells the tale:

Rays first inning scoring summary. (Courtesy of Fangraphs)
Rays first inning scoring summary. (Courtesy of Fangraphs)
Rays eighth inning scoring summary. (Courtesy of Fangraphs)
Rays eighth inning scoring summary. (Courtesy of Fangraphs)

Defensively, Tampa Bay played like the vintage Rays. Ben Zobrist was great at short, doing a much better job than Yunel Escobar whom he replaced due to a sore throwing arm. On three different occasions, Zobrist robbed the Pirates of hits — in the first inning on a Gaby Sanchez grounder, on a beautifully turned double play on a Jordy Mercer grounder in the second, and a seventh inning Russell Martin fielder’s choice. In the third inning, Evan Longoria lept into the stands, completing a great grab on a Gregory Polanco foul out.

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Meanwhile, Desmond Jennings robbed Andrew McCutchen of an extra base hit in the seventh inning, flagging down a fly-ball to the wall in center.

All told, this was a Rays style win if ever there was one. After an off-day Thursday, the Rays will start a four game series against the Orioles in Baltimore, with a double header Friday. Alex Colome will get the start in the first game, while Jake Odorizzi will take the mound in the second. We’ll have your preview before the start of the series.

Noteworthiness

  • Your tweet of the day:

  • I posted this on our Tumblr page: October 2, 2012: James Shields’ last game with the Rays. Pangs of sadness went through me leading up to, and following, the 27th out. June 25, 2014: what could be David Price’s last game at the Trop. I don’t feel nearly as sad, though I am bummed. What’re your thoughts on the state of flux surrounding Price? I understand the politics surrounding things, yet a part of me feels that the Rays will hold on to him through this season, and potentially offer him a contract extension, if only to increase his trade value.
  • Zachary Rymer of Bleacher Report writes, “The Tampa Bay Rays are likely going to trade David Price in July. And when they do, they’re likely going to get some really good stuff in return. But here’s a warning for all interested parties: Be careful on this one, man. Price is still a very good pitcher, but neither his present nor his future is as bright as his past.”

    • Looking Backward While Moving Forward: Despite Late Rally, Rays Fall to the Pirates, 6-5

    Starling Marte is caught stealing second base by Sean Rodriguez. (Photo courtesy of Brian Blanco/Getty Images)
    Starling Marte is caught stealing second base by Sean Rodriguez. (Photo courtesy of Brian Blanco/Getty Images)

    de·pres·sion

    diˈpreSHən/
    noun
    1. Severe despondency and dejection, typically felt over a period of time and accompanied by feelings of hopelessness and inadequacy.
    2. The act of lowering something or pressing something down.

    I’d say the first meaning sums up what many of us are feeling right now. Hell, I know I feel despondent, dejected, and hopeless — and Tuesday night’s loss certainly didn’t help the cause. Despite a four run, two-inning uprising, the Tampa Bay Rays dropped the second game of the series to Pirates by a score of 6-5. Truth told, this was a pretty odd game, filled with an inconsistent strike zone, awkward hits, and a rare multi-run outing off the most consistent Rays starter, Chris Archer.

    This particular game recap comes in a form that I like to call The Good, the Bad, and the Argyle. Since this may be viewed by you as a rather morose recap, I’d suggest that you click play on the video (below) before you start reading.

    [youtube_sc url=”https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=KcBx1HHmJok”]

    The Good

    • Despite grounding into a pair of double plays (Ben Zobrist in the first, and Yunel Escobar in the second), the Rays offense didn’t fare terribly against the Pirates. Consider that Desmond Jennings (2-4, R, BB), Brandon Guyer (2-5, R, 2 RBI, 2B), Evan Longoria (1-4, R, 2 RBI, HR), James Loney (2-4), Logan Forsythe (3-4, 2 R, 3B), and Jose Molina (2-3, RBI, 2B) all did well at the plate. In fact, six of the nine starters all reached base at least once.
    • Good on the Rays hitters for disrupting closer Mark Melancon, who started the ninth inning with a sub two ERA, yet ended it with a 2.48 earned run average. In 33 total at-bats (including Tuesday night) against the Pirates closer, the Rays have owned Melancon, slashing .303 BA/.324 OBP/.515 SLG/.839 OPS with two homers and nine RBI.
    • Juan-Carlos Oviedo lowered his ERA to 2.33 after tossing a six pitch (five strikes) ninth inning, ringing up Alvarez along the way.

    The Bad

    • Chris Archer laid an egg, tossing a 7 IP/7 H/5 R/4 ER/2 BB/7 K outing. Anticipating he’d throw strikes, the Pirates jumped on Archer early, quickly working a leadoff walk, and forcing a throwing error on an errant pick-off play (both of which put Polanco on third with no outs) — never looking back. The Pirates hitters were more than happy to BABIP Archer on pitches down in the zone.
    Chris Archer at-bat results. (Courtesy of Brooks Baseball)
    Chris Archer at-bat results. (Courtesy of Brooks Baseball)
    • To be fair, home plate umpire Mark Ripperger did make some pretty egregious calls — something which proved costly in the sixth inning. Still, those calls were responsible for one run off of Archer, not the other four. Credit where it’s due, the Pirates’ hitters were pretty adept at disrupting Archer, and pouncing on their opportunities.
    fastmap-1.php
    Home plate umpire strike zone plot vs. RHH. Each pitch is represented by a single dot. Green dots are balls and red dots are strikes. Pitches marked as belonging to a particular team are designated with different shapes. (Courtesy of Brooks Baseball)
    fastmap.php
    Home plate umpire strike zone plot vs. LHH. Each pitch is represented by a single dot. Green dots are balls and red dots are strikes. Pitches marked as belonging to a particular team are designated with different shapes. (Courtesy of Brooks Baseball)
    • Whereas Jose Molina and Logan Forsythe were mightily productive, Ben Zobrist, Yunel Escobar, and Sean Rodriguez were not — combining to go 0-11 with two strikeouts and two double plays.

    The Argyle

    • Had you told me the Rays would score their first run of the night on a Logan Forsythe bloop triple, followed by a Jose Molina RBI double to left, I’d have laughed in your face. Yet, that was the case. For Molina, that was his first extra-base hit since 9/23/13.
    • Here’s a vantage point, of Jose Molina/Sean Rodriguez’s caught stealing of Starling Marte. Marte left the game with concussive symptoms after sliding, head first, into SeanRod’s knee.
    (Photo courtesy of the Tampa Bay Rays)
    (Photo courtesy of the Tampa Bay Rays)

    The New What Next

    The Tampa Bay Rays will try to close out their home stand with a win Wednesday, with David Price on the bump. He’ll be opposed by Charlie Morton (4-8, 3.47 ERA) who has been categorized as a two-pitch pitcher, thanks to his reliance on the fastball and curve ball — a tandem he relies upon over 90% of the time. Morton owns a +52% GB% due in part to a nasty, sinking two-seam fastball which, historically, destroys right-handed batters, and creates serious problems against left-handers. Welcome to consternation station, where it’s widely assumed that Wednesday’s start could be the last for Price in a Rays’ uniform. Whatever the case, you can read about the pitching matchup in our series preview, and I’ll post the starting lineup when it becomes available.

    Rays 6/25/14 Starting Lineup

    Jennings CF
    Zobrist SS
    Joyce DH
    Longoria 3B
    Loney 1B
    Guyer LF
    Kiermaier RF
    Forsythe 2B
    Molina C
    Price LHP

    Noteworthiness

    • Tampa Bay has lost 12 of its last 16 series. Wednesday, they look to avoid being swept for the seventh time this season.
    • The Rays will start Alex Colome in the first game of the upcoming double header against the Orioles. It was initially thought that game would mark the return of Jeremy Hellickson. Jake Odorizzi will get the start in the second game.
    • Your tweet of the day:

    Looking Backward While Moving Forward: The Hangover; Rays Lose 8-1

    Alex Cobb reacts on the mound after getting hit by a comeback single off the bat of Russell Martin. (Photo courtesy of Brian Blanco/Getty Images)
    Alex Cobb reacts on the mound after getting hit by a comeback single off the bat of Russell Martin. (Photo courtesy of Brian Blanco/Getty Images)

    The hangover — both literal and figurative. Last night’s losing venture led to drinking… Not a copious amount of alcohol, but enough to make me regret being awake and typing a game recap. I see a nap in my future. The skinny: The BABIP luck dragons took a large chunk out of Alex Cobb’s heels, Ryan Hanigan had a hard time throwing out everyone, and the Rays offense went back into hibernation. The Rays ended the night having been thrashed by the Pirates, 8-1.


    Source: FanGraphs

    Much like his start back on June seventh, Alex Cobb was hit hard and early, this time for six runs on six hits. The BABIP luck dragons weren’t nipping at his heels, they were full on taking chunks out of the lower portions of his legs. And to add insult to injury, the Pirates ran all over him to the tune of four stolen bases. To be fair, Cobb has looked great at times this year, yet last night was not one of those occasions. Cobb has now given up at least six runs in an outing since he returned from injury on May 22nd, with only two wins to show for his efforts. Granted he hasn’t had much offensive support — last night being no different. But the lack of offensive support certainly doesn’t explain his 5.34 ERA and 4.10 FIP in the month of June.

    Also factoring into the loss were unofficial fielding gaffes. By my count, there were three plays that could have been made (and maybe would have been made last season) by Yunel Escobar, but weren’t. It could be argued that his defensive placement, closer to third, was the reason those grounders squeaked through his side of the infield. However, I’d argue his range, for whatever reason, isn’t what it once was. A quick look at his fielding stats show that his fielding numbers are down across the board. His UZR dropped from 10.7 in 2013 to -9.3, his RZR dropped over 100 points from .782 to .663, and his fielding percentage on routine plays dropped from 99.3% to 96.1%. His fielding, or lack thereof, has not gone unnoticed:

    Screen Shot 2014-06-24 at 10.19.03 AM

    Drew Laing of DRaysBay wrote,

    Last year, Escobar was the “sparkplug” for the Rays – in the field and in the dugout. This year? Not even close. If he’s not fielding, he doesn’t bring much value to the team.

    I whole heartedly agree. The Rays were able to turn their 37th double play of the season. That counts for something, right?

    On the other end of things, five of the Rays six hits came between the first and fourth innings. That is, Tampa Bay went five innings without a hit. Meanwhile, they only struck out twice. Sure, the Rays made contact with the ball. Yet the majority of their contact was weak. That they grounded into three inning ending double-plays certainly didn’t help.

    The New What Next

    Sometimes it feels like the Rays lose to pitchers they should beat, and handle those they should be buried by. Hopefully that trend holds up tonight. After all, Tampa Bay should have beaten Voloquez badly, while Jeff Locke — by all accounts — promises to be a tough customer. Locke (0-1, 3.76 ERA) may be the most fearsome starter the Rays will face in this series. Despite getting pounded  for six runs in his first start back at the beginning of May, the 26 year-old lefty has cleaned up his act — relinquishing only five runs in his last 21 innings of work. Locke is wont to attack hitters (not nibbling at the edges) with his fastball, utilizing his upper 70′s change-up as his put away pitch. For the Rays, Chris Archer will try to put together another solid outing. You can read about the pitching matchup in our series preview, and I’ll post the starting lineup when it becomes available.

    Rays 6/24/14 Starting Lineup

    Jennings CF
    Zobrist RF
    Guyer LF
    Longoria 3B
    Loney 1B
    Escobar SS
    Rodriguez 2B
    Forsythe DH
    Hanigan C
    Archer RHP

    Noteworthiness

    • The Rays have placed JerrySands on the DL with a strained tendon in his left wrist, corresponding by recalling INF Cole Figueroa.
    • Per Marc Topkin, “(Joe) Maddon said RHP Jeremy Hellickson (elbow) is healthy after his third rehab start for Durham. Maddon hadn’t spoken with the front office before the game about when Hellickson might return or whether he’ll need another rehab start. Hellickson, who has given up 12 runs in 10 Triple-A innings, is a candidate to start in Friday’s doubleheader at Baltimore.”
    • Steve Adams of MLB Trade Rumors reports, “While no deal is imminent at the moment, rival officials tell ESPN’s Buster Olney that the Rays are prepared to move David Price “right now” if the right offer presents itself.”‘
    • Your tweet of the day,

    BA Would Be “Shocked” If David Price Was Traded This Year, Etc

    Rays broadcaster Brian Anderson (right) said he would be shocked if David Price was traded this year.
    Rays broadcaster Brian Anderson (right) said he would be shocked if David Price was traded this year.

    Per a piece on 620wdae.com, Brian “BA” Anderson was quoted Monday, that he would be shocked if David Price would be traded this year.

    “I would be shocked if they traded David (Price) this year,” said BA. “I’m not saying they won’t, but if they did that would be one of those days like no way that just happened is how I would feel about it.”

    This may give credence to the thought that Jeremy Hellickson, who is still in the midst of a rehab stint with Triple-A Durham, may not be back with the Rays until after the July trade deadline.

    The Rays, too, may not be ready to wave the white flag just yet. Rays director of communications Dave Haller tweeted earlier,

    An implication that Tampa Bay, despite being under .500 and 11 games back in the AL Wildcard race, believe they have a chance to remain relevant — assuming they can continue doing what they have over the last 11 games. Moving on.

    (Photo, courtesy of the Tampa Bay Rays)
    Photo, courtesy of the Tampa Bay Rays

    Rays skipper Joe Maddon invited 17-year-old knuckleball pitcher Chelsea Baker to pitch to Evan Longoria and Rays hitters this afternoon. Chelsea pitched to a few hitters, including Evan Longoria, Jose Molina, and David Price, grazing Longo with a pitch — yelling, “Sorry!” from behind the L-screen — and getting Price swinging. Relevant tweets:

    Rays 6/23/14 Starting Lineup, Etc

    Hey guys, d'ya remember when Jim Leyland was the manager for the Pirates, and he used to smoke cigarettes in the dugout?
    Hey guys, do you remember when Jim Leyland was the manager for the Pirates, and he used to smoke cigarettes in the dugout?

    Rays 6/23/14 Starting Lineup

    Jennings CF
    Zobrist 2B
    Longoria 3B
    Loney 1B
    Guyer LF
    Joyce DH
    Escobar SS
    Kiermaier RF
    Hanigan C
    Cobb RHP

    Noteworthiness

    • Alex Cobb will get the start against Edinson Voloquez and the Pirates. Voloquez has been hammered for three or more runs in six of his total 15 outings this season, including last Wednesday when he gave up eight runs on six hits in 2-1/3 innings of work. Voloquez has garnered a reputation of being a pitcher with little control of the zone, this season throwing 30% of his pitches outside of the strike zone. Don’t forget, you can read more about the pitching matchup, and the series, in our series preview.
    • Jake Odorizzi’s 10-strikeout, one-hit performance in 7-1/3 innings Saturday gave him an average of 10.55 strikeouts per nine innings. No AL rookie has ever hit that mark over a full season, and only three NL rookies have done so: Tampa native Dwight Gooden, Kerry Wood and Hideo Nomo.
    • Per Marc Topkin, “RHP Jeremy Hellickson (elbow) gave up six runs (five earned) in five innings in a rehab start at Triple-A Durham. His 81-pitch outing included one home run allowed, eight hits and seven strikeouts. Hellickson might require one more rehab start before rejoining the Rays. Maddon said he hasn’t yet talked with executive vice president Andrew Friedman about what the team might do to the starting rotation when Hellickson is healthy enough to return. “There’s no rush yet, as far as I’m concerned,” Maddon said.”
    • Durant HS pitcher Chelsea Baker will throw some BP to the Rays today, which ESPN plans to show on SportsCenter at 4:30.