It’s safe to say that the Rays needed that series win in Boston.
The Tampa Bay Rays head the Big Crapple for the first time this season, where they’ll take on the New York Yankees in a three game weekend set, starting Friday. The series win that preceded the trip into New York was huge, and Tampa Bay will look to build on the momentum accrued upon their exit from Bean Town. Suffice it to say, the double header sweep was precisely what the doctor ordered. In the night game, the Rays proved they could come from behind after being down by three runs, while the relievers proved they could be relied upon to hold opponents right where they were — ultimately allowing the offense to tag the Red Sox with the winning runs in both games.
To put it bluntly, the Evil Empire has been playing like crap, and the Rays will look to kick the Bronx Bummers while they’re down. Though New York sits atop the AL East with a 15-11 record, their offense is slumping, batting just .197 with 2.6 runs per contest, while dropping three of five on the eight-game home stand. What’s more, the Yankees have hit .206 and been outscored 38-16 while dropping six of the past seven meetings with Tampa Bay in Yankee Stadium. Of those six losses, they were shut out three times and have struggled mightily against (Friday’s starter) David Price (3-2, 4.75 ERA) in the Bronx. That doesn’t mean it will be easy.
Price will be opposed by Vidal Nuno, who was impressive against the Rays in his first start April 20th, allowing just three hits with six strikeouts in five scoreless innings. He followed that six days later by allowing three runs in 4-1/3 innings against the Angels. They then have to face the Yankees’ wonder kid, Masahiro Tanaka, on Saturday.
If the pitching can keep the wolves at bay, the Rays should be able to waltz out of New York with a series win.
Rays and Yankees series starters.Rays and Yankees offensive production at home, away, and overall.Rays and Yankees, by the numbers.
Vidal Nuno: We already know a little of what to expect out of Nuno, and the Rays will try to use their prior experience against the 25 year-old lefty to their advantage. The fastball/curve ball/slider/change-up/cutter hurler will attempt to keep the ball on the ground, and the Rays will look to work good at-bats and force a mistake. Nuno has impressed with the Yankees, though there are still lingering questions about whether he can get through lineups more than once (as evidenced by the aforementioned start above). Key match-ups: Yunel Escobar (1-4), Logan Forsythe (1-2, 2B), Desmond Jennings (1-3, 2B, RBI), James Loney (2-5), Jose Molina (1-2, 2B), Ben Zobrist (1-3, 2 BB).
Mashiro Tanaka: What is there to say about Tanaka that hasn’t already been said? His splitter and slider are ridiculous, and Tanaka boasts an 11.61 K/9, and an impressive 38%-39% whiff rate when throwing the slider. Below are four examples of the damage he can incur when throwing his splitter or slider. Saturday will not be a walk in the park.
Tanaka gets ahead of Mike Olt with a splitter on the edge of the zone. (GIF courtesy of Fan Graphs)He then put Olt away with a splitter at the feet. (GIF courtesy of Fan Graphs)Another strikeout looking (this time looking) of Olt. (GIF courtesy of Fan Graphs)
CC Sabathia: The Rays look to avenge their 10-2 loss against Sabathia and the Yankees on April 17th. In that outing, Sabathia seven strong innings of two run, six strikeout ball. Still, the Rays LOVE CC Sabathia. Sabathia is 2-6 with a 5.00+ ERA in his last nine starts against the Rays In short, facing the swarthy LHP could be just what the Rays need to jumpstart their offense. Key match-ups: David DeJesus (16-57, 7 2B, HR, 6 RBI), Yunel Escobar (13-39, 5 2B, 2 HR, 10 RBI, 3 BB), Logan Forsythe (2-6, HR, RBI), Ryan Hanigan (3-9, HR, RBI), James Loney (5-18, HR, 3 RBI), Evan Longoria (23-56, 7 2B, 6 HR, 13 RBI, 12 BB), Wil Myers (3-11, HR, 5 RBI), Sean Rodriguez (14-45, 3 2B, 3B, 3 HR, 7 RBI, 4 BB).
Noteworthiness
Marc Topkin writes, “The Yankees are having some problems with their rotation, losing RHP Ivan Nova to Tommy John surgery and RHP Michael Pineda to a suspension and a back strain. But they’re still leading the AL East, riding the rest of their rotation and a bullpen bolstered by the return of closer David Robertson. Though the teams already played four games at the Trop, the Rays will get their first look this weekend at Japanese import Masahiro Tanaka, who now leads their rotation.”
Interestingly enough, New York is 14-1 when leading after six innings and 1-11 when tied or trailing.
The Yankees lead the series 167-112 overall, are 90-47 in New York, and 25-21 in the New Yankee Stadium.
James Loney and Ben Zobrist are among the hottest Rays. Loney over the last six games is hitting around .320. Zobrist is hitting almost .350 over the last week. Neither have shown too much power over the span, but both players have hit the ball with authority of late and the numbers reflect it.
Meanwhile, Evan Longoria and Wil Myers haven’t been as productive over the past week. Longoria’s average has hovered around .200 with just a home run and a few RBI over the past week.
Jose Molina lays down the tag on Dustin Pedroia who tried to score on David Ortiz’s seventh inning double. (Photo courtesy of Elise Amendola/AP Photo)
The Tampa Bay Rays took the first game of a day/night double header in Boston by a score of 2-1, a white knuckle win if there ever was one. Brandon Gomes (not Cesar Ramos) was credited with the win after Ramos was pulled two-outs into the fifth inning. Closer Grant Balfour came back to tally his fifth save in six attempts, on the heels of a blown save in his previous outing against the White Sox. Game highlights follow.
Cesar Ramos put up another positive start, slashing 4.2 IP/1H/1 R/6 BB/6 K in his 95 pitch (career high, 53 strikes) outing. True, the six walks are worrisome. However, Ramos was able to make that big pitch, andultimately put down Boston’s uprisings largely unscathed — the exception being a one run first inning. To put things in perspective, Ramos got better as the game went along, following a 35 pitch, three walk first inning (ouch), with four consecutive efficient innings. At six K’s on the day, his strikeout total is nothing to scoff at. Ramos should be fully stretched out by now, and if he can cut down his walk total — even by half — and attack hitters as he had from innings two-through-four, we should see a pitcher who can pitch into the sixth or seventh inning his next go around — an exciting prospect, all things considered.
Matt Joyce, Yunel Escobar, and Jose Molina teamed up to gun down Pedroia at the plate in the seventh inning — a contentious 7-6-2 play to say the least. You can see the play below. The Red Sox called for a review, but it was clearly obvious that Pedroia was out at the plate. A very pouty Brian Butterfield (Boston’s 3B coach) was ejected after slamming his helmet down following the umpires ruling. Dear Red Sox, you may have gotten your way with the double header, but you shouldn’t expect to get your way with everything. Look at the bright side — a 1/3 full Fenway got their much ballyhooed Pedroia bobble heads, and everyone got to sing Sweet Caroline. Win/win.
For the first time in his career, Matt Joyce has recorded an OF assist in his last three games. His three assists tie for most among a major league left-fielder, along with Alex Gordon, David Lough and Eric Young.
The bullpen looked much better this afternoon. Closer Grant Balfour looked like a pitcher on a mission, primarily attacking Boston’s hitters with his 92 MPH fastball, then dropping in his off-speed stuff to keep them off balance. That three-pitch, game ending, sequence to David Ortiz was a thing of beauty. Balfour started the at-bat with a perfectly placed curve ball on the outside corner for strike one. He came back with an inside fastball at the bottom of the zone, and all Ortiz could do was foul the pitch off. Finally, Balfour threw a filthy slider to the outside corner, which Ortiz hit it off the end of his bat to end the game.
Rays 5/1/14 Starting Lineup (game two)
Forsythe 2B
ennings CF
Longoria 3B
Myers RF
Rodriguez LF
Loney 1B
Guyer DH
Escobar SS
Hanigan C
Archer RHP
Noteworthiness
The Rays have recalled Brad Boxberger for game numero dos. No corresponding move needs to be made because of the double header.
LHP Erik Bedard pitching in the first inning, Tuesday night. (Photo courtesy of Elise Amendola/AP Photo)
“It’s like someone made pitcher voodoo dolls. It’s unreal how bad it is.”
— James Bowman
Update: If you haven’t heard, there was a minor scheduling kerfuffle thanks to Wednesday’s inclement weather borne rain out. The saga went a little something like this: heavy storms were expected in the Boston area yesterday afternoon, and because of it, the meeting between the Rays and Red Sox was postponed. A decision on the part of the Red Sox was made; make up the game today (Thursday) in a double header — you know, as opposed to making it up on another date altogether — due in part to a lack of storage at Fenway. According to red Sox team officials, a Dustin Pedroia bobble head was to be given out last night and there was no place to store them in the interim. I know, it’s totally unreasonable to assume that where they’re currently being stored wouldn’t suffice.
The Red Sox used an exception to the CBA which gives them a certain amount of levity to do what they want. The Rays objected, noting the practical alternatives to a double header today, such as a double header in May, or a make up day on September 22nd — currently an off-day. However, the Rays objections didn’t matter. Per acting player rep Ben Zobrist, the team was told by Major League Baseball that the Red Sox (and Cubs) have exceptions to the Basic Agreement “to basically exercise their own right to do what they want to do.”
The exception to the CBA which allowed the Red Sox to, effectively, choose (sans discussion with the Rays) the date of the double header.
“Yea, its frustrating,” Zobrist said. “It’s frustrating that the weather is bad, it’s probably not going to be much better tomorrow morning (Thursday) from what we’re looking at. And based upon our wishes, that it didn’t matter what we said, that’s frustrating. That we didn’t have any say in it. To put it bluntly, this decision, more than likely, had nothing to do with some stupid bobble head. More or less, the Red Sox see the Rays are hurt, the pitching’s tattered, and this is their attempt to take advantage of the Rays. To which we say, fuck you.
Behold, the coveted Pedroia bobble head! Look how much space it’s taking up! (Photo courtesy of Marc Topkin)
You can call it déjà vu, or a nasty bout of SSDD syndrome. Whatever you choose to call it, the Rays bullpen melted down for the fourth time in a week, Tuesday night, culminating in a 7-4 loss to the Boston Red Sox. One thing was about the loss was different, however: LHP Erik Bedard wasn’t to blame for the Rays shortcomings. In fact, his 5 IP/4 H/1 ER/3 BB/4 K line was, dare I say, almost refreshing?! Bedard did what Brandon Gomes, Juan Carlos Oviedo, and Joel Peralta couldn’t — keep the Rays in the game.
Robbie Knopf of Rays Colored Glasseswrote prior to the game,
“Erik Bedard has reached the end of the line. The former Baltimore Orioles ace is 35 years old and has a 7.45 ERA in his three appearances for the Tampa Bay Rays this season, walking more than he has struck out. And while the Tampa Bay Rays are scrambling for fill-in starters with Matt Moore, Alex Cobb, and Jeremy Hellickson out, if Bedard fails to perform one more time, he may buy himself his release. Tonight, Bedard goes up against the Boston Red Sox with the Rays desperately needing a win. Can he finally put something together?”
Thanks to his start in the series opener, I’d imagine Bedard bought himself a little more time. When you consider Bedard’s last couple of starts, his five inning/one run outing was a sea change. Bedard stuck to the plan, and attacked Boston’s hitters with his fastball (73 thrown, 37 strikes, five whiffs), followed with a good curve (29 thrown, 16 strikes, two whiffs), and tossed in a few change-ups (12 thrown, nine strikes) for good measure. He got himself into a couple of RISP jams in the fourth and fifth innings, however (unlike his previous two starts) he was able to work through those situations, holding the Sox to only one run. By attacking the zone, Bedard was able to avoid the big inning that’s plagued him in the past. In true “everyone’s a critic but I really respect your talent” form, there’s still a want for Bedard to put together more efficient innings, akin to his 12-pitch third. Mind you, that he couldn’t put away the hitters efficiently isn’t really a true implication of Bedard. It was due, in part at least, to Boston’s ability to foul off pitch after pitch. We’ve seen Boston’s hitters do this to other pitchers many times over (Chris Archer, last season, comes to mind) and Bedard just happened to be on the receiving end of things this time around.
As for the rest of the game, the bullpen did what has become common place over the last few weeks — give up a bunch of runs in one inning. I have a handful of questions and observations:
Why wasn’t Brandon Gomes pulled after he gave up his first walk? Juan Carlos Oviedo was warming up in the ‘pen after Gomes faced his first batter, presumably because Maddon saw something he didn’t like in his pitches. Yet, Maddon waited until Gomes got an out (after giving up two consecutive walks) before making an executive decision. His fastball looked flat, and he just didn’t look comfortable throwing on the mound. If anything, he looked as though he was trying to force/aim his pitches — and he missed terribly in doing so.
The sixth didn’t start out as a high leverage inning, but boy did it ever become one. To clarify the Rays’ recent roster moves: they optioned Brad Boxberger in order to call-up CJ Riefenhauser… Who was then optioned back to Triple-A in order to call up Juan Carlos Oviedo.
On that note, it all starts with fastball command. To be perfectly honest, I couldn’t care less about Oviedo’s “killer change-up” if he can’t get a quality fastball over the plate to set up his off-speed stuff. The pitches he got over the plate were nothing but meatballs, or as BA likes to call them, cement mixers.
Joel Peralta had one of the freshest arms in the ‘pen — after all, he hadn’t seen work in four days prior to his eighth inning outing. I know Maddon likes to use Peralta in high-leverage situations, which begs the question: why wouldn’t Maddon rely on him with two on in the sixth inning, instead of Oviedo?
The New What Next
Cesar Ramos looks to build on an impressive pair of starts in the first game of the double header, while Chris Archer takes the bump in the second game at 7:10. In any case, you can read about the match-up in our series preview.
Rays 5/1/14 Starting Lineup (game one)
Zobrist 2B
Jennings CF
Joyce LF
Longoria 3B
Loney 1B
Myers RF
DeJesus DH
Escobar SS
Molina C
Ramos LHP
Rays 5/1/14 Starting Lineup
TBA
Noteworthiness
Joe Maddon broke out a Churchill line when discussing the team’s struggles: “When going through hell just keep on going.”
Like sardines in a tin can, the Rays will pack into Fenway Tuesday, for the start of a three-game series against the Red Sox.
Rays 4/29/14 Starting Lineup
Zobrist 2B
Jennings CF
Joyce LF
Longoria 3B
Loney 1B
Myers RF
DeJesus DH
Escobar SS
Hanigan C
Bedard LHP
Noteworthiness
Tonight is the 1,000th game since the Devil Rays became the Rays.
Ben Zobrist has played in more games in a Rays uniform than anyone else (881) followed by Evan Longoria (823).
(Photo courtesy of the Tampa Bay Rays)
Per a pair of tweets from Roger Mooney, Wil Myers said he expects to hear it from the BoSox fans tonight like he did in playoffs. Myers said its kind of cool — not everyone gets to hear their name chanted at Fenway. When asked if he plans to acknowledge BoSox fans if they do, Myers said, it’ll be a “game time decision.”
