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Looking Backward While Moving Forward: Rays Win 7-4, Take Series (Updated)

A general view during the third inning of the Baltimore Orioles and Tampa Bay Rays game at Oriole Park at Camden Yards in Baltimore, Maryland. I've just got to say, I absolutely love this stadium. (Photo courtesy of Rob Carr/Getty Images) — A general view during the third inning of the Baltimore Orioles and Tampa Bay Rays game at Oriole Park at Camden Yards in Baltimore, Maryland. I’ve just got to say, I absolutely love this stadium. (Photo courtesy of Rob Carr/Getty Images)

For better or worse, gritty games have become par for the course for the Tampa Bay Rays over the last week or so. Nevertheless, a wise man once said, “A win, is a win, is a win.” The Rays won a hard fought 7-4 game against the Orioles Tuesday night — marking their fourth consecutive win and their third consecutive series win. The Rays success can largely be credited to the pitching staff, helmed by Alex Cobb, and a huge five-run ninth inning.

To put it bluntly, Cobb was on his game for most of of his six plus inning outing. However, a rough seventh inning and four walks may overshadow an otherwise excellent start. Make no mistake though, Cobb was dominant for most of his time on the mound.

Making his second start after being activated from the DL, Cobb lasted six innings and gave up two runs on three hits and four walks, striking out five. Leading the way with a very good two-seam fastball, Cobb pounded the zone with his primary pitch, throwing it for strikes almost 70% of the time. And while the Rays righty continued to regain the feel for his change-up, Cobb leaned on a deadly spiked curveball which proved to be an equalizer against a hungry Orioles team. Three of his five strikeouts came on that pitch.

Alex Cobb strikezone plot by pitch type. (Courtesy of Brooks Baseball)

If I may, the one thing I loved about Jeff Niemann was his ability to dominate batters with his filthy spiked curveball. However, if this start speaks to anything, it’s that Alex Cobb can be just as effective with his version of the deadly off-speed pitch. Sorry Niemann, but I really don’t see a place for you on the roster next season. I digress.

As BA pointed out, Cobb was able to get the majority of his outs after getting ahead in the count — forcing the Orioles batters to expand their strike zone, ultimately inducing weakly hit grounders and a handful of fly-ball outs. But all was not perfect with Cobb, he got into trouble in the second and seventh innings.

The second inning was particularly troubling, if not unlucky, for the Rays. The inning started innocuously enough, with an Adam Jones infield single to short. Yunel Escobar almost gunned down the speedy center fielder as he flew through the air, after ranging to his right to field the ball. With a runner at first, Nick Markakis tried to put an inning together, hitting a hard liner to Loney. But the ball hung up just long enough for the Rays first baseman to cleanly field it and tag first for a double play, ahead of Jones who was caught between first and second. Tampa Bay employed the shift with the bases empty and Matt Wieters at the plate. Wieters slapped the ball to Evan Longoria who was positioned on first base side of second. However Longo bobbled the ball, which allowed the O’s catcher to reach first on an error. Alex Cobb followed the error with a JJ Hardy walk ahead of Ryan Flaherty, who then hit an RBI single to right — plating Wieters from second. Though the error proved costly, Cobb induced a Brian Roberts fly-out to right, limiting the damage to only a run.

The seventh was also troubling. Cobb allowed three consecutive base runners to reach on a pair of walks to Matt Wieters and Ryan Flaherty, and a JJ Hardy single to to center to load the bases with no outs. After throwing 92 pitches (55 for strikes), Maddon pulled Cobb in favor of Alex Torres who came into the game with a bases scenario for the third time this season. The Rays left handed reliever quickly got Brian Roberts to ground into a double play at third, following that up with a nine pitch Nate McLouth strikeout — locking up Nate McLouth on a filthy change-up over the heart of the plate. Torres limited the damage to only one run while preserving the Rays 3-2 lead.

If anything, I’d imagine Cobb’s seventh had more to do with exhaustion than anything else. Mind you, he was on the DL for two months. And beyond a handful of bullpen sessions and a couple of rehab outings, Cobb really didn’t spend a lot of time on the bump leading up to his two post DL starts.

On the other side of things, Tampa Bay entered the ninth ahead by only a run and needing a buffer of sorts. A buffer they got in spades. Kelly Johnson lead off the inning by slapping a single to right. Desmond Jennings was next, hitting the second consecutive base hit of the inning to center. Ben Zobrist moved the runners up on a fielder’s choice to third, setting up an intentional walk of Evan Longoria to load the bases. Joe Maddon made a calculated decision to leave Matt Joyce in the game to face LHP T.J. McFarland. The risk was worth the reward — Joyce sent a 1-1 pitch to deep right field, plating a pair of runs. Wil Myers was next, shooting an RBI single to right which drove in Longoria and Joyce to give the Rays a five run lead going into the bottom of the inning.

A troubling trend, a Rays reliever made things interesting in the bottom of the ninth. Recent acquisition Wesley Wright gave up two runs on a homer and a pair of walks. But Fernando Rodney came on in relief to mop things up with one on and no outs, refreshingly retiring the Orioles in order to lock down the win and get his 29th save of the year.

The New What Next

Tampa Bay expanded its lead over the Orioles both in the AL East and the wildcard standings. They’ll go for the sweep Wednesday with Hellickson on the mound. He’ll take on Wei-Yin Chen. You can read about the pitching match-up here.

Rays 8/21/13 Starting Lineup

Jennings CF
Zobrist 2B
Longoria 3B
Myers DH
Escobar SS
Rodriguez 1B
Bourgeois RF
Lobaton C
Fuld LF
Hellickson RHP

Noteworthiness

The Rays are percentage points ahead of the Red Sox — .581 to .578. Triple-A Durham, Class-A Charlotte, and Class-A Bowling Green are also in first place.
After losing six consecutive games, Tampa Bay has won six out of seven and their last three series.
Per the Rays, “Alex Cobb has made five starts this year vs. 2012 postseason teams. He is 4-0 with a 1.43 ERA and the Rays have won all five games.” Furthermore, “Since August 1, 2012, Alex Cobb is 15-3 with a 2.95 ERA. Rays are 20-6 in his 26 starts.”
“Premier, elite curveball for Alex Cobb tonight. I don’t know who in the game throws a better curveball than him.” – Joe Maddon
Since the All-Star Break, Yunel Escobar leads all MLB shortstops with a .326 average. He’s currently batting .394 over the span of a nine game hitting streak.
Since dropping the “Devil” from their name in ’08, they have the second best win percentage in all of baseball.
Matt Moore was very encouraged after throwing a bullpen session this afternoon. He threw 69 pitches – including change ups – with no issues from elbow. He’s expected to throw a simulated game on Sat.

Looking Backward While Moving Forward: Rays Beat O’s 4-3 (Updated)

Evan Longoria is met in the dugout by teammates after hitting a home run against the Baltimore Orioles in the first inning. He's hit first inning homers in two consecutive games. (Photo courtesy Patrick Smith/Getty Images) — Evan Longoria is met in the dugout by teammates after hitting a home run against the Baltimore Orioles in the first inning. He’s hit first inning homers in two consecutive games. (Photo courtesy Patrick Smith/Getty Images)

Let’s take a trip back in time. We’ll set the time machine to June 7th 2012 when the Rays faced the Yankees in the Bronx, with David Price on the mound. Price faced a formidable challenge on that hot, summer, night — in a game where the Yankees kept their collective feet on the throat of the Rays ace over the course of his outing, yet they would inevitably fall short. And though Price allowed a total of seven base runners on three hits and four walks, he only relinquished one run in his five inning start — a start which condensed all the drama of nine innings into five. The Rays ultimately won that game 7-3. Fast forward to Monday night. Price took the bump against the Orioles and put together another gritty five inning outing which harkened back to the aforementioned game.

It was evident that the Rays ace didn’t have his stuff from the get go. He got himself in trouble throughout the course of his start, ultimately allowing 12 batters to reach base on 10 hits (including a pair of RBI doubles) and two walks, while giving up two earned runs. However, akin to his start a little more than a year ago, he was able to limit the damage and get out of some big jams, stranding 10 base runners — eight in scoring position — and holding the Orioles to 2-11 wRISP.

With one out in the bottom of the second, Steve Pearce stepped into the box with a pair of runners on second and third. The Orioles already scored a run in the inning and threatened to tag on more. Price quickly got ahead of Pearce and induced a liner to left, five pitches later, for the second out of the inning. Brian Roberts was next, but Price got him to fly out to center on one pitch to end the inning. Price got into more trouble in the bottom of the third after Manny Machado and Adam Jones hit a couple of singles. Matt Wieters plated a run on a single to center which moved Jones up to third. In spite of the threat, Price got JJ Hardy to strike out on five pitches and Nick Markakis to foul out on the first pitch — getting out of the RISP jam and the inning.

The Orioles put base runners on in the subsequent innings, including a runner on third scenario in the fourth, but Price avoided any undue damage, while he and Jamey Wright held Baltimore to only two runs — that is, until Joel Peralta came into the game in the seventh and gave up a solo shot to Wieters. In the end, Price and Peralta allowed their fair share of runners to reach safely, consequently ratcheting the pressure and drama while the collective blood pressure of the collective Rays Nation increased to incalculable levels. But the Orioles couldn’t seal the deal, going 2-14 wRISP and stranding 14 overall.

And to be fair, the Rays weren’t much better in the box. Tampa Bay went 2-9 wRISP, stranding seven on base including five men at second or third. But four runs on a pair of Longoria and Joyce home runs, and a Kelly Johnson RBI single, would prove to be all the Rays would need. Tampa Bay ended the night 20-17 in one run games, while the Orioles fell back to four games behind the second place Rays.

The New What Next

Alex Cobb will attempt to put together another solid outing against Miguel Gonzalez Tuesday night. You can read about the pitching match-up here.

Rays 8/20/13 Starting Lineup

Jennings CF
Zobrist 2B
Longoria 3B
Joyce LF
Myers RF
Loney 1B
Escobar SS
Molina C
Johnson DH
Cobb RHP

Noteworthiness

Molina is getting the start for the second consecutive day, while Matt Joyce is getting the start in left and hitting cleanup.
“We played prevent defense entire night. Kept the safeties deep, funneled receivers thru middle and kept them out of the end zone. Woof.” — Joe Maddon
Per the Tampa Bay Rays, the other time the Rays won a (9-inning) game when opponent totaled 15 LOB? June 23, 2007 vs. the Dodgers, also a 4-3 win.
Get used to seeing Hernandez in the starting rotation for a little while longer. Maddon says Moore is progressing well but return against the Angels may be pushing it a bit. A return in the west coast trip is more likely. However, Maddon is expected to shift the rotation a bit ahead of the off-day Thursday.
What a novel concept, this gent has started a Facebook group with the sole purpose of filling the Trop on September 18th, when the Rays take on the Rangers. The game will be broadcast on ESPN, and well…you know those numbnuts are going to say something about attendance.
Marine Layer, the founder of NewBallpark.org, has chimed in on the Stadium Saga, asserting,

Chances are Selig won’t do anything other than make that visit. He’ll decry the attendance woes at Tropicana Field. He’ll continue to say that the team needs a long-term solution. Yet when he attempts to proselytize St. Pete Mayor Bill Foster and other pols, he’ll do so with the knowledge that he has very little leverage in the matter.
…
Contrast that with our home situation, where the Giants have all the leverage over the A’s internally with MLB and MLB has leverage over San Jose. As we saw with MLB’s response to the antitrust lawsuit, they’re perfectly willing to shove the antitrust exemption in San Jose’s face when they feel they have power. What about in St. Pete, where they have little power? How about using ATE now, Bud?
…
Look on the bright side. 14 years is a long time to save money. Bud should suggest a Rays ballpark layaway plan. That’s part of the way we fund infrastructure in California. The BART-to-Silicon Valley extension is being partly funded by accrued sales tax increment. Only when the revenues hit certain targets will the full extension to downtown San Jose take place. Both Tampa and St. Petersburg have indicated they have limited funds to throw at what will surely be a $600-800 million (in today’s dollars) stadium when all is said and done. Even with some sort of out-of-the-box financing plan, there still will be a major public component, which is unsavory to say the least.

Rays 8/19/13 Starting Lineup, Etc.

Rays 8/19/13 Starting Lineup

Jennings CF
Zobrist 2B
Longoria 3B
Myers RF
Loney 1B
Escobar SS
Joyce LF
Molina C
Johnson DH
Price LHP

Noteworthiness

You can read about tonight’s Price vs Tillman pitching match-up here.
The Rays have activated Desmond Jennings from the DL for tonight’s game in Baltimore. Jennings will hit in the lead-off spot. RHPR Brandon Gomes has been optioned to Durham to make room.
Marc Topkin asserts, “Would take it as a positive sign that Crain is on trip with Rays, means enough progress to be monitored.”
In case you missed it last night, Ryan Roberts cleared waivers and accepted an outright assignment to Triple-A Durham. He’s expected to report Monday.

The New What Next: Rays vs. O’s, A Series Preview

No words necessary. Rays take 2-of-3 from the Jays and win the series. (Photo courtesy of the Tampa Bay Rays)

The Tampa Bay Rays finished off the Blue Jays in grandiose fashion Sunday afternoon, with Jose Lobaton mashing his second career walk-off hit — a one run blast to right-field in the bottom of the tenth. Both career walk-offs came in this series. And what a series it was for Jose Lobaton. In the two games he started, Lobi went 4-8 with a triple, homer, run, and three runs batted in. The Rays overall production dropped between the Mariners and Blue Jays’ series, however we saw what could be construed as a return to form for Jeremy Hellickson (who’ll be pitching Wednesday night) and Chris Archer. Tampa Bay closed out its six game home stand with a 4-2 record ahead of their upcoming three-game road trip against the third place Orioles.

Sitting three and a half games behind the Rays, Baltimore has gone 7-7 over a 14 game stretch while outscoring opponents 79-64. Their production has been largely bolstered by Chris Davis who’s mashed six homers (45 on the season) in that stretch, plating 16 runs and crossing the plate 12 times. In short, he won’t be easy to pitch against.

David Price will get the start for the Rays Monday night. The 2012 Cy Young Award winner has had his way against the Orioles, going 6-2 with a 2.60 ERA over 14 career starts. Adam Jones is 5 for his last 29 with nine strikeouts against Price, while Nick Markakis is 5 for his last 24. Prices is 3-0 with a 3.20 ERA in seven career outings in Baltimore. The Orioles will counter with Chris Tillman who’s limited opponents to a .222 average in winning six consecutive home starts. Baltimore has won 13 of his last 15 overall. Two of Tillman’s three losses have come at the hands of Tampa Bay. Led by Evan Longoria and Ben Zobrist, the Rays have taken him deep five times in three starts this year. Longoria has gone 8-16 with three homers and two doubles and Zobrist also has three homers against him. Tillman is 2-5 with a 4.77 ERA in 10 outings in the series.

Cobb put together a solid comeback outing Thursday night and, as I mentioned above, Hellickson showed signs of slipping out of his malaise Friday. It will be interesting to see if Helly can keep the Orioles off base — he’s not nearly as effective with runners on base and/or runners in scoring position as he is when the base paths are clear.

Rays and Orioles offensive production at home, away, and over the last 14 days.

Chris Tillman: Per Rotowire, “Tillman gave up two earned runs on five hits over six innings but did not factor into the decision against Arizona on Wednesday.” Key match-ups: Sam Fuld (2-5, 2 B, 2 RBI), Kelly Johnson (3-8, HR, 2 RBI), Evan Longoria (2 2B, 3 HR, 4 RBI, 3 BB).

Miguel Gonzalez: Per Rotowire, “Gonzalez allowed just five hits and two earned runs over 7.0 innings but was left with a no-decision Tuesday.” Gonzalez is 1-0 against the Rays this season, though he’s given up six earned runs on 13 hits including three homers — all in 12 innings of work. Key match-ups: Yunel Escobar (3-10, 2B, BB), Kelly Johnson (2-7, 2B, RBI, BB), Jose Lobaton (1-4, RBI), James Loney (2-8, RBI), Evan Longoria (4-11, HR, RBI, BB), Jose Molina (3-8, HR, 2 RBI).

Wei-Yin Chen: Per Rotowire, “Chen took the loss Saturday against San Francisco despite turning in a quality start. He gave up three runs on five hits and one walk, with two strikeouts over six innings.” The Orioles have lost in four of Chen’s last five starts, though he’s given up more than three earned runs in only one of those starts — four in his last start against the Rockies. Chen gave up two earned runs in his last start against the Rays back in April. Key match-ups: Sam Fuld (3-8, BB), Matt Joyce (1-4, 2 BB), Evan Longoria (2-7, BB), Ben Zobrist (8-18, HR, 3 RBI).

Noteworthiness

Jose Lobaton tweeted, Look what @RaysJoeMaddon just give to me OMG I need to eat this before it melts.”

(Photo courtesy of Jose Lobaton, via Twitter)

Tampa Bay leads the series 7-5 while outscoring the Orioles 73-65.
After going 29-9 in one run games last season, the Orioles haven’t fared nearly as well in 2013, going 14-21. The Rays are 19-17.
Ryan Roberts cleared waivers and accepted an outright assignment to Triple-A Durham. He’s expected to report Monday.

We’ll post more later.

Looking Backward While Moving Forward: Rays Walk-off For the Second Time This Week

Rays players converge on catcher Jose Lobaton, second from left, after his ninth-inning triple delivers another walkoff victory. (Photo courtesy of Will Vragovic/Times)

For the ninth time this season, the Rays won in dramatic fashion, with catcher Jose Lobaton hitting the game winning one out RBI triple up the right field line. The icing on the cake: New York crushed Boston, allowing Tampa Bay to gain a game on the Red Sox, and reasserting themselves just a game out of first place in the AL East. The Rays 5-4 walk-off win was the second of the week.

There was a lot to like about last night’s gritty win. First off, Jeremy Hellickson put together a solid, if unspectacular, start against the Blue Jays ace RA Dickey. Hear me out. It was a solid outing, in that he put together a quality start, relinquishing only three runs while keeping the Rays in the game for the duration of his time on the mound — an important fact when considering who opposed the Rays RHP. Helly used 106 pitches to get through six innings, and gave up nine hits while striking out three and walking only one. After lasting fewer than five innings in each of previous three starts, a six inning outing where he allowed only one extra base hit stands as a marked improvement.

If I may, a victory seemed improbable from the get go, considering that RA Dickey owned a career 2.31 ERA at the Trop prior to last night — including a dear in the headlights like complete game two hitter earlier this summer. I would have given you a baffled look going into the game, had you told me he’d post a 7 IP/6 H/4 ER/2 BB/6 K slash line, including a sixth inning solo shot off the bat of Matt Joyce — snapping his 43-game homerless drought. Furthermore, the bottom of the order was mightily productive Friday night with Yunel Escobar, Sam Fuld, and Jose Lobaton taking the reins. The bottom three went 5-10 with two triples, two runs, and four runs batted in.

I’d be remiss if I didn’t acknowledge Lobaton’s contribution behind the plate. The hero of last night’s game blocked a Fernando Rodney changeup in the dirt with the go-ahead run at third base. Rays skipper Joe Maddon called that one of the biggest plays of the game.

“I was telling (Escobar) after the inning, I didn’t know how I caught that ball,” said Lobaton after the game. “I said, ‘I think I can do something better in hitting.’ “

Maddon tweeted after the game,

“First Lobaton got an RBO in the top of the 9th & then when was the last time a catcher hit a walk-off triple? I don’t know. Incredible.”

That isn’t to say there weren’t any less than stellar moments. Joel Peralta allowed the lead to slip away in the eighth inning after giving up a single, walk, and sacrifice ahead of a poorly played game tying fielder’s choice. With two outs and runners in scoring position, Gose hit a ground ball to Yunel Escobar. The Rays shortstop attempted to gun Brett Lawrie down at the plate instead of going for the sure out at first. The calculated play could have proven costly. Then in the ninth, a less than efficient Fernando Rodney gave up a pair of base hits and a fielders choice, culminating in a runners on the corners scenario.

Nevertheless, the Rays walked away with their third consecutive win, reasserting themselves at the top of the AL East, while driving a larger wedge between Tampa Bay and the rest of the wildcard pack.

The New What Next

Roberto Hernandez will try to continue the Rays three-game winning streak against JA Happ and the Blue Jays Saturday night. You can read more about the pitching match-up here.

Rays 8/17/13 Starting Lineup

Bourgeois LF
Myers DH
Longoria 3B
Zobrist 2B
Escobar SS
Loney 1B
Rodriguez RF
Molina C
Fuld CF
Hernandez RHP

Noteworthiness

Surprise surprise, the Rays have placed designated out, urm…hitter Luke Scott on 15-day DL with back spasms. They’ve also activated Brandon Gomes off 60-day DL, and moved Jesse Crain to the 60-day DL. Crain is eligible to return August 29th.