Looking Backward While Moving Forward: King Archer Killed It

Chris Archer pitches in his first complete game shutout Sunday afternoon, at Tropicana Field. (Photo courtesy of the Tampa Bay Times)
Chris Archer pitches in his first complete game shutout Sunday afternoon, at Tropicana Field. (Photo courtesy of the Tampa Bay Times)

The Rays closed out the symbolic first half of the season Sunday, with their sixth consecutive series win thanks to an outstanding 5-0 complete game shutout by Chris Archer — The first complete game of his career. Tampa Bay ended its 10-game home-stand with a franchise best 9-1 record, now sitting a mere two-and-a-half games behind the first place Red Sox following a pair of losses. You can read a blow by blow account of the game at the X-Rays Spex Tumblr page.

In short, King Archer was incredible. Allowing only five hits, the Rays righty struck out eight and did not walk a batter for the second consecutive game. Hell, Archer only had two three-ball counts — one in the fourth inning and one in the seventh. In both cases Archer threw filthy change-ups, wringing up Pena and Wallace (respectively). Following in the footsteps of David Price, Archer was pitch efficient, averaging just under 13 pitches per inning. Archer joins James Shields as the only Rays pitcher to throw a complete game shutout with at least eight strikeouts and no walks.

“It meant a lot because my past couple games I felt strong, strong enough to continue to pitch deep in the ballgame,” said Archer. “But really, I’ve never pitched into the eighth inning before in my career—major league, minor league, Little League, whatever…It was cool. They had faith in me to go deep. We scored enough runs so that there was no question. We played tremendous defense which saved me pitches and I was able to execute. This is the best game I’ve ever pitched in my life so it means everything.”

He is a 3-0 in his last five starts, posting a 1.68 ERA with 21 strikeouts, while allowing 21 hits and just seven walks.

Offensively speaking, the Rays hitters were able to hand Archer a five run cushion. Showing signs that he may be coming out of his slump, Evan Longoria got things started early by hitting a two-out  two run double, scoring Desmond Jennings from first base. Longoria now sits in second place on the Rays all-time extra base hits list with 341, second only to Carl Crawford.

Tampa Bay extended its lead to 3-0 in the bottom of the fourth inning. Kelly Johnson (3-4, 2 R) lead off the inning with a base hit. Johnson was moved to second on a bunt base hit by Jose Lobaton, but then came around to score thanks to an overthrow by Erik Bedard (Altuve wasn’t covering first), moving Lobi to second. Lobaton moved to third on a Yunel Escobar single, and came in to score on a double play ground out by Desmond Jennings.

Jennings capped off the scoring in the bottom of the sixth inning, blasting a two-run homer (11) 417 feet to left-center off Astros reliever Paul Clemens.

The Rays will start a 10-game road trip in Toronto Friday following the All-Star Break. They’ll play three games against the Blue Jays, followed by a four-game set Boston, culminating in a three-game series in New York prior to returning home July 30th.

Noteworthiness

  • Originally charged with an error on a J.D. Martinez ground ball in the top of the second inning, Yunel Escobar’s errorless streak continues after the official scorer changed to ruling to a hit. Escobar has now tied the franchise record for errorless games by a shortstop with Chris Gomez at 52 consecutive games.
  • Ben Zobrist and Matt Moore were awarded their All-Star jerseys prior to Sunday’s game:
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I still think Matt Moore looks like the singer of Surfer Blood.
  • Uh, yeah. So Carly Rae Jepsen “threw” out the first pitch Sunday:

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Looking Backward While Moving Forward: Rays Rally From Three-Run Deficit to Win 4-3

Teammates congratulate Desmond Jennings of the Tampa Bay Rays after the Rays victory over the Houston Astros. (Photo by J. Meric/Getty Images)
Teammates congratulate Desmond Jennings of the Tampa Bay Rays after the Rays victory over the Houston Astros. (Photo by J. Meric/Getty Images)

The Tampa Bay Rays came back from an early 3-0 deficit Saturday, taking the second game of their current three-game set by a score of 4-3. Roberto Hernandez FINALLY earned his fifth win of the year after giving his best David Price impersonation — That is to say, he gave up a few runs (3) in the first inning, then turned it on thereafter, retiring 10 of the last 11 batters he faced. Fernando Rodney was credited with his 22nd save of the year.

Offensively speaking, things didn’t look good early on. Dallas Keuchal retired the first ten Rays hitters in order, effectively mixing his pitches and keeping Rays hitters off balance. Sean Rodriguez finally broke through in the fourth inning and reached base on a single. But as with the game previous, Ben Zobrist and Evan Longoria grounded out, and the Rays failed to make anything out of it.

Meanwhile, Roberto Hernandez began to settle into a groove after the shaky three run first inning, limiting the Astros to only three base runners (on a walk and a pair of singles) after the first inning. Ultimately posting a 6.0 IP/6 H/3 R/3 ER/1 BB/6 K slash line, Hernandez finally earned win número cinco after putting together three consecutive quality starts.

Tampa Bay made their moves in the fifth and sixth innings, pushing across four runs and taking a one run lead they’d never relinquish.

Wil Myers led off the fifth inning with a single to left field. Luke Scott was next, launching a 399 foot blast to right field on a breaking ball that caught too much of the plate. Things looked glum when James Loney and Jose Molina followed by grounding out. But Yunel Escobar applied the pressure to Dallas Keuchel once again after ripping a two-out double to the left-center center gap. Then with Desmond Jennings at the plate, Escobar took a calculated risk by successfully stealing third, putting himself in prime scoring position. Jennings took advantage of the situation by sending a bunt down the first base line. Not only did he successfully run out the bunt, he plated Escobar and tied the game at three runs apiece.

Wil Myers and Luke Scott once again pieced together another two-out rally in the bottom of the sixth inning. Myers hammered a single to left field and promptly stole second base. Luke Scott followed, plating the go ahead run by mashing an RBI base-hit to right on another hanging off-speed pitch.

Jake McGee, Joel Peralta, and Fernando Rodney came on in relief of Hernandez in the seventh through ninth innings, closing out the game in dominant form. The Rays late inning relievers didn’t allow a single runner to reach base, while striking out four.

The New What Next

Thanks to losses by the Red Sox and Orioles, Tampa Bay starts the day two games ahead of Baltimore, and three-and-a-half games out of first place. The Rays will look to close out the symbolic first half of the season 14 games over .500, while Chris Archer looks to post the Rays 15th consecutive quality start. Archer will butt heads with Erik Bedard, and you can read about the starting match-up here.

Rays 7/14/13 Starting Lineup

Jennings CF
Zobrist 2B
Myers RF
Longoria 3B
Scott DH
Rodriguez 1B
Johnson LF
Lobaton C
Escobar SS
Archer RHP

Noteworthiness

 

 

 

Looking Backward While Moving Forward: Rays Fall Short, 2-1

Evan Longoria contemplates his 0-for-4 night that includes striking out with the tying run at third. (Photo courtesy of Chris Zuppa/Times)
Evan Longoria contemplates his 0-for-4 night that includes striking out with the tying run at third. (Photo courtesy of Chris Zuppa/Times)

It was a tough night for the Tampa Bay’s hitters. The Astros rookie Jarred Cosart, making his major league debut, not only no-hit the Rays into the seventh inning, but he also shut them out into the ninth. And even when the Rays put base runners on, he quickly negated the threat, inducing three double plays (Editors note: Jose Veras, the Astros closer, would cull the fourth double play of the night in the ninth).

However, Tampa Bay entered the ninth inning with a glimmer of hope. After tacking on a run, the Rays threatened to tag the Astros closer with a blown save. With two outs and runners on the corners, Mr. Game 162, Evan Longoria, came to the plate with the chance to drive in the game winning run. But instead, he struck out looking on a 95 mph fastball to end the game. Oof.

I’ll be focusing on three sub categories in today’s game summary:

A. David Price was incredible.
B. Longo, buddy…you’ve gotta protect on a pitch like that.
C. You don’t win games when you don’t score runs.

David Price Was Incredible

Easily overshadowed by Jarred Cosart in his rookie debut, David Price was flat out excellent in his own right. Price put together an outstanding 87 pitch (70 for strikes) outing, giving up two runs in a shaky first inning which proved to be the equalizer. The Rays ace gave up eight hits total — four in the two-run first inning — ultimately posting an 80% K/BB ratio. And like Cosart, Price was able to induce a pair of double plays when the Astros threatened. Mega-efficient in the third outing following his stint on the DL, Price threw (on average) under 10 pitches per inning. I’d be remiss if I didn’t acknowledge that he threw only 17 balls on the night. Price was in attack mode, and he didn’t shirk away from contact. He pounded the zone and kept the Rays in the game for the duration.

 

My only criticism: he leaned his fastball only 40% of the time. Then again, the results speak for themselves. In the end, an outing like that should have resulted in a win.

Price’s pitching breakout: fastball/sinker (35 total, 28 for strikes, one whiff), Change-up (20 total, 16 for strikes, three whiffs), curveball (24 total, 19 for strikes, four whiffs), cutter (eight total, seven for strikes).

Longo, Buddy…You’ve Gotta Protect on a Pitch Like That

As I mentioned above, Longo had the chance to be a hero. Jose Veras quickly got the first two outs of the ninth inning on a double play. But when all seemed to be lost, Desmond Jennings reached on a lucky error, subsequently stealing second to get into scoring position. Luke Scott drove him home on a base hit to center, and was quickly pinched in favor of Sam Fuld. BenZo moved Fuld to third on another base hit, and the Rays looked primed to win the game with Longoria at the plate. But a win was not in the cards; Longoria struck out looking at a border line fastball (see the chart below) to end the game.

Yes, that pitch. (Courtesy of Brooks Baseball)
Yes, that pitch. (Courtesy of Brooks Baseball)

If I may, you’ve got to do whatever is in your power to stay alive with a two strike count. Take a hack at it — at least the odds are good that the result will be a foul ball. I get it, accept your walk. However just staring at a pitch when you’re down in the count — and the game is on the line — is counterproductive at best.

You Don’t Win Games When You Don’t Score Runs

Need I say more?

The New What Next

You’re not going to win every game, and credit where it’s due the Rays stayed competitive. The most unlucky starter on the staff, Roberto Hernandez, will take the mound today against Dallas Keuchel and the Houston Astros. Tampa Bay throttled Keuchel on July 1st, tagging him for five runs on eight hits in 4-2/3 innings of work. They’ll attempt to recreate that magic this afternoon. You can read about the pitching match-up here.

Rays 7/13/13 Starting Lineup

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

Noteworthiness

  • “David would have gone out to pitch the tenth inning. Amazing he threw only 17 balls in a CG. Give their kid credit. He was outstanding.” – Joe Maddon (via Twitter)

Rays 7/12/13 Starting Lineup

(Photo courtesy of David Price, via Twitter)
(Photo courtesy of David Price, via Twitter)

Rays 7/12/13 Starting Lineup

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

Noteworthiness

  • Remember this guy? 
'Los (Photo courtesy of Marc Topkin)
‘Los. (Photo courtesy of Marc Topkin)

 

The New What Next: Those Astros Once Again, A Series Preview of Sorts

The scene at the Trop after the Rays finished off the Twins Thursday, at Tropicana Field. (Photo courtesy of X-Rays Spex)
The scene at the Trop after the Rays finished off the Twins Thursday, at Tropicana Field. (Photo courtesy of X-Rays Spex)

The Rays welcome the Houston Astros into the Trop Friday, a day after they eked out a 4-3 win, completing a four game sweep of the Twins. Tampa Bay has now taken its fifth consecutive series, thanks to an outstanding 7-1/3 inning outing by Matt Moore. The Rays’ lefty snagged his 13th win of the year after striking out 10 Twins, carrying a no hitter into the sixth.

As Yahoo Sports points out, “Tampa Bay has won 12 of 13 to move a season-best 13 games over .500. Its last 11 games have come against the AL’s three worst teams – Houston (32-59), Chicago and Minnesota.” I certainly hope Yahoo Sports is not implying that the Rays success is predicated solely on who they’ve played, and nothing else. They also forgot to mention that the Rays winning ways stretch all the way back to the middle of June, when Tampa Bay took two from New York, two from the Blue Jays, and two from the Tigers.

The Astros have dropped 15 of 21, including three of four to Tampa Bay a week and a half back. Houston is hitting .209 and averaging 3.4 runs during a 2-10 stretch. Jose Altuve, the team’s leading hitter at .284, is batting .213 over those 12 games, while Chris Carter (who beat up on the Rays in the July 3 game), Brandon Barnes, Matt Dominguez and Castro are hitting a combined .174 with 46 strikeouts.

Rays and Astros series starters.
Rays and Astros series starters.
Rays and Astros at home, away, and over the last 14 days.
Rays and Astros at home, away, and over the last 14 days.
Rays and Astros by the numbers.
Rays and Astros by the numbers.

Jarred Cosart: “Cosart, acquired in a package of prospects from the Philadelphia Phillies for Hunter Pence at the trade deadline in 2011, makes his major-league debut. The 23-year-old was 7-4 with a 3.29 ERA in 18 appearances (17 starts) with Triple-A Oklahoma City. Cosart, a 38th-round selection by the Phillies in 2008, has 93 strikeouts and 50 walks over 93 innings this season.”

Dallas Keuchel: Per Rotowire, “Keuchel held the Rangers to two runs on six hits over five innings Saturday but did not factor into the decision.” Not much has changed for Keuchel in the last week and a half. Keuchel is a soft-tossing, groundball-inducing, control lefty with a deep assortment of pitches (four-seam fastball, sinker, cutter, changeup, slider, curve). Keuchel impressively gave up only nine earned runs in the month of June, spread out over 27 innings. Key match-ups: Sam Fuld (2-3, BB), Jose Lobaton (1-3, RBI), Sean Rodriguez (2-3, 2B), Ben Zobrist (1-3, 2B).

Erik Bedard: Per Rotowire, “Bedard fell to 3-5 Sunday as he allowed five runs (four earned) over 6.1 innings pitched. He walked five and struck out four.” Not much has changed for Bedard in the last week and a half. The Rays have beat up Bedard over the last few years, tagging him for nine earned runs on 18 hits in 14-1/3 innings of work. What’s more, Tampa Bay was able to tag Bedard for four runs on six hits and six walks on July 2nd. He’s got decent movement on his fastball, though his velocity is gone (averaging 89 mph). Bedard has excellent secondary stuff, however his command and control issues make him fairly hittable. Key match-ups: Desmond Jennings (4-7, HR, 4 RBI, BB), Kelly Johnson (1-3), James Loney (1-2, BB), Luke Scott (2-4, 2B, 2 RBI, BB), Ben Zobrist (5-19, RBI).

Noteworthiness

  • The Rays lead 3-1 this season, and are 9-7 overall. The Astros won two of three in their only visit, in 2003.
  • Scott, Jennings, and Myers…Oh my! DH Luke Scott is batting .458 with two homers during a seven-game hitting streak. Not to be outdone, Wil Myers has gone 5-for-9 in the last two games after being rested Tuesday night. Desmond Jennings had eight hits in the series in Houston, driving in a career high-tying four runs July 2.
  • Evan Longoria’s home run Thursday gave him 340 career extra-base hits, tying B.J. Upton for second on the club’s all-time list.
  • The Rays start the day (Friday) in second place in the AL East, 3-1/2 games behind the Red Sox and two games ahead of the Baltimore Orioles.
  • Icing on the cake. Matt Moore has been named as a replacement for Yu Darvish, and will join Ben Zobrist on the 2013 All-Star roster!