Looking Backward While Moving Forward: The Rays Win Big, and the Pen Doesn’t Blow It (Updated)

James Loney is congratulated after scoring a run against the Toronto Blue Jays. (Photo by J. Meric/Getty Images)
James Loney is congratulated after scoring a run against the Toronto Blue Jays. (Photo by J. Meric/Getty Images)

Upon entering Wednesday night’s game against the Toronto Blue Jays, the Rays desperately needed a solid victory. A big 10-4 win was precisely what the doctor ordered. Matt Moore got his sixth win of the season, as the Rays chinked away at the Blue Jays all night, scoring 10 runs on 13 hits and five walks. I’ll delve into the game below.

The Good

  • The Rays were able to apply pressure on the Blue Jays with constancy, something that escaped them in the previous two outings. As I mentioned above, Tampa Bay scored 10 runs on 13 hits and five walks — and they did so over the balance of the game, not just in an inning. The Rays were able to score in four different innings after starting the game down by two runs. Tampa Bay quickly charged out the gate against Ricky Romero, ultimately knocking him out of the game with the bases loaded, after he gave three runs on 29 pitches. They would continue to find success against the Blue Jays pitching staff, scoring a run off Edgar Gonzalez in the second inning, a pair of runs on an Evan Longoria blast in the fourth, and four more runs in the sixth. This is precisely how you keep the momentum on your side, consistently keeping your foot on the throat of the opposing pitching staff. I’m much more content with scoring 10 runs spread over the course of nine innings, as opposed to blowing your proverbial load in one inning, only to go dormant for eight.
  • Tampa Bay was 5-for-13 wRISP (38%), scoring a pair of two-out runs on Longoria’s two run blast.
  • The front five hitters — Desmond Jennings, Kelly Johnson, Ben Zobrist, Evan Longoria, and James Loney — were incredibly productive, going a combined 10-for-19 with 10 runs, eight runs batted in, three doubles, and two homers. Hell, even Luke Scott and Yunel Escobar were able to have some fun. Both combined for a pair of singles, while Scott knocked in a pair of runs.
  • Cesar Ramos lowered his ERA from 6.14 to 4.35. Sure, 4.35 still seems like an ugly number. But it should be noted that four of his five total earned runs came within the first week and a half of baseball. Including his outing tonight, Ramos has relented one run in 6.2 innings of work, extending back to April 10th. I’ll reiterate a point that I made earlier: Ramos should have come in the seventh inning of Tuesday night’s game, not McGee.
  • Hey, the bullpen actually held the lead!

The Bad

  • Matt Moore may have gotten his sixth win of the year, but it certainly wasn’t pretty. Posting a 5.0 IP/6 H/2 R/2 ER/4 BB/2 K/1 HR slash line, Moore threw 104 pitches (56 for strikes, 54% K/BB) while missing the strike zone aplenty all night. As DRaysBay pointed out, “His velocity was down overall, only averaging 93 MPH with his fastballs, and he only generated six whiffs over the entire night (three on fastballs, three on off-speed).” He was thankfully able to lean on the Rays infielders, inducing seven weakly hit balls that never left the infield. Every pitcher has a bad outing every now and then. I certainly wouldn’t chalk this up to a regression of sorts just yet. 
Matt Moore location chart (Courtesy of Brooks Baseball)
Matt Moore location chart (Courtesy of Brooks Baseball)

The Argyle

  • Joe Maddon got tossed for the second consecutive game. We here at X-Rays Spex headquarters were wondering if that set some kind of personal record for Maddon? In fact, it is; this is the first time in Maddon’s coaching career that he was tossed in back-t0-back games, and the 30th time overall. Any-who, Maddon came out to argue a call after the first-base umpire/crew chief Tim Welke ruled that what would have been an easy groundout, was instead a foul ball because it hit Maicer Izturis. Rather, Izturis did a good job of selling it, making it look like it hit his foot, when in reality it hadn’t. In his post game presser, Maddon was quoted as saying,

“You can only take so much,” Maddon said. “And I think we’ve been very cooperative and understanding. We’ve been good boys. We’ve been playing really well in the sandbox. … I think we’ve been the poster child for instant replay for the first month or so of the season. … At some point, when your team, when your group, who works very hard and you’re trying to get to the World Series, constantly gets dinged, I’m the guy that has to say something. … So you get to that moment, that point, where you just can’t permit it anymore.”

Adding when asked if the arguing would garner him a reputation,

“Only if it wasn’t warranted, then we would get the reputation,” he said. “I think if it’s warranted, you have to. I would rather get a bad reputation arguing warranted moments as opposed to getting a horrible reputation among my players. That is much more important to me.”

The New What Next

The Rays will take on the Blue Jays Thursday night in the last game of this set. The Rays will try to even up the series before the San Diego Padres come into town Friday for a three-game weekend set. The struggling Cy Young Award winner David Price will take on another struggling Cy Young Award winner, RA Dickey. You can read more on the match-up here.

Rays 5/9/13 Starting Lineup

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

Noteworthiness

  • Per Marc Topkin, MLB has overturned the Colorado scoring decision, so Zobrist gets an error, and David Price gets five earned runs removed. His ERA is now down to 5.25.
  • An interesting article appeared in the Miami Herald the other day where it was noted, “To offset their low attendance, the Marlins will close the upper bowl at Marlins Park for at least some weeknight games.” So uh… A new facility cures attendance issues, eh? I would love to see the Rays get a new facility, either here or across the bay — whatever pans out to be best for the organization and area. However, I’d imagine that the Marlins owner and the organization in general have ruined any hope for a new Rays facility, at least for the foreseeable future.

Looking Backward While Moving Forward: Rays Lose to Jays, 6-4

J.P. Arencibia stretches but does not initially tag Sean Rodriguez (Photo by J. Meric/Getty Images)
J.P. Arencibia stretches but does not initially tag Sean Rodriguez (Photo by J. Meric/Getty Images)

Tuesday night’s game was a somber affair to say the least. Most of you are well aware of the incident with JA Happ in the bottom of the second. Because of it, I don’t feel the need to attach a video of Desmond Jennings’ line drive comebacker, it’s readily available elsewhere. Nor do I feel the need to recount what happened, that too is readily available elsewhere. In the end, it’s not our intention to capitalize – in a manner of speaking – off the events of the night before.

It would be foolish to ignore what happened; it happened and it was potentially devastatingl,. However, I’m not a fan of fetishizing dramatic events – within context, of course (after all, I’m going to rip Marty Foster a new one in a moment). JA Happ’s family, as well as the Blue Jays organization, needs an opportunity to collect their thoughts. They however do not be bombarded from all angles.

Moving forward. Roberto Hernandez was on fire Tuesday night, though his solid start was almost for naught. Sure, it was a start that he could build off of. But Tampa Bay would ultimately blow another sizable lead, dropping their second consecutive game to the Blue Jays by a score of 6-4. I know… This scenario is as annoying as it is redundant.

Throwing 102 pitches over all, Hernandez scattered five hits over six innings, avoiding the big inning he’s been want to get into this season. The Rays RHP mowed over the Jays hitters, striking out seven by leaning heavily on his sinker (44 pitches, five whiffs) and his changeup (36 pitches, six whiffs), both of which looked very sharp.

But that’s where the pitching compliments come to an end.

There was much consternation surrounding Rays bench coach Dave Martinez’ choice to remove Hernandez prior to the seventh inning. To be honest, I’m pretty certain this was the worst move that could be made. I get it; the Rays like to play the game of match-ups. I also get that they’re trying to build the confidence of the pitchers in the pen. However Hernandez showed little to no signs of taking his foot off the collective throats of the Jays hitters. Even at 102 pitches, he should have been given the opportunity to start the seventh inning. If we’re talking about building a pitchers confidence, then what better way is there than to allow him the opportunity pitch deeper into the game?

Hernandez was replaced with Jake McGee in the seventh, a move that was comical in the tragic sense. To say that opposing hitters have had a field day against McGee would be an understatement. A quick look at his splits show that opposing hitters have posted a .316 BA/.435 OBP/.632 SLG/1.087 OPS slash line against McGee in medium leverage situations, and a .500 BA/.533 OBP/.786 SLG/1.319 OPS slash line in high leverage situations. This isn’t to imply that his outing Tuesday night was of the high leverage sort – at least from the get go. However, McGee has given up 15 runs in 12 innings of work thus far, including 13 in medium and high leverage situations. If this wasn’t a medium or high leverage situation from the get go, it certainly was by the end of the inning. What seems inconceivable to me is that McGee was called upon instead of Cesar Ramos. Even from the perspective of a fresh-armed lefty vs. an overused lefty, Ramos represented the most logical choice.

What’s more, why — even when they did bring him in — was he used only to bail out Kyle Farnsworth, who again looked atrocious on the mound? To be honest, why Josh Lueke isn’t in the pen instead of Farnsworth is well beyond my realm of understanding. This isn’t a validation of Lueke as a person, rather an acknowledgement of how well he’s doing in Triple-A. But that’s beside the point.

A valid point regarding the use of Farnsworth in the eighth was made by the folks at DRaysBay,

“Why was Kyle Farnsworth pitching? When McGee was in trouble, Martinez (correctly in my opinion) got Gomes up in case he needed a pitcher who could get out of a jam. Now generally, you want your good pitchers to pitch with a one run lead in the eighth inning. Also generally, the set of pitchers who can get out of jams, and the set of pitchers who are “good,” overlap almost entirely. There is no valid reason for Gomes to be the choice to potentially get out of the seventh inning but not to start the eighth.”

It’s become abundantly clear that the Rays are going to need to pour over their facts and figures, and re-evaluate the pitching staff. 20% of the season has passed, and though the season is still relatively young, there have been no indications that the pen is getting any better. The question stands: Where do we go from here?

The Rays once more clustered all their runs into one inning, this time the bottom of the second. Sean Rodriguez led things off with a double, which was followed by a James Loney base hit up the middle, putting runners on the corners. Jose Molina laid a bunt down the first base line, but Edwin Encarnacion was able to charge it and throw the ball home ahead of Sean Rodriguez who ran on contact. SeanRod pulled off a beautiful slide, by all accounts (cough, with the exception of Marty Foster) evading Encarnacion’s tag as he reached back with his left hand, brushing the back corner of the plate.

Good old Marty Foster called Rodriguez out at the plate; saying said that he never touched the bag. The replay clearly showed that he had, and the slide marks across the bottom portion of the plate clearly showed the same. Maddon came out to argue the call but eventually got tossed in the first of two Foster ejections. And so it goes, Marty Foster struck AGAIN!

Recall a month back when Joe Maddon said “thatcan’t happen in aMajor League game,” following the initial Marty Foster third strike botched call. Yeah, well… it DID happen again — at least in a manner of speaking. Foster has now made the Rays the recipients of a pair of bad calls in the span of a month. There hasn’t been any on word whether Foster retracted his latest botched call. Nevertheless, the evidence against Foster speaks volumes. I can only hope that he faces some sort of repercussions from another horrendous call. From us to you Marty Foster, FUCK YOU!

Yunel Escobar hit a single to put a runner back into scoring position, before the Desmond Jennings line come-backer that scored two runs. Ryan Roberts singled in the fourth Rays run of the inning, and the game.

I’m not certain what deflated the Rays momentum last night. I can say that Tampa Bay has made a habit of knocking around pitchers early on, only to go into a state of dormancy thereafter. Is Tampa Bay getting a lot of hits and scoring a lot of runs? Absolutely. In fact they’re ahead of the pack in runs scored in the first inning. They’re aggressive early on, a tactic that has benefitted the Rays well.

To be honest, there really aren’t any reasons why the Rays shouldn’t or can’t win those games. Why they don’t is another story. It goes without saying that a consistent offense that scores a lot of runs over the course of a game is preferable to one that just scores a lot of runs. The proof is in the pudding. Though scoring a lot of runs overall is great, it does nothing to sustain a team’s momentum. Case in point: Game 162. The Yankees lost the momentum and the Rays pounced. Look to last two games as further evidence.

The New What Next

It’s another day. Matt Moore will take on Ricky Romero and the Jays, as he seeks out his sixth win of the season.

Rays 5/8/13 Starting Lineup

Jennings CF
Johnson LF
Zobrist 2B
Longoria 3B
Loney 1B
Escobar SS
Scott DH
Lobaton C
Fuld RF
Moore LHP

Noteworthiness

  • Good news, JA Happ has been discharged from the hospital. Per Bay News 9, J.A. Happ’s condition was upgraded from fair to good Wednesday morning, according to hospital officials. He suffered a head contusion and a laceration to his left ear.
  • Per Marc Topkin, JA Happ will address the media at 5:00 PM today at the Trop. Desmond Jennings, who hit the ball, plans to call Happ this afternoon, and will talk to media after that.
  • According to Roger Mooney of TBO, David Price said he would be open to trying some kind of protective head gear for pitchers.
  • Joel Peralta has an off-day today. He mentioned that Maddon told him he could have worn beach gear to park.
  • Here’s a nice nugget of joy from Miami. Because of lacking attendance, the Marlins are closing off the upper deck for some weeknight games. Per Neil deMaus of Field of Schemes,

“That’s right: On top of setting a record last year for worst attendance in the first year in a new stadium, and being dead last in the league in attendance in their second year (though three American League teams have even sadder ticket sales, including the second-place Kansas City Royals), now the Marlins are using a cost-saving trick — and no matter what the team says about a “better fan experience,” this is mostly about saving operating costs by shutting down concession stands and restrooms in underused areas — that has previously been used only by teams demanding new stadiums because their old ones are so poorly attended.”

Looking Backward While Moving Forward: The “A Follower of Our Tumblr Page Contributed the Game Summary” Edition

In retrospect, the Tampa Bay Times' caption is pretty funny, "Jeremy Hellickson will be on the mound for the Rays, hoping to build some consistency after a couple admittedly 'terrible' starts." I digress.
In retrospect, the Tampa Bay Times’ caption is pretty funny, “Jeremy Hellickson will be on the mound for the Rays, hoping to build some consistency after a couple admittedly ‘terrible’ starts.” I digress.

I’m tired. I don’t feel like being smart, nor do I feel like breaking down the blown SEVEN RUN LEAD debacle that was Monday night’s Rays game. That said, I posted this invitation on our Tumblr page,

“Is there anyone who wants to write the game summary for us tonight? I’m in no mood, for obvious reasons. We’ll give you something fancy, like a handful if stickers.”

Thankfully, Michaeledwardson took us up on our invitation. His assessment of the game follows:

The Rays jumped out to a hefty lead thanks to a Grand Slam by Longo and a 2 run home run by Scott then subsequently quit baseball and began playing Tiddlywinks. The End.

Jake McGee gave up two more runs, Yunel Escobar — who frankly never should have been in the game in the first place — booted a couple of balls in the eighth inning, including an error on a taylor made double play play ball, and the Rays ultimately blew a 7-0 lead. Last night’s debacle represented the Rays twelfth blown lead of the season, while Tampa Bay ended up on the losing end of the stick once again.

I think that sums things up well. Hope you enjoyed the broadcast if not the outcome.

Rays 5/7/13 Starting Lineup

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

Noteworthiness

  • Ben Zobrist (cough…the stabilizing force in the lineup*) is back in right-field and hitting third after a couple of personal days away from the team. Yunel “the booter” Escobar gets the start at short and hitting ninth, while Jose “couldn’t block a breaking pitch in the dirt or throw out a runner at second” Molina gets his second consecutive start behind the plate, hitting eighth.
  • A friend of the blog put things into perspective, The good: Peralta- 1.32 ERA, Wright- 1.29 ERA. The not so good: McGee- 10.64 ERA, Farnsworth- 6.43 ERA, Rodney- 5.06 ERA, Ramos – 6.14 ERA, Gomes-5.56 ERA. As he put it, “Clearly someone is not doing his job.” Well put my friend, well put.
  • Want a more thorough game summary? You can check one out here.
  • Noah Pransky writes, “At least Tampa Bay is faring better than the league average in one regard – the majority of teams are posting drops from a year ago, with the average crowd 700 fans per game smaller than in 2012,” in his latest piece over at Shadow of the Stadium.

*Note: There’s not a shred of sarcasm in my claim.

Rays 5/6/13 Starting Lineup, Etc

Alex Cobb pitches against the Colorado Rockies in the first inning of a game at Coors Field on May 5, 2013 in Denver, Colorado. (Photo by Dustin Bradford/Getty Images)
Alex Cobb pitches against the Colorado Rockies in the first inning of a game at Coors Field on May 5, 2013 in Denver, Colorado. (Photo by Dustin Bradford/Getty Images)

Jeremy Hellickson is seeking his second win of the year, as he and the Tampa Bay Rays start a four game set against Mark Buehrle and the Toronto Blue Jays Monday night at the Trop. Though Tampa Bay went 4-5 on their most recent road trip, there is a lot to be excited about following their 8-3 victory against the Colorado Rockies Sunday.

Alex Cobb bounced back after the great unraveling, giving up three runs on eight hits and a walk. Granted he gave up three home runs, they were all solo shots. Cobb did a great job mixing up his pitches, throwing 51 fastballs for 32 strikes, 31 changeups for 21 strikes and 25 curveballs for 18 strikes. As DRaysBay pointed out,

Compared to his last start in Kansas City, Cobb kept more of his pitches down in the zone, and some of them were downright filthy. There were really only three blaring mistakes with Cobb’s pitches today and they all wound up as solo homeruns. Aside from that, Cobb was pretty dominant and he was getting really good movement on his offspeed pitches throughout the day.

Similar to their series against the Oakland A’s, the Rays were able to walk away with a series victory against one of the better teams in Major League Baseball. Not bad for a team that’s two games below .500, and five-and-a-half games out of first place in the AL East.

Moving Forward.

Rays 5/6/13 Starting Lineup

1. Desmond Jennings CF
2. Kelly Johnson LF
3. Ryan Roberts 2B
4. Evan Longoria 3B
5. James Loney 1B
6. Sean Rodriguez SS
7. Luke Scott DH
8. Jose Molina C
9. Sam Fuld RF

Noteworthiness

  • Don’t expect to see Ben Zobrist or Yunel Escobar in the lineup tonight. Zobrist is expected to return to the fold tomorrow following a family related break from play, while Escobar is expected to pick up where he left off at some point during the week after getting hit by a pitch Saturday.
  • Luke Scott is back in the lineup at DH and hitting seventh.
  • Read more on tonight’s match-up here.