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Looking Backward While Moving Forward: The “This Is Getting Rather Annoying” Edition

Third-base coach Tom Foley congratulates Evan Longoria, who hits one of the Rays’ four solo homers, in the first inning. (Photo courtesy of Getty Images)

Let’s be clear. We absolutely cannot blame Thursday night’s loss on the Rays hitters. Sure, there were some missed opportunities; They went 0-6 wRISP, and they’re now 0 for their last 12 (0-14 extending back to last season) with the bases loaded. But for a team that is built on pitching and defense, six runs should have been enough for the Rays to walk out of Baltimore with a series win, not a loss.

If I may, Thursday night’s 10-6 loss is on the hands of David Price and those that came on in relief of him — with the exception of Joel Peralta. Price only lasted six innings, posting a 6 IP/8 H/5 R/5 ER/6 K/1 HR line on 86 pitches (60 for strikes). Not very Price-like. To be fair, he pounded the zone all night, though he left too many hittable pitches up in the zone, and he got punished for doing so.

That the Rays seem to be seeing the ball better, and are subsequently hitting said ball, is encouraging. Hopefully they’ll continue to do as much in their upcoming six game home-stand.

Last night reminded us that the pitching needs to stabilize if Tampa Bay is going to do anything over both the short and long terms. It also bears mentioning that the Rays absolutely cannot keep making stupid defensive mistakes that may give the opposition a fourth or fifth out in any given inning. Case in point, the foul ball that Matt Joyce should have tracked down, and the botched double play that Yunel Escobar should have turned. Again, this team is built on pitching and defense, and they need to play like it.

Furthermore, this disconnect between pitching and hitting needs to come to pass. They cannot be successful if they hit well one night, and pitch well the next. Both the pitching and hitting need to click in concert. In the end, they’re going to need to be on their game (both offensively and defensively) with the 12-4 Oakland Athletics — a team that’s averaged 7.3 runs per game in their last series — coming into town Friday.

Rays and A's series starters — Rays and A’s series starters

Rays and A’s offensive numbers at home, away, and over the last 14 days

By the Numbers-1 — Rays and A’s by the numbers

Key Match-ups vs. A’s Series Starters:

Brett Anderson: According to Rotowire, “After two very solid starts to begin the season, Anderson was lit up by the Tigers on Saturday, allowing seven earned runs over 5.2 innings. He also gave up three home runs, all in the fourth inning.” Anderson last faced the Rays in 2010, where he went seven innings and gave up two runs on eight hits. Only seven current Rays have faced Anderson in 29 total at-bats. Of those seven players, four have put up decent numbers against Anderson. Key match-ups: Evan Longoria (2-8, HR, RBI), Jose Molina (2-5), Sean Rodriguez (1-2, BB), Ben Zobrist (2-4, RBI).
Jarrod Parker: The young righty went 0-1 with a 4.50 ERA against the Rays in 2012. The Rays have done okay against Parker, posting a team .263 BA/.364 OBP/.500 SLG/.864 OPS in 38 official at-bats. Key match-ups: Desmond Jennings (1-4, 3 BB), Kelly Johnson (1-3, HR, 2 RBI, BB), Evan Longoria (1-3), Ryan Roberts (3-6, RBI), Ben Zobrist (2-6, 3B, HR, RBI).
Tommy Milone: According to Rotowire, “Milone struck out six batters and allowed two runs on eight hits over 6.2 innings against the Astros on Monday.” Milone is 1-1 with an 8.18 ERA against the Rays. Tampa Bay has scored 10 runs on 12 hits — including a homer — and five walks. Key match-ups: Shelley Duncan (2-5, HR, 4 RBI), Yunel Escobar (1-3, 2 RBI), Sam Fuld (1-3), Kelly Johnson (3-5, HR, 2 RBI), Matt Joyce (2-5, 2 RBI), Jose Lobaton (1-2, 2B), Ryan Roberts (2-2, 2 2B), Sean Rodriguez (2-4, 2 RBI, BB), Ben Zobrist (1-3, RBI).

Noteworthiness:

The Oakland Athletics have the best record in the AL, and their off to their best road start in 23 seasons.
Per Yahoo Sports, since opening with two straight losses, Oakland (12-4) has lost twice in 14 contests and is coming off a three-game sweep of the lowly Astros.
Oakland hit .326 and clubbed 13 of its 20 home runs while outscoring the Astros and Angels 51-20 on the trek. Oakland leads the majors with 96 runs and ranks near the top with a .354 on-base percentage while slugging .464. The — this far– offensive dominated 2013 A’s are a far cry from the pitching dominated 2012 team that won the AL West.
The A’s have four players on the 15-day DL: LF Yoenis Cespedes, SS Hiroyuki Nakajima, SS Adam Rosales, and 3B Scott Sizemore
DRaysBay said it best, ” (The) 10-6 loss to the Orioles wraps up a road trip in which the Rays went 2-7 and played some of the worst baseball I’ve seen from them over the past five seasons.”
DRaysBay also notes, “To say that the Rays pitching staff will be tested by an A’s offense is an understatement. Entering Thursday evenings action the A’s offense sits at or near the top of the American League in several categories. They are first in runs (96), runs/game (6.0), home runs (20), walks (70), OBP (.355), OPS (.818), OPS+ (129), wRC+ (130), and stolen bases (15) and are second in slugging percentage (.464). The have outscored their opponents 96-63 and have 6 blowout wins (defined as margin of victory of 5 or more runs). As the numbers suggest – the A’s will take their walks, steal bases, and drive the ball out of the park. Shutting them down will not be an easy task.”
The A’s have the best run differential in the AL (+33)
Alex Cobb (1-1, 1.93), is 2-1 with a 2.66 ERA against the A’s, including a two-hit complete game shutout last summer.
Three of Longoria’s four hits in his last 17 at-bats have left the park. He’s 2 for 8 with a homer against Anderson.

Looking Backward While Moving Forward: Rays Snap Four Game Skid

The Rays were finally able to snap their four game skid Wednesday night, handily defeating the Baltimore Orioles by a score of 6-2.

There was a lot to like about the outcome of Wednesday’s game: The offense again showed signs of life, scoring more than four runs in a game for the first time since April 6th when they beat Cleveland by a score of 4-0. The Rays scored more runs Wednesday than they had in the three previous games. Matt Moore was also excellent, giving up just two runs in 6-2/3 innings of work.

Whether the two game offensive outbreak is a sign of things to come, or just a blip on the radar, fails to be seen. As the old adage goes, hitting is contagious. If that holds true, this could be a very good sign for the Rays and their sputtering offense. Me? I’m cautiously optimistic.

Matt Moore continued to be impressive after a slow (and frankly worrisome) spring. Posting a 6-2/3 IP/5 H/2 R/2 ER/3 BB/7 K/1 HR slash line Wednesday, Moore continued to show growth from his previous outing. What’s scary — at least what should be to his opponents, that is — is that Moore, though good in his last three starts, hasn’t fully shown what he’s capable of. Think about how dangerous he will be if he continues down this path.

Moore threw 104 pitches (67 for strikes, 64% K/BB) in his six and two-thirds of an inning outing. And though he had a few 20 plus pitch innings, he never really got himself into any jams that would require that big pitch. He did have some concerns locating his fastball (56 fastballs, 33 for strikes, 58.93% K/BB), though he made the proper adjustment and leaned on his off-speed stuff , throwing 30 sliders (20 for strikes, 66% K/BB) and inducing weakly hit balls for outs.

With the exception of a handful of long innings and the mistake that Adam Jones went yard with, Moore was outstanding. Taking into consideration that Moore is a notoriously slow starter, I find it rather impressive that he has become one of the stabilizing forces in the starting rotation this early into the season.

The offense didn’t look too shabby either. The Rays were able to beat up on Chris Tillman and the O’s, scoring six runs on 11 hits, thanks to a few of the quieter bats in the lineup. With the exception of homers by Kelly Johnson and Shelly Duncan, Tampa Bay was effective in driving in runs on singles and doubles — something that was expected out of this lineup going into the 2013 season. The Rays ultimately went 4-11 wRISP.

Kelly Johnson had another good day at the plate, going 2-5 with a run and an RBI. The Big Dog (you know, from WDAE) questioned why Joe Maddon would put Johnson in the two-hole going into Tuesday night’s game. Johnson is now 3-6 with two homers, a pair of RBI’s, and a pair of walks in the last two games. I’d reckon that Maddon’s move has worked with some quantifiable success. Gee Mr. Dog, I suppose that’s why Maddon is the manager of a professional baseball team, and you’re an afternoon AM sports talk radio host that can’t get a contract extension. I digress…”

Not to be outdone, Shelley Duncan went 2-3 with two runs, an RBI and a homer. James Loney played the part of doubles masher, going 3-3 with a pair of two-base hits and three runs batted in. Hell, even Yunel Escobar got in on the action, going 1-3 with an RBI.

The New What Next

The Rays will try to take their second series of the season Thursday night with David Price on the mound. Price is still looking for his first win of the season following a solid start against the Red Sox Saturday. He’ll toe the rubber against Miguel Gonzalez who’s made six career starts against the Rays. Price is 3-0 with a 2.54 ERA in six career starts at Camden Yards. The current Orioles are hitting .230 with a .602 OPS against him in 192 plate appearances, with one home run. Gonzalez limited Tampa Bay to two runs on five hits in 6 1/3 innings in his April 4th start at the Trop. in his last start against the Yankees, Gonzalez scuffled with his control, walking five in six innings.

Rays 4/18/13 Starting Lineup:

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

Noteworthiness:

Believe it or not, the Rays have the same batting order for second straight game. There have been several position changes though. Kelly Johnson will be in left-field, moving Matt Joyce to right-field. Ben Zobrist will transition down to second base.
Rays prospect Wil Myers Wil Myers was removed from a Durham Bulls game because he fouled ball of his foot. Myers incurred a right foot contusion, and is listed as day to day.

Looking Backward While Moving Forward: Rays Drop Fourth Straight

Evan Longoria, center, high-fives Ben Zobrist in front of Matt Wieters after getting the Rays within 5-4 with a two-run homer in the eighth. (Photo courtesy of Getty Images)

The Rays looked better Tuesday night; not quite sharp enough to stave off a 5-4 loss, nor good enough to circumvent a franchise-worst-matching 4-9 through 13 games. But better.

And though none of us were wholly encouraged by the outcome — namely the Rays dropping their fourth straight — there were some encouraging signs that the clouds may start to clear. As Rays manager Joe Maddon put it,

“I thought it was a great game. I was really pleased with our guys. I know some people might not understand that, but you’ve got to build a little bit at a time to get back to where you normally want to be. I was really pleased with the attitude, the effort. Not the results, but that’ll come.”

Most encouraging, the Rays offense had a spark of life. Tampa Bay had six hits on the night — one hit fewer than the previous two nights combined. They also scored four runs, the most since April 8th against Texas. Some bulleted highlights are below.

The Rays entered Tuesday night’s affair with only five homers in 12 games. They hit three homers Tuesday — a one run Desmond Jennings line drive tater to left, a one run opposite-field Kelly Johnson homer, and a two-run Evan Longoria blast in the eight inning. Longo has now gone yard in consecutive games since he hit his first homer Monday. Mark the date, this is the Rays first three homer game of 2013, and the first game with two homers in one inning.
Kelly Johnson went 1-3 with a homer, a pair of walks, and a really good 13-pitch at-bat to start the game.
Ben Zobrist may not have gotten a hit, but he reached base twice. He was also driven home by Longoria in the eighth inning.
Like Kelly Johnson, Matt Joyce had a good day at the plate. Joyce went 2-4 with a double. For those keeping count, that’s three hits in two days.
Jamey Wright, Cesar Ramos, and Brandon Gomes did a good job keeping the Orioles from scoring more runs, effectively keeping the Rays in the thick of things. Wright, Ramos, and Gomes gave up a hit and a walk in 2-2/3 innings (combined), striking out one. I wasn’t too keen on Wright at the start of the season, but he’s started to calm down as he’s gotten settled in.

That isn’t to say the whole night was stellar, far from it. But it was at least something to build on. The Rays were still incapable of driving in runners in scoring position, going 0-6. And though Kelly Johnson and Matt Joyce seemed to be making strides at breaking out of their slumps, Yunel Escobar, James Loney, Sam Fuld, and Ryan Roberts looked clueless at the plate, swinging at whatever Arrieta threw their way — junk and all. The aforementioned four went a combined 0-8 with a walk, while going 0-3 wRISP.

Then there was Roberto Hernandez’s uneven start.

Hernandez posted a 5.1 IP/5 H/5 R/3 ER/3 BB/7 K/1 HR slash line on 112 pitches (61 for strikes, a 54% K/BB ratio). When Hernandez kept the ball down, he was outstanding. But he didn’t keep the ball down with constancy, and the O’s made him pay. Marc Topkin summed up his performance up well,

“Also, the Rays got another uneven performance from starter Roberto Hernandez, who quickly gave back the lead Desmond Jennings handed him with a leadoff homer, allowing single runs in each of the first three innings.

The score was 3-1 until the sixth, when Hernandez, having command issues, allowed the first two O’s to reach and Maddon had him put on Chris Davis — who tormented the Rays in the season-opening series — to load the bases.

Hernandez struck out Matt Wieters, then got the ground ball he wanted from J.J. Hardy. Third baseman Evan Longoria made a good decision to go to the plate on the hit but made a bad throw, the run scoring on his error. Another infield bouncer off Jamey Wright made it 5-1.”

One only needs to look at his location plot (below) to see that he was all over the place Tuesday night:

Roberto Hernandez location plot (Courtesy of Brooks Baseball)

Moving on. Matt Joyce and Kelly Johnson will attempt to continue their improved at-bats Wednesday night, when the Rays face the Orioles for the second game in a three game set. Tampa Bay will throw left handed pitcher Matt Moore on the bump, opposite of Chris Tillman. You can read a pitching (and series) preview here.

Rays 4/17/13 Starting Lineup:

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

Noteworthiness:

13 lineups in 14 games: The front four hitters in the lineup have not changed from last night to tonight, with Kelly Johnson hitting second in front of Ben Zobrist and Evan Longoria. Joe Maddon moved Yunel Escobar down to the ninth spot in the lineup.
Per Marc Topkin, the Rays saw 187 pitches Tuesday; the 57th time they saw that many in nine inning game, and only the eighth time they lost. K. Johnson saw 35 of those pitches. Rays hitters had 11 full-counts.
Also per Topkin, Luke Scott says today “was best day yet” and he’s “pretty darn close” to going on a rehab assignment, though it won’t before Saturday. Scott says it’s been very frustrating being out, he’s “chewed off” his fingernails and “taken a few sips of the fermented drink.”

Rays 4/16/13 Starting Lineup, Noteworthiness

Rays 4/16/13 Starting Lineup:

Jennings CF 
Johnson DH
 Zobrist 2B 
Longoria 3B
 Joyce LF
 Escobar SS
 Loney 1B
 Lobaton C 
Fuld RF 
Hernandez RHP

Noteworthiness:

-Another day, another lineup — the 12th in 13 games to be exact. Ben Zobrist and Evan Longoria are again hitting back-to-back, though they’re back in the 3-4 spots. Kelly Johnson will do his best Luke Scott impersonation (minus the alkaline water consumption that is), hitting second behind Desmond Jennings.

-As per the Tampa Bay Times, the Rays are 1-6 in their last seven games (3-7 in their last 10), hitting .156 (34-for-218) with 12 runs, a homer, and eight extra-base hits.

Looking Backward While Looking Forward: Rays Drop Second Consecutive Series, Hello B’more

Jeremy Hellickson of the Tampa Bay Rays pitches against the Boston Red Sox at Fenway Park on April 15, 2013 in Boston, Massachusetts. All uniformed team members are wearing jersey number 42 in honor of Jackie Robinson Day. (Photo by Alex Trautwig/Getty Images)

The Tampa Bay Rays lost their second consecutive series following a 3-2 loss at Fenway, Monday. The Rays continued their struggles at the plate, reaching base six times on four hits and two walks, while going 1-5 wRISP. On the bright side, Jeremy Hellickson was great, giving up two runs on three hits in seven innings of work. You can see a bulleted summary below.

The Good:

Pitching. The pitching Rays is normalizing following a handful of shaky outings. They are starting to look like the dominant pitching staff that most of us thought they could, or should, look like. Both David Price and Jeremy Hellickson — who posted a 7 IP/3 H/2 R/2 ER/1 BB/9 K/1 HR slash line on 103 pitches (66 for strikes) Monday — had bounce back outings in Boston. Let’s not forget Alex Cobb, he looked good Sunday as well.
The Jennings, Zobrist, and Longo show. Desmond Jennings, Ben Zobrist, and Evan Longoria accounted for the Ray offense Monday, combining for three of the Rays four hits. Jennings and Longoria each crossed the plate, while Longo and Zobrist each drove in a run.
Longoria hit his first home run (and extra base hit) of the year, crushing a 407 foot blast over the Green Monstah. The Rays went eight days, 15 hours and 23 minutes since their last homer. To put it another way, that’s 219 at-bats — spread over the course of six games — without a homer.

The Bad:

Matt Joyce, Ryan Roberts, James Loney and Yunel Escobar went a combined 1-14 Monday, with Joyce and Roberts going 0-2 wRISP.
The Rays, arguably, would have won the game weren’t it for this call.
Tampa Bay went 1-5 wRISP Monday and 1-22 wRISP throughout the course of the entire Red Sox series.
How about those calls by home plate umpire Dana Demuth? Yeah, they certainly didn’t hurt the Rays in any way. His, ahem, liberal strike zone has been a point of contention for years.

The New What Next:

Tampa Bay heads to Baltimore for a three game set prior to a six game home stand. The Rays will attempt to salvage what has become a disappointing 3-7 stretch. A series preview (of sorts) follows.

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

Jake Arrieta: Arrieta has a Jekyll and Hyde kind of relationship with the Rays. One year he pitches exceedingly well as he did in 2011 when he went 2-0 with a 1.38 ERA, only to follow that up by going 0-2 with an 11.57 ERA as he did in 2012. Overall, the Rays have posted a .257 BA/.354 OBP/.429 SLG/.782 OPS slash line against Arrieta with three triples, three homers, and nine RBI. Key match-ups: Yunel Escobar (7-16, HR, 2 RBI), Matt Joyce (5-12, 2B, HR, 4 RBI, 2 BB)
Chris Tillman: As with his counterpart Jake Arrieta, Chris Tillman has been fairly inconsistent against the Rays. Tillman went 0-1 with a 12.38 ERA in 2010, and 1-1 with a 4.09 ERA last season. Tampa Bay has posted a combined .257 BA/.360 OBP/.568 SLG/.928 OPS slash line against Tillman with three doubles, a triple, and 12 RBI. Key match-ups: Sam Fuld (2-5, 2B, 2 RBI), Matt Joyce (3-11, 2B, 3B, RBI, BB), Evan Longoria (6-12, 3 HR,4 RBI, 3 BB), Ryan Roberts (1-3, HR, RBI, BB)
Miguel Gonzalez: Miguel Gonzalez has been the most consistent of the series starters against the Rays. Tampa Bay has posted a team .202 BA/.302 OBP/.310 SLG.612 OPS slash line in 84 at-bats. Five of the Rays 17 hits have gone for extra bases (three doubles and a pair of homers). Key match-ups: Shelley Duncan (2-5, 2B), Kelly Johnson (2-5, 2B, RBI), Evan Longoria (3-8, BB) 2012 (1-1, 3.68 ERA)

Noteworthiness:

Following what can only be described as a tornado like home-run tear of destruction to start the season, Chris Davis went homerless for the first time in a series over the weekend, going 3 for 11 with six strikeouts as the Orioles lost two of three to the Yankees. We can only hope he’s starting to normalize.
Roberto Hernandez is 1-3 with an 8.46 ERA in four starts at Camden Yards. Yeesh.
We’re still waiting for that improved offense that Joe Maddon spoke highly of going into Spring Training.
I’d be remiss if I didn’t acknowledge the events of Monday. I fully expect to hear a plethora of irrational theories and statements pop up in the wake of this senseless crime. Deadspin posted comments reminding us all to be good to one another. As Sean Newell of Deadspin put it, “There’s always an outpouring of “thoughts and prayers” and other sorts of well-intentioned signs of support from people all over social media that you almost get numb to it, if you’re not already numb from the event itself.” He went on to write, “Maybe it’s because of that phenomenon that Patton Oswalt’s facebook post seems, just, nice. A nice reminder that, by a wide margin, people are good.” As mentioned in the quote, comedian Patton Oswalt had some well thought out comments following the tragedy. Oswalt’s comments are linked, and are worth the read.