Looking Backward While Moving Forward, Rays vs. Mariners 8/15/12 (lineup included)

SEATTLE, WA – AUGUST 14: First baseman Carlos Pena #23 of the Tampa Bay Rays reacts after making a throwing error on a bunt play in the ninth inning against the Seattle Mariners at Safeco Field on August 14, 2012 in Seattle, Washington. The Mariners defeated the Rays 3-2. (Photo by Otto Greule Jr/Getty Images)

That’s what happens when you let bad teams hang around.
-AM sports talk radio host

Yeah, the remark above says it all. The Rays were incapable of putting the Mariners away last night as a late inning Carlos Pena error, combined with an offense that couldn’t capitalize on scoring opportunity after scoring opportunity, blew any chance of an eighth consecutive win. Bulleted highlights…and low-lights are below.

  • Let it be said that Desmond Jennings, BJ Upton, and Jeff Keppinger did their part. Those three combined to go 7-12 with two RBI, a run, two doubles, and a triple.
  • Matt Moore was unbelievable. For shame that a ninth inning error left Moore with a non-decision. Posting a 7 IP/6 H/1 ER/1 BB/9 K line, Moore threw 95 pitches (70 for strikes) while getting close to an even split between swinging and called strikes.
  • Desmond Jennings is hitting .311 BA/.365 OBP/.491 SLG/.856 OPS since the all-star break with a .391 wOBA.
  • 0-9 wRISP, leaving nine on base…Ugh.
  • Carlos Pena’s costly error in his own words:

[youtube http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=LRKWV3CGKzE]

The New What Next

The Rays find themselves the underdogs walking into today’s game against King Felix and the Seattle Mariners. Tampa Bay has beaten Hernandez before, so it is possible. If anything, this will more than likely be a low scoring affair. Hellickson, who has a 7.00 ERA in his last two outings this month is going to need to look like the Helly of April 30th, when he allowed a run and six hits with seven strikeouts in seven innings in his last outing against Felix Hernandez. Hellickson is 3-0 against the Mariners, with a 0.92 ERA. It will be incumbent on him to snap out of whatever funk he may have been in the last two starts, keeping the Rays in the game until they can run into a few runs…after all, runs will be at a premium today.

Rays 8/15/12 Starting Lineup

Fuld LF
Upton CF
Joyce RF
Longoria DH
Zobrist 2B
Pena 1B
Lobaton C
Johnson SS
Rodriguez 3B
Hellickson RHP

Noteworthiness: Evan Longoria is back at DH today, but noticeably missing from the lineup is Jeff Keppinger, Desmond Jennings, and Ryan Roberts. As always, Let’s Go Rays!

Looking Backward While Moving Forward, Rays vs Mariners 8/14/12 (starting lineup included)

SEATTLE, WA – AUGUST 13: Starting pitcher Alex Cobb #53 of the Tampa Bay Rays pitches against the Seattle Mariners at Safeco Field on August 13, 2012 in Seattle, Washington. (Photo by Otto Greule Jr/Getty Images)

The Rays are in seventh heaven? Yeah, that sounds cheesy. Regardless, Tampa Bay is now on a seven game winning streak following an almost flawless start by Alex Cobb who, as Orestes Destrade calls it, had a super quality outing. Posting a 7 IP/4 H/1 ER/2 BB/5 K line, Cobb threw 91 pitches (59 for strikes) and at one point went on streak, throwing 20 first pitch strikes. Cobber ended the night by throwing 22 of his 26 first pitches for strikes. And save for a shaky fifth inning where Eric Thames drove home Trayvon Robinson on an RBI single that followed Robinson’s triple, Cobb was king. The rookie right-hander induced ground ball after ground ball, 11 all told. Bulleted highlights are below.

  • Damn, BJ Upton is on a tear of late. Upton went 1-5, which isn’t so impressive. BUT he hit another tater, (13) this time good for two runs.
  • The Rays king of consistency, Ben Zobrist, had another monster night at the plate, going 3-4 with a double and an RBI.
  • Desmond Jennings went 2-4 with a walk, an RBI, and a run.
  • Sam Fuld who hit ninth and the first four hitters were unarguably the offense last night, going (a combined) 8-21 with four runs, four RBI, and two stolen bases.
  • Lightning does strike twice. Jose Molina, who’s incidentally perfected the art of the stop, drop, and roll slide technique, had another stolen base. How he (of all people) steals a base yet Jennings gets thrown out in a stolen base attempt is beyond me.
  • Joel Peralta in the eighth and Fernando Rodney in the ninth = rad! The dynamic duo tag-teamed to get the last six outs of the game, striking out five, and only giving up a hit.
The New What Next

The Rays enter tonight’s game five games behind the Yankees in the East, and a half game ahead in the AL wildcard race, tied with Baltimore. Matt Moore (9-7, 3.73 ERA) will to the rubber for the Rays. He’s been lights out since the All-Star Break, going 4-1 with 1.47 ERA, allowing only one run and 12 hits while striking out 18 over 17 2/3 innings during his three-game winning streak. I’d imagine that Evan Longoria would be back in the lineup since he’s put up good numbers against Kevin Millwood, (4-10, 4.38 ERA) going 3-6 with a double, a homer, and a pair of runs batted in. Keppinger has been a bit of a thorn in the side of Millwood as well. You’ve got to bet that Tampa Bay will be aggressive at the plate tonight, especially considering that Millwood only lasted four innings while giving up seven earned runs against the Orioles last week. They’ll need to win tonight considering who they’re going up against tomorrow. As always, Let’s Go Rays!

Rays 8/14/12 Starting Lineup

Jennings LF
Upton CF
Joyce RF
Longoria DH
Zobrist SS
Keppinger 3B
Pena 1B
Roberts 2B
Molina C
Moore LHP

Rays 8/13/12 Starting Lineup

Rays 8/13/12 Starting Lineup

Jennings LF
Upton DH
Joyce RF
Zobrist SS
Keppinger 3B
Pena 1B
Roberts 2B
Molina C
Fuld CF
Cobb RHP

Noteworthiness: Longoria isn’t in the lineup tonight, and there’s no word whether he’s available to pinch hit or not. Hey look, Zobrist is at shortstop again tonight, hitting fourth. Sammy takes over center field duties, hitting ninth, while BJ Upton takes over DH duties. Can they make it seven straight? That’s the question du jour. As always, Let’s Go Rays!

A series preview of sorts, Rays vs. Mariners

The Rays stroll into Seattle for a three game set against the Mariners. Tampa Bay looks to continue their winning ways, throwing Alex Cobb, Matt Moore, and Jeremy Hellickson on the mound in the next three days. It’s questionable which days Joe Maddon will put Evan Longoria in the lineup, following six straight days as DH. Maddon inferred that Longoria may get Monday off following the long flight from Minnesota. In any case, we’ll know more shortly.

Rays and Mariners starting pitchers over the last 14 days.
Rays and Mariners hitting at home and away, (respectively) and over the last 14 days.
  • Tampa Bay has posted a .240 BA/.269 OBP/.400 SLG/.669 OPS line against Beaven, with a pair of doubles, a pair of homers, and six RBI. Key match-ups: Jose Molina (3-7, 2B, 2 RBI), Jeff Keppinger (1-3).
  • They’ve posted a .222 BA/.319 OBP/.342 SLG/.660 OPS line Against Millwood, with three doubles, a triple, three homers, and 13 RBI. Key match-ups: Jeff Keppinger (2-2, HR, BB), Evan Longoria (3-6, HR, 2B, 2 BB)
  • Oh King Felix. The Rays have proven they can beat Hernandez, though it won’t be easy. Nevertheless, they’ve posted a .172 BA/.256 OBP/.204 SLG/.460 OPS line against King Felix, with five doubles, and five RBI. Key match-up: Evan Longoria (6-16, BB, RBI).
  • Whoa, the Rays have looked like an offensive juggernaut over the last seven days. Putting up a .286 BA/.353 OBP/.450 SLG/.803 OPS line, Tampa Bay has averaged just over six runs a game. Compare that to just over three runs per game the few preceding weeks.

Another series, another sweep Rays take the Twins series in a sloppy 7-3 win

MINNEAPOLIS, MN – AUGUST 12: B.J. Upton #2 and Ryan Roberts #19 of the Tampa Bay Rays celebrate a win against the Minnesota Twins on August 12, 2012 at Target Field in Minneapolis, Minnesota. The Rays defeated the Twins 7-3 in 10 innings. (Photo by Hannah Foslien/Getty Images)

Tampa Bay won their second consecutive series (ahem, by means of the sweep) Sunday, beating the Twins by a score of 7-3. They are now on a six game winning streak as they make their way to Seattle for a three game set against the Mariners. The Rays end the day five games behind the Evil Empire, tied for first with the Orioles in the wildcard race.

This certainly wasn’t the prettiest of wins. The Rays committed three errors, one of which was directly responsible for a Twins run. Tampa Bay also had the chance to pull away from the Twins in the third, fifth, seventh, and ninth innings, yet they weren’t able to do anything with those opportunities. But a four run 10th inevitably nailed the coffin shut for the Twins, and we’re talking about a win instead of a loss.

I don’t know if any one else felt the way that I did, but the extra innings Rays today felt more like the scrappy Rays I’ve come to know and love. You know, the team that seems more likely to eek out a W late in the game as opposed to the one of late that effectively closes up shop when they’re down by one in the eighth. Friends, that’s a beautiful thing. Bulleted highlights are below.

  • Fernando Rodney is 36 out of 37 in the save department, with 21 consecutive saves. That’s just straight up crazy! He was also able to save JP Howell’s ass, coming on in the tenth with a man on first and third and two outs. He ultimately saved the game.
  • And though it wasn’t a pretty outing for JP Howell, he now holds the Rays franchise record for consecutive scoreless innings at 22-2/3 IP, surpassing Fernando Rodney, who surpassed Joe Borowski earlier in the week.
  • How ’bout Desmond Jennings?! DesJen went 2-4 with a walk, an RBI and two runs, including a first inning homer to left.
  • Ryan Roberts has raised his batting average over a hundred points in the last week and a half. Roberts went 3-4 Sunday, with a walk, a double, two RBI, and a run.
  • Keppinger was again a beast, going 2-5, driving in two RBI, and scoring a run on a homer and a double.
  • Notable mentions go to Ben Zobrist (2-4, 2B) and Evan Longoria (1-4).
  • Go here for a good description of the 10th inning.