OAKLAND, CA – AUGUST 01: Carlos Pena #23 of the Tampa Bay Rays is congratulated by teammates after hitting a home run against the Oakland Athletics during the eighth inning at O.co Coliseum on August 1, 2012 in Oakland, California. The Tampa Bay Rays defeated the Oakland Athletics 4-1. (Photo by Jason O. Watson/Getty Images)
The Rays can saunter into the Trop this weekend on a huge wave of momentum following the 4-1 victory over the A’s yesterday. Finishing the road trip on the winning side of the coin was huge, and the Rays are in a great position to make up some ground against the Orioles, who the Rays are now, again, tied with for second place in the AL East. The Rays are also just a game and a half out of the last Wild Card spot with yesterday’s Angels and Orioles losses. We here at Raysbaseball like this a lot.
Here are a few other nuggets to ponder:
The Rays ended their road trip with a 6-3 record.
Tampa Bay held the Orioles, Angels, and A’s to one run or less in each of their six wins, including three shutouts.
That’s first time in franchise history that the Rays won three series on a road trip against plus .500 teams.
The Rays pitching staff has been disgustingly good since the All-Star break. Ponder this, over the last 14 days they’ve posted a 1.65 ERA/.166 BAA/.235 BABIP/10.53 K per 9 innings/2.22 BB per 9 innings line. They’ve also struck out 147 batters, while posting an 84.3% left on base percentage.
Tampa Bay averaged just under four runs a game on their road trip, scoring four or more runs in only three games. Yeah, that’s got to change. On the other hand, the Rays were able to hold their opponents to just under two runs per game, giving up four or more runs in only two games. In the month of July the Orioles, Angels, and A’s each averaged four or more runs per game.
Tampa Bay is now five games over .500 for the first time since June.
OAKLAND, CA – JULY 31: James Shields #33 of theTampa Bay Rays pitches in the eighth inning against the Oakland Athletics at O.co Coliseum on July 31, 2012 in Oakland, California. Shields pitched a complete game winning 8-0. (Photo by Thearon W. Henderson/Getty Images)
The Tampa Bay Rays, with Complete Game James Shields at the helm, closed out the month of July in dominant fashion, crushing the A’s with an 8-0 three hit complete game shutout. Shields was masterful, posting a 9 IP/3 H/0 R/0 BB/11 K line, throwing only 98 pitches (66 for strikes). Shields Pounded the zone with his fastball and changeup, while he peppered things a bit in the later innings with his curveball and backdoor cutter. The Rays will attempt to take their third series in a row in an afternoon game in Oakland at the horrendous (name and otherwise) O.co Colesium. There was a lot to be impressed with last night.
First, Shields gave up only singles, stopping the A’s from getting anyone in scoring position. Juego G looked downright whiffy, inducing swings and misses on 19 pitches, mostly changeups. Able to locate his fastball, while keeping it in the 90-92 MPH range, Shields stayed in attack mode throughout the course of the game. And talk about efficiency, Shieldsy averaged only 11 pitches per inning. It bears mentioning that he did an overworked pen a big, by posting a complete game. This was the Shields from last year, and this is the Shields that the Rays will need to depend on if they have aspirations for more late September, and early-to-mid October aspirations.
The big O came alive, scoring eight times on 11 hits and two walks. Tampa Bay most impressively scored five runs off of Milone who has been very good at home, posting a 5-1 record with a 0.91 ERA prior to his start. They kept the proverbial pedal to the metal, scoring three more times in the seventh and ninth off of Scribner and Miller, who came on in relief of Milone.
The Rays scored more than six runs for only the second time in 18 games since the All-Star break, and they did so in with a team effort. That is to say, there were no defined heroes at the plate. Sure, Sam Fuld (3-4, run) and BJ Upton (2-5, run, 2-RBI) came up big. However looking over the the box score, and seeing that most everyone in the lineup contributed, is huge. Six Rays (Jennings, Upton, Zobrist, Keppinger, Pena, and Rodriguez) drove in runs, while seven Rays (Jennings, Upton, Zobrist, Keppinger, Joyce, Lobaton, and Fuld) crossed the plate. And they did so by BABIPing the A’s to death. Tampa Bay only had two extra base hits; a pair of huge doubles by Lobaton and Joyce. Yet they were able to get ’em on, consistently get timely hits or a stolen base to get ’em over, and get ’em home. These are the Rays that I like to watch.
The Rays ended July with a .500 record, which is better than June. Posting a .225 BA/.307 OBP/.355 SLG/.662 OPS line, while scoring only 103 times, and driving in only 96 RBI, one wonders how they ended the month with an even split of wins and losses. Friends, the simple answer is pitching. The Rays pitching staff was able to hold their opponents to a .225 BA/.299 OBP/.337 SLG/.636 OPS line, while allowing only 85 (81 earned) runs and 79 RBI. Simply put, they were phenomenal in July. The screen shot below says it all.
Rays pitching in July (courtesy of ESPN)
The pitching staff did their part in July, and will, presumably, continue to do the same in August. It’s up to be hitters to do their part if they’re going to be contenders. The Rays are toward the bottom of the BA/OBP/SLG/OPS columns, and unless the pitching can also, some how, score runs for the Rays, some things have got to change. I think we all know what those things are.
Before we move on, here’s a little grizzle to chew on. The Rays pitchers have a higher strikeout rate, and DRaysBay (see below) attributes that to the Lobaton/Molina power duo behind the plate.
Onward to today’s game. Alex Cobb (4-8, 4.93 ERA) will take on Jarrod Parker (7-4, 3.38 ERA) in the last game of the Rays current nine game road trip. With a win, the Rays will walk away 6-3 on the road trip, and back home for a six game home stand following an off day tomorrow. They’re also in line to take their third series in a row, something they haven’t done in some time.
The Rays have never faced the rookie RHP who’s given up four or more earned runs in five of his 17 starts, including six in his last start against the Orioles. He only lasted five innings in that start. Parker is one of those dastardly pitchers that throws a good sinking ball. However with a 2:1 strike to ball ratio, the Rays could find themselves on base if they work some good at bats, and force Parker to pitch up in the zone.
Parker vs lefties (courtesy of Fangraphs)Parker vs righties (courtesy of Fangraphs)
Tampa Bay Rays 8/1/12 Starting Lineup
Jennings LF
Upton CF
Zobrist 2B
Joyce RF
Keppinger DH
Pena 1B
Roberts 3B
Molina C
Johnson SS
Cobb RHP
Tampa Bay looks to bounce back from a disappointing 4-3 marathon loss to the A’s last night and, well…this morning. The Rays weren’t without scoring opportunities last night. Yet, they again squandered those opportunities in sloppy fashion, ultimately giving up the final run on a bases loaded Jemile Weeks sac fly in the 15th inning. Let’s go over the good, bad, and ugly of the game a bit, shall we?
The good:
Matt Joyce finally had a post DL dinger. Joyce ended the night 1-4 with an RBI, a run, and a walk.
Price continued to dominate, posting a 7 IP/4 H/3 ER/2 BB/11 K line on 121 pitches (83 for strikes). Cough, it’s not his fault the big O couldn’t produce, cough.
Holy crap, ‘Los actually reached base twice, on a two RBI double and a single. He also flashed the leather again a few times. Pena and Joyce both drove in two-out runs.
All things considered, the pen (I’m not looking at you Farnsworth) held it down, working out of multiple RISP jams, keeping the Rays in it…that is until Farnsworth gave up the losing run.
The Rays set a franchise record for the most strikeouts in a single game at 21.
The Bad:
The Rays left nine on the bags, going 1-9 wRISP.
Really? You’re going to bring in Conrad to pinch hit in a high leverage situation? I couldn’t care less that he’s got the second or third most pinch hit homers at seven, he couldn’t hit his way out of a paper bag. Not only did he fail at the task before him, but he did so after being called out on a perfectly placed 90 MPH fastball over the heart of the plate. It bears mentioning that he chased two other pitches that were well out of the zone.
The Ugly:
Seven, count ’em, seven Rays went O’fer last night: Elliot Johnson (0-1, BB), Brooks Conrad (0-1), Sean Rodriguez (0-2, BB), Sam Fuld (0-3), Desmond Jennings (0-5, reached on an error), Ryan Roberts (0-5, BB), and BJ Upton (0-7) who incidentally set a franchise record for his lack of ball hitting.
Base running. ‘Los, buddy, you had a chance to be in scoring position with no outs, yet you chose to test Reddick’s arm on a Molina single by trying for third? Really? Real wise choice bud. To think, you literally could have been the go ahead run. Your running fail was almost as humorous as Molina trying to swipe a bag with SeanRod at bat.
Ugh.
The Rays will face Tommy Milone. They’re hitting a combined .368 BAA with a homer, four walks, and a strikeout against. You may recall that in their last meeting, the Rays put up five runs against Milone. There is hope.
The keys to tonight’s game are two-fold:
A) Who starts tonight, Juego G or All Fields Shields? Sure, he had 10+ K’s in his last start. Shields also walked five, which directly contributed to the Rays loss in Baltimore in his last start.
B) The Rays Offense are going to need to break out of the three-run offensive doldrum they’ve been in the last three games straight.
Rays 7/31/12 Starting Lineup
Jennings LF
Upton CF
Zobrist 2B
Keppinger 3B
Pena 1B
S-Rod SS
Joyce DH
Lobaton C
Fuld RF
Shields RHP
Noteworthiness: Shields and Upton are still Rays, therefore they didn’t get traded. Speaking of the trade deadline, it’s now passed. They can still make a move, but they have to wait for any players they’re interested in to clear waivers first. Friedman an Co. have traditionally busier after the deadline. They most recently traded Kazmir after the deadline in 2009.
Oh yeah, Brooks Conrad has been optioned to Triple-A Durham! Boom! A corresponding move to fill his spot on the roster hasn’t been announced yet, however he cannot be recalled for 10 days unless the Rays incur an injury. We should be seeing another reliever, or a position player, added to the roster prior to game time. Stay posted.
Jennings LF
Upton CF
Zobrist 2B
Keppinger DH,
Joyce RF
Roberts 3B
Pena 1B
Molina C
Rodriguez SS
Price LHP
Noteworthieness:Evan Longoria is in the lineup again as the DH for Triple-A Durham. Joe Maddon initially thought that Longoria would need only a 3-4 game rehab stint. But with this, the fourth game of his rehab stint, Maddon has acknowledged that it’s more likely that Longoria won’t rejoin the Rays until they get home Friday, at the earliest. Longo has posted a .143 BA/.278 OBP/.143 SLG/.421 OPS line, while driving in an RBI, and walking and striking out three times in 14 at bats so far in his stint with the Bulls.
Tampa Bay Rays: 53-49, tied for second in the AL East, 7.5 games behind the Yankees and two games out of the second wildcard spot.
Oakland Athletics: 55-46, second in the AL West, 4.5 games behind the Rangers, and if the season were to end today, the A’s would clinch a wildcard berth.
Tampa Bay Rays since the All-Star Break: 8-8
Oakland Athletics since the All-Star Break: 12-3
Tampa Bay Rays over the last 10 games: 6-4
Oakland Athletics over the last 10 games: 8-2
The Rays have the second best pitching staff in the American League with a 3.57 ERA. Opposing teams have posted a .239 BAA the Rays.
The Athletics are the best pitching staff in the American League with a 3.44 ERA. Opposing teams have posted a .243 BAA the A’s.
