The Rays are looking to bounce back from two tough losses that found them stranding 20 men on the bags. Scott is back in the lineup (below) at DH, after riding the bench with a hamstring injury.
Buchholz has a 1.81 ERA against Tampa Bay in 8 career starts. Christ.
Rays starting lineup 4/14/12:
Jennings CF
Pena 1B
Longoria 3B
Joyce LF
Zobrist RF
Scott DH
Keppinger 2B
Molina CC
Rodrigues SS
Hellickson RHP (1-0)
Update:
De La Rosa called up from Durham: RHP Dane De La Rosa has been called up from Triple-A Durham to take RHP Josh Lueke’s spot in the pen.
………………
In a tweet from Marc Topkin (below) the news was made official; Tampa Bay is calling up fastball pitcher, Dane De La Rosa, from AAA Durham. Who they may be sending down is in question, though I suspect that it may be Josh Lueke. That’s speculation as of now, but the question stands: why the hell was Lueke on the roster in lieu of De La Rosa in the first place?
#Rays choice for call-up from Triple-A is RHP Dane De La Rosa. Made big-league debut last season.
I’ve got three good things to mention concerning the game today:
A) Another Jeff Keppinger hit and RBI (sixth hit and second RBI of the year). I think (read: hope) this is the beginning of something good.
B) Davis: 3.0 IP/2H/0 R/0 BB/3 K/41 Pit (12 B/29 S)
C) Ben Zobrist with a late inning one-run homer (first homer, third run and fourth RBI of the year)
The rest can be summed up by the box score. Here’s a novel idea: maybe they’ll show up at the plate tomorrow, instead of leaving seven on base. That’s 20 stranded runners in two days, by the way.
PS, I still couldn’t give two craps about Fenway, and apparently DH Luke Scott feels the same. Scott referred to Fenway as “a dump” today. Well done Mr. Scott, well done. That’s two rad things he’s said this year, if anyone’s keeping count.
The Rays will enter Fenway Park today 1-2 on this road trip, and 4-2 overall. Boston enters today 1-5 on the season. Amid the pomp and circumstance of Fenway’s 101st year, blah blah blah, Tampa Bay will try to make up for their tough 7-2 loss to Detroit on Thursday. To be honest, I could give two craps about this “milestone”. Ethan Casey said it best in an op-ed piece for Huffington Post:
Meanwhile, obnoxious Red Sox fans infest stadiums as far from Boston as Seattle, where I live, because it’s so hard to get tickets at Fenway.
Back to what’s important, today’s game. Josh Beckett, who got blasted in his last outing, will go up against David Price who performed really well in his. Price will try to continue his perfect record streak at Fenway.
DH Luke Scott still sidelined with a hamstring strain. Jose Lobaton will not be available today due to shoulder pain. Starting lineups are below. As always, Let’s Go Rays!
Tampa Bay Rays (4-2):
Jennings CF
Pena 1B
Longoria 3B
Joyce LF
Zobrist RF
Keppinger 2B
Vogt DH
Molina C
Brignac SS
Price P
Massholes (1-5):
Ellsbury CF
Pedroia 2B
Gonzalez 1B
Youkilis 3B
Ortiz DH
McDonald LF
Ross RF
Aviles SS
Shoppach C
Beckett P
Topkin, I couldn’t have said it any better.
DETROIT — The Rays had some reason to leave Comerica Park pleased, heading to Boston after completing the first week of the season with a 4-2 mark against American League heavyweights New York and Detroit.
“If we play like that all year, I’ll take it,” manager Joe Maddon said. “I’ll take it because I know the number of victories necessary will be there.”
But they had reason to be disappointed, too, specifically in the way they failed themselves in Thursday’s matinee series finale, a 7-2 loss they seemingly could have avoided.
“No doubt,” first baseman Carlos Peña said. “We thought we had it.”
The Rays carried two distinct advantages into the game: the momentum of Wednesday’s comeback win, and the matchup with majors-debuting Tigers starter Drew Smyly. They merged in the first inning as the Rays’ first three hitters got on.
But given that prime opportunity, they came up empty, their next three hitters — Jeff Keppinger (flyout), Ben Zobrist (strikeout) and Sean Rodriguez (strikeout) — going down quickly.
And it proved to be a preview of the their day as they left 11 men on base and went 2-for-13 with runners in scoring position.
“It’s definitely one of those energy shifts,” Peña said. “We had something going, and then it gets shut down. They run off the field like, ‘We got away with one,’ and we’re like, ‘Man, we should have scored one run.’ “
Even as Smyly got better, the Rays took a 1-0 lead in the third, on Peña’s third homer of the week, but gave it back, and more, in a messy three-run fifth.
And when they got within 3-2 in the seventh, with the chance for more with runners on first and second and no outs, Peña made a huge baserunning mistake, “horribly” misreading a soft liner by Keppinger and getting doubled off second.
“The momentum was coming back to us,” Maddon said. “You get the soft popup turning into a double play. Not only just leaves the runner at first base, but what it does to the other side, it energizes them. There’s that sigh of relief. You’re able to breathe.”
The offensive issues weren’t the only problem.
Starter Jeff Niemann was pleased with his initial outing of the season, allowing three runs on four hits and two walks over five innings and calling it “a great first start to build off.” But he allowed the three runs in a fifth he described as “trying to get a little too fine” and Maddon cited a sudden loss of aggressiveness.
By the end, he pitched himself out of the game at 102 pitches (including 43 balls).
And lefty Jake McGee failed in another key situation, brought in with two on and two out in the seventh, the Rays within 3-2, to face lefty Brennan Boesch in a matchup Maddon said they were “the prohibitive favorite.”
But McGee, who allowed the winning hit Tuesday, gave up a two-run single that pushed the game out of reach.
“Overall, I think he’s throwing the ball really well,” Maddon said. “It’s just a matter of him getting the ball where he wants it consistently.”
Overall, they could have done better.
“Disappointing loss,” Peña said. “And now we have to get back on it.”
Marc Topkin can be reached at topkin@tampabay.com. View his blog atblogs.tampabay.com/rays or follow him on Twitter at @TBTimes_Rays.
