Willy Adames’ Tom and Jerry cleats won Player’s Weekend. (Photo Credit: Tampa Bay Rays)
After a 7-1 win over Baltimore on Friday, punctuated by an outstanding six-inning start by Trevor Richards and a grand slam by Austin Meadows, the Tampa Bay Rays will look for a series win against the Orioles tonight. The Rays start the day a season-best 22-games over .500, with sole possession of the top Wildcard spot.
Per FanGraphs, the Rays start the day with a 67.8% chance of a postseason berth (up 2.8% from yesterday). Baseball Prospectus gives them a more favorable 79.0% chance of reaching the playoffs for the first time since 2013.
Richards tossed six shutout innings while allowing just two hits and one walk with five strikeouts on 83 pitches (55 strikes, 66% strike rate). All of the Orioles “damage” against Richards came in a 25-pitch first inning before the right-hander settled in. From the second inning on, he threw 58 total pitches and kept Baltimore’s hitters off-balance thanks to his mix of fastballs and changeups, with a few sliders and curveballs thrown in for good measure. Richards is off to a strong start with Tampa Bay. In two starts since being acquired from Miami, Richards has allowed two runs over 9-1/3 innings. Overall, he is 4-12 with a 4.30 ERA, a 1.38 WHIP, with 114 strikeouts across 121-1/3 innings.
The Rays scored all of their runs in a seven-run second inning. Tampa Bay got its first runner in scoring position after a leadoff walk by Jesus Aguilar which was followed by a single by Mike Brosseau, bringing Kevin Kiermaier to the plate. The Outlaw slapped a single down the third base line, allowing the rumbling Aguilar to score from second. Mike Zunino kept the rally going with an RBI base hit, scoring Kiermaier and Brosseau to put the Rays up by three.
Matt Duffy then walked and Tommy Pham singled on a bobbled play by Johnathan Villar to load the bases for Austin Meadows. Meads got himself into a 2-0 count before he crushed a center-cut 91 mph fastball 438 feet into the right-center seats, giving the Rays a commanding 7-0 lead.
The New What Next
The Rays will open with Jose Alvarado (1-5, 4.55 ERA), pitching opposite of John Means (6-9, 3.94 ERA) will take the mound.
Jose Alvarado has had a difficult time since returning from the Injured List, so utilizing him as an opener is a method of getting the southpaw back on track. The Rays had done something similar with Diego Castillo and Ryne Stanek with success. Alvarado has not been efficient of late, walking at least one batter in each of four appearances since coming off the IL.
Austin Pruitt could be used as the bulk guy tonight as he was August 14th (1 ER, 4 IP). Pruitt maintains a 4.73 ERA and a 1.43 WHIP with 21 punchouts across 26-2/3 innings.
John Means gave up three runs (two earned) on four hits and two walks over five innings against the Royals. He struck out five. The southpaw continues to struggle in the second half and is now 1-5 in six starts since the All-Star break with a 7.48 ERA, 1.63 WHIP, and a 1.9 K/BB through 27-2/3 innings. Monday’s outing was the first time during that stretch he didn’t serve up a homer. Tampa Bay worked Means over in his last appearance against them, tagging him for six runs on eight hits including three homers. Key Matchups: Mike Brosseau (2-6, 2 HR, 3 RBI), Guillermo Heredia (2-6, 2B), Erik Sogard (2-3, HR, RBI)
You can read about the series in our preview, while the starting lineup and Noteworthiness are below.
Rays 8/24/19 Starting Lineup
- Duffy 3B
- Pham LF
- Meadows DH
- Garcia RF
- d’Arnaud C
- Aguilar 1B
- Kiermaier CF
- Adames SS
- Brosseau 2B
Noteworthiness
— Per Marc Topkin (Tampa Bay Times) Brandon Lowe is not ready to give up on playing again this season if the Rays can make it to the postseason.
Lowe is sidelined the rest of the regular season after straining his left quad Wednesday playing for Triple-A Durham in the final stages of rehabbing the bruised right-leg injury that had kept him out since early July. But with roughly a six-week timetable to recover from the latest injury, he said Friday that he will work hard to return in October. “After working my butt off to come back and being only a couple days away from returning, it’s extremely frustrating to hit this setback,’’ he said, via the Rays. “Now my goal is to come back to help this team in the postseason. My entire focus turns to what I can do to get back quicker, stronger and healthier.’’
— Marc Topkin
— Following last night’s ballgame, the team announced a series of roster moves. Avisail Garcia (oblique) was activated from the 10-day Injured List and Austin Pruitt was recalled from Triple-A Durham. Guillermo Heredia and Aaron Slegers were optioned to Durham, to clear space on the 25-man roster. Barring an injury, both players likely will be recalled after Durham’s game on September 2, when rosters expand.