Blake Snell had a solid Major League debut on Saturday, yet the Tampa Bay Rays ‘pen lost the lead and the game as they fell to the Yankees, 3-2.
What follows are some highlights and low-lights from the contest in the Bronx:
― A shaky first. After collecting a pair of fly-ball outs to center and short from Jacoby Ellsbury and Brett Gardner (respectively), Snell walked Carlos Beltran on four pitches to begin a first inning rally. Beltran went to third on a Mark Teixeira single to right-center, and came home when Snell threw a wild pitch past Hank Conger. Desmond Jennings ended the frame by making a leaping catch at the wall in left, taking away an extra-base hit from Alex Rodriguez.
― From that point on Snell went into lockdown mode, retiring 12-of-the-next-13 batters, including a three strikeout second inning. The lefty collected his first Major League strikeout in the frame, catching Brian McCann looking at a perfectly placed 2-2 off-speed pitch.
Snell got into a bit of trouble in the third after he allowed a one out single to Ellsbury, who moved to second on a pitch in the dirt that Hank Conger seemed incapable of keeping in front of him. Conger looked gun shy when he finally corralled the ball, and no attempt was made to catch Ellsbury at second. The play would have been close had he made a good throw, and there’s no certainty he would have nabbed Ellsbury, however, we’ll never know due to his pensivity. A comebacker and a fly-ball got Snell out of the jam.
(The jitters) were there. I didn’t think they were. It was more like I was really anxious, Snell said of adjusting from the first to the second. I was trying to do too much. But after that I feel like I kind of got into my groove. From what I did, you can say (I got over them). But yeah, I felt more confident. I didn’t feel as anxious out there.
― That’s not to say Snell was perfect. The lefty got into eight three-ball counts over the course of his 90 pitch outing (an average of 18 pitches per inning), making for a somewhat inefficient start. He also uncorked a pair of wild pitches and walked a batter. Still, he was able to keep the leadoff man off the bags and threw first pitch strikes to 13-0f-the-19 batters he faced.
― All told Snell allowed just one run on two hits over five innings, and left the game ahead 2-1. His pitch mix on the day: 95 mph fastball (62 thrown, 40 strikes, 7 whiffs), 83 mph changeup (6 thrown, 5 strikes), 83 mph slider (5 thrown, 0 strikes), 74 mph curveball (16 thrown, 8 strikes).
― The Rays tied the score at one in the fourth inning after Logan Morrison doubled to right-center (yes, LoMo) with one out, and advanced to third on Evan Longoria’s deep fly to right-center. Corey Dickerson followed with a double over the head of Brett Gardner in left, knotting the score at one apiece. Tampa Bay appeared to be in the makings of a big inning after Desmond Jennings walked and Brad Miller worked a full-count. Yet Miller went down swinging to end the threat.
― Tampa Bay took the when Kevin Kiermaier homered off the right-field foul pole for a one run advantage off Tanaka.
― Enny Romero took over in the seventh inning with a new battery mate; Curt Casali replaced Hank Conger. Romero walked McCann on four pitches before Starlin Castro flew to center for the first out of the frame.
Xavier Cedeno entered the game in relief and exhibited an uncharacteristic lapse in command from the start. Chase Headley walked on four pitches before after Didi Gregarious went down swinging. But with base runners on first and third, and a full count, Ellsbury reached on catcher’s interference ― a pitch that would have been strike three had contact with Casali not been made. Brett Gardner then lined an infield single off Cedeno (literally), tying the score.
― With the game knotted at two, the two-headed monster of Dellin Betances and Andrew Miller took over in the final two innings. Betances retired the side for the second straight day in the eighth, and Miller threw a scoreless ninth…although he did allow a base hit to Steve Pearce.
― Erasmo Ramirez entered with the bases loaded in the seventh and got Carlos Beltran to ground out. Ramirez worked around a pair of two-out singles in the eighth for another scoreless inning, and got the first two outs in the ninth on three pitches. Yet the typically dependable Ramirez fell behind 3-1 on Gardner before leaving an errant pitch over the plate. The outfielder capitalized, homering into the upper deck in right for the walk-off win.
The New What Next
Drew Smyly and the Tampa Bay Rays will try to steal a game from the Yankees in the series finale Sunday afternoon. The left-handed Smyly will pitch opposite of Michael Pineda. Drew is Smyly is 0-2, but he’s collected a 0.65 WHIP ― good for the second-best mark in the Majors, ahead of Jake Arrieta and Clayton Kershaw. Smyly is 1-0 with a 1.82 ERA in six appearances against New York. He’s allowed just five earned runs in 24-2/3 innings, but all five of the runs have come via the long ball (three solo shots and a two-run homer). Pineda, who is 1-1 with a 5.29 ERA, is struggling to prevent contact. The righty is allowing an ugly 10.59 hits per nine innings, and his 1.41 WHIP is more than double his counterpart’s. You can read about the pitching matchup in our series preview.
Rays 4/24/16 Starting Lineup
Forsythe DH
Morrison 1B
Longoria 3B
Dickerson LF
Pearce 2B
Miller SS
Souza RF
Kiermaier CF
Casali C
Smyly LHP
Noteworthiness
― The Rays have optioned Snell back to Triple-A Durham, and will select RHP Jhan Mariñez from the Bulls.
― Brian McCann on Snell:
I was impressed; good arm, live heater, and you don’t see many curveballs like that. He’s got a bright future.