Tampa Bay found themselves on the wrong end of an 11-2 loss against the Los Angeles Angels of Anaheim Monday night. The game was ugly — filled with missed scoring opportunities, bad pitching (especially in the sixth and seventh innings), and lethargic ball play overall. The Rays start the day 5.5 games behind the Red …
Continue reading “Looking Backward While Moving Forward: Angels Throttle Rays 11-2”
awbreaker, the relatively famous melodic punk band from the 90’s, coined the phrase, “When it pains it roars.” I could be wrong, but I believe Blake, the former singer and guitarist of Jawbreaker, was referring to the Rays with his Nostradamus like prophecy. After all, the pain really is roaring at the moment following their three-game sweep at the hands A’s — a series in which Tampa Bay scored all of five runs (a 1.6 run per game average), converting only 19% of RISP situations. Mind you too, prior to their most recent — ill fated — series, the Rays came off a lackluster series against the Angels — who they’re facing this week. Tampa Bay wasn’t much better in their last series against the Angels, taking only one game while averaging three runs per game.
For the moment, everything is coming up Milhouse for the Rays. Not even a dazzling 2 R/5 H complete game outing by Alex Cobb was good enough Saturday night, as Tampa Bay’s anemic offense couldn’t muster more than a run in the 2-1 loss to the Athletics. Even then, that run came in a late game rally off former Ray Grant Balfour. It certainly doesn’t take into account all of the squandered opportunities leading up to that point.
It was a long night — the first of ten. I woke up this morning with a sickening feeling in my gut — and to be honest, I’m not certain if it had more to do with the booze I steadily consumed for six or so hours yesterday, or the Rays 4-3 loss to the A’s. Perhaps it was the unholy combination of both. Whatever the case, both happened, and both left me feeling empty. Adding insult to injury, Tampa Bay fell three-and-a-half games behind Boston in the AL East, and a half game behind Oakland for the first wild card slot. Bright side: The Rays have two more games against the A’s today and tomorrow.
The good news: Tampa Bay has won nine of its last 15 with the pitching staff relinquishing only 2.6 runs, on average, per game. The bad: They’ve dropped four out of their last five, averaging only 2.6 runs per game in that stretch. Thursday’s game followed a familiar pattern; the pitchers put together a good enough start, yet the offense couldn’t muster anything. Rather, they were able to get eight runners on — but moving them over or driving them in? Not so much. You’ve got to love streakiness — one moment you’re feeling the highest of highs, and the next you feel like you’ve gotten punched in the stomach.
