Rays manager Joe Maddon announced on this afternoon’s pre-game show (on WDAE), that Grant Balfour has been relieved of his closing duties. The Rays will opt for a closer by committee type of scenario — at least for the time being. Maddon didn’t specifically mention who may spend the most time in that key position, …
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A marquee pitching match-up was promised at the Trop Sunday, when Chris Archer took on Felix Hernandez and the Seattle Mariners, and a marquee pitching duel between the two righties is what we got. In the case of the Rays’ starter, Archer was more than happy to have the M’s put the ball in play, responding with eight groundouts and five fly-ball outs. Hernandez, on the other hand, was dominant and efficient, ringing up 15 Rays over the span of his seven inning/100 pitch outing.
A night removed from their big shutout victory, the Tampa Bay Rays fell to the Seattle Mariners by a 7-4 margin. Alex Cobb had a rough go of things; the typically dependable RHP was charged with seven runs on 11 hits in just 4-1/3 innings of work. Since it’s 6:00 AM and I’m en route …
Continue reading “Looking Backward While Moving Forward: Rays Fall, 7-4”
If someone was to ask me what a Rays way win is like — say someone who may not be familiar with baseball, yet will be attending Saturday’s game for the Weezer concert — I’d use Friday’s 4-0, shutout win against the Mariners as a point of reference. After all, it had all the hallmarks of a Tampa Bay Rays win we’ve come to expect; strong pitching, solid defense, and timely hitting. And though I’m certainly not willing to proclaim “The Rays are fixed,” it was nice to see the team playing the way we know they’re capable of. The question begs, can Tampa Bay win like this consistently? Talk to me after they (if they) string together 14 more of those wins in the month of June.
DeJesus DH
Zobrist 2B
Longoria 3B
Loney 1B
Jennings CF
Joyce LF
Escobar SS
Kiermaier RF
Molina C
Bedard LHP
