Looking Backward While Moving Forward: Rays Throttle Astros, 12-0

The Rays absolutely throttled the Astros Monday night in a 12-0 routing at Minute Maid Park. I know what you’re saying, “But it was against the Astros, the second worst team in baseball.” I’d remind you that the Astros have played .500 ball over the last 40 games or so, while their starting rotation has the second lowest ERA in the American League during that stretch. The Rays’ no questions asked 12-0 win came courtesy of strong pitching and an offensive outburst from the seven-eight-nine trio of hitters, as Tampa Bay plated more two-out runs in one game than they had in the series prior. It’s time for another episode of The Good, The Bad, and The Argyle: A Bulleted Game Summary.

Looking Backward While Moving Forward: Rays Get Scherzered, Longo Leave In A Walking Boot

Going into Friday night’s game, two stats jumped off the page as I typed the series preview: Max Scherzer was 11-0 with a 3.05 ERA. And though Scherzer wasn’t as dominant Friday night as he had been the last time the Tigers starter faced the Rays, he was good enough. Scherzer struck out nine, walked just …

Looking Backward While Moving Forward: Rays, Hellickson Snap Jays 11-Game Winning Streak

Jeremy Hellickson worked into the seventh inning for the first time since May 22nd, in the Rays 4-1 handling of the Toronto Blue Jays Monday night, snapping Toronto’s 11-game winning streak. Don’t look now, but the Rays are starting to look toasty once more. Not only have they strung together back-to-back victories, they’ve also won four out-of-their last six games. The game also went down in the annals of Rays history and lore, after James Loney, Wil Myers, and Sam Fuld hit back-to-back-to-back solo shots for the first time ever in the Trop. More on the game below, in a segment that we like to call The Good, The Bad, and The Argyle: A Bulleted Summary of the Game.

The New What Next: Tampa Bay vs Kansas City, A Series Preview of Sorts

The Rays will brush off their shoulders after a disappointing series loss to the AL East leading Boston Red Sox. Let’s be clear about something before we move forward: Boston’s series win wasn’t predicated on some dominant force that shellacked Tampa Bay — after all, the Rays outscored the Sox 17-15. On the contrary, the Rays were their own worst enemy, going 6-for-31 wRISP in the three game series. In short, the Sox won because the BABIP luck dragons were nipping at the Rays heels.

Looking Backward While Moving Forward: Hernandez, Rays Roll to 8-3 Victory Over the Sox

Despite tossing 117 pitches, Joe Maddon elected send Hernandez back onto the mound in the eighth inning. What followed was a thing of beauty. After getting ahead of Dustin Pedroia, Robo plunked the Chris Elliot lookalike on a 1-2 pitch, feigning a reaction as the ball connected with Pedroia.