X-Rays Spex

A Below Average Rays Fan Blog

LBWMF: Rays drop series opener to the Mariners in extras, 4-3

By Leave a Comment

Partying on the party deck on a beautiful Friday night in Seattle. (Photo Credit: “Replay” Dave Drobach)

The Tampa Bay Rays battled back from a three-run deficit on Friday and inevitably found themselves in their second extra-innings ball-game in less than a week. They, however, couldn’t overcome the Seattle Mariners, dropping the 13-inning series opener, 4-3 — consequently falling back to the .500 mark. The Mariners are now 17-9 in one-run games, and 6-0 in extra innings.


What a ride! Source: FanGraphs

Seattle struck first, taking a three-run lead before an out was recorded in the fourth inning. After Sergio Romo pitched 1-1/3 scoreless frames as the opener, Austin Pruitt got into, and out of, a jam in the second, although Seattle broke through in the third inning.

With two outs, Jean Segura beat out a slow grounder to short before Kyle Seager and Nelson Cruz followed with back-to-back line drive singles, giving the Mariners a one-run lead.

Then in the bottom of the fourth, Ben Gamel sent a sharp line drive the other way, past a diving Mallex Smith, who had late jump on the play but tried to make his best KK impersonation and missed by a few inches, resulting in a triple. Ryon Healy hit a weak single to center to drive in Gamel. Then another in-between liner (this time toward right-center) lead to another Smith dive and miss, as the ball bounded toward the wall.

But Austin Pruitt tightened up his game and retired 11 consecutive batters — fanning three of them — and did not allow a ball out of the infield.

Meanwhile, Tampa Bay collected three hits in the first two innings against Mike Leake, including leadoff singles in each frame, but did not score. The Rays’ hitters came to the plate ready to hack away at Leake, the right-hander who pounds the zone. He may not be an imposing hurler, yet Leake has been very good of late, and played off the Rays’ aggressiveness at the plate. He coxed many a whiff, induced lots of weak contact at the worst times, and worked quickly and efficiently.

Tampa Bay didn’t get another hit until the fifth inning, when Carlos Gomez and Johnny Field went back-to-back with solo home runs to left-center — the seventh for Gomez, and sixth for Field. They pulled the Rays to within a run.

Down by a run to start the ninth, Tampa Bay rallied against closer Edwin Diaz to even up the score. Joey Wendle walked then stole second as Wilson Ramos struck out. Wendle was subsequently wild pitched to third before Matt Duffy fell behind 1-2. Yet Duffy lined an RBI single to left, which plated Field and tied the game at three apiece. Duffy wound up at third on a run-and-hit single by Daniel Robertson, however, Diaz recovered to strike both Brad Miller and Gomez out to keep the game tied. Jose Alvarado worked around an infield single in the bottom of the frame to send the contest to extras for the second time in four days.

Juan Nicasio and Dan Altavilla followed Diaz and posted scoreless innings in the tenth and the eleventh, while Roenis Elias did the same in the 12th and the 13th. Tampa Bay was able to get a runner into scoring position when Field singled to left and swiped second with two outs in the 12th, however, Smith struck out to end the threat.

After Alvarado and Chaz Roe paired up to put up a zero in the 10th, and Roe worked the 11th — punctuated by a swinging strikeout of Mike Zunino on a filthy slider (see below) — the Mariners broke through in the 13th against Matt Andriese, who pitched a scoreless 12th.

Mitch Haniger worked the count full against Andriese, then homered to right-center, ending the four-hour plus marathon.

The New What Next

Game two of the series is on Saturday. Chris Archer (3-3, 4.29 ERA) will get the start for Tampa Bay, pitching opposite of left-hander Marco Gonzalez (5-3, 3.60 ERA).

Chris Archer got the start for Tampa Bay on Monday, and threw six innings of shutout baseball. He allowed four hits, walked two and struck out seven. Even though his slider was inconsistent all day — at times it showed good tilt and finish, while at other times it stayed up in the zone and looked flat — his fastball was more on point, which made his rolling sliders effective as off speed pitches. Even so, his fastball command was erratic as well, as Archer threw just 18 of 35 heaters for strikes, and just 10 of 22 first pitch strikes over his six innings of work. The right-hander is 1-2 with a 2.80 ERA in six career starts against the Mariners, and 1-1 with a 3.38 ERA in three starts at SafeCo Field.

Marco Gonzales allowed one run (un-earned) on four hits and four walks over 6-2/3 innings of work on Monday. Gonzalez has given up just two unearned runs over 19-1/3 innings in his last three starts and is 4-1 with a 2.08 ERA over his last seven, while going six-plus innings in six of those outings. This season the 26 year-old southpaw he has relied primarily on a firm 85 mph changeup with slight armside fade and natural sink, a whiffy 91 mph sinker, and a 79 mph worm killer curveball, while also mixing in n 88 mph cutter good “rise” and strong cutting action, and a 91 mph four-seam fastball. Key Matchup: Wilson Ramos (2-2)

You can read about the series in our preview.

The New What Next: Rays vs Mariners — a series preview

Rays 6/2/18 Starting Lineup

Robertson SS
Cron 1B
Duffy 3B
Ramos DH
Field CF
Refsnyder LF
Gomez RF
Arroyo 2B
Sucre C
Archer RHP

Noteworthiness

— Topper said it best:

Manager Kevin Cash has seen too many baserunning mistakes and says the Rays have to do something about it.

“It’s pretty frustrating,” Cash said after Friday’s 4-3, 13-inning loss to the Mariners. “Look, we play close games and those things are magnified. We’ve learned that over many discussions talking about it.

“We’ve got to kind of go back to the drawing board on some of the baserunning.”

The Rays made four outs on the bases Friday, and it was hard to say which was worse.

Cash seemed to absolve Mallex Smith of blame for being caught stealing to end the first. Matt Duffy was caught in an odd double play in the seventh. Daniel Robertson got picked off first after drawing a two-out walk in the 11th. Joey Wendle was doubled off first to end the 13th.

“It hasn’t been good,” Cash said. “I visited it a couple games ago. It hasn’t been good and it shows up when you’re playing tight games, extra inning games. All those little mistakes prevent you from scoring runs.”

— Mallex Smith’s energy is contagious, but he consistently gets beaten in the box (especially of late), on the base paths, and in the field. Had Smith played the above mentioned hits on a hop instead, the damaged likely would have been mitigated. Perhaps it’s time to start him in left-field, where there’s less ground to cover, and Johnny Field in center.

— Holy right-handed batting order, Batman.

The New What Next: Rays vs Mariners — a series preview

By Leave a Comment

Carlos Gomez is ready for the next leg of the Rays nine-game road trip, a three-game set against the Mariners. (Photo Credit: Tampa Bay Rays)

The Tampa Bay Rays are set to kick off a three-game series at SafeCo Field in Seattle on Friday. Tampa Bay is coming off a winning series against Oakland, where the Rays took three of four. The Seattle Mariners have played well since the suspension of Robinson Cano, getting all the way to the 33-20 mark. However, they split their most recent series with the Rangers, allowing 17 runs along the way.

(Stats Credit: ESPN)

The Rays had won five straight before dropping the series finale against the Athletics on Thursday. While the offense over the last month has been average, the pitching has been fantastic. Over the last eight games, six of which Tampa Bay has won, the Rays allowed just 17 runs total (2.13 runs per game), and more than three runs in any game just once.

I said it before, and I will say it again: in order to be successful in baseball, you must beat those directly ahead of you in the rankings. As it stands, the Mariners are 5-1/2 games ahead of the Rays in the Wildcard standings. True, it may be a fool’s errand to even think about Postseason baseball 55-games into the 2018 season, but the Rays have an opportunity to leap-frog a direct competitor — one that is under-performing Tampa Bay, at least as it relates to BaseRuns. The Rays are performing more like a 31-24 team, with a +33 run differential, while Seattle should be 30-26 on the season, with a +22 run differential. They also have outperformed the Mariners in almost every important offensive category over the last 14-days, boasting a better wRC+ (104 vs 94), wRAA (2.7 vs -3.9), wOBA (.321 vs .305) and ISO (.151 vs .125).

(Stats Credit: FanGraphs)

If they can continue to play good baseball, the Rays have a good chance of winning the series.

Pitching Probables

Over the next three days Kevin Cash will lean on the bullpen (13-12, 3.95), Chris Archer (3-3, 4.29 ERA), and Blake Snell (7-3, 2.56 ERA). Scott Servais will counter with Mike Leake (5-3, 4.93 ERA), Marco Gonzales (5-3, 3.60 ERA), and Felix Hernandez (5-4, 5.83 ERA).

(Stats Credit: FanGraphs)

Sergio Romo is slated to start the bullpen day in the series opener. The right-hander has allowed runs in three of his past four appearances, totaling six earned runs over 2-2/3 innings. On Tuesday in Oakland, Romo pitched on a third consecutive day and allowed two runs in the ninth, but he came away with the save. RHP Austin Pruitt is slated to cover the bulk of the innings, though not necessarily immediately after Romo.

Mike Leake was credited with the win against Minnesota on Sunday, scattering four hits and one earned run over eight strong innings. He struck out two and walked none. Leake needed just 86 pitches (62 strikes, 72% strike ratio) to make it through his eight innings before Alex Colome closed out the game. His 4.93 ERA and 1.34 WHIP through his 65-2/3 innings this season aren’t eye-popping, and Leake’s high-contact, low-strikeout ways mean that he’s susceptible to getting blown up from time to time — see his starts on 5/15 (five earned runs), 4/28 (four earned runs), 4/23 (eight earned runs) and 4/18 (five earned runs) for reference. This season he has relied primarily on his 90 mph sinker with heavy sinking action, and an 88 mph cutter with some natural sink, while also mixing in an 85 mph changeup that dives down and out of the zone and has slight armside fade, an 81 mph slider with excellent depth and short glove-side cut, and a 79 mph knuckle curveball with sweeping glove-side movement. Leake is 1-0 with a 2.77 ERA in two starts (13 innings) against the Rays. Key Matchups: CJ Cron (2-5), Brad Miller (4-6, 2B, 2 3B), Wilson Ramos (5-21, 2B, 2 HR, 3 RBI, BB)

Chris Archer got the start for Tampa Bay on Monday, and threw six innings of shutout baseball. He allowed four hits, walked two and struck out seven. Even though his slider was inconsistent all day — at times it showed good tilt and finish, while at other times it stayed up in the zone and looked flat — his fastball was more on point, which made his rolling sliders effective as off speed pitches. Even so, his fastball command was erratic as well, as Archer threw just 18 of 35 heaters for strikes, and just 10 of 22 first pitch strikes over his six innings of work. The right-hander is 1-2 with a 2.80 ERA in six career starts against the Mariners, and 1-1 with a 3.38 ERA in three starts at SafeCo Field.

Marco Gonzales allowed one run (un-earned) on four hits and four walks over 6-2/3 innings of work on Monday. Gonzalez has given up just two unearned runs over 19-1/3 innings in his last three starts and is 4-1 with a 2.08 ERA over his last seven, while going six-plus innings in six of those outings. This season the 26 year-old southpaw he has relied primarily on a firm 85 mph changeup with slight armside fade and natural sink, a whiffy 91 mph sinker, and a 79 mph worm killer curveball, while also mixing in n 88 mph cutter good “rise” and strong cutting action, and a 91 mph four-seam fastball. Key Matchup: Wilson Ramos (2-2)

Blake Snell allowed just one run (unearned) on two hits and two walks while fanning seven over 5-2/3 innings of a win against the Athletics. Snell finished just an out shy of a quality start, as he had already reached 97 pitches (62 strikes, 64% strike rate) and allowed a runner to third following a hit and wild pitch. The southpaw was otherwise sharp once again Tuesday, collecting his AL-leading seventh win (tied for first) while improving to 9.7 K/9. Snell boasts an impressive 2.56 ERA and 1.00 WHIP heading into his next start Sunday against the Mariners. King Felix, meet King Blake.

Felix Hernandez gave up five runs on six hits and two walks while striking out four over five innings on Tuesday. Hernandez had allowed just two runs through five frames before running into trouble when he came back out for the sixth. The former Cy Young Award winner was pulled from the game with the bases loaded and none out, yet the bullpen allowed all three runs to score to cross the plate, causing Hernandez’s ERA to bloat to 5.83. He has been very tough on the Rays over his career, going 8-2 with a 1.94 ERA in 16 starts, although he has allowed at least four earned runs in six or fewer innings in four of his last five outings. Key Matchups: Matt Duffy (2-3), Carlos Gomez (6-17, 2 HR, 5 RBI, 3 BB), Wilson Ramos (1-3, HR, RBI)

Noteworthiness

— Last Friday Denard Span and Alex Colome were traded to Seattle for a pair of prospects, and expect the now former Rays to play with a chip on their shoulder.

It’s going to be a little odd facing them so soon, Span said Thursday, but definitely looking forward to it.

Chris Archer has similarly conflicted feelings, saying:

It’s going to be fun. We all know it’s going to be a quality at-bat because that’s what (Span) provides more than anything. … So it’ll be fun to face him, kind of like when you’re young and you’re playing against your friends in Little League, just because it’s so fresh.

Not really looking forward to facing Colome because we know how good he is. Definitely happy for the opportunity both of them have over there. That team is playing really well, and they have nice, defined roles.

— Per Marc Topkin…

RF Carlos Gomez sat out Thursday as a precaution after feeling tightness in his groin area while running out a triple Wednesday, having been on the DL earlier due to a strain in the same area. Gomez said he should be good to return Friday.

— The Rays took six-of-eight California games vs. the Angels and Athletics, two teams ahead of them in the Wildcard race.

LBWMF: Rays rally in the 13th to defeat the Athletics, 1-0

By Leave a Comment

The Rays won just their second extra inning 1-0 victory in franchise history on Monday. (Photo Credit: Tampa Bay Rays)

Tampa Bay rallied with two outs in the 13th inning for the game’s only run, as the Rays defeated the Athletics 1-0 on Memorial Day. It was their first shutout of the season, just the second 1-0 extra-innings victory in franchise history, and the third straight win as the Rays got back to .500 for the third time this season.

Chris Archer got the start for Tampa Bay, and threw six innings of shutout baseball. He allowed four hits, walked two and struck out seven. Even though his slider was inconsistent all day — at times it showed good tilt and finish, while at other times it stayed up in the zone and looked flat — his fastball was more on point, which made his rolling sliders effective as off speed pitches. Even so, his fastball command was erratic as well, as Archer threw just 18 of 35 heaters for strikes, and just 10 of 22 first pitch strikes over his six innings of work.

Home plate umpire Paul Nauert did no favors for Tampa Bay — pinching Archer (and those who followed) on more than a few on the black strikes, and calling them for balls, yet giving Trevor Cahill the benefit of the doubt on pitches in the same location. While the strikeszone map below is incomplete, it effectively shows a smattering of pitches from Rays hurlers that should have been called strikes, but weren’t. In spite of that, Archer pitched effectively and didn’t get into trouble until the fourth and sixth innings.

Evan the incomplete strike zone map shows that Tampa Bay got pinched on more than a few calls by home plate umpire, Paul Nauert, yesterday afternoon. (Credit: Brooks Baseball)

Marcus Semien led off the fourth by lashing a sharp single to left, and Jed Lowrie followed and worked the count full. With Semien running, Archer rolled a slider at the top of zone that Lowrie swung through for strike three. The pitch was handled perfectly by Jesus Sucre, who fired a laser down to second, where Joey Wendle slapped a quick tag on Semien, well ahead of the bag, to complete a strike ‘em out, throw ‘em out double play.

The timing of the double play was fortuitous, as Matt Olson shot a 1-0 fastball into the right-center gap for a double. It would have plated the go ahead run had Semien reached second safely, but with the bases empty before the hit, Archer was able to instead make a good pitch and coax a tapper out of Chad Pinder to end the frame unscathed.

Then Jonathan Lucroy led off the sixth with an infield single before Archer fell behind Matt Joyce 3-0. He, however, battled back to a full count and got the former Ray to pop out to Matt Duffy. However, Archer walked Semien and Lowrie to load the bases, eliciting a mound visit by Kyle Snyder with starter Sergio Romo warming in the ‘pen — giving the right-hander a chance  to collect himself.

Archer threw a first pitch slider to Olson, who chopped into the shift for an odd looking, yet effective, 6-4-3 double play.

Oakland also had another great opportunity to win the game in the ninth, yet Matt Andriese entered with two on (Lowrie double off the wall, Olson walk against Jose Alvarado) and none out, and got the next three batters in order to send the game to extra innings. Sucre helped in the inning, pouncing on a sacrifice bunt that took a fortunate hop to get the force at third. The play was reviewed, but the call was confirmed.

Sucre also prevented a pair of wild pitches in that inning.

Andriese went on to pitch three perfect innings ahead of Ryne Stanek, who pitched a scoreless 12th.

Meanwhile, two outs into the top of the 13th, Johnny Field started the go ahead rally by grounding an infield hit into the hole at short. Semien fielded the play, but couldn’t come up with it. Sucre followed by driving a single into center, pushing Field up to second. Mallex Smith then got ahead of Chris Hatcher 2-0 before he lined a fastball over the head of Lowrie and into right-center for another single. The throw home from Stephen Piscotty was too late to beat the head-first slide of Field, who scored from second.

Stanek came back out in the bottom of the frame and got the first two outs sandwiched around a Semien walk. Cash called on Venters to face Olson, and after a seven pitch battle — including a 71 mph curveball at the top of the zone — Oakland’s first baseman went down on a foul tip strikeout to end the game, earning Venters his first save since August 22, 2011.

The New What Next

The Rays can get over .500 for the first time since Opening Day on Tuesday with Blake Snell (6-3, 2.78 ERA) starting opposite Daniel Gossett (0-2, 6.28 ERA).

Blake Snell blanked the Red Sox on three hits over six strong innings on Thursday, fanning eight and walking two. By shutting down a tough Boston lineup, the southpaw kept his strong start to the season rolling — collecting his sixth victory of the campaign and lowering his ERA to 2.78. Despite averaging a 3.79 ERA over his 218-1/3 career big-league innings coming into the season, Snell’s 1.02 WHIP and 3.21 K/BB over 58-2/3 innings this season certainly look like the real deal in the early goings of the 2018 campaign.

Daniel Gossett allowed just one unearned run on four hits and a walk with five punch-outs over seven innings in a hard luck loss Wednesday against the Mariners. That was the best start of the season for the 25 year-old right-hander, who previously allowed five and four runs (respectively) over 7-1/3 innings of his first two outings this season. So far he has relied primarily on his 94 mph four-seam fastball that is bereft of movement, and a hard 89 mph worm killer slider, while also mixing in a 93 mph sinker with little arm-side run and sink, a firm 86 mph changeup with slight cut action, and a whiffy 81 mph curveball. Gossett is 0-1 with a 3.86 ERA in one career start against the Rays (totaling seven innings). Key Matchup: CJ Cron (1-3)

You can read more about the series in our preview.

The New What Next: Rays vs Athletics — a series preview

Rays 5/29/18 Starting Lineup

Miller 1B
Cron DH
Wendle 2B
Ramos C
Duffy 3B
Smith CF
Robertson SS
Gomez RF
Field LF
Snell LHP

The New What Next: Rays vs Athletics — a series preview

By Leave a Comment

The Rays ended their home stand having won 2-of-3 against the Orioles, and winners of eight of their last 12 series. (Photo Credit: Tampa Bay Rays)

The Tampa Bay Rays and the Oakland Athletics begin a four-game series on Memorial Day at the Oakland Coliseum, in the other Bay Area. The Rays are coming off a mediocre 3-3 home stand against Boston and Baltimore, but are winners of three of their last four games. Meanwhile, the A’s had similar results against Seattle and Arizona.

(Stats Credit: ESPN)

The Rays didn’t fare well with runners in scoring position in their last series, going just 7-for-36. However, Tampa Bay went 7-for-26 in games two and three, for a much more palatable .267 BA wRISP. Had the Rays been able to cash in on the 10 wRISP opportunities on Friday, they’d easily have swept the Orioles.

Oakland won its last series against Arizona, but scored just six runs in total. That’s a testament to the Athletics’ pitching staff, which has performed to a combined 2.62 ERA/3.50 FIP over the last seven games. However, the same staff has performed to an overall 4.09 ERA/4.20 FIP on the season, while allowing an average of 4.38 runs per game. Compare that to Tampa Bay, which has scored 4.45 runs per game (on average), but allowed 4.07.

They say in order to be successful in baseball, you must beat those directly ahead of you in the rankings. As it stands, the Athletics are two games ahead of the Rays in the Wildcard standings. True, it may be a fool’s errand to even think about Postseason baseball 50-games into the 2018 season, especially when the Rays are still one game under .500. One also cannot discount the trade whispers surrounding the team, which bring uncertainty and unease. Be that as it may, the Rays have an opportunity to leap-frog a direct competitor — one that is under-performing Tampa Bay, at least as it relates to BaseRuns. The Rays are performing more like a 27-23 team, with a +19 run differential, while Oakland should be 26-26 on the season with a +4 run differential. They also have outperformed the Athletics in every offensive category over the last 14-days, with the exceptions od ISO and HR%. If Archer and company can keep the ball in the park, they have a good chance of winning the series.

(Stats Credit: FanGraphs)

In the end there is a reason the Rays are 21-1 when they score at least five runs, and that’s due in part to the pitching staff which has performed to a combined 3.66 ERA/4.02 FIP throughout the month of May. Can they continue to perform well against the +.500 team from Oakland?

Noteworthiness

Over the next four days Kevin Cash will lean on Chris Archer (3-3, 4.68 ERA), Blake Snell (6-3, 2.78 ERA), Nathan Eovaldi (0-0, 0.00 ERA), and the bullpen (11-12, 4.19 ERA). Bob Melvin will counter with Trevor Cahill (1-2, 2.75 ERA), Daniel Gossett (0-2, 6.28 ERA), Sean Manaea (5-5, 3.34 ERA), and Daniel Mengdon (5-4, 2.85 ERA).

(Stats Credit: FanGraphs)

Chris Archer allowed one run on four hits and three walks through six innings Wednesday night against Boston. He struck out six. Archer dueled his mentor, David Price, pitch for pitch in the marquee matchup. He looks to close out a strong May effort after a horrible first month of play which found Archer performing to a 6.61 ERA, and a 1.59 WHIP in six starts. In five May starts, Archer owns a 2.76 ERA with a 1.07 WHIP. The main difference? He has kept the ball in the yard; Archer allowed a homer in each of his first six starts, yet aside from his worst May start against the Orioles on May 12 — in which he gave up three home runs — Archer hasn’t allowed a long ball all month. Archer is 1-0 with a 3.97 ERA in two career starts against Oakland, both of which came at the Trop.

Trevor Cahill pitched well despite taking a no-decision against Seattle on Tuesday, throwing a season-high 102 pitches. A two-run homer by Mike Zunino in the seventh inning was his only blemish. Cahill has thrown four quality starts this season, in six total games, and hasn’t allowed more than three earned runs in any given outing. Nevertheless, his offense hasn’t given him enough run support, alas a 1-2 record. This season he has relied primarily on a 92 mph worm killer sinker and a whiffy 85 mph changeup, while also mixing in an 88 mph 12-6 slider, a hard 80 mph knuckle curveball with sharp downward bite, and a whiffy 93 mph four-seam fastball. The 30 year-old right-hander is 2-1 with a 4.50 ERA in five career starts against Tampa Bay. Key Matchup: Carlos Gomez (2-3, RBI)

Blake Snell blanked the Red Sox on three hits over six strong innings on Thursday, fanning eight and walking two. By shutting down a tough Boston lineup, the southpaw kept his strong start to the season rolling — collecting his sixth victory of the campaign and lowering his ERA to 2.78. Despite averaging a 3.79 ERA over his 218-1/3 career big-league innings coming into the season, Snell’s 1.02 WHIP and 3.21 K/BB over 58-2/3 innings this season certainly look like the real deal in the early goings of the 2018 campaign.

Daniel Gossett allowed just one unearned run on four hits and a walk with five punch-outs over seven innings in a hard luck loss Wednesday against the Mariners. That was the best start of the season for the 25 year-old right-hander, who previously allowed five and four runs (respectively) over 7-1/3 innings of his first two outings this season. So far he has relied primarily on his 94 mph four-seam fastball that is bereft of movement, and a hard 89 mph worm killer slider, while also mixing in a 93 mph sinker with little arm-side run and sink, a firm 86 mph changeup with slight cut action, and a whiffy 81 mph curveball. Gossett is 0-1 with a 3.86 ERA in one career start against the Rays (totaling seven innings). Key Matchup: CJ Cron (1-3)

Nathan Eovaldi was on the disabled list since March 28 with loose bodies in his right elbow. After arthroscopic surgery and a slight setback, Eovaldi is scheduled to make his first start of the season Wednesday at Oakland.

The team reportedly toyed with the idea of starting Eovaldi on Tuesday, splitting up Chris Archer and Blake Snell in the rotation, but that plan changed Sunday.

I think just given how we stacked up, we talked about maybe inserting Nate, but then you can also make the argument on the flip side, it’s been working pretty good for (Chris Archer and Matt Snell), they kind of complement each other in that they’re different and they attack differently, Cash said. Obviously, one is right, one is left. So to keep them back to back after a little more time thinking, that’s what we decided to do.

In his last season of action (2016) he relied primarily on a hard 98 mph four-seam fastball with natural sinking action and slight arm-side run, and an 89 mph splitter which boasts some natural sink, while also mixing in a hard 87 mph slider, and a 94 mph cutter with good “rise” and little cut action.

Sean Manaea allowed six runs on eight hits over 3-2/3 innings against Arizona on Friday, striking out two and walking a pair in a losing effort. Manaea allowed four extra-base hits during his very short outing, the last of which was a two-run triple by Paul Goldschmidt that knocked him out of the game. This was Manaea’s shortest outing of the season and the first time he’s given up more than four runs. After a fantastic April — he allowed just four earned runs across five starts, including a no-no against Boston on April 21 — Manaea has allowed a total of 21 earned runs through five starts in May, bringing his ERA to 3.34. This season he has relied primarily on his 91 mph four-seam fastball with heavy sinking action and obvious run, and an 83 mph worm-killer changeup with slight cut action, while also mixing in an 80 mph 12-6 slider with two-plane movement. He is 1-0 with a 1.20 ERA in two career starts against Tampa Bay. Key Matchups: CJ Cron (2-8), Rob Refsnyder (2-6, 2B, 2 RBI), Daniel Robertson (1-3), Mallex Smith (2-3)

The Rays have not yet named a starter in the series finale. I will update this piece once one is named.

Daniel Mengdon tossed a two-hit gem Saturday against the Diamondbacks, en route to his fifth win of the season. He fanned five and issued zero walks. Mengdon continued to dominate, as he has now given up just four earned runs over his last 33-2/3 innings (1.07 ERA), including a current 17-inning scoreless streak. The 25 year-old right-hander coaxed 13 ground balls in that outing, which has been a big part of his success over this stretch. However, with only 43 strikeouts in 66-1/3 innings this season, and an insanely lucky — and unsustainable — .164 BABIP over the last 14-days, a regression is anticipated. This season he has relied primarily on his 93 mph four-seam fastball with some added backspin, while also mixing in an 85 mph slider with two-plane movement, a 93 mph sinker with little armside run and almost no sinking action, an 83 mph changeup that has some slight arm-side fade, and a 73 mph curveball. Key Matchup: CJ Cron (1-2)

Tampa Bay Rays 5/24/18 starting lineup and pregame notes

By Leave a Comment

The Rays will have Wilson Ramos back in the lineup tonight after missing a game with a bruised left hand. (AP Photo/Steve Nesius)

After dropping three straight, the Tampa Bay Rays look to salvage the series finale with Boston, and get back on the winning side of the ledger. All three of the Rays’ last three losses have come by three runs or fewer, after getting back to the .500 mark on the last road trip.

The Rays will have Wilson Ramos back in the lineup tonight after he missed a game with a bruised left hand. Meanwhile, SS Willy Adames is back in the lineup for the final time before being sent back to Triple-A Durham, as Joey Wendle is set to return from paternity leave on Friday.

Tampa Bay is 3-9 against Boston this season, and all but one of those defeats have come by three runs or fewer. The Rays are 19-16 against teams other than the Red Sox.

The New What Next

Blake Snell (5-3, 3.07 ERA) will start for the Rays tonight, pitching opposite of Rick Porcello (6-1, 3.39 ERA).

Blake Snell didn’t put together a perfect inning until the sixth, yet he made big pitches when he needed to, holding the Angels scoreless until the fifth when Andrelton Simmons hit a two-run, two-strike single to center with one out — cutting the lead to four runs. Still, the southpaw stranded leadoff doubles in the second and third innings, and held Los Angeles to 1-9 with runners in scoring position.

After the Simmons single, Snell retired his next seven batters, collecting three punch outs along the way. He scattered four hits and two runs over 6-2/3 innings, walking three and fanning eight. Snell threw 70 of 114 pitches for strikes (61% strike rate).

Rick Porcello allowed three runs over 7-2/3 innings against Tampa Bay on April 29th, and won his last start against Baltimore, giving up three runs in six innings. Overall, Porcello is 14-8 with a 3.23 ERA in 26 starts against the Rays, and 8-3 with a 2.43 ERA in 14 starts at the Trop. Key Matchups: CJ Cron (3-11, 2B, BB), Matt Duffy (5-16), Brad Miller (13-46, 6 2B, 5 HR, 11 RBI, 2 BB), Rob Refsnyder (1-3), Daniel Robertson (1-3), Denard Span (17-46, HR, 7 RBI, 2 BB)

You can read about the series in our preview.

The New What Next: Rays vs Red Sox — a series preview, part four

Rays 5/24/18 Starting Lineup

Span LF
Cron DH
Duffy 3B
Ramos C
Miller 1B
Robertson 2B
Smith CF
Field RF
Adames SS
Snell LHP

Noteworthiness

— According to Marc Topkin (Tampa Bay Times) the Rays may have some clarity on their pitching plans, with the possibility of using reliever Sergio Romo as the game “opener” for all three games against the Orioles this weekend.