Despite crossing the plate only twice in the 18 innings of what I like to call the losing sandwich (Wednesday and Thursday) — going 1-for-17 (.059) w/RISP — the Tampa Bay Rays offense came back to life Thursday night, tagging the Blue Jays for seven runs on 11 hits and five walks. The Trop dwellers were mightily productive, mashing three doubles, a triple, and their first homer of this very young season — a seventh inning three-run shot off the bat of Evan Longoria (career homer number 163, tying Carlos Pena for the franchise record). Chris Archer looked good in his first start of the season, slashing 6 IP/4 H/2 ER/2 BB/7 K on 98 pitches (60 for strikes). And though they didn’t win the first home series of the season, the Rays salvaged the four game set.
Tag Archives: Evan Longoria
Looking Backward While Moving Forward: Cobb, Rays Fall to Blue Jays, 4-2
Baseball can teach a valuable lesson every now and then. No matter the immense expectations placed on the Rays 2014 season, or the obvious advantage Alex Cobb had over Drew Hutchinson, you’re inevitably going to lose some games. And it just so happened that Tampa Bay’s first loss of the year came in the second game of the season, by a score of 4-2. Alex Cobb followed David Price’s outstanding 7-1/3 inning outing Monday, with a buggy 5 IP/4 H/4 ER/4 BB/3 K/1 HR affair Tuesday evening. But oh, did they ever make it exciting in the bottom of the ninth.
Looking Backward While Moving Forward: Rays Crush Blue Jays, 9-2
Hyperbole can be a effective device when trying to describe an event. Over do it with hyperbolic descriptions, of any given event, however, and run the risk of looking as though you spin yard wide yarns. That being said, I’m not exaggerating when I say the Rays crushed, neigh… Demoralized the Toronto Blue Jays, by a score of 9-2, in the Opening Day contest at the Trop, Monday. The game had everything you could ever want: quality pitching, an electric offense, and a few flashes of leather.
The New What Next: Rays Vs. Blue Jays — A Series Preview of Sorts
Here we go! A month and-a-half (plus) of Spring Training have come to pass, and now we’re on the cusp of 182 meaningful games, in what could be the most successful season in the Rays (now) 16 year history — that is, if Sports Illustrated and ESPN’s predictions come to fruition.
Rays Beat Orioles, 4-3, Take Grapefruit League Title
The Tampa Bay Rays walked away from Sarasota Thursday night, (following a 4-3 win over Baltimore) with their third Grapefruit League title in seven years. To many, that may not be significant. To the astute follower of the Rays, however, Tampa Bay went on to win the AL East the previous two years — 2008 and 2010.