Just under three hours after Masahiro Iwakuma’s first pitch, the Tampa Bay Rays evened up the series at one game apiece, thanks to a 2-1 come from behind victory against the Mariners. The contest had all the trappings of a pitching duel; a pair of pitchers at the top of their game, an incredibly tight one run lead, and a late inning rally against Fernando Rodney. David Price put together a one-run, complete game gem — striking out 12 (all on his fastball) along the way. His final line: 9 IP/6 H/1 ER/0 BB/12 K/108 pitches (81 strikes, 75% K%). Iwakuma was great, but Price was better. Suffice it to say, Late Night with the Rays ended with adulation and exhaustion on the part of those of us who stayed up to watch. That being said, below is a recap of the ninth…because, you know, I’m tired and at work.
Tag Archives: Fernando Rodney blown saves
Looking Backward While Moving Forward: An Open Letter to the ‘Pen
Dear Jake McGee, Fernando Rodney, et al,
To put it bluntly, you blew it last night. David Price put you in a good position — ahead by five runs in the waning innings of the game, to no avail. We watched as three of the four back end relievers gave up six runs on five hits and three walks, converting a comfortable lead into a demoralizing one run loss. We watched as the closer incurred the brunt of the damage on three consecutive RBI extra base hits in a third of an inning of work. We watched as you allowed a ground gaining opportunity to slip by the wayside. If I may, it felt like the beginning of the season when no lead felt safe…when the offense put crooked numbers on the board, yet the result was an embarrassing tally in the loss column.
Looking Backward While Moving Forward: Rodney Blows Fifth Save of the Season, Rays Blow the Series
We here at X-Rays Spex headquarters are not afraid to call things as we see them. In fact, calling people out on their collective stuff (expletive deleted) is one of our tenets. That Fernando Rodney has blown his fifth save of the year — in the Rays third loss when they were a strike away from victory — is a huge, heaping, load of horse-pucky. The Tampa Bay Rays are again sitting at .500 following a heart breaking 4-3 loss to the New York Yankees Saturday night. And with the loss went any hope of making up any ground against their AL East rivals… at least this time around.