Anyone reading this is familiar with the overwhelming narrative surrounding the forthcoming series… You know, the whole seven-player trade between the Rays and Royals back in December 2012. That backstory is a tad trite by now. Sure, James Shields will be taking the mound at the Trop for the first time since the trade. Still, at this point, what’s more important? The series itself, or the aforementioned narrative? I’d argue the former.
Tag Archives: Kansas City Royals
Looking Backward While Moving Forward: Rays Blank Royals, 1-0
Tuesday night was chock full of excellent pitching and awkward circumstances. The Royals had the bases loaded not once, not twice, but three times — yet they had nothing to show for their efforts. Chris Archer successfully picked off Norichika Aoki at first, and there was a questionable call at second which was reviewed, yet not overturned. Then there was the whole “score knotted at 0-0 until the ninth inning,” thing. In the end, both Chris Archer and Yordan Ventura put together a pair of great outings, the Rays are able to hang their hats on their first victory in Kauffman Stadium in eight attempts, and the Rays beat the Royals by a score of 1-0. Game peripherals are below.
Looking Backward While Moving Forward: Moore Pulled Early, Rays Fall 4-2
The Tampa Bay Rays fell to 4-4 on the year, after dropping the first game of a three-game set against Jason Vargas and the Royals, by a score of 4-2. The Rays have now lost seven consecutive games at Kauffman Stadium — extending back to 2012. What’s more, the starting rotation could be down a pitcher (for an unknown amount of time) on the heels of Matt Moore’s early departure from Monday night’s game.
Looking Backward While Moving Forward: Rays Win 6-2, Claim Sole Possession of First Wildcard Spot
The Rays walked away from Monday night’s game with sole possession of the first Wildcard spot, after Tampa Bay, led by Alex Cobb, handed the Texas Rangers their seventh consecutive loss. The 6-2 game had everything one could want — a Wil Myers solo shot to the DanJo junk-shot seat in right field, a granny-panties wearing streaker, a six-run unraveling by former Ray Matt Garza, and a productive offense that went 6-11 wRISP.
The New What Next: There’s Still Life in Those Rays, A Rays vs Twins Series Preview
To say the Rays 4-3 win against the Red Sox was important would be an understatement. In the throes of a horrible stretch, Jeremy Hellickson put together a solid outing, while Tampa Bay took advantage of Jake Peavy’s misgivings — coming up with key (I refuse to call them clutch) hits to give them a 3-1 lead and the subsequent one run win.
Tampa Bay heads to Minneapolis to take on the lowly Twins in a three game set — the final leg in the 2013 Knutson Cup. The Rays swept Minnesota in four games back in July while in the midst of a 21-5 stretch. In an ideal world, facing a sub .500 team could be precisely what the doctored ordered following Thursday night’s huge win. A cautionary tale is in order though, Tampa Bay didn’t fare too well against a pair of sub .500 teams on their most recent west coast trip.