Let me preface this by saying that trying to watch a baseball game on ESPN’s Livecast is incredibly difficult when you’re also trying to speak to parents at the summer camp you work at. It’s an awkward situation when you utter an obscenity under your breath after you see the Chicago Cubs take an early lead, as a parent walks up to pick up their kid. That being said, I have to now ask, where has the offense — or rather the clutch offense — been? Coming into this game, since what is more and more beginning to seem like one of the darkest days in recent history (the Price trade), the Rays are 2-6. And save for the Odorizzi’s five run first inning Sunday, the pitching has been all in all solid.
Tag Archives: MLB
Rays 8/8/14 Starting Lineup, Etc
Rays 8/8/14 Starting Lineup Jennings CF Zobrist RF Guyer LF Longoria 3B Rodriguez 1B Escobar SS Casali C Archer RHP Forsythe 2B Noteworthiness From the game notes: The Rays’ pitchers are 1-for-14 (.071) in 2014, but own 2 of the 6 RBI recorded by AL pitchers (Odorizzi sac bunt, Cobb RBI double). Today marks only …
The New What Next: The Rays Enter Wrigley, and I’m Going to Drink Old Style
I don’t need to remind you of the importance of a series win, especially against a sub .500 team. The Cubs have gone 10-10 over their last 20-games (as of 8/7/14), with eight of those 10 losses being rather convincing. In those games, opponents have outscored Chicago 79-34, for a differential of 45 runs. Though the Cubs have scored a few more runs than the Rays over the last month, their pitching staff posted a meaty 4.64 ERA and a 2.9 WAR in the same span. Compare that to the Rays 2.78 ERA and 4.3 WAR over the last month.
Looking Backward While Moving Forward: Helly Strong, Rays Win 7-3
Had you told me, before the game, that Jeremy Hellickson would out pitch Sonny Gray, the Rays would tag Gray for six runs on 10 hits, and Jose Molina would go 2-3 with a walk, a sac-bunt, and an infield hit, I’d have laughed in your face. But low and behold, Tampa Bay salvaged the final game of their series with the Athletics by a score of 7-3, behind an outstanding vintage outing by Jeremy Hellickson, and an offensive onslaught against Sonny Gray. They were able to knock the A’s RHP out of the game after only 4-1/3 innings of work.
Looking Backward While Moving Forward: Misplays and an Unproductive Offense Spoil Smyly’s Start
In May I wrote about just wanting to see the Tampa Bay Rays play consistent baseball, back when it seemed like a postseason berth was both improbable and impossible. Yet toward the beginning of June, the Rays started playing uber consistent, .700 ball, and the impossible almost seemed within reach — the odds of Tampa Bay making the postseason jumped from a sub 1% chance to a 15% chance over the course of a month and a half. But after dropping four of their last five, including last night’s disappointing 3-o loss to the Athletics, the Rays have dropped back down to a 3.9% chance of making the playoffs (per Fan Graphs).