Rays 8/19/13 Starting Lineup
Jennings CF
Zobrist 2B
Longoria 3B
Myers RF
Loney 1B
Escobar SS
Joyce LF
Molina C
Johnson DH
Price LHP
Rays 8/19/13 Starting Lineup
Jennings CF
Zobrist 2B
Longoria 3B
Myers RF
Loney 1B
Escobar SS
Joyce LF
Molina C
Johnson DH
Price LHP
The Tampa Bay Rays finished off the Blue Jays in grandiose fashion Sunday afternoon, with Jose Lobaton mashing his second career walk-off hit — a one run blast to right-field in the bottom of the tenth. Both career walk-offs came in this series. And what a series it was for Jose Lobaton. In the two games he started, Lobi went 4-8 with a triple, homer, run, and three runs batted in. The Rays overall production dropped between the Mariners and Blue Jays’ series, however we saw what could be construed as a return to form for Jeremy Hellickson (who’ll be pitching Wednesday night) and Chris Archer. Tampa Bay closed out its six game home stand with a 4-2 record ahead of their upcoming three-game road trip against the third place Orioles.
For the ninth time this season, the Rays won in dramatic fashion, with catcher Jose Lobaton hitting the game winning one out RBI triple up the right field line. The icing on the cake? New York crushed Boston, allowing Tampa Bay to gain a game on the Red Sox, putting the Rays just a game out of first place in the AL East. The Rays 5-4 walk-off win was the second of the week.
The Tampa Bay Rays welcome the Toronto Blue Jays into the Trop Friday night for a three-game set on the heels of a big 7-1 throttling against the Mariners, Thursday night. Mired in a funk extending back 12-games, the Rays took the series from the Mariners after dropping two consecutive to the Diamondbacks and Dodgers. Tampa Bay upped their per game runs average back to 5.3, while the pitching — especially the bullpen — seems to be coming back around. In short, the series previous gave the impression that Tampa Bay is once again stabilizing, and none too soon — the Red Sox have dropped two in a row, and the Rays have been able to regain some ground in the AL East.
The Rays dropped their sixth consecutive game Tuesday night, losing to the sub .500 Seattle Mariners by a score of 5-4. Tampa Bay did not lose more than six games in the entire month of July. The Rays now sit four games behind the first place Boston Red Sox, and only a game and a half in front of Baltimore for the second wildcard spot.