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LBWMF: Rays fall in extras, 6-5

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Tyler Glasnow, pictured during Spring Training, tossed a gem on Tuesday. (Photo Credit: Will Vragovic/Tampa Bay Rays)

In an uneven game filled with miscues, gaffes, and weird plays, the Tampa Bay Rays dropped their third straight game (and second to those Massholes) in extra innings, 6-5.

Glasnow got the start for Tampa Bay on Tuesday tasked with putting together a quality outing as well as shutting down a Red Sox offense that plated 11 runs the night before. Given how dominant he was on Opening Day, the question begged: would Tyler be able to put up similar numbers in his second outing of the season? The answer was yes and no. Was Glasnow as dominant on Tuesday as he was on Opening Day? No. However, he was very good nonetheless. The right-hander made some big pitches when he needed to and limited Boston to one run across six innings. 

Glasnow got into trouble in the first inning when he gave up a leadoff double to Christian Arroyo that chopped its way down the left-field line. The one time Ray moved up to third on a groundout by J.D. Martinez that was full of indecision by Willy Adames, who had an opportunity to tag Arroyo as he made his way to third. Arroyo later came around to score on a wild pitch to Xander Bogaerts, who subsequently struck out on a 99 mph fastball.

https://twitter.com/ballyrays/status/1379610643444199431?s=21

From there Glasnow went to work, scattering three other hits and two walks across five scoreless frames. He used roughly the same mix of pitches as he had against Miami, although he coaxed fewer whiffs: 52 four-seam fastballs (six whiffs, 33% called strikes+whiffs), 34 cut-sliders (five whiffs, 21% called strikes+whiffs), and 10 curveballs (three whiffs, 40% called strikes+whiffs). And while Glasnow did not have the eye-popping 75% strike rate of five days ago, the results speak favorably for the Rays’ ace. His final line: 6 IP/4 H/2 BB/1 R/9 K on 97 pitches (60 strikes, 62% strike rate, 16.2 pitches per inning)

Meanwhile, the Rays took the lead in the third inning when Manuel Margot singled to shallow right, allowing Yandy Díaz and Mike Zunino to score. Zunino previously reached base on a single to left, while Díaz worked a four-pitch walk. Three innings later, pinch hitter Joey Wendle added a third tally to the score when he drove home Brandon Lowe, who reached on a lead-off full-pitch walk. Yet the Rays could have scored more in the inning if not for a running error by Willy Adames, who was slow out of the box on a long single at the left-field wall — his second mental gaffe of the night. Instead of ending up in scoring position, Adames got caught between first and second and was subsequently tagged out as he attempted to slide back into first. Willy was later tagged out as he attempted to swipe a bag in the top of the eighth.

It also bears mentioning that the Rays should have added onto their lead in the seventh inning, however, an awkward double play took place when Margot “flew out to left” doubling up Arozarena off second. In reality, however, left fielder Franchy Cordero caught the ball after it caromed off the wall and into his glove, which you can see in slow motion in the video above.

As fate would have it, the Red Sox would score single tallies against The Stable in the eighth and ninth innings (respectively) when Martinez drove in Alex Verdugo on a double to deep right, and Vasquez homered to left, sending the game into extra innings.

In the 11th inning, Adames redeemed himself when he doubled to shallow left, scoring Lowe from second. Yet, the Red Sox answered against Andrew Kittredge in the bottom half of the frame when Rafael Devers singled to left, scoring Bogaerts.

Kittredge — making his first appearance at Fenway since his injury-shortened 2020 outing — came up big, striking out Bogaerts (swinging) with runners in scoring position, keeping the score knotted up at four runs apiece.

At any rate, Tampa Bay again took the go-ahead lead when Zunino was wild pitched to third, then came around to score on Arozarena’s RBI groundout to short. However, that lead again slipped away for good in the bottom of the 12th when Martinez hit a two-out, two-RBI extra-base hit to right field that Randy Arozarena got all sorts of twisted up on (four the third time in four days, no less), allowing Boston to win the 36-out affair, 6-5. 

The New What Next

Salvage mode. The Rays will cap their road trip in an afternoon matinee on Wednesday with Ryan Yarbrough (0-0, 0.00 ERA) on the mound. The left-hander will pitch opposite of Nathan Eovaldi (0-1, 1.69 ERA).

Ryan Yarbrough got the start for Tampa Bay and retired the first nine batters in order by doing what he is wont to do: forcing weak contact. In fact, the left-hander limited hard contact all night; just two at-bats resulted in exit velocities of +95 mph, and even then both resulted in fly-ball outs. Yarbrough allowed base runners in the fourth inning, yet a Garrett Cooper double play ended the threat. Then in the fifth inning, he allowed a two-out base hit to Jazz Chisholm Jr., but a ground ball out by Jorge Alfaro whacked Miami’s mole, ending the inning. After giving up a two-out double to Starling Marte that bounced down the third base line, Yarbrough was lifted. He was efficient, throwing 65 pitches (41 strikes, 63% strike rate) total, and leaned heavily on his cutter/changeup combo while sprinkling in a few sinkers and curveballs for good measure. Yarbrough’s final line: 5.2 IP/4 H/3 K/0 BB/4 groundouts/5 fly ball outs.

Nathan Eovaldi gave up one run on four hits and a walk over 5-1/3 innings while striking out four. The right-hander found himself in a pitchers’ duel with John Means and exited the game in the sixth inning with the score still knotted up at zero, but Eovaldi got saddled with the loss when former Rays hurler Matt Andriese allowed his inherited runner to score. Eovaldi is coming off a strong 2020, posting career highs in strikeouts and walk rates. Even so, Eovaldi is 2-5 with a 5.48 ERA in 10 career outings (eight starts) against Tampa Bay. Last season, he relied primarily on a 98 mph four-seam fastball and a 93 mph cutter, while also mixing in an 80 mph curveball, an 88 mph splitter, and an 89 mph slider. Key Matchups: Michael Brosseau (1-1), Yandy Díaz (2-7, RBI), Kevin Kiermaier (3-11, 3B, 4 RBI), Manuel Margo (1-2), Austin Meadows (5-9, 2B, 3B, HR, 3 RBI), Joey Wendle (5-7, 2B, 3B, HR, RBI)

You can read about the series in our preview, and I’ll try to post the starting lineup upon availability.

Rays 4/7/21 Starting Lineup

  1. Tsutsugo 1B
  2. Meadows LF
  3. Arozarena RF
  4. Lowe 2B
  5. Diaz DH
  6. Wendle 3B
  7. Margot CF
  8. Mejia C
  9. Adames SS
  10. Yarbrough LHP
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LBWMF: Glasnow dominant, and Meadows comes up big in the Rays 1-0 Opening Day win over Miami

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Austin Meadows drove in the game’s only run on an eighth-inning blast on Thursday. (Photo Credit: Tampa Bay Rays)

Tyler Glasnow fired six shutout innings on Opening Day, while Austin Meadows hit a crucial eighth-inning homer, as the Tampa Bay Rays edged out the Miami Marlins on Thursday, 1-0.

Glasnow made his first-ever Opening Day start and was dominant, allowing only a first-inning, two-out infield dribbler to third off the bat of Jesus Aguilar.

Leaning heavily on his four-seam fastball (40 thrown, 24 strikes, 60% strike rate, 18% SwStr%) and his newfound cut-slider (26 thrown, 16 strikes, 62% strike rate, 19% SwStr%), Glasnow kept Miami’s over-anxious batters off-balance, limiting hard contact while coaxing seven ground outs to three fly ball outs. His fastball sat at 98 mph, although he hit the century mark on more than one occasion. And after Glasnow relinquished his lone hit, he retired his next 16 batters in a row, collecting six strikeouts overall. The right-hander threw 57 of 76 pitches for strikes (75% strike rate) and, impressively, found himself in just two three-ball counts.

I think the last couple starts in spring, I’ve kind of opened up my eyes to like, ‘Wow, I’ve been really kind of getting by on two pitches when I really should have not been. I just think it makes it so much easier for me in terms of options and guys aren’t selling out.

— Tyler Glasnow

Meanwhile, Marlins right-hander Sandy Alcantara was nearly as effective across six frames, limiting Tampa Bay’s lineup to two hits and two walks with seven strikeouts despite loading the bases in the first inning.

https://twitter.com/PitchingNinja/status/1377743960689491971?s=20

Ryan Thompson followed Glasnow with a scoreless seventh, including a swinging strikeout of Starlin Marte on a filthy 79 mph slider that started on the inside part of the plate and ended up in the left-handed batter’s box.

Then in the Rays’ half of the eighth, Meadows drove in Tampa Bay’s only run on a blast to right-center. The outfielder, who was impacted by COVID-19 last season, came up with two outs against right-hander Yimi Garcia. After working the count to 2-0, Meadows turned on a 95 mph fastball and sent it 419 feet away. The hit registered 108 mph off the bat.

From there, it was up to the Stable — Pete Fairbanks and Diego Castillo — to lock things down for Tampa Bay. Fairbanks entered the contest in the home half of the eighth and allowed a one-out infield single to Jorge Alfaro, who later stole second with two outs. After Fairbanks walked pinch-hitter Garrett Cooper, former Rays outfielder Corey Dickerson flew out to Kevin Kiermaier in center, ending that threat.

Finally, after leaving the bases loaded (again) in the Rays’ half of the ninth, Diego Castillo came on and promptly struck out Marte on three pitches. But, they weren’t out of danger just yet; Aguilar put a scare into every Tampa Bay player and fan when he launched a fly-ball to deep left-field. He, however, flew out at the warning track as everyone let out an audible sigh of relief. The right-hander punched out Duvall to end the game, keeping Tampa Bay on the winning side of the ledger.

The New What Next

Ryan Yarbrough will get the start for Tampa Bay, pitching opposite of Pablo Lopez in the second game of the season.

Ryan Yarbrough allowed two earned runs on three hits across 5-1/3 innings in his final spring outing against Atlanta. He struck out four and hit a batter. Yarbrough accomplished his solid line against Atlanta’s regulars, turning in a much better performance than when he faced them a week earlier. The left-hander finished Grapefruit League play having allowed two runs or fewer in three of his four turns and posted an impressive 5.5 K/BB across 13-2/3 innings.

Pablo Lopez had a solid spring, posting a 2.63 ERA and 9 K/BB across 13-2/3 frames, as the 25-year-old is looking to take another step forward. Last season he posted a 3.61 ERA, 1.19 WHIP, and a 24.1% strikeout rate. Lopez is 1-2 with a 4.24 ERA in three career starts against the Rays. Last season, Lopez relied primarily on a 94 mph four-seam fastball, an 88 mph changeup, and a 94 mph sinker, while also mixing in a 91 mph cutter and a 79 mph curveball. Key Matchups: Yandy Díaz (1-3, RBI), Kevin Kiermaier (1-4, 2 RBI), Austin Meadows (1-4, 2B), Yoshi Tsutsugo (2-2, HR, RBI), Joey Wendle (4-8, 2B, HR, RBI)

You can view the starting lineup, and read about the series in our preview, below.

Can’t Hardly Wait: Rays vs. Marlins — an Opening Series preview

Rays 4/2/21 Starting Lineup

  1. Tsutsugo 1B
  2. Meadows LF
  3. Arozarena RF
  4. B. Lowe 2B
  5. Diaz 3B
  6. Wendle SS
  7. Margot CF
  8. Mejia C
  9. Yarbrough LHP

Noteworthiness

— The pitching staff looked fantastic on Thursday, however, the offense looked less so, going 0-5 wRISP while stranding five runners on the base paths.

LBWMF: Glasnow dominant in final tuneup of the Spring

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Tyler Glasnow was fantastic in his final Spring outing on Saturday. (Photo Credit: Will Vragovic/Tampa Bay Rays)

Tyler Glasnow was fantastic in his final tuneup ahead of Opening Day, while the Tampa Bay Rays offense did just enough to eke out a win against the Twins on Saturday.

Glasnow fanned 10 across five shutout innings, scattering three hits (all singles) while walking a pair on 79 pitches. The right-hander coaxed 15 swings and misses from the Twins thank in part to his slider, which has improved from start to start.

I felt good. Slider actually felt pretty good in the beginning and got back to being good later.

— Tyler Glasnow

Tampa Bay also received scoreless outings from relief hurlers Diego Castillo, Andrew Kittredge, Pete Fairbanks, and Ryan Thompson, which helped quell the mind of Rays skipper Kevin Cash, who is still processing the loss of high leverage reliever Nick Anderson.

Everybody looked ready today. Things kind of came together, and to see all those guys kind of lined up, stacked up like that, especially with the news that we received the other day with Nick, it’s got to make you feel a little bit better.

— Kevin Cash

Meanwhile, prospect Dalton Kelly played the whole game at first and drove in the Rays two runs on a pair of RBI singles. Kelly’s second hit drove in Wander Franco, who reached on a leadoff hustle double.

The New What Next

Ryan Yarbrough will start the Rays play their final home game of the Grapefruit League season on Sunday when they’ll host Atlanta. Fellow left-handers Jeffrey Springs and Ryan Sherriff, and right-hander Chaz Roe are also slated to pitch. From there, the Rays will break camp, holding most of their workouts the following two days in Sarasota (Monday), and Lakeland (Tuesday).

Rays 3/28/21 Starting Lineup

  1. Tsutsugo 1B
  2. B. Lowe 2B
  3. Margot RF
  4. Wendle 3B
  5. Diaz DH
  6. Kiermaier CF
  7. Zunino C
  8. Gray LF
  9. Franco SS
  10. Yarbrough LHP

Noteworthiness

— The Rays manager alluded to what the pitching rotation will look like in the first four to five games of the season. Yarbrough, who will make one last Spring start this afternoon, will pitch in the second game of the season, and RHP Michael Wacha will pitch in the fourth game of the season on April 5 against Boston. And while the Rays haven’t named a starter for their third game, it likely will be either Chris Archer or Rich Hill. It’s also possible that both hurlers could appear in that game against the Marlins since they’ve pitched on the same day their last two turns.

— We are honored to be a part of Cardinal Conclave’s “Playing Pepper” series once again. Click the link below to be redirected to the article.

LBWMF: Glasnow dominant across four innings against Atlanta

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That flow. (Photo Credit: Tampa Bay Rays)

Tyler Glasnow was dominant against Atlanta on Thursday, allowing just one hit and a walk while striking out seven across four dominant frames.

Glasnow threw 34 of 52 pitches for strikes (65% strike rate) and retired 11 consecutive batters after Ronald Acuña Jr. led off the contest with an infield hit to third. Glasnow walked Marcell Ozuna with two down in the fourth inning before he struck out former teammate Travis d’Arnaud to end his outing.

I felt really good,. The timing was good. I think just incorporating the slider and the changeup made everything a lot easier.

— Tyler Glasnow

Glasnow said he threw the slider and changeup for strikes — using at least six or seven changeups — and also tossed a few of his new slider/cutter toy. He mixed in his big curveball too, while his heater hit 99 mph on the in-house radar gun. Glasnow told Neil Solondz (Rays Radio) that he tried to have the mentality of treating it like a regular game, and it made him more consistent.

Rays skipper Kevin Cash had nothing but superlatives for the right-hander.

He was just outstanding. The slider looked good early on, the fastball was there, he was able to get back in the count. To show that much trust with the new pitch is very encouraging.

— Kevin Cash

After a bout with food poisoning, right-hander Pete Fairbanks made his Spring debut. The right-hander allowed a two-out opposite-field, wind-aided homer, but otherwise worked a clean seventh inning.

Felt really good, getting the first real inning since last year. I would have liked to have gotten into two-strike counts, seen if I could have executed, but when they’re swinging they’re swinging.

— Pete Fairbanks

Collin McHugh made his second appearance of the spring — also his second in more than 18 months. After working a scoreless fifth, the right-hander gave up a solo homer to Acuña with one out in the sixth, then loaded the bases on two walks and a single before he got d’Arnaud to ground into an inning-ending double play.

McHugh is still in line to work three or four innings by the start of the season and he’s prepared for a variety of roles.

He was really good the first inning. It’s been a long time since he’s been on the mound, so we’ve got to show him plenty of patience — and we will. He and (pitching coach Kyle Snyder) were talking after the outing — what felt good, what still was not quite as in line as he’d like.

— Kevin Cash

Right-hander Brent Honeywell Jr. is reportedly “close” to facing hitters in live batting practice, the Rays’ manager said. Honeywell might not appear in Grapefruit League games, however, his rehab is going well, and the coaching staff is “actually way more excited” about how Brent looks now compared to when he was on the postseason taxi squad.

We’ll see how his upcoming live situations go. They’re actually way more excited about where he is right now than where he was during the bubble and all the stuff that was going on during the postseason.

— Kevin Cash

The New What Next

Chris Archer will get the start on Friday against the Red Sox, in Fort Myers. He is tentatively set to throw two innings depending on the outcome of his first inning of work. The right-hander’s last outing came in an intra-squad game on Sunday. Right-handers Trevor Richards, Chris Mazza, and Ryan Thompson, as well as left-hander Ryan Sherriff, are also slated to pitch.

Rays 3/12/21 Starting Lineup

  1. Phillips RF
  2. Arozarena LF
  3. B. Lowe DH
  4. Margot CF
  5. Franco SS
  6. Padlo 1B
  7. Walls 3B
  8. Odom C
  9. Mastrobuoni 2B
  10. Archer RHP

Noteworthiness

— Per Marc Topkin, the Rays are expected to be very creative with how they handle pitchers at the beginning of the season.

Rays Spring Training: day seven, Glasnow throws live batting practice

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Just a couple of wild and crazy guys. (Photo Credit: Tampa Bay Rays)

Wednesday marked the first day of live batting practice for the Tampa Bay Rays in Port Charlotte. Tyler Glasnow was impressive in his outing, while left-handers Jeffrey Springs and Kenny Rosenberg, and right-handers Andrew Kittredge, Tyler Zombro, Yacksel Ríos, Chris Ellis, Hunter Strickland, Pete Fairbanks, Ryan Thompson, and Michael Wacha also took the mound.

Glasnow threw 29 pitches to Ji-Man Choi, Joey Wendle, Yandy Díaz, Austin Meadows, Manuel Margot, and Willy Adames, with an up/down after the first three batters. Rays skipper Kevin Cash said Glasnow had a good tempo and his cutter/slider — which he recently added to his arsenal — also looked good.

He looked tremendous. I can’t imagine what it feels like to throw a baseball like he does. Just sitting from that catcher point of view or even a right-handed, left-handed hitter point of view, it’s amazing how it explodes. … I’m not sure if he’s going to call it a cutter or slider, but it’s got a chance to be another special pitch for him. So he’ll continue to work. His tempo was really good, and the velocity looked just like it did in October.

— Kevin Cash

Hitters mostly tracked and took pitches, although Wendle and Díaz made contact; Wendle hit a chopper up the middle while Díaz laced a hit to right — shocker, I know (Díaz hit 45.4% of his batted balls to right in 2020).

Glasnow mentioned that he was pleased with the session, and while he hasn’t settled on a name for his new pitch, he used it more than his fastball or curveball on Wednesday.

As far as grip goes and comfort level throwing it, it’s way higher than I expected, so I’m really happy about it. The shape is inconsistent right now a little bit. I think I can play with it a bit if I want it to be more sweepy or if I want it to be a little harder. I can kind of just change where my hand is on it.

— Tyler Glasnow

Cash liked what he saw out of Kittredge, who worked hard to get back on the mound after he was hurt last season at Fenway Park. He was able to avoid Tommy John surgery.

That injury, that kind of shook all of us. It’s very encouraging the work that he put in. He definitely looked normal from my point of view, and I know the stuff that he’s throwing in the back with Kyle (Snyder) they’re very encouraged with where he’s at.

— Kevin Cash

Cash was encouraged by what he saw out of Yacksel Rios, who signed a minor-league deal in the off-season. The key for Rios, however, will be staying in the zone.

Yacksel, there’s a lot to like. It’s just, let’s harness it in the zone as much as possible. A lot of very similar messages will be given to a lot of the new faces.

— Kevin Cash

Cash was also complimentary of Jeffrey Springs, who was acquired from Boston on the first day of Spring Training.

(Springs) looked like a guy that a good feel for the fastball, change up, little breaking ball that he throws.

— Kevin Cash

Meanwhile, as a means of increasing the team’s defensive versatility and flexibility, Brandon Lowe will get some reps at third base this Spring while Mike Brosseau will spend some time at short. Yoshi Tsutsugo, already capable of playing in the outfield and at third, will try to add first base to his profile.

He (Brandon Lowe) seemed open to it. It could be in-game versatility if it goes one direction, if it goes another direction maybe it’s getting some starts over there. It allows Joey (Wendle) to stay at second base, stay up the middle. We’ll play all of them different and see what we come up with.

— Kevin Cash

Lowe, who got some off-season work at third, said he is open to whatever gives the team the best chance to win more ball-games.

If they think that I’d be a better fit at third, or they think that it’s going to help us win more games if I’m at third base. I have no problem with having another notch in my belt to somewhere that I can play.

— Brandon Lowe

Finally, Cash said a full season for Randy Arozarena — plus having a healthy Austin Meadows, Ji-Man Choi, and Yandy Diaz — will be an offensive boon for the team.

Those are three key guys that for numerous reasons, got banged up at the wrong time. You get those guys healthy and timed up and in a normal routine, they really can thicken up, lengthen out our lineup because they can be special for us on a given night.

— Kevin Cash