The Good
— Alex Colome was named as the Rays’ sole representative in the 2016 All-Star Game. Colome is the 34th All-Star selection in franchise history, and the seventh reliever to get the nod. Prior to the game, Rays skipper Kevin Cash called Colome into his office to give him the news:
Kevin Cash called @AlexanderColome into his office to tell him he’d been named to his first @AllStarGame. #RaysUphttps://t.co/4pjYJStApR
— #VoteLongo (@RaysBaseball) July 6, 2016
— Third baseman Evan Longoria still has a chance to make the squad, as he is one of five finalists in the final vote. You can place your vote here.
— Tampa Bay took leads in the first inning (Logan Forsythe scored on Souza’s infield single), and fifth (Brandon Guyer and Corey Dickerson scored on Nick Franklin’s two-RBI single).
— OF/INF Nick Franklin tied his career high with three hits Tuesday night and drove in two more runs, giving him 11 RBI on the homestand.
— Brandon Guyer set the franchise HBP record. In his first at-bat, Guyer was hit by a Tim Lincecum pitch. It was the 52nd time he has been hit during his career, surpassing Carlos Peña (51) for the team record. While Peña accomplished the feat in 2,971 plate appearances, Guyer did so in 2,000+ fewer plate appearances (923).
— Logan Morrison hit his tenth homer of the season off Tim Lincecum in the third inning.
— Tyler Sturdevant and Alex Colome collected 2-2/3 scoreless innings, allowing just one base runner on an eighth inning single.
The Bad
— Jake Odorizzi allowed a season-high seven runs and matched his season high in hits relinquished with nine in 5-1/3 innings in front of a crowd that included an number of scouts from various teams. The righty allowed four runs in the second inning (the fifth time this year he has allowed that many runs in an inning) and three in the sixth after Tampa Bay gave him one-run leads in the first and fifth innings.
It’s my fault, Odorizzi said following the game. They did their job. I didn’t do my job. Nobody is more frustrated than me with my performance, not just tonight but this entire year. It’s not me. …That’s on me, I’m accountable for it.
— The dumpster fire that is Romero and Eveland… The left-handed tandem gave up six runs in the ninth, putting the game well out of reach. The Rays have been outscored 34-8 in the final three innings (22-2 in the ninth inning). Over the last 20 games the bullpen has posted a gaudy 9.26 ERA.
The Argyle
— For the life of me, I do not understand why Kevin Cash opted to slot Romero into the ninth inning when he’d face the meat of the Angels batting order. As it stands Romero has a 6.11 ERA/5.20 FIP/5.14 BB9/.299 BABIP/16.7% HRFB line overall, which inflates to a 8.37 FIP/5.91 BB9/.357 BABIP/28.6% HRFB in medium leverage situations. As for Eveland, it made zero sense to put him in the game to mop up after Romero.
— Souza was benched for an apparent lack of hustle at the end of the third inning, after (in the words of Marc Topkin) an at-bat in which he jogged toward first base after hitting a routine fly ball, only to see it drop between two Angels outfielders and roll away. Souza was about halfway down the line when he kicked it into gear and raced to third, and that he made it standing up was further proof that hustle from the start would have been paid off.
The message to Souza, and likely the team, was loud and clear.
I think the bottom line is that I play hard, but right there I didn’t play very hard. I got caught slipping and took for granted a routine play. … I got to third, but I could have easily scored if I was running hard, Souza said after the game. It’s a bit embarrassing. It’s not how this team runs, it’s not how we want our identity to be and I’m not proud of it. … (Cash) let me know I was pulled. At the end of the day, he’s the boss, and I’ve got to play hard for the boss and for this team.
Souza still collected up a triple and later scored, so it didn’t impact the game.
Why Cash decided to act at that moment, when others have appeared guilty of more egregious offenses and lackadaisical play (cough, Desmond Jennings), remains unclear. This is the first time as manager that Cash took such an action.
The New What Next
The Rays will try to get back on track tonight when Drew Smyly (2-9, 5.33 ERA) takes the mound opposite of Jered Weaver (6-7, 5.51 ERA). The left-handed Smyly is 1-6 with a 6.86 ERA over his last 11 starts. He’s pitched five innings or fewer in six of those starts, and is 0-5 over his past eight starts for the longest losing streak of his career. Weaver pitched a complete game shutout during his last road start on June 19 vs. Oakland. The soft tosser is 5-5 in 13 career starts against Tampa Bay. You can read about the pitching matchup in our series preview.
Rays 7/6/16 Starting Lineup
Forsythe DH
Miller SS
Longoria 3B
Morrison 1B
Guyer CF
Souza RF
Dickerson DH
Franklin 2B
Casali C
Smyly LHP
Noteworthiness
— RHP Alex Cobb (Tommy John surgery) begins his rehab assignment tonight with the Charlotte Stone Crabs. He is slated to pitch one or two innings.
I put a lot of work in to this point to try and see if I can figure out how to be competitive again on the mound, Cobb said. It’s not a huge test, but at the same time when you’re going out on the mound and compete against hitters you want to do well. I think it will be a struggle for me to stay in between the lines of competing and still know that I’m rehabbing.
Cobb’s rehab assignment is for 30 days, which includes six starts ahead of his long awaited early August return to the active roster.
— As I wrote yesterday, outfielder Kevin Kiermaier will take the next big step in his recovery process this week. Kiermaier is slated to take batting practice either Wednesday or Thursday at Tropicana Field. The Outlaw will then head to Boston with the team, where he will workout ahead of the All-Star Break — when he is slated to play his rehab games. The Gold Glove winning outfielder is eyeing the first series after the break (vs. the Baltimore Orioles) for his return.
— Steve Pearce (strained hamstring) told reporters he feels “great” and also is eyeing a return after the All-Star Break.