Shane Peterson collected a couple of hits Thursday night. (Photo Credit: Tampa Bay Rays)
The Tampa Bay Rays are aiming for a three-game sweep of the Detroit Tigers this afternoon, following an epic ninth inning come-from-behind victory Wednesday night. By epic I mean weird, as the game was chocked full of unexpected twists and turns.
Source: FanGraphs
The game, in fact, was so weird:
— Chris Archer, and the Rays bullpen, allowed a four run lead in the fifth and sixth innings to evaporate.
— Down by a pair, Austin Pruitt took the mound for the final out of the sixth, and struck out Victor Martinez. From then on, Pruitt posted three more innings of one-hit ball, while fanning four other Tigers. Yes you read that correctly, Pruitt tallied a 13.6 K/9 over the span of 11 at-bats.
— In the bottom of the ninth, down by one, and with the bases loaded, Logan Morrison hit a dribbler to second that appeared to be the game-ending double play. But with this game being this game, after Ian Kinsler fed the ball to Jose Iglesias, the Tigers’ shortstop slipped on the bag while making the transfer.
Iglesias, in mid throw, fell to the ground, and the ball sailed well past Miguel Cabrera. Kevin Kiermaier easily crossed the plate from third, while pinch-runner Peter Bourjos scored from second, giving the Rays an unlikely win.
Adding insult to injury, Brad Miller began his slide almost simultaneously to when Iglesias began to crumple to the ground. A few split seconds later, Iglesias laid face-first on the infield dirt after his head met Miller’s knee.
Rays walk-off on throwing error
Logan Morrison reaches first on a throwing error by Jose Iglesias, allowing Peter Bourjos to score the game-winning run for a walk-off win
— Did I mention the bases-clearing triple, off the bat of Nick Castellanos, that Kiermaier attempted to snare, but narrowly missed?
— What about the other odd plays in the outfield.
In short, last night’s game was incredibly odd, yet the outcome was cathartic to say the least. You can read a more complete recap both here and here.
The New What Next
The Rays will take on the Tigers one last time at home this afternoon, in the series Finale. Erasmo Ramirez (1-0, 3.72 ERA, 4.90 FIP) will take the mound in the place of the ailing Jake Odorizzi, pitching opposite of Daniel Norris (1-0, 2.19 ERA, 3.50 FIP).
Norris threw six scoreless innings Friday, allowing just two hits but issuing four walks while striking out five in a win over the Indians. Norris relies heavily upon a 94 mph worm-buring four-seam fastball, while also mixing in a hard 87 mph slider, a whiffy 86 mph changeup and a 77 mph swing-and-miss curveball. Key matchup: Evan Longoria (3-4, 2B, RBI, BB)
You can read more on the series in our series preview, and I’ll post the starting lineup upon availability.
Rays 4/20/17 Starting Lineup
Noteworthiness
— Per Neil Solondz (Rays Radio), the wild victory was Tampa Bay’s first that ended on an error since August 24th last year, when Heath Hembree’s miscue complete a victory over the Boston Red Sox. A sweep of Detroit (8–6) would be Tampa Bay’s first against the Tigers since July 26–29, 2010, the last time the Rays won the AL East.