After a humiliating 9-3 loss against the New York Yankees in the first game of the American League Division Series, the Tampa Bay Rays look to bounce back and even the best of five series tonight with Tyler Glasnow on the mound.
Blake Snell started Monday night’s contest and was undone by a triplet of home runs and poor command. The left-hander allowed four runs on six hits and two walks while striking out four across five innings of work. Clint Frazier, Kyle Higashioka, and Aaron Judge all took Snell deep, with the latter two in the fifth inning after the Rays had taken a 3-2 lead. Snell was constantly working from behind and went to three-ball counts to seven different hitters. He could not locate his fastball or his secondary pitches, and as a result, had to rely more on his changeup and curveball which he left in very hittable locations. Even so, it would appear likely that Snell would start on Friday, on short rest, if the Rays are able to force a Game 5.
Snell was not the only Ray who was unable to execute a plan on Monday, as the typically sure-handed manager, Kevin Cash, played things a step behind his counterpart Aaron Boone. When Tampa Bay took the lead in the bottom of the fourth inning, Cash allowed Snell to take the mound again, this in spite of the fact that Snell lacked command leading up to the fifth inning when he allowed two long balls. Diego Castillo had also been warming in the ‘pen. Later in the game, Cash opted to go with right-hander John Curtiss, who allowed five runs in the ninth inning — four of which came on a grand slam by Giancarlo Stanton. In both situations, Cash should have gone with a high-leverage reliever like Castillo or Nick Anderson. He did not, and New York not only took the lead but broke things open late in the game.
Be that as it may, Randy Arozarena — who is hitting out of the three-hole tonight — went 3-4 with a homer, and now is 7-12 in the postseason. Arozarena became the first Ray to collect at least three hits in back-to-back postseason games.
Meanwhile, “Sugar” Shane McClanahan, who got the final out of the contest, became the first pitcher in Major League Baseball history to make his big-league debut in a postseason contest. Welcome to the show, Shane!
Tampa Bay will need to slow down a New York team that has plated 31 runs and hit 11 homers in the first three games of the postseason. In fact, seven of the Yankees’ nine runs last night came via the long ball. The Rays have shown an ability to limit the long ball, as they allowed just 13 homers across 10 regular-season games against the Yankees this season. However, New York has also shown the ability to pounce on most mistakes left over the heart of the plate. Suffice it to say, Tampa Bay’s hurlers cannot expect to be competitive when they pitch as Snell and Curtiss had. Here’s to a bounce-back contest.
The New What Next
Tyler Glasnow (5-1, 4.08 ERA) will get the start tonight, pitching opposite of 21-year-old Deivi Garcia (3-2, 4.98 ERA) — the youngest pitcher to start for the Yankees in their postseason history.
Tyler Glasnow got the start on Wednesday and posted six innings of two-run baseball on six hits (including two solo homers) and one walk while striking out eight.
We showed the potential of what we can do on both sides of the ball. Obviously, in Game 1 we had Blake throw an absolute gem and we were able to scrape enough runs to win, and today showed the bats coming alive and Tyler allowing just two and the bullpen keeping it where it was. I think it just solidifies who we are as a team.
— Mike Zunino
After a 1-2-3 first, Glasnow worked around a pair of singles in the top of the second, yet without incurring any damage. Then, staked to a seven-run lead in the third inning, Danny Jansen launched a solo home run off the right-hander that left a dent in the catwalk above the left-field stands. Bo Bichette followed by earning a walk, but Glasnow buckled down and the Jays settled for just a run. In the fifth inning, Jansen blasted another lead-off solo shot yet that is all he would, or the Rays, allow. Glasnow finished his outing having thrown 86 pitches (55 strikes, 64% strike rate, 20% SwStr%). He held Toronto to 0-for-8 with four punchies with runners in scoring position.
It feels great. We had a bunch of confidence going into this. Everyone went out there with no pressure, just kind of loose like we’ve been all year. Especially in that second inning, just to watch the momentum and the adrenaline from the grand slam, it was a pretty special moment.
— Tyler Glasnow
Deivi Garcia struck out seven after allowing four runs on seven hits and one walk across 6-2/3 innings two Saturdays ago against the Marlins. The rookie right-hander allowed three runs on four hits during the third inning, but he otherwise did a good job of limiting the Marlins. Garcia finished his rookie campaign with a 4.98 ERA, 1.19 WHIP, and 5.5 K/BB over 27-2/3 innings. He relies primarily on a 92 mph four-seam fastball, while also mixing in an 81 mph changeup, a 76 mph curveball, and an 83 mph slider.
A caveat: as Neil Solondz (Rays Radio) writes, “…The Yankees may not need Garcia to provide length tonight. If Gerrit Cole is going to be used in a potential game 5, then either lefty J.A. Happ or Jordan Montgomery could be used as a piggy-back starter with the righty Garcia, and make it that much harder on Tampa Bay offensively.”
You can read about the series in our preview, while the starting lineup is below.
Rays 10/6/20 Starting Lineup
- Meadows DH
- Lowe 2B
- Arozarena LF
- Choi 1B
- Margot RF
- Wendle 3B
- Adames SS
- Kiermaier CF
- Zunino C