After great success on the road, the Tampa Bay Rays return to the friendly confines of the Trop, where they will start a three-game series against the East Bay Rays Oakland Athletics on Friday. Tampa Bay swept the Nationals in the nation’s capital, while Oakland dropped two of three to the Guardians.
The Rays continue to look sharp this season. They have won the opening two series backed by solid pitching — conceding just 13 runs in six games — and (more than) timely hitting. Currently, Tampa Bay leads the Majors in scoring, plating 7.33 runs per game. The pitching has also been stellar, amassing a 2.00 ERA/2.77 FIP, good for second in the big leagues. Thus far, they have compiled a combined .297 BA/.359 OBP/.564 SLG/.923 OPS, with a 159 wRC+, and a beefy .267 ISO.
The Athletics will likely be near the bottom of the standings in ’23 given that they cleaned house by trading most of their key hitters over the last few offseasons. Oakland dropped three of four to the Angels in the opening series, then lost two of three to the Guardians this week after a loss in 10 innings on Wednesday. Oakland is scoring an average of 3.67 runs per game behind a combined .200 BA/.279 OBP/.353 SLG/.632 OPS line, ranking them 23rd in baseball. Meanwhile, their combined 5.79 team ERA/4.55 FIP puts them 28th in the league in pitching.
The Rays went 4-3 against Oakland last season, but 1-3 at the Trop. While Oakland was bad then (as they are now), it is not the time to take their foot off the necks of the teams they should beat.
The New What Next
Over the next three days, Kevin Cash will turn to Zach Eflin (1-0, 1.80 ERA, 1.83 FIP), Jeffrey Springs (1-0, 0.00 ERA, -0.27 FIP), and Drew Rasmussen (1-0, 0.00 ERA, 0.90 FIP). Mark Kotsay will counter with Ken Waldichuk (0-1, 9.53 ERA, 9.76 FIP), Shintaro Fujinami (0-1, 30.86 ERA, 3.66 FIP), and James Kaprelian (0-1, 9.00 ERA, 5.03 FIP).
Zach Eflin got the start last Saturday against the Tigers and allowed one earned run on three hits and one walk while striking out five across five innings. Eflin took the mound for the first time in the regular season as a member of the Rays and delivered a strong performance. The lone earned run against him came in the fourth inning after he allowed a leadoff double. Otherwise, the right-hander was in control and generated seven groundball outs along with 13 swinging strikes across 74 total pitches (57 strikes, 77% strike rate, 18% SwStr). Eflin boasted a six-pitch mix, however, he leaned most heavily on his sinker (30%), cutter (26%), curveball (24%), and changeup (12%) — with the latter two pitches generating the most whiffs (10 total). It will be interesting to see how he attacks the Athletics this time around.
Ken Waldichuk allowed six runs on nine hits and one walk over 5.2 innings against the Angels on Sunday. He struck out four. Waldichuk struggled in his final spring start and wasn’t particularly sharp during his regular-season debut, starting the matchup by tossing three scoreless frames before surrendering three home runs between the fourth and fifth innings. The left-hander got his first taste of big-league action last season when he posted a 4.93 ERA and 1.21 WHIP across 34.2 innings (seven starts). He relies primarily on a 93 mph fourseam fastball that has some natural sinking action and an 81 mph slider that sweeps across the zone, while also mixing in a whiffy 83 mph changeup, and a 74 mph curveball with sweeping glove-side action.
Jeffrey Springs was fantastic in the series finale against the Tigers on Sunday, issuing just one walk over six no-hit innings. He struck out 12 on 81 pitches (58 strikes, 72% strike rate). The lefty coaxed 13 whiffs (16% SwStr) and recorded the first double-digit punchout performance of his big-league career. At one point, Springs recorded five consecutive strikeouts. Thus far, he has performed to a 0.00 ERA and -0.27 FIP, with a 0.17 WHIP, and a 12.00 K/BB.
Shintaro Fujinami coughed up eight runs on five hits and three walks while striking out four batters over 2.1 innings against the Angels. After 10 seasons of pitching in Japan, with the NPB’s Hanshin Tigers, Fujinami signed on with the Athletics in January. This likely wasn’t how he envisioned his first big-league start going, as Anaheim chased him after just 2.1 frames. The right-hander actually looked great over his first two frames, striking out four batters without allowing a baserunner, but the wheels fell off in the third, as Trout and company put eight of the first nine batters on base, with the only out being recorded on a sacrifice fly. All told Fujinami owns a 30.86 ERA and a 3.66 FIP, with a 3.43 WHIP, and a 1.33 K/BB. He relies primarily on a whiffy 97 mph fourseam fastball, an 84 mph worm-killer slider, and a hard 92 mph splitter that has some natural sink to it, while also mixing in an 88 mph cutter that boasts heavy sink.
Drew Rasmussen kept the dominant pitching going against Washington on Monday, allowing just two hits and no walks while striking out seven batters across six scoreless innings. Rasmussen was very efficient in his first outing of the season, needing only 66 pitches (50 strikes, 76% strike rate) to make it through six frames. His pitch mix (cutter, four-seamer, sweeper/sweeping slider, sinker, and curveball) was in line with what he threw last season, although he did lean on his sinker and hammer more on Monday, and cutter and four-seamer less. It will be interesting to see if that was an anomaly, or if his usage rates continue. At any rate, Rass owns a 0.00 ERA and 0.90 FIP on the season, with a 0.33 WHIP, and a 7.00 K/BB.
James Kaprielian allowed five runs on seven hits and two walks over five frames against Cleveland on Monday. He struck out five. Kaprielian was actually in line for the win before Oakland’s bullpen fell apart late. The right-hander gave up two runs in the first inning followed by three in the fourth, including Josh Naylor’s solo shot. Kaprielian tossed 61 of 89 pitches for strikes (69% strike rate), including 12 whiffs (13% SwStr). Last season, he forced 12 or more swinging strikes in five of his 26 starts. Kaprielian relies primarily on a 93 mph swing-and-miss fourseam fastball and an 83 mph slider that has short glove-side cut, while also mixing in an 84 mph changeup that dives down out of the zone, and a 93 mph sinker.
The Music That Influenced This Preview
Suppression with Bastard Noise — Infernal Legions LP. Long in the making, these two titans of powerviolence team up for a short, fast, loud, and glitchy affair that is sure to give you chills or a massive headache…or both. Treat yo’self.