After a 5-3 loss against the Yankees last night, the Tampa Bay Rays look to bounce back and win the series on Wednesday. It’s the last regular-season meeting between the two, with the Rays holding a commanding 7-2 lead in the series and a 3-1/2 game lead atop the AL East.
Tampa Bay enters play 13 games over .500 and with a 99.9% chance of a playoff berth with 23 games left to play, according to FanGraphs.
Suspensions have been handed down after the actions that transpired last night. In the first inning, Masahiro Tanaka hit the third batter of the game, Joey Wendle, which was clearly intentional. As Neil Solondz (Rays Radio) tweeted, “For those wondering, last night’s HBP of Joey Wendle was not only the highest velocity of any pitch Tanaka threw … it was the highest velocity on any hit-by-pitch in his career, and only the fourth left-handed batter he had ever hit with his fastball. It came right after he threw behind Wendle.”
Then the ninth inning, Aroldis Chapman threw high and tight at all three batters he faced, including one near the head of Mike Brosseau at 101 mph on the in-house radar gun in New York. Brosseau barely ducked the baseball as Chapman walked off the mound toward the plate.
The umpires met up then automatically ejected Cash when he came out of the dugout to protest. Chapman eventually got the last out, then — in the words of John Romano (Tampa Bay Times) — “posed like a playground bully on the mound.”
As Brousseau headed to the dugout, he clearly heard shouting from the Yankees side and turned to say something himself. The benches emptied, yet the scrum ended quickly.
Manager Kevin Cash said after the game that the Yankees were guilty of poor judgment, poor teaching, and poor coaching, while also saying:
I can assure you, other than three years ago, there hasn’t been one pitch thrown with intent from any of our guys. Somebody has to be accountable and the last thing I’ll say is I have a whole damn stable full of guys that throw 98 mph.
— Kevin Cash
Aroldis Chapman received a three-game suspension, while managers Kevin Cash and Aaron Boone each got one game. Cash and Boone will serve their suspensions tonight, although Chapman can appeal the ruling.
Will this season’s tensions spill over into the finale tonight? That fails to be seen. However, expect warnings to be levied on both benches ahead of the game (cough, something that should have been done last night given the bad blood between both teams). One can hope for lots of bat-flips and taunts after every home run.
The New What Next
Charlie Morton (1-1, 5.40 ERA) has been activated from the IL and will get the start for Tampa Bay, pitching opposite of Jordan Montgomery (2-1, 4.44 ERA). The Rays optioned Brian O’Grady to make room for Morton on the roster.
Charlie Morton’sshoulder responded well to his latest bullpen session Saturday, leaving Rays skipper Kevin Cash optimistic that the right-hander will be ready to rejoin the rotation this week. Morton last started against the Yankees on August 9, allowing one run on three hits across two innings. Before he was shut down with the shoulder injury, Morton performed to a 5.40 ERA, 1.50 WHIP, and 4.25:1 K:BB over 16-2/3 innings over four starts.
Jordan Montgomery allowed three runs (two earned) on five hits and no walks while striking out six over five innings on Friday against the Mets. Montgomery tossed four scoreless frames to begin Friday’s doubleheader, but he surrendered a run in the fifth inning before things started to unravel in the sixth. The Mets totaled five runs in the sixth inning, forcing Montgomery to settle for his second consecutive no-decision. He relies primarily on an 83 mph worm-killer changeup with a lot of backspin and a 93 mph sinker, while also mixing in a whiffy 93 mph four-seam fastball with natural sinking action, an 81 mph 12-6 curveball with surprisingly little depth, and an 89 mph cutter with good “rise”. He is 1-1 with a 3.54 ERA in five career starts against Tampa Bay. Key Matchups: Yandy Diaz (1-2), Austin Meadows (1-1)
You can read about the series in our preview, while the starting lineup is below.
Rays 9/2/20 Starting Lineup
- Margot CF
- Arozarena LF
- Meadows DH
- Brosseau 2B
- Adames SS
- Wendle 3B
- Renfroe RF
- Smith C
- N. Lowe 1B