I’ve nothing nice to say. Longoria’s three errors directly contributed to four Jays runs. The Rays left six on base. Luke Scott grounds into not one, but two double plays. Matt Joyce lets a 91 MPH meatball in the zone blow right by him, striking out looking with two on in the eighth. Tampa Bay let’s a struggling Joey Bats hit a homer and a sac fly. And the only mildly effective pitchers were Niemann, who only went five innings and was pulled after throwing only 87 pitches (I’ve my theories on that one), and Jake McGee. Box scores are below; there’s always tomorrow.
Fun facts:
BJ Upton DL replacement, Stephen Vogt, is now 0-13 on the season after his one AB on Tuesday. Vogt has easily gotten off to the worst start of any of the Rays on the roster…even worse than Elliot Johnson or Reid Brignac. Why he was even called up in the first place could, and should, be called into question, especially when you consider that there are suitable bats on the farm in Salazar or Feliciano. Fear not, his time here is limited.
According to Rays Prospects, B.J. Upton is scheduled to play in both games on Wednesday, in the outfield in game 1 and at DH in game 2. If all goes well he should be finished with his rehab assignment with the Biscuits. This news follows his Mongomery Biscuits debut where he was 2-4 with a walk for the game. BJ made his Montgomery debut in style, singling home the tying run in the 9th. I’d ascertain that he could be on the Rays roster as early as tomorrow if his his double duty performances today go smoothly.
In other news, Longoria’s three error game tied a team record, making him the seventh Ray in franchise history to have a three error game. Longo joins the ranks of Sean Rodriguez, Dioner Navarro, Josh Wilson, Alex Gonzalez, Jason Smith, and Kevin Stocker.
[youtube http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=xvtKUb0zjQY]