Game #32 - Time to stop all of this losing, eh?
By Scott Caruso | May 6th, 2008 | Posted in Game Thread
The Rays got a day off to just sit and think about what happened over the weekend, which could be good or bad depending on how you look at it. They now take all of that pent-up frustration and try to direct it at the Toronto Blue Jays, winners of 5 in a row and finally starting to look like the team that everyone thought they would be.
It’s a tough task for sure, and the Rays will only be as good as their starting pitching will allow them to be. Over the weekend in Boston, the starting pitching put them in some deep holes early, and that was pretty much all she wrote. It will be imperative for Sonny (and Garza and E-Jax) to get off to a good start and give the Rays bats a chance to take the lead. No more of this playing from behind stuff; time to jump out early.
Easier said than done, of course, but it’s definitely posssible, especially against a pitcher like Burnett who allows a lot of baserunners. The key is to not bail him out with strikeouts once those runners get on base.
What to watch for: Carl Crawford hits .407/.448/.556 and Jason Bartlett hits .375/.444/.875 against Burnett. Any chance that Maddon shifts the lineup a little bit to get Aki (0-for-7 with 5 Ks) out of the leadoff spot in this one? I doubt it, but it’s worth considering.
Scouting Report on today’s starters from MLB.com:
Andy Sonnanstine - Sonnanstine overcame early control problems in his last start, on Wednesday night against the Orioles, to finish strong. He allowed just one run in eight innings of work, limiting the O’s to six hits while striking out five and walking two to earn his fourth win of the season. Sonnanstine’s best pitch is the slider, but in order for him to pitch well he needs to locate his fastball to set up the vast array of pitches he throws from all different angles. Sonnanstine is 1-1 with a 6.12 ERA in four career starts against the Blue Jays. He is 0-1 with a 7.50 ERA in two starts at Rogers Centre.
A.J. Burnett - On Thursday, Burnett picked up a win against the Red Sox, improving to 5-0 with a 1.98 ERA in his career against Boston. The right-hander allowed no runs on three hits over 7 2/3 innings, in which he struck out five and walked five. In his last two starts, Burnett has fashioned a 1.80 ERA, but has a 1-1 record, thanks to low run support. In his career against the Rays, Burnett is 6-2 with a 2.95 ERA in 13 starts.
Check out the Rays’ career numbers against A.J. Burnett.
View the game preview from Baseball Reference.
| TAMPA BAY RAYS |
TORONTO BLUE JAYS |
| 2B - Akinori Iwamura | RF - Alex Rios |
| LF - Carl Crawford | LF - Shannon Stewart |
| CF - B.J. Upton | 3B - Scott Rolen |
| 1B - Carlos Pena | DH - Matt Stairs |
| 3B - Evan Longoria | CF - Vernon Wells |
| DH - Eric Hinske | 1B - Lyle Overbay |
| C - Dioner Navarro | 2B - Aaron Hill |
| RF - Gabe Gross | C - Greg Zaun |
| SS - Jason Bartlett | SS - David Eckstein |
Be sure to join us in the chat room for some good Rays talk during the game!!!
Tags: Blue Jays
May 6th, 2008 at 6:19 pm
Was all alone in the chat room in 1st inning! Where is everybody? The Rays went down 1-2-3; sad swings. They need to get their batting mojos back because they are going up to the plate already lost in their heads.
May 6th, 2008 at 8:49 pm
Gabe Gross still gargles goat nads… U cannot tell me Ruggiano is not better…
May 6th, 2008 at 9:07 pm
Ruggiano needs to come up and replace Haynes and take big playing time from Gross. And Pena needs to sit for a few games to get his head together. He is one big strike-out right now. Pitiful.
Great win by Sonny and relief corps. The Rays really needed this one to stop the bleeding and Sonny came through. Never fast, just calm and wiley.
Hinske is Fman’s big pickup for the year. Congrats to management.
May 6th, 2008 at 9:18 pm
Pena just needs dropped in the order to figure it out-let Hinske clean up hit Longoria 5th and Pena 6th
May 6th, 2008 at 10:11 pm
Solid win. Sonny battled hard tonight and was rewarded with another win..
Nice to see BJ taking his usual hard swings again tonight following the shoulder strain. Also, we’ve all done our fair share of complaining about BJ’s aggressiveness/gaffes early in the season but tonight’s steal of second base demonstrated why he needs to continue to be aggressive on the bases. Zaun throws away and BJ’s on third. If Pena could hit, that could have been another run. With his speed and the pressure it puts on the other team’s pitcher/catcher, he needs to continue being aggressive!!!
On a sidenote; I’m going to the game tomorrow in Toronto. I will be the only one in attendance wearing a Rays t-shirt. Keep an eye out for me. Let’s go Rays!!
On another sidenote; Hinske continues to rake - another double and another HR… (insert guitar riff here!!!!)