After last night’s brilliant performance by James Shields, what could Scott Kazmir possibly provide for an encore? I guess we’ll find out tonight! Joe Saunders goes for the Angels, and he’s been very good for the Halos so far this season. How about we hang that first loss on his record and win this series without having to go to the rubber-match?
What to watch for: When Joe Saunders is good, he’s quite good (think Andy Sonnanstine). When Joe Saunders is bad, he’s very bad (think Andy Sonnanstine). If the bad Saunders shows up, the Rays should be able to tee off. He’s not going to walk a lot of guys, and he won’t strike out anyone either. He makes you put it in play, keeps you with defensive swings, and lets his defense do the work.
Scouting Report on today’s starters from MLB.com:
Scott Kazmir - The reigning American League strikeout king made his 2008 debut Sunday against the Red Sox after missing the first month of the season while recovering from inflammation in his left elbow. And he looked a bit rusty, allowing three earned runs on six hits in four innings worked; of the 90 pitches he threw, just 55 were for strikes. Kazmir is at his best when he is locating his fastball, which makes his slider even more devastating. He is 1-1 with a 4.72 ERA in two career starts against the Angels. In 46 career starts at Tropicana Field, Kazmir has a 13-12 record with a 3.15 ERA.
Joe Saunders – In Saunders’ most recent outing, he struggled through five innings and emerged with his sixth victory, which was mainly attributable to three home runs during his time on the mound that gave the Halos just enough to win, 6-5. He had difficulty keeping the ball down in that one and gave up four runs, all earned, on 12 hits. Afterward, he complained of a sporadic curveball and difficulty closing the deal when he got ahead of hitters. This will be his first career outing against the Rays.
Check out the Rays’ career numbers against Joe Saunders.
View the game preview from Baseball Reference.
| TAMPA BAY RAYS |
LOS ANGELES ANGELS |
| 2B – Akinori Iwamura | CF – Gary Matthews Jr. |
| LF – Carl Crawford | SS – Erick Aybar |
| CF – B.J. Upton | RF – Vladimir Guerrero |
| 1B – Carlos Pena | DH – Tori Hunter |
| 3B – Evan Longoria | LF – Juan Rivera |
| C – Dioner Navarro | C - Mike Napoli |
| DH – Jonny Gomes | 1B – Casey Kotchman |
| RF – Eric Hinske | 3B – Brandon Wood |
| SS – Jason Bartlett | 2B – Sean Rodriguez |
Be sure to join us in the chat room for some good Rays talk during the game!!!
May 10th, 2008 at 6:02 pm
It is an exciting time to be a Rays fan. I have been a Rays fan since I lived in Tampa in the 90′s…and what a painful love-hate relationship it has been for over a decade. I know this relationship has changed because I not only follow the Rays closely, I now find myself FANATICALLY rushing to see how the Jays, the Sux, the Yanks and Os do each day to keep track of where the Rays are in the standings. Who else finds this exciting??
May 10th, 2008 at 6:27 pm
Hinske and Pena will strike tonight!
May 10th, 2008 at 11:04 pm
Another shut out. As Mr. Gleason use to say, “How sweet it is.” Boy
Dan Wheeler has a flair for the dramatics. Another bases loaded jam and he got out of it. Dan take it easy on our hearts.
May 10th, 2008 at 11:51 pm
Keeping up with the Sux…got to have faith.
May 11th, 2008 at 8:00 am
Another great game. This was one of the best crowds I have ever seen at a Devil Rays game. I have never seen that many Rays fans outside of an opening day game. Great pitching and great defense are starting to put people in the seats. Now lets start hitting the ball and we will have a great team.