Somehow, someway the Rays went 4-3 on that last roadtrip and have to be feeling pretty good about themselves as they head home to take on the Tigers and Indians in 6 winnable games. It gets started out on the right foot (or is that left arm?) tonight, as Scott Kazmir toes the slab for the Tigers against Zach Miner, who has spent most of this season as a relief pitcher.
As we all know, the Rays didn’t make a single trade-deadline move, so they go into battle with the same team that put them 3 games ahead of the Red Sox in the AL East. I’m okay with that.
What to watch for: Even without Pudge Rodriguez, the Tiger offense is very scary. It will be interesting to see how Scott Kazmir attacks their hitters and tries to keep the Rays in the driver’s seat.
Scouting Report on today’s starters from MLB.com:
Scott Kazmir – Kazmir was sharp on Saturday against the Royals, just not as sharp as he had been recently. He lasted just five innings, giving up two runs and picking up the no-decision. An hour long rain delay struck in the middle of his outing, possibly causing some problems. Kazmir’s previous outing was one of his best. He threw seven scoreless innings with nine strikeouts. Recently, Kazmir said the key to his recent success was relaxing more on the mound and not over-analyzing every decision.
Zach Miner - Miner’s transition from the bullpen to the rotation took another positive step in his last start. After shutting out the Royals over six inning his first time out on Monday, Miner held the AL Central-leading White Sox to two runs on five hits in six innings Sunday. He did not walk a batter, tossing 61 of his 92 pitches for strikes. He also didn’t overthrow, as he has shown a tendency to do in relief appearances, and his sinking fastball registered in the 89-91 mph range. In his two starts this season, he has allowed eight hits and one walk in 12 innings.
Check out the Rays’ career numbers against Zach Miner.
View the game preview from Baseball Reference.
| TAMPA BAY RAYS |
DETROIT TIGERS |
| 2B – Akinori Iwamura | CF – Curtis Granderson |
| CF – B.J. Upton | 2B – Placido Polanco |
| LF – Carl Crawford | 3B – Carlos Guillen |
| 3B – Evan Longoria | RF – Magglio Ordonez |
| 1B – Carlos Pena | 1B – Miguel Cabrera |
| DH – Cliff Floyd | DH – Gary Sheffield |
| C – Dioner Navarro | LF – Marcus Thames |
| RF – Eric Hinske | SS – Edgar Renteria |
| SS – Jason Bartlett | C – Brandon Inge |
Be sure to join us in the chat room for some good Rays talk during the game!!!
Tags: Tigers
August 1st, 2008 at 4:31 pm
Even without a trade, I really like our lineup. When it clicks on all cylinders, it can be lethal.
August 1st, 2008 at 4:53 pm
let’s hear the clicking…click, click, click
August 1st, 2008 at 5:03 pm
Here is and idea for a player: Chris Duffy was just designated for assignment by the Pirates. Why not give him a shot? I mean sure he has a history of injuries but its not like Rocco’s and he bats and throws left.
I mean, he can’t be any worst than Nathan Haynes or as Angel fans used to call him: The fast guy who can’t hit a lick…
August 1st, 2008 at 5:10 pm
I am predicting that Crawford will hit over .300 for the rest of the year, which should help us out a bit. I also see Pena going on a small tear and hitting .270 for the remainder of the year, along with 13 more HR to tack on to his total. Floyd will hit .285 for the rest of this year with 8 HR, all for his newborn daughter. And lastly, my boldest player prediction yet…Rocco will return to hit .305, 7 HR, and 24 RBI to finish the season. While not totally lighting it up, those numbers would certainly be nice out of someone who is only likely to play about 3 times a week. For my team prediction, I see us finishing 32-23 in our last 55 games, and winning the division with some wiggle room. Let’s go Rays!!!
August 1st, 2008 at 5:16 pm
Chris Duffy makes ZERO sense for us. He’s left-handed, and hasn’t proven himself at the major league level. Rocco suffers from a rare muscle disorder, and has seemingly started to move past the worst of it. Also, Rocco has had a good deal of success in the majors. Sure, Duffy can run, but that’s about it. Picking him up would be terrible, and a waste of a move. I am thinking that the Rays might give Rocco a shot in the next series to debut, and if he can’t do it, then Ruggiano will be back up here to see how he fares.
August 1st, 2008 at 8:44 pm
Yankees lose another one to the Angels! Hopefully, the A’s can pull it out against Boston in extra innings if they can get through the bottom of the 9th.
August 1st, 2008 at 8:51 pm
This umpire tonight is driving me crazy.
August 1st, 2008 at 9:00 pm
THE MAN-CRUSH DELIVERS!!
Scott <3 Evan 4-Ever
August 1st, 2008 at 9:48 pm
Rays Win! Rays Win!