And so it begins. This could be the single biggest week in the history of Rays baseball, with three games against the Angels followed by three games against the White Sox. Going 3-3 this week likely solidifies the Rays’ spot amongst the elite of the American League. Any less and they will begin to be questioned by pundits and fans alike about whether or not they can handle the pressure without Evan Longoria and Carl Crawford.
Not to mention that the Red Sox get to beat on the Orioles for the next 3 days; this series right here couldn’t be any bigger.
Andy Sonnanstine takes to the bump in Game 1, looking to build upon his already solid season. He’s got 15 wins in his sights, and is looking to earn himself a postseason start should the Rays hang on down the stretch. A good way to earn that spot would be to beat the Angels tonight.
What to watch for: Eric Hinske has dominated Jon Garland in their past meetings; couple that with the way that Carlos Pena, Willy Aybar, and Cliff Floyd are hitting right now, and you could certainly have a winning offensive formula.
Scouting Report on today’s starters from MLB.com:
Andy Sonnanstine - Sonnanstine picked up his 12th win of the season Wednesday night, when he held the A’s to two runs on six hits and a walk while striking out six. The right-hander is a master of deception, employing an array of pitches that he can throw from all different angles. But he has learned to primarily use his fastball to set up the other pitches. Sonnanstine is 0-1 with a 6.00 ERA in two career starts against the Angels; he is 7-8 with a 5.36 ERA in 21 career starts at Tropicana Field.
Jon Garland – Holding the Mariners to three runs across seven innings on Tuesday night, Garland maintained his remarkable consistency by pitching at least six innings for the 17th time in 24 outings. On nine occasions he has pitched at least seven innings. He has averaged 6 1/3 innings per start this season. Garland is 5-1 with a 3.03 ERA in 10 career starts against the Rays. He’s 3-0 in six outings at Tropicana Field, with a 2.13 ERA.
Check out the Rays’ career numbers against Jon Garland.
View the game preview from Baseball Reference.
| TAMPA BAY RAYS |
L.A. ANGELS OF ANAHEIM |
| 2B – Akinori Iwamura | LINEUP 1 |
| CF – B.J. Upton | LINEUP 2 |
| 1B – Carlos Pena | LINEUP 3 |
| DH – Cliff Floyd | LINEUP 4 |
| 3B – Willy Aybar | LINEUP 5 |
| LF – Eric Hinske | LINEUP 6 |
| C – Dioner Navarro | LINEUP 7 |
| RF – Gabe Gross | LINEUP 8 |
| SS – Jason Bartlett | LINEUP 9 |
Be sure to join us in the chat room for some good Rays talk during the game!!!
Tags: Angels
August 18th, 2008 at 10:54 pm
I have hoped that Upton was just the target of overly critical bloggers but tonight confirmed to me that he is a physically skilled village idiot with clay in and between the ears with no self pride and a flat learning curve.
I am from Michigan originally. We learn there that when it snows, the horses look down and then paw at the ground to get at the feed beneath the snow. The cows are so stupid that they look down and only see white snow and will starve to death if fresh feed is not put out for them. Upton is the cow.