Rays of Light

Game #100: Looks like we made it

I heard and read a number of commentators and columnists who said that you’d know if the Rays were real if they could make it to the 100th game of the season and still be in the race. 1st place in the AL East still counts as “in the race,” right?

After last night’s rough loss, the Rays can still take this series behind James Shields today. If he’s on the mound for a series clincher, you like your chances.

What to watch for: Any signs of life from the offense. Things still just haven’t clicked yet.

Scouting Report on today’s starters from MLB.com:
James Shields - Shields continued his home dominance on Friday night, notching his eighth win this season, six of which have been at Tropicana Field. The 26-year-old right-hander tossed seven innings of one-run baseball — allowing only a solo homer to Toronto’s Adam Lind — in the four-strikeout performance. Shields’ best pitch has always been his changeup, but he also has a plus fastball and curve and he’s added a cutter that has helped him throw inside to left-handers. He will be making his first start of the season against Oakland, a team he has traditionally fared well against. In four career starts, Shields is 2-1 with a 4.55 ERA.

Greg Smith - Smith struggled Friday night against the Yankees and exited after just 3 2/3 innings. He allowed six earned runs on eight hits in the shortened outing. He fell into long at-bats to contribute to the high pitch count. The lefty threw 62 pitches through the first three innings. Smith walked five and struck out just one in the game. He is 0-1 with a 2.57 ERA against the Rays.

Check out the Rays’ career numbers against Greg Smith.

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Tags: A's
Posted in Game Thread | 9 Comments »

Game #99: How about winning another series?

Tags: A's
Posted in Game Thread | 3 Comments »

Game #98: Feeling Athletic

2-out-of-3 ain’t bad, and the Rays aim to do that again against the A’s. If they can take 2 out of every 3 from her eon in, they are going to win the division, so that’s what the goal should be going forward.

Kid K returns to the hill after his win in the All-Star Game. A lot of people were critical about the decision to push him all the way back to today, but I’m okay with it because he’s the most important arm in the starting rotation. No reason to even tempt fate.

What to watch for: Jonny Gomes will get three straight starts against left-handed pitching. This could be his chance to save his job, period.

Scouting Report on today’s starters from MLB.com:
Scott Kazmir - Kazmir took the loss in his last start, against the Indians on July 13, when he allowed five runs on eight hits in six innings. Kazmir has not picked up a win since June 27 at Pittsburgh, and he’s 1-4 in his last five decisions. In addition, Kazmir has made it into the seventh inning just once in his last seven starts. The lefty is still working to gain command of his slider, which has historically been his best pitch. Without his slider, he has primarily used a fastball-changeup combination this season. He is 5-1 with a 2.96 ERA in nine career starts against the A’s.

Dana Eveland - First-inning struggles continued for Eveland in his last start against the Angels. He pitched well in 5 2/3 innings, giving up two runs in the first inning, on five hits with five strikeouts, but he also walked five. It was the third straight outing in which Eveland had trouble in the opening frame, but after the game he said toning it down to about 80 percent may be the solution to his early-inning woes. He pitched his first career complete game in his only start against Tampa Bay earlier in the year, giving up a lone run on just three hits while walking one and fanning five in the win.

Check out the Rays’ career numbers against Dana Eveland.

View the game preview from Baseball Reference.

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Tags: A's
Posted in Game Thread | 3 Comments »

Game #97: Sweep! Sweep! Sweep!

Well wouldn’t that be a nice way to end the first series after the All-Star Break? The Rays could use a sweep - that would be 3 games in a row, called a winning streak in some circles - after the pre-All-Star Break debacle. The Angels, for their part, have been helping the Rays out and we’re now the proud owners of a 1 1/2 game lead in the East again. Maybe the stars align properly and we come out of today with a 2 1/2 game lead? We can only hope.

What to watch for: Parrish has been a reliever for most of his big league career, so you’d think he’d take his lumps in his transition to a starter this year. Not so, thus far, but the Rays offense is primed to break out and today is as good a day as any to make that happen.

Scouting Report on today’s starters from MLB.com:
Edwin Jackson - Jackson threw 6 1/3 innings of one-run ball in an impressive outing against the Yankees on July 9. The right-hander gave up just six hits and struck out three to come away with the no-decision. Jackson allowed his only earned run in the first inning, but he kept the Yankees off the scoreboards after that and retired seven of the final eight batters he faced. Jackson is 0-2 with a 3.38 ERA in seven career appearances against the Blue Jays.

John Parrish - With starters Dustin McGowan (right shoulder) and Shaun Marcum (right elbow) sidelined for the time being, Parrish has pitched his way into a rotation job. In his first two outings for the Jays, the lefty gave up four runs on 10 hits over 13 innings, in which he struck out seven and walked four. On July 10, Parrish took a no-decision after allowing three runs on six hits in a seven-inning effort against the Orioles.

Check out the Rays’ career numbers against John Parrish.

View the game preview from Baseball Reference.

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Tags: Blue Jays
Posted in Game Thread | 6 Comments »

Game #96: Let’s make it two!

I enjoyed last night’s win so much, I’d like to try and do it again today. Sure it’s Roy Halladay on the mound, but we can handle him, right? Okay, so maybe it’ll take a great effort from Matt Garza to get it done. Maybe it’s too much to expect back-to-back wins against Burnett and Halladay, but a dude can dream, can’t he?

What to watch for: ANYTHING from B.J. Upton and Carlos Pena. Those guys really need to start hitting like a 3- and a 4-hitter soon.

Scouting Report on today’s starters from MLB.com:
Matt Garza - Garza will be making his 18th start of the season after taking his fifth loss July 12 against the Indians when he allowed seven runs on 11 hits and two walks while striking out five in five innings. Garza has a mid-90s fastball that sinks, a curve, a slider and a changeup. He is 0-2 with a 7.71 ERA in two career starts against the Blue Jays.

Roy Halladay - The undisputed ace of the Blue Jays staff, Halladay has enjoyed another stellar season thus far, earning his fifth career All-Star selection in the process. His 11 wins lead the team. As well, his seven complete-games and 146 1/3 innings pitched, lead the Majors. In his last start, Halladay dominated the Yankees, allowing just two hits in a shutout. He walked just one, while striking out eight New York hitters. In his career against the Rays, the right-hander is 9-5 with a 3.76 ERA.

Check out the Rays’ career numbers against Roy Halladay.

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Tags: Blue Jays
Posted in Game Thread | 3 Comments »

Game #95: The first game of the rest of our lives

All-Star Break’s over. Time to get back to business. It’s also time to snap that 7-game losing streak. That’s not an albatross this team needs hanging over its head any longer. How about a nice 5-game win streak or something like that to open up the second-half? That’d be awesome.

As an aside, I hate that we call today the start of the “second half” of the season. Game #82 was the second half of the season. It’s not my fault that MLB waits until 2 weeks later to play the All-Star Game.

What to watch for: Signs of life from the offense that wren’t there in the week prior to the break. If past history is any indication, A.J. Burnett’s the guy to try to do it off of.

James Shields - Shields took his sixth loss of the season on July 11, when he allowed five runs on 10 hits in six innings against the Royals, continuing his hard luck on the road. Fortunately for the Rays, he has been strong at Tropicana Field this season where he is 5-1 with a 2.13 ERA in 10 starts. The 26-year-old right-hander’s best pitch has always been his changeup, but he also has a plus fastball and curve and he’s added a cutter that has helped him throw inside to left-handers. He is 3-0 with a 2.70 ERA in four career starts against the Blue Jays.

A.J. Burnett - Burnett has had mixed results over the first half of the season. Despite this, his win total (10) in the first half of the campaign, has already matched the overall total that he had amassed in each of the previous two seasons. Amidst various trade rumors, Burnett handcuffed the Yankees in his last start. He took a shutout into the ninth inning, until surrendering a solo home run to Jason Giambi. Burnett allowed just the one run on six hits over 8 1/3 innings. He walked one while striking out eight, and tossed 98 pitches in the outing. In his career against the Rays, the Toronto right-hander is 6-3 with a 3.21 ERA in 14 career starts.

Check out the Rays’ career numbers against A.J. Burnett.

View the game preview from Baseball Reference.

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Tags: Blue Jays
Posted in Game Thread | 7 Comments »

Game #92: Um, win please?

There’s no other way to say it: the Rays need a win. Problem is that they are running up against Cliff Lee tonight. It’s a great example of how bad the Indians really have been this year that Lee can be 11-2 and the team can still be so far out of first place. Truly baffling.

What to watch for: Any signs of life from the suddenly stagnant bats. (Hey that’s sounds familiar. I think I said it last night.)

Scouting Report on today’s starters from MLB.com:
James Shields - Shields picked up his seventh win of the season Sunday when he held the Royals to two runs on four hits and a walk while striking out eight in seven innings. The 26-year-old right-hander’s best pitch has always been his changeup, but he also has a plus fastball and curve and he’s added a cutter that has helped him throw inside to left-handers. He is 0-1 with a 2.66 ERA in three career starts against the Indians and is 0-1 with a 2.84 ERA in one start at Progressive Field.

Cliff Lee - On the same day Lee was announced to the All-Star team, the lefty went seven innings and gave up four earned runs on six hits and two walks against the Twins in a 4-3 Indians loss. Lee sailed through five scoreless innings before running into trouble in a one-run sixth and three-run seventh. Even so, Lee continues to be a stabilizing force on an otherwise disappointing team. Lee’s next start, his last before the All-Star Break, will come against Tampa Bay. Lee has not faced the Rays in 2008 during the club’s breakout campaign.

View the Rays numbers against Cliff Lee.

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Tags: Indians
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Game #91: 4 for Fighting (or, Trying to Take Down the Tribe)

4 games to close out the first-half of the season against the struggling Cleveland Indians. Anything less than 3-out-of-4 should be considered a disappointment.

What to watch for: Any signs of life from the suddenly stagnant bats.

Scouting Report on today’s starters from MLB.com:
Andy Sonnanstine - Sonnanstine earned his seventh win of the season Saturday after blanking the Royals for seven innings while limiting them to five hits and a walk while striking out two. 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 setup the other pitches. Sonnanstine is 0-1 with a 4.50 ERA in one career start against the Indians.

Aaron Laffey - Laffey had his second consecutive poor start on Saturday. The rookie allowed four earned runs in five innings on five hits and four walks against Minnesota. This came after an Interleague start where Laffey allowed a five-run fifth inning to the Reds. The lefty will next take on the Rays, a club he has never faced.

None of the Rays have ever faced Aaron Laffey.

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Tags: Indians
Posted in Game Thread | 12 Comments »

Game #90: Quick turn-around time

The Rays get right back at it, trying to salvage a split of this 2-game series in a matinee at the big ballyard in The Bronx. Though its comforting to know that even a loss here wouldn’t be a killer for the Rays, it could be damaging to the team’s psyche to go up into New York and throw up a big egg after playing so well for such a long period of time. You never want those “Are we really for real?” thoughts to creep in.

On the bright side, Sir Sidney Ponson is pitching for the Yankees, and he stinks.

What to watch for: It’s always Edwin Jackson when he’s on the mound. Good Edwin equals a win and bad Edwin equals a loss. It’s pretty simple, actually.

Scouting Report on today’s starters from MLB.com:

Edwin Jackson - Jackson pitched masterfully on Friday, holding the Royals to two runs on four hits in eight innings. The 24-year-old right-hander faced the minimum through six innings en route to his fifth win of the season. If Jackson is locating his 97-mph fastball, his other pitches can work well, particularly his slider. Jackson is 2-2 with a 4.42 ERA in 10 career appearances against the Yankees and is 2-1 with a 3.44 ERA in five career appearances at Yankee Stadium.

Sir Sidney Ponson - Ponson struggled against his former Texas club Wednesday night, giving up seven runs and nine hits through five-plus innings. The seven runs matched his season high in runs allowed, and Ponson surrendered two home runs in the sixth inning before exiting the game. The right-hander recorded just one strikeout and gave up two separate leads before a New York rally gave him a no-decision. Ponson said he felt good physically through all his pitches, but the mechanics weren’t there.

Check out the Rays’ career numbers against Sir Sidney Ponson.

View the game preview from Baseball Reference.

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Tags: Yankees
Posted in Game Thread | 10 Comments »

Game #88: Royal flush?

The Rays have already won this 4-game series. Today it’s time to step on the neck and go for the sweep in this matinee game.

What to watch for: If the good Matt Garza shows up today, it could be another long one for the Royals, who’ve been outscored 23-4 during this series already

Scouting Report on today’s starters from MLB.com:
Matt Garza - The right-hander followed up his first career complete game on June 26 with another stellar outing on Tuesday night. Garza tossed seven innings and allowed Boston one unearned run off five hits. The 24-year-old has the best stuff on the Rays staff and, if he can keep his emotions in check, is a force on the mound. With wins in his last two starts, Garza seems well on his way to solidifying that status, and will look to continue to dominate vs. Kansas City. He tossed 65 of his 102 pitches for strikes on Tuesday night, and fanned a trio of Red Sox batters.

Gil Meche - Meche admittedly wasn’t very good on Wednesday night at Baltimore. He made a bad pitch to Aubrey Huff (two-run homer) in the first inning and it didn’t get any better. Even the 1-2-3 sixth inning, his last, featured three rockets that were caught. The loss ended a personal three-game streak for Meche, all three wins coming against National League teams. Tampa Bay hasn’t treated him kindly; he’s 1-4 with a 5.65 ERA in eight games and that was before the Rays became such a hot team.

Check out the Rays’ career numbers against Gil Meche.

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Tags: Royals
Posted in Game Thread | 6 Comments »