Rays of Light

Game #132: Another series win, perhaps?

After last night’s gutty, gritty pitching performance, Edwin Jackson attempts to deliver a series win to the Rays tonight against Jesse Litsch and the Jays. After watching the Red Sox dismantle the Yankees the past two days, you’d love the Rays to pick up another win to keep a leg up.

What to watch for: The Rays have done pretty well against Litsch in the past, so if they can get just a few runs off of him,. Edwin should be able to navigate the Jays’ offense.

Scouting Report on today’s starters from MLB.com:
Edwin Jackson - Jackson picked up his 10th win of the season Friday night against the White Sox when he allowed just two runs after scattering seven hits and five walks over six innings. Making his outing more remarkable was the fact he allowed the leadoff runner to reach base in five of the six innings he pitched. If Jackson is locating his 97 mph fastball, his other pitches can work well, particularly his slider. Jackson is 1-3 with a 4.20 ERA in nine career appearances against the Blue Jays.

Jesse Litsch - Since being recalled from Triple-A Syracuse on Aug. 14, the 23-year-old Litsch has spun 13 consecutive shutout innings over two starts. On Saturday, he picked up a win at home — Litsch’s first victory since June 26 — after limiting the Red Sox to no runs on three hits with four strikeouts and three walks. In his career against the Rays, Litsch has gone 1-2 with a 3.86 ERA in five appearances.

Check out the Rays’ career numbers against Jesse Litsch.

View the game preview from Baseball Reference.

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Game #131: Back on the horse

After back-to-back losses, the Rays try to get back on the horse tonight against a rookie left-hander who has been beat up quite a bit in the early-goings of his career. With Matt Garza going for the Rays, it’s a great night to snap the skid before it gets out of hand.

What to watch for: David Purcey is not very good, but the Rays aren’t very good against left-handed pitching. Something’s gotta give.

Scouting Report on today’s starters from MLB.com:
Matt Garza - The 24-year-old Fresno State product has arguably the best stuff on the Rays staff, boasting a mid-90s fastball that sinks, a curveball, a slider and a changeup. He is coming off Wednesday night’s no-decision to the Angels in which the right-hander allow four runs on seven hits and four walks while striking out seven. Garza is 2-2 in four career starts vs. Toronto, with a 2.77 ERA.

David Purcey - In five starts since joining Toronto’s rotation on July 24, Purcey has gone 2-3 with a 5.33 ERA. Over that span, the 6-foot-5 left-hander has allowed 16 runs on 25 hits, with 22 strikeouts and 10 walks over 27 innings. On Wednesday, Purcey took the loss at home against the Yankees after giving up five runs on seven hits in just four innings. Purcey - in his rookie season — has never faced the Rays.

View the game preview from Baseball Reference.

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Tags: Blue Jays
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Blue Jays 6, RAYS 2: Not what the “Doc”-tor ordered

(Box Score)

After three games away from the Trop, the Rays came home and did something they’re not used to doing: they lost. But, considering the relative success the Rays have had against Doc Halladay in the past, it was only a matter of time before he finally stymied their bats.

Ouch:  Dioner Navarro left the game in the 6th inning thanks to cramping in both hamstrings. It’s uncertain whether he will play tonight or not.

On the one hand, it’s a big loss for the Rays as the pudgy catcher has been a big part of the offense and defense this season, but on the other hand, Navi could probably use a few days off. Let’s hope it’s not too serious.

What happened to James Shields? It’s been a while since we’ve seen a vintage Shields performance, hasn’t it? He was very mediocre again last night; 9 hits and 4 runs later, Shields left trailing another game. He’s got one month to get it straightened back out and become a stopper yet again for down the stretch and in the playoffs.

The Whiff: So, B.J. Upton struck out another 3 times in a game. That’s getting kind of old, isn’t it?

Standings Check: After the Red Sox beat the Yankees last night, Boston is just 3 1/2 games behind the Rays.

Tags: Blue Jays
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RAYS 3, Blue Jays 2: Edwin Houdini and his pen pals save the day

(Box Score)

Somewhere amidst all of the trade deadline rumors, a baseball game between the Rays and the Jays broke out. And, again, it took a gutty pitching performance to make up for a lackluster offensive showing for the Rays to take a win. Somehow, someway, the little engine that could from St. Pete has won another series and ended up with a 4-3 road trip despite playing like absolute diddly-poo.

That’s right. I said diddly-poo.

Houdini Act: Edwin Jackson was not very good during his 5 innings of work today, but, man, was he gutsy and lucky. Working out of jam after jam, E-Jax somehow earned himself a win today and left the Blue Jays’ fans cursing their offense’s ineptitude. To be honest, it was kind of like watching our offense in reverse.

This could have turned into the classic Edwin Jackson meltdown game, too. He got beat up in the first inning, allowing a 2-run moonshot of a homerun to Lyle Overbay, but really settled down and never let himself give up the big hit or the big walk that cost himself the game. Was he lucky? Absolutely. Was it enough for a win? It sure was.

Last year, Edwin Jackson would have folded like a 2-7 off-suit. This year, the new and improved Edwin got the game to his stellar bullpen, and it was all over from there.

Pen Pals: Remember last year? Remember Shawn Camp and Chad Orvella and Brian Stokes and Casey Fossum and (insert guy who is no better than your local grocery manager) being trotted out there and expected to get big outs? Well this year’s team is anything but that. J.P. Howell has ice-water in his veins. Grant Balfour could easily be closing right now. Dan Wheeler is solid as ever. And Troy Percival is a stabilizing veteran presence who makes the rest of the bullpen better just for being there. If (when?) the Rays make the playoffs, the entire bullpen will be the MVP of this squad. Even as the offense has faltered, the bullpen has delivered big performance after big performance and has been an absolute joy to watch.

Not O-”K”: Alright… this whole striking out thing with runners on third base is REALLY getting old. How long is it going to last? The worst offender tonight was Carl Crawford, who wasted a perfect sacrifice bunt from B.J. Upton by flailing at a ball out of the zone on a 2-0 count and eventually going down on strikes. Between C.C. and Pena and - yes - even Longoria, there have been so many strikeouts with runners in scoring position that it’s almost laughable at this point. When will the madness end?

Gabe Gross… looks like his swinging a mop up at the plate right now. If the Rays add a few players, he should be worried for his job.

On Strike: One of Troy Percival’s biggest problems in recent outings has been his inability to throw strikes. Today started out as no exception - his first three were out of the zone - but he settled down and threw 10 of his next 14 over the plate. As long as he’s working ahead, he can still get some of the best out.

Home Cooking: Not only does the offense get a day off, but the Rays also get to return home on Friday night. Could there be any better remedy for what ails the bats?

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Game #107: Can we REALLY still win the road trip?

After as poorly as the Rays’ offense has played of late, it is amazing that the team finds itself at 3-3 on its current road trip and can actually end it with a winning record by beating Scott Richmond in his big league debut today. Should we send the Jays a thank-you card for bumping the southpaw John Parrish from the rotation in favor of the righty Richmond?

What to watch for: Today’s the day the offense breaks out. I can feel it.

Scouting Report on today’s starters from MLB.com:
Edwin Jackson - For a while, Jackson was dominant in his last outing. Against the Royals last Friday, he threw a no-hitter for the first four innings and two outs into the fifth. Then, he gave up a homer. The first batter in the sixth also hit a home run, and then the next walked. Just like that, Jackson was done. He went five innings, giving up two runs, two hits and two walks. Although he would’ve liked to have lasted longer, it was a big improvement over his last outing before that one. Then, Jackson gave up six runs in 4 1/3 innings.

Scott Richmond - Richmond was summoned from Triple-A Syracuse on Monday, when the Jays placed reliever Brian Tallet on the 15-day DL with a broken toe. The 28-year-old Richmond will be making his Major League debut on Wednesday. The Jays have indicated that the right-hander will be a part of the rotation for at least the time-being. Richmond replaces John Parrish, who was moved to the bullpen. In Double-A New Hampshire, Richmond was 5-8 with a 4.95 ERA. After being promoted to Syracuse, he went 0-2 with a 2.53 ERA, holding opponents to a .210 (25-for-119) average. He walked six and struck out 31 across 35 innings.

View the game preview from Baseball Reference.

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Tags: Blue Jays
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RAYS 3, Blue Jays 0: Marvelous Matt Garza

(Box Score)

We weren’t kidding when we said yesterday that Matt Garza needed to be brilliant with the way the Rays’ offense has been playing lately; after scoring just 1 run in 7 innings off of Roy Halladay, it looked like it would take a shutout to beat the birds. A little insurance by Evan Longoria in the 8th gave Garza all the padding he needed to earn his first career shutout.

Marvelous Matt: Can we finally put to rest this myth that Matt Garza is inconsistent? He’s allowed 3 ER or fewer in 15 of his 20 starts; by comparison, James Shields has done the same in 17 of 22 starts and no one calls him inconsistent. Does Garza have the occasional game where he gets bombed? Sure does. But most pitchers do. To call him inconsistent would be lump him in there with Andy Sonnanstine and Edwin Jackson, which couldn’t be further from the truth. At just 24 years old, he’s got the stuff and the composure to be a top-of-the-rotation starter.

That trade of Delmon Young (.724 OPS, 4 HR) is looking better and better by the month, with each time that Garza takes the hill and each time Bartlett makes a play into the hole.

At this point, I don’t think there’s any question who would start Game 3 of a playoff series should the Rays be lucky enough to get there; Matt Garza has certainly separated himself and is now one of the “Big 3″ along with Scott Kazmir and James Shields. I like our chances any time those three guys are on the hill.

What made Garza so good yesterday was his ability to get the ground ball; in all he got 15 ground ball outs compared to just 7 through the air. Couple that with 74 strikes out of 106 pitches and you’ve got yourself a winning formula.

Double Your Pleasure: Three timely double plays turned by the Rays infield helped to snuff out some Blue Jays’ chances, and also showed just how talented that Rays infield is. They are wicked good. That turn by Evan in the 7th inning was a thing of beauty.

Speaking of Evan… did you see that sick play he made behind the third base bag after that ground ball hit off of it? The Gold Glove is a rigged, bogus award, but I’ll be damned if he doesn’t deserve it.

Speaking of Evan some more…  I’ve never seen a more professional 22-year-old hitter in my life. He struggled early on in the game (for instance, he couldn’t knock home C.C. in the first inning), but still had a professional at bat in the 8th when he took Halladay to the opposite field for a 2-run double. He’s always there when the Rays need a pick-me-up; let’s hope the rest of the team begins to follow suit soon.

A Little Help From Our “Friends”: And by “friends” I mean the Orioles and Angels who beat the Yankees and Red Sox, allowing the Rays to add another game to their lead.

Tags: Blue Jays
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Game #106: Put up or shut up time

The Rays’ backs are up against the proverbial wall right now. The Jays are streaking. The Sox and Yankees are nipping at their toes. And they’ve put up a big fat goose-egg of late against teams that they should be pounding the bejeezus out of. It doesn’t get any easier tonight as Matt Garza draws Roy Halladay in Game 2 of this three game set.

A loss tonight means that the Rays cannot win this series, so here’s to hoping that they find a way to scratch across a few runs and earn the “W.”

What to watch for: Even if the offense were going well, hitting Roy Halladay would be a tough task. It’ll be up to Matt Garza to shut down the Jays’ offense enough for the Rays to scratch across a run or two to try and steal a win away from perhaps the best starter in the league.

Scouting Report on today’s starters from MLB.com:
Matt Garza - Garza never felt in rhythm in his last start, a loss to the Royals. Even when he pitched relatively well in the first two innings, he just didn’t feel right. Garza said he had no juice on his fastball, which affected the timing of the rest of his pitches. By the time manager Joe Maddon asked him how he felt after five innings, Garza was ready to go. He gave up four runs and four walks in those five innings. The start came after one of his best of the season. In that outing, Garza threw 7 2/3 innings of scoreless ball.

Roy Halladay - Halladay pitched well in his last start against Baltimore. The Toronto ace allowed one run on seven hits over seven innings, earning the win. He walked one and struck out six, needing 119 pitches in the outing. In his career against the Rays, Halladay is 9-6 with a 3.90 ERA. This year though, the right-hander has had trouble with Tampa Bay, losing both of his starts against the club and surrendering a total of 10 runs on 17 hits over just 14 innings.

Check out the Rays’ career numbers against Roy Halladay.

View the game preview from Baseball Reference.

Be sure to join us in the chat room for some good Rays talk during the game!!!

Tags: Blue Jays
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Blue Jays 3, RAYS 1: Stop me if you’ve heard this one before

(Box Score)

What do they Rays have in common with a man with no arms? Neither of them can hit anything.

How much longer will this offensive malaise continue? I’m just curious because I’d like to know when I can actually start watching them and NOT want to vomit. It’s not going to get any easier against Roy Halladay tomorrow, either.

And this, my friends, is the reason why simply getting another bat isn’t going to cure this team’s ills. Right now, NO ONE is hitting. Perfect example: third inning, Rays load the bases with Evan Longoria, Carlos Pena, and Cliff Floyd coming up. They proceed to strike out, ground out, and strike out and only push across a single run. It’s just plain laughable at this point. They loaded the bases again later and managed to get nothing out of it. They loaded them up the inning before that, too, but with two outs. I don’t need to tell you that there weren’t any runs scored there, either. There are hitters in this lineup who should be doing so much more than they are right now, so simply going out and getting Mark Teixeira or Matt Holliday or Adrian Beltre or any other flavor of the month isn’t going to solve the problems. Sure, I suppose adding Tex to the middle of the lineup could help take the pressure off and make everyone else better, but it could just end up being a very expensive (both in terms of money and prospects) acquisition that doesn’t solve the greater problem: lack of situational hitting.

Too many times this team has struck out when it needs to put a ball in play. Grounded out the pitcher when it needs a fly ball. Failed to move runners up. Failed to get that guy home from third with less than 2 outs. When does the hitting coach take some of the blame? He’s certainly not getting these guys to perform at a very high level.

Until the rest of the team starts performing, no mid-season trade is going to fix the problems.

But, hey, at least they are the problems of a team still in first place. Things could be much, much worse right now.

Tough-Luck James: Shields deserved much better than he got. He was absolutely great save for two pitches. Does any pitcher have more tough-luck losses and no-decisions than Jamie?

Walk This Way: Eric Hinske walked 3 times against Burnett tonight; even though he’s not hitting a whole lot right now, he’s still getting on base. (A .351 OBP from your number 8 hitter is certainly something you’ll take.)

Tags: Blue Jays
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Game #105: Eastern Division Battle

Very quietly, the Blue Jays have gotten themselves back into this AL East race. They are now just 8 1/2 games behind the Rays, which - if you’ll remember - is closer than the Yankees were just a few weeks ago. They are a dangerous team with a ton of pitching, so it’s important for the Rays to take two out of three here and slow the Jays’ momentum.

What to watch for: Isn’t it always the offense? The Rays really need to start scoring some runs soon. Maybe tonight? Although A.J. Burnett’s probably not the guy you want to try to bust out of a slump against.

Scouting Report on today’s starters from MLB.com:
James Shields - Shields earned his ninth win of the season on July 23 when he held the A’s to three earned runs in 8 1/3 innings. He will be making his 10th road start of the season and has struggled away from Tropicana Field. He is 2-5 with a 6.26 ERA in nine road 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 4-0 with a 2.40 ERA in five career starts against the Blue Jays.

A.J. Burnett - Burnett pitched well enough to win his last start — a rain-shortened affair in Baltimore. The Toronto right-hander tossed five innings before the rain began to pour, resulting in a suspension of Wednesday’s game. When play resumed the next day, Burnett was awarded the victory, having been the pitcher of record. He allowed one run on six hits, striking out seven and walking none. The starter has been at the forefront of much trade speculation of late. These rumors have not affected his performance though, as the hard-throwing righty is 2-1 with a 1.77 ERA in his last three starts.

Check out the Rays’ career numbers against AJ Burnett.

View the game preview from Baseball Reference.

Be sure to join us in the chat room for some good Rays talk during the game!!!

Tags: Blue Jays
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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.

Be sure to join us in the chat room for some good Rays talk during the game!!!

Tags: Blue Jays
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