Rays of Light

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
Posted in Game Recap | 2 Comments »

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
Posted in Game Thread | 10 Comments »

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
Posted in Game Recap | 3 Comments »

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
Posted in Game Thread | 4 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.

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

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

RAYS 6, Blue Jays 4: Evan slams the door shut

(Box Score)

Not going to lie – I didn’t get a chance to watch this game last night. Just use this thread for your thoughts on:

Marvelous Matt Garza

Evan Almighty

Clifford Cornelius

How Much Al Reyes Stinks

And anything else from last night’s game that you want to address.

And a teaser: we’re going to have an interview with someone from the Rays organization in the near future. Not ready to name-drop yet. That’s how I roll.

Tags: Blue Jays
Posted in Game Recap | 1 Comment »

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.

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
Posted in Game Thread | 3 Comments »

RAYS 2, Blue Jays 1: Not pretty, but I’ll take it

(Box Score)

Just because they won, it doesn’t mean the Rays are out of their funk yet. The offense was yet again abysmal in the chances it had to plate some runs, but the Rays took advantage of some stellar pitching to finally snap that 7-game losing streak and move back into first place in the AL East. (Thanks, Angels!)

James the Great: That’s exactly what Shields was last night. It was a vintage Shields-ian performance, getting a lot of weak swings and limiting the Blue Jays to just 4 hits and 6 total baserunners in 7 innings. It was starting to look like one of those games where Shields would end up as the hard-luck loser (he has a lot of those, doesn’t he?) until…

Benny Boo-Boo Goes Yard: You think Zobrist was looking fastball? He got the pitch he was waiting for and turned it around deep into the seats in right. He’s got some surprising pop (4 home runs) for a guy we’ve always heard was more of a glove-first, good-eye utility infielder-type. This comes just hours after rumors popped up that the Rays might be interested in Clint Barmes as a utility infielder. Not sure why they would need to do that when Benny does a fine job on his own. Unless its ALONG with Zobrist and in place of Aybar.

B.J. Upton…  has apparently gone to the Carlos Pena school of hitting. 3 strikeouts in 4 at bats, and he looks just flat-out lost at the plate right now. Um, hit please?

Speaking of Carlos Pena: Did you know that he’s hitting just .217 with runners on base right now? He’s got nearly as many at bats with men on as at bats with the bases empty, and his average is 33 points higher with the bases empty and he has struck out about 15 more times in runners-on situations. Ugly, ugly, ugly.

Pen Pals: Another day, another great performance from the ‘pen. J.P. Howell pitched around a Ben Zobrist error, and Grant Balfour just blew them away like he’s been doing lately. Troy who?

Tags: Blue Jays
Posted in Game Recap | 1 Comment »

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.

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

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

Game #34: Edwin Jackson gives me nightmares

After his last outing, Edwin Jackson is due for one of his good ones (that’s just how he rolls), but I’m not a big fan of this matchup against Litsch. I want to love him and embrace him, but he still scares the daylights out of me on the mound. That happens when you’ve got a pitcher who will either throw a 4-hit shutout or allow 8 runs in 3 innings of work, with pretty much nothing in-between.

What to watch for: Eric Hinske owns Jesse Litsch. 5-for-10 with 2 doubles, a triple, and an RBI. With Carl Crawford and Akinori Iwamura going a combined 8-for-17 against him at the top of the order, maybe tonight’s the night you consider shuffling the lineup and dropping Pena to 5th or 6th and having Hinske bat 4th.

Scouting Report on today’s starters from MLB.com:
Edwin Jackson – Jackson continues to take one step forward and two steps back. On Friday night against the Red Sox, the hard-throwing right-hander once again was unable to stay away from the big inning, as he took his third loss of the season after surrendering five runs in the fourth inning. Jackson has electric stuff, which brings the expectations of future greatness and keeps him in the rotation. But inconsistency has plagued him time and again. He is 0-2 with a 4.22 ERA in six career appearances against the Blue Jays.

(Editor’s Note: I don’t think it’s fair to say Edwin’s taking one step forward and two steps back; he’s not REGRESSING this season. He’s still been better than he’s been in the past. I suspect it’s Bill Chastain that wrote this, since he’s good with the cliches like that.)

Jesse Litsch – Litsch turned in 7 1/3 strong innings en route to a win over the White Sox on Saturday. The 23-year-old right-hander yielded two runs on five hits, striking out three and walking none. Over his past two starts, Litsch has gone 2-0 with a 1.89 ERA, seven strikeouts and no walks. That’s a drastic contrast to his previous two outings, in which he went 0-1 with a 9.72 ERA, allowing nine runs on 17 hits in 8 1/3 innings. In his career against the Rays, Litsch has gone 1-2 with a 3.86 ERA in four starts.

Check out the Rays’ career numbers against Jesse Litsch.

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
Posted in Game Thread | 6 Comments »