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TBTimes_Rays: #Rays lineup; Jennings cf, Roberts 2b, Scott DH, longoria 3b, Zobrist rf, Loney 1b, s-rod LF, Molina c, Escobar SS, Moore p

Sat, 25 May 2013 10:45:04 MDT

TBTimes_Rays: #Rays lineup; Jennings cf, Roberts 2b, Scott DH, longoria 3b, Zobrist rf, Loney 1b, s-rod LF, Molina c, Escobar SS, Moore p

TBTimes_Rays: #Rays Jennings says it's just a day off

Fri, 24 May 2013 13:38:07 MDT

TBTimes_Rays: #Rays Jennings says it's just a day off

Rays drop Game 3, series to Toronto in Extra Innings.

Wed, 22 May 2013 18:30:16 MDT

Today was also Jose Molina's return from a hamstring injury. He would play inspired baseball, but that's not the focus in this loss.

Jeremy Hellickson was struggling with command - and specifically the curve - right out the gate. It was a slow start to the first inning made especially painful by a generous strikezone.

Kelly Johnson was able to make a catch and gun down an advancing Bautista at second base, but there was damage in the first: one run scored.

Hellickson got himself into trouble in the bottom of the third, fielding a 3-2 pop-up to Munenori Kawasaki that had him clipping Roberts, who was charging from third. Hellboy stepped on Roberts's back left foot and both players came away limping. Molina checked on Hellickson, and the game proceeded. No one left the dugout, and Hellboy seemed unphased.

The offense had very little support for Hellickson. The Rays started scoring after some great hustle by Molina to get on base. Ryan Roberts brought him home on a slow roller to Macier Izturis that he failed to field on an attempted barehand. The ball went right under his fingers and Molina was able to "rumble" home, as Dave Willis said.

Zobrist hit the next pitch into right and plated a runner for a 2-1 lead, but that was the last of the Rays offense for much of this game. Rodriguez led off the fourth with a double and then got himself picked off promptly on a throw from the catcher J.P. Arenciebia. He would be the last base runner for the Rays over the next 15 plate appearances.

Jose Bautista leveled the score in the bottom of the fourth on a powerful shot to left field -- his tenth longball of the year, reading a change inside perfectly. He swung in front and muscled it sky high. To be fair, this was the last hit for the Jays until the ninth inning as well, but let's not distract from the coming frustration.

The Ninth

It was another weird night for the strikezone, loose but consistent for Buehrle and strangely stringent on Hellickson.

For a taste of the nonsense, here's the zone from the full game:

Once Buehrle was removed, the zone settled in and became far more reasonable, but that didn't detract from the missed opportunities before. Especially watching seasoned hitters like Longoria, Zobrist and Johnson who were hesitant to change their approach early in the game. Buehrle was landing calls outside the zone that were normally contested, and the Rays offense just seemed unsure.

Either the strikezone back to normal or he was just ready to swing, because Longoria was comfortable reaching to pop a double off the end of the bat with one out in the ninth. The pitch was inches off the plate and Longoria pushed it up the right field line. The Rays were battling against ace reliever Casey Janssen, and James Loney put up a great performance, fouling until he found a pitch to hit and smacking a hopper up the middle to score the runner.

Luke Scott got in on the action, taking a 3-2 pitch to the wall in centerfield, but it was caught by Rasmus. The Jays let Janssen pitch through the drama and Kelly Johnson eventually took strike three looking.

Fernando Rodney, less than 22 hrs removed from a 5-out save yesterday, got the call to face the heart of Tornot'a order: Bautista, Encarnacion, and Lind.

Bautista worked a full count, in spite of Fernando throwing easy, 99 MPH heat. Forced to come back inside to get the out, Bautista hit a moon shot into the left field bullpen.

Rodney sat down E5 but walked Lind and was pulled for Peralta with the game tied , 3-3. Arencebia was lost against Peralta's fastball going down on multiple swings for the second out, and Brett Lawrie got jammed for a popup to Loney in foul territory to end the inning.

Free Baseball

Molina continued his on-base ways by hitting through the hole on the left side, but Escobar responded with a double play, and Jennings grounded out to short.

Cesar Ramos took the mound and almost got Rasmus on a swinging bunt, but he made contact and the ball rolled out of Molina's reach. Bonifacio followed suit and started showing bunt. The Rays defense responded, Boni would swing. Step back, and Jays manager Gibbons would put the bunt back on. It was a frustrating chess match that ended in a sac-bunt, moving Rasmus to second.

With one out, Kawasaki was next. He worked a long at bat as well, ending in a bouncer slow toward second. Roberts, having moved to second when the Rays lifted the DH to put Longoria at third, charged and made the difficult throw to get the out at first.

A pinch hitting Mark DeRosa was the last man standing between Ramos and the 11th, with Rasmus now on third. DeRosa took a walk easily on 5 pitches and Maddon made the move for a righty, bringing in Kyle Farnsworth to face Jose Bautista.

Bautista, who had made it on base in all four plate appearances previously, took an 0-2 fastball outside and made it a looper into right. Jays win.

Conclusion

Hellickson went eight innings with improving control throughout the night, pitching like a professional through and through. He rebounded well from a poort start and showed strong velocity through eight innings. Too bad the Rays offense had a bad day. Sorry you couldn't get the win, Hellboy.

TBTimes_Rays: And a single by Zobrist scores Jennings and makes it 2-1

Wed, 22 May 2013 15:16:31 MDT

TBTimes_Rays: And a single by Zobrist scores Jennings and makes it 2-1

TBTimes_Rays: #Rays lineup: Jennings cf, Roberts 3b, Zobrist 2b, Longoria DH, Loney 1b, s-rod rf, Johnson LF, Molina c, Escobar SS, Hellickson p

Wed, 22 May 2013 11:31:26 MDT

TBTimes_Rays: #Rays lineup: Jennings cf, Roberts 3b, Zobrist 2b, Longoria DH, Loney 1b, s-rod rf, Johnson LF, Molina c, Escobar SS, Hellickson p

Rays Beat Jays 4-3 Behind Cobb’s Strong Start

Wed, 22 May 2013 06:17:00 MDT

It was almost another late-inning disaster for the Rays Tuesday night in Toronto. The bullpen struggles continued as they nearly blew a three-run lead, but Tampa Bay would hold off the Blue Jays to pick up the 'W'.

Alex Cobb was on his A-game. He didn't get a lot of whiffs (only two strikeouts), but he allowed just one run and three hits over 6.1 innings pitched.

The Rays got the scoring started in the second against Blue Jays starter Ramon Ortiz. Evan Longoria's leadoff double led to a Luke Scott RBI groundout, and then Kelly Johnson went deep against his former team to make it a 2-0 ballgame.

Desmond Jennings extended the Rays' lead to three with a solo shot in third. Later in the inning, the Rays put together a mini rally, knocking in another run via a RBI single by Scott.

The Jays would score their only run against Cobb in the fifth, when Colby Rasmus crushed a ball off the upper deck in right for a solo homer.

After scoreless sixth and seventh innings from Alex Cobb and Jake McGee (1.2 IP), Toronto began to cut into the Rays' lead in the eighth. Joel Peralta started the inning with a single, a walk, and then an RBI single off the bat of Jose Bautista. After a strikeout, a Ryan Roberts error at second ruined what probably would have been an inning-ending double play.

Instead, Joe Maddon decided to go with Fernando Rodney for the five-out save with the bases loaded and the score 4-2. He got the first batter he faced to groundout into the key double play the Rays were looking for.

The threat wasn't over, however, as the Blue Jays would knock Rodney around a bit. Colby Rasmus scored on a wild pitch after a double, and then a two out walk put the go-ahead run to the plate (Melky Cabrera) with two outs. Cabrera struck out on a controversial 0-2 called strike. The pitch was far out of the strike zone, but was apparently good enough for home plate umpire Dale Scott.

The Rays improve to 24-21, and will go for the series victory today at 4:37 ET before an offday Thursday. It'll be a battle of two struggling starters, as Jeremy Hellickson (2-2, 5.82 ERA) takes the hill against Mark Buehrle (1-3, 6.33 ERA).

News and Notes:

Matt Joyce exited last night's game with right hamstring tightness after going 2-3. It's fortunately said to be just precautionary at the moment. He's not scheduled to start against the left-handed Buehrle today anyways, so hopefully with that and the offday tomorrow he won't be missing any time.

Evan Longoria (2-4, 2 R) extended his hit streak to 15 games.

Yunel Escobar's home run celebration Monday stirred some controversy. After condemning Escobar's actions after Monday's game, Joe Maddon is now saying that he "did nothing wrong." Here's more on the issue at TampaBay.com.

Power-hitting prospect outfielder Josh Sale is now eligible to play after coming off his drug-related 50-game suspension Tuesday.

Jose Molina (hamstring tightness) is available in case needed, but likely won't return until Friday.

Game 45: Desmond Jennings And Kelly Johnson’s Homers And Defense Help Rays Win 4-3

Tue, 21 May 2013 21:22:04 MDT

Evan Longoria extended his career-high hitting streak to 15 games as the Rays beat the Toronto Blue Jays in a 4-3 victory on Tuesday night. The Rays are known for their defense, and Kelly Johnson reminded everyone of this in the first inning as he threw the ball from deep left field to second baseman [...]Game 45: Desmond Jennings And Kelly Johnson’s Homers And Defense Help Rays Win 4-3 - Rays Colored Glasses - Rays Colored Glasses - A Tampa Bay Rays Fan Site - News, Blogs, Opinion and More

Rays end Jays' four-game home winning streak

Tue, 21 May 2013 21:15:56 MDT

Kelly Johnson and Desmond Jennings homered and Tampa Bay starter Alex Cobb pitched 6 1-3 strong innings as the Rays defeated the Toronto Blue Jays 4-3 on Tuesday night at Rogers Centre.

Rays vs. Jays, game 2: Rodney, Lobaton frame their way out of a bind

Tue, 21 May 2013 20:58:03 MDT

The beginning of the game was highlighted by excellent play from the Rays outfield both offensively and defensively. With two outs in the bottom of the first inning, Edwin Encarnacion hit a hard line drive that landed on the left field warning track and bounced against the wall. Kelly Johnson fielded it off the wall like he had been playing outfield his whole career and fired a (one hop) strike to second base to get EE3 at second. Then, in the next half inning, Johnson blasted his eighth home run of the season to straight center field. Evan Longoria had doubled and scored after two groundouts, so Johnson's homer brought the score to 2-0.

To start the next frame Adam Lind hit a fly ball hard to deep right center. Desmond Jennings ranged back, covering a ton of ground, and then made the catch look simple even though it was at an awkward angle over his shoulder. He even managed to avoid crashing into the wall. A lesser fielder would have made that play dramatic or not made it at all, but Jennings is far too smooth for that. Then, following Johnson's lead, Jennings hit his fifth homer on the first pitch of the next half inning. Singles from Matt Joyce, Evan Longoria, and Luke Scott (with a few fielder's choices in between) stretched the lead to 4-0.

In the bottom of the fifth inning, the Jays finally got on the board when Colby Rasmus guessed right on a frontdoor sinker that caught a bit too much of the plate. Rasmus's pulled shot was the definition of a no-doubter, and a reminder of why he was once such a well regarded up-and-coming center fielder.

The sixth inning was all about Yunel Escobar and the shift. The first two outs came on groundballs more or less up the middle that Escobar fielded routinely and converted into easy outs at first. Then Jose Bautista hit a grounder deep into the hole between shortstop and third. Escobar, who was shifted slightly to pull, ranged far back to his right but muffed the backhand grab, having the ball go off the edge of his glove and into left field. It would have been a tough throw even if he had made the grab cleanly but he'd have had a better chance playing straight up. After a walk from Encarnacion raised the leverage, Adam Lind hit a hard grounder straight back over the mound that looked sure to be a hit, but the shift giveth to the Blue Jays and the shift taketh away. Escobar was already positioned near second base, and he was able to knock the ball down and throw Lind out from his knees to end the inning.

If you just looked at the box score, you might have thought that Alex Cobb didn't pitch all that well. While he only allowed three hits and two walks, he also only struck out two batters. You'd be wrong. He threw his fastball 57% of the time and didn't get a ton of whiffs (two on the fastball, three on 29 changeups, none on 17 curves), but he had Toronto baffled. They were reaching for pitches all over the zone, making weak contact and mostly hitting ground balls. Of the 20 balls in play that Cobb allowed, 15 were grounders. That's a recipe for success.

Cobb's night ended one out into the seventh inning when Brett Lawrie hit a hard grounder in Longoria's direction. Longoria made a great diving stop and threw mostly on target to first, but Loney couldn't handle the throw and it bounced past him and into the stands. With Cobb at 107 pitches and the lefty Rasmus up, Joe Maddon made the switch to Jake McGee, who promptly overpowered Rasmus (popup foul) and Mark DeRosa (strikeout swinging).

Peralta came on in his usual spot as eighth inning setup man with a difficult job to do, first facing Munenori Kawasaki, the nine hitter, before needing to run through the teeth of the Jays lineup. Kawasaki reached for a good low pitch from Peralta and plopped it into center field for a soft single. Melky Cabrera worked a seven pitch at bat, fouling off many pitches, before finally earning a walk and bringing the tying run to the plate in the form of the fearsome Jose Bautista. When Bautista hit a liner into short left field, Ben Zobrist didn't panic. He picked it up on the bounce and threw to second base, allowing the speedy Munenori to score without a challenge, but holding the baserunners to first and second.

It seemed as if Zobrist's composure would pay dividends, as Peralta (who didn't look bad this inning even while giving up walks and hits) struck out Encarnacion and coaxed an ideal double play ball from Adam Lind. Ryan Roberts bobbled the pickup however, and could never quite get a hold on the ball to record one out. With his reliever running a high pitch count and the leverage of the situation skyrocketing, Maddon went to his closer for the five out save.

Source: FanGraphs

One 98 mph fastball from Rodney produced another ground ball to second base, and this time the Rays turned one of the prettier double plays you will ever see. Roberts fielded the ball cleanly and got it to Escobar just as he touched the bag. Escobar touched second with his left foot, and then used the bag to leap high over the breakup slide from Lind. At the apex of his leap, Escobar threw strongly and accurately to first base to get J.P. Arencibia by a step.

In the ninth, Rodney struck out Brett Lawrie, gave up a ground ball double to Rasmus, and coaxed a soft grounder from Maicer Izturis (that advanced Rasmus) before a wild pitch to Kawasaki brought home the run and a fourth consecutive ball walked the speedy nine hitter.

Don't worry though. Were you worried? I wasn't worried. Rodney always had it under control. He struck out Cabrera looking on three straight outside changeups that might have been called balls on a different day.

By the rulebook definition, those sure look like balls, but take a look at the pitches in the context of a normal lefty strikezone and the rest of the game.

That doesn't look to bad. It's right on the line where umpires usually extend the strike zone, and most other pitches in that same area a couple inches off the plate had been called strikes earlier (including pitches to Rays hitters). Probably Cabrera should have been swinging. I'll take it.

Some other notes:

In the top of the sixth inning, Loney plopped a fliner into left field. Melky Cabrera got caught in between making a diving play and pulling up to play the bounce, and he ended up having to take a little hop to keep it from bouncing over his head. I said this the last time the Rays played Toronto, but Cabrera is just really funny to watch. Great athlete, but he appears very comically uncoordinated at times. Can someone start making .gifs of every little strange thing he does, please?

Fernando Rodney threw a pitch near Brett Lawrie's head (after brushing him back earlier in the at bat), sending Lawrie diving out of the way. I'm not sure if there will be any tumult over the play, but there shouldn't be. It was a changeup that got away from Rodney, not a purposeful fastball.

All pitching numbers and graphs are from Brooks Baseball.

Rays 4, Blue Jays 3

Tue, 21 May 2013 20:40:41 MDT

TORONTO -- Kelly Johnson and Desmond Jennings hit home runs, and right-hander Alex Cobb pitched 6 1/3 innings as the Tampa Bay Rays hung on to defeat the Toronto Blue Jays 4-3 on Tuesday.

Tampa Bay beats Toronto 4-3 to end Blue Jays' four-game home winning streak

Tue, 21 May 2013 20:29:37 MDT

TORONTO - Kelly Johnson and Desmond Jennings homered and Tampa Bay starter Alex Cobb pitched 6 1-3 strong innings as the Rays defeated the Toronto Blue Jays 4-3 on Tuesday night at Rogers Centre.

TBTimes_Rays: #Rays Jennings with a homer to left, and it's now 3-0 over #Jays

Tue, 21 May 2013 17:47:32 MDT

TBTimes_Rays: #Rays Jennings with a homer to left, and it's now 3-0 over #Jays

TBTimes_Rays: #Rays Jennings closes fast to make a running catch just in front of CF wall

Tue, 21 May 2013 17:38:49 MDT

TBTimes_Rays: #Rays Jennings closes fast to make a running catch just in front of CF wall

TBTimes_Rays: #Rays lineup: Jennings cf, Joyce rf, Zobrist 2b, longoria 3b, Loney 1b, Scott DH, Johnson LF, lobaton c, Escobar SS, Cobb p

Tue, 21 May 2013 13:43:43 MDT

TBTimes_Rays: #Rays lineup: Jennings cf, Joyce rf, Zobrist 2b, longoria 3b, Loney 1b, Scott DH, Johnson LF, lobaton c, Escobar SS, Cobb p

Rays vs Jays, game 1: Odorizzi settles in, Lueke lacks control

Mon, 20 May 2013 15:44:20 MDT

After a sweep it's easy to be overdramatic about a loss. Luckily, neither the start by Jake Odorizzi nor the offense can be to blame, as the Rays 7-5 loss to the Blue Jays can be credited with Josh Lueke's seventh inning appearance.

Odorizzi began the game with a rough first inning, giving up a leadoff single to Melky Cabrera, followed by a strikeout to Jose Bautista and another single by Edwin Encarnacion. Adam Lind worked Odorizzi in a 12-pitch at bat that resulted in a sac fly RBI to score Cabrera, then Brett Lawrie hit a triple scoring Encarnacion; allowing the Blue Jays a 2-0 lead in the first and 29 pitches from Odorizzi.

Evan Longoria led off the second with a single, extending his hitting streak to 14 games and has now reached base in an MLB high 43 of 44 games. Sam Fuld hit an RBI single to score Longoria on a fielder's choice, giving Odorizzi one run of support.

In the bottom of the second, another appearance by the human element caused quite the heated reaction from Ben Zobrist, as Henry Blanco hit a ball down the left field line that Fuld fielded perfectly and threw to Zobrist, who tagged out Blanco. Blanco was ruled safe by C.B. Bucknor (shocking) though replay clearly showed that he was out. The mistake came back to count, as Cabrera doubled in Blanco and gave the Blue Jays a 3-1 lead.

(via @jasoncollette)

The Rays managed to tie it up in the third, via a walk from Matt Joyce, a single from Zobrist, and a double from Longoria that scored both Joyce and Zobrist.

Odorizzi settled in, and during the third had his first one-two-three inning, striking out both Lind and Lawrie on his curveball. In his last inning of work, the fifth, Odorizzi again had a one-two-three inning and struck out Bautista for the second time.

He retired ten of the last eleven hitters he faced, relying heavily on his four seam fastball and throwing 63% of his pitches for strikes. Odorizzi's final line was five innings pitched, only five hits given up, three earned runs, one walk, and six strikeouts. He threw 92 pitches, so the Rays turned to the bullpen...where Jake McGee was surprisingly dominant.

McGee gave a glimpse of his former self when he entered the game, only throwing eleven pitches in his one-two-three sixth, with two strikeouts. It was a pleasant surprise, and hopefully a sign of things to come.

The game fell apart in the seventh inning, as Lueke entered and lacked any control, walking Bonifacio, Bautista, and Munenori Kawasaki; then giving up a three-run double to Encarnacion, providing the Blue Jays a 6-3 lead.

Kyle Farnsworth came in to relieve Lueke and walked Blanco on two outs, then gave up a triple to Kawasaki, giving the Blue Jays a 7-3 cushion entering the ninth.

The Rays attempted a rally on a bunt single from Luke Scott, followed by a two run home run from Yunel Escobar. Something seemed to be brewing as Desmond Jennings singled, then Matt Joyce walked, but Ben Zobrist struck out to give the Rays a 7-5 loss against the Blue Jays to start off the series.