Always the Devil Rays in my Mind - Tampa Bay Rays MLB13 Dynasty

[KBLover]

Trip-Trip-Triple
Rays Hit Three Triples to Key Extra Base Attack and Archer Strong Again. Rays Get Revenge 4-2.

The Rays had a cooler offense in this game, but they were able to get three triples in the game, two by Podsednik, and that got the Rays going early. Both of Podsednik's triples scored. Zobrist's went by the wayside.

Meanwhile, young Chris Archer continues to look like one of the team's most reliable pitchers. There is still concern over is lack of stamina for some reason - he only lasted 94 pitches in this one - but what they got was a strong performance that included Archer working out of tight spots.

The White Sox put their first run together thanks to a couple errors on the middle infield. Johnson booted a ball and then on the next batter, Rodriguez overthrew Loney at first, putting runners on second and third.

The second White Sox run scored on a solo HR by Morel off recently signed RP Dillard.

Dillard would get through the inning with no further damage and also worked a good 8th inning. McGee picked up save number 3 with a perfect 9th inning of work.

The win gets the Rays back even on the road. The Red Sox won their 10th straight game, keeping the Rays five games back.

Kelly Johnson picked up a single in the 9th to keep his hit streak alive at 15 games.


Game Recap:

Tampa Bay Rays at Chicago White Sox
Apr 26, 2013	1	2	3	4	5	6	7	8	9	R	H	E
Tampa Bay (14-9)	2	0	0	0	1	0	0	1	0	4	8	2
Chicago (14-9)	0	0	0	0	1	0	1	0	0	2	6	1

Tampa Bay Rays
HITTERS	AB	R	H	BI	BB	SO	AVG
Podsednik, CF	4	2	2	0	0	0	.421
Loney, 1B	4	1	2	2	0	0	.328
TOTALS	34	4	8	3	2	7
BATTING 2B: Loney 3B: Podsednik 2, Zobrist HR: Joyce GIDP: Rodriguez
FIELDING E: Johnson, Rodriguez

Tampa Bay Rays
PITCHERS	IP	H	R	ER	BB	SO	ERA
Archer (W, 2-0)	6	4	1	0	1	5	1.50
Dillard (H, 1)	2	2	1	1	0	0	4.50
McGee (S, 3)	1	0	0	0	0	1	0.96
TOTALS	9	6	2	1	1	6

Chicago White Sox
HITTERS	AB	R	H	BI	BB	SO	AVG
Morel, 3B	4	1	2	1	0	2	.200
Viciedo, RF	4	1	0	0	0	1	.349
TOTALS	34	2	6	1	1	6
BATTING 2B: Ramirez HR: Morel GIDP: Rios
BASERUNNING SB: Morel
FIELDING E: Morel

Chicago White Sox
PITCHERS	IP	H	R	ER	BB	SO	ERA
Floyd (L, 1-3)	6	5	3	3	2	5	3.85
Jones	1.2	2	1	1	0	1	4.50
Santiago	1.1	1	0	0	0	1	3.68
TOTALS	9	8	4	4	2	7

[Gronk4M13]

I'm not even a baseball fan, but following this.

[KBLover]

Rays Bullpen Clamps Down
Rays, ChiSox Trade Runs, But Bullpens
Restore Order. Rays Squeak Out on Top 7-6.

In the early and middle portions of the game, the offenses were in control. It was almost like each team challenged the other to hit a home run in their turn at the plate.

The White Sox got on the board with Ruiz just tattooing a ball 440 feet off Hellickson in the bottom of the 2nd.

The Rays got it back when James Loney hit a HR in the top of the 3rd.

But the White Sox struck right back when Konerko hit a 2-run HR in the bottom of the 3rd to give the White Sox a 3-1 lead.

Then the Rays came back, this time without the use of the HR. Escobar and Bourgeois picked up RBIs after a White Sox error with two outs kept the inning alive to tie the game at 3.

The White Sox got the lead back in the bottom of the inning to make it 4-3. Ruiz got the job done again.

Luke Scott was hit by a pitch in the top of the 4th and had to leave the game. Shelley Duncan came in to pinch run and now he got his first plate appearance. He made it count as he hit a 2-run HR past the outstretched glove of De Aza to make it 5-4, Rays.

The White Sox wouldn't stop, or perhaps Hellickson just couldn't shut them down. Another HR, this time from Rios, keyed the 2-run inning to make it 6-5, White Sox.

The Rays also wouldn't stop and got 2 more runs on a Jose Molina double to get back on top 7-6.

Fernando Rodney came in and was dealing. He shut down the White Sox for 2 1/3 innings. The White Sox turned to Lindstrom, and he was also looking sharp, pitching a scoreless inning.

Peralta pitched the 8th for the Rays, and he looked much better, getting through the inning with no issues. Thornton matched the inning in the top of the 9th to keep it a 1-run game.

Jake McGee continues his great start by pitching a perfect 9th to seal the deal.

Unfortunately, the Red Sox won yet again, running their win streak to 11 games.

Also on a down note, Kelly Johnson was probably due to start cooling down, and after barely extending his hit streak to 15 games, it was snapped in the game this evening after an 0-for-3 with a walk. He's batting .359 in the early going.

Matt Joyce hit his 1st double of the season. Yes, his 1st. He has just 7 hits and is batting .159 as his woes continue.

Game Recap:

Tampa Bay Rays at Chicago White Sox
Apr 27, 2013	1	2	3	4	5	6	7	8	9	R	H	E
Tampa Bay (15-9)	0	0	1	2	2	2	0	0	0	7	10	0
Chicago (14-10)	0	1	2	1	2	0	0	0	0	6	9	1

Tampa Bay Rays
HITTERS	AB	R	H	BI	BB	SO	AVG
Duncan, PR-DH	2	2	1	2	0	1	.365
Molina, C	4	1	3	2	0	0	.253
TOTALS	38	7	10	7	2	6
BATTING 2B: Joyce, Molina 2 HR: Loney, Duncan HBP: Scott, Molina
BASERUNNING SB: Podsednik, Bourgeois

Tampa Bay Rays
PITCHERS	IP	H	R	ER	BB	SO	ERA
Hellickson	4.2	8	6	6	2	3	4.59
Rodney (W, 1-0)	2.1	1	0	0	0	4	3.00
Peralta (H, 4)	1	0	0	0	0	1	5.83
McGee (S, 4)	1	0	0	0	0	1	0.87
TOTALS	9	9	6	6	2	9

Chicago White Sox
HITTERS	AB	R	H	BI	BB	SO	AVG
Konerko, 1B	4	2	3	2	0	0	.284
Rios, LF	4	2	2	1	0	0	.277
TOTALS	33	6	9	5	2	9
BATTING 2B: Keppinger, Konerko HR: Konerko, Ruiz, Rios HBP: Viciedo GIDP: Keppinger, Beckham
FIELDING E: Beckham

Chicago White Sox
PITCHERS	IP	H	R	ER	BB	SO	ERA
Axelrod	4.2	7	5	3	2	3	4.24
Quintana (L, 2-1)	1.1	2	2	2	0	1	4.05
Lindstrom	1	1	0	0	0	1	0.87
Thornton	2	0	0	0	0	1	6.13
TOTALS	9	10	7	5	2	6

Notes: Luke Scott was injured after the hit by pitch and left the game. He is expected out a few games.

[KBLover]

Total Team Attack
Hits, Steals, Walks, Hit Batters, and Sac Flies All
Work to Bring Rays a 9-2 Win.

The Rays got some of everything except the home run in this one. They got things started with a 5-run rally right out of the gate as Sale, the starter for the ChiSox didn't have his command on the wet mound. The bulk of the damage, though, came on an error in RF. Wise came in looking to make a throw, but the ball went under his glove as he pulled up too quickly. He then made a halfhearted effort to get the ball, forcing De Aza to sprint over to back up. By that time, 3 runs scored.

For the most part, the Rays cooled off after that, picking up just one more run. Meanwhile, Price was looking strong as usual. He gave a run in the second as Rios led the inning off with a triple and scored when Ramirez grounded out to shortstop and Escobar just took the out at first base.

Unfortunately, Price's shoulder acted up again during the fifth inning. Perhaps he landed awkwardly after his delivery or the pitch just came out funny. Whatever the case, he was removed for precautionary reasons after 4 1/3 innings, allowing 1 run and striking out five.

The Rays bullpen was ready to go in this one. Dillard was next on the mound, and he gave the team 2 2/3 innings of excellent pitching, allowing just one hit.

Oviedo finished things off with 2 innings of work, giving up an unearned run.

The Rays have an off day and then will continue the road trip with a series against the Royals, who are 9-15 thus far.

The Red Sox won again - running their win streak to 12 games and keeping the Rays 5 games back in the division despite winning 8 of their last 10.


Game Recap

Tampa Bay Rays at Chicago White Sox
Apr 28, 2013	1	2	3	4	5	6	7	8	9	R	H	E
Tampa Bay (16-9)	5	0	0	1	0	0	0	1	2	9	13	1
Chicago (14-11)	0	1	0	0	0	0	0	0	1	2	8	1

Tampa Bay Rays
HITTERS	AB	R	H	BI	BB	SO	AVG
Podsednik, RF	5	2	3	1	0	1	.413
Jennings, LF	4	1	2	2	1	1	.240
TOTALS	37	9	13	8	6	14
BATTING 2B: Podsednik HBP: Podsednik, Zobrist, Johnson, Escobar 2 SF: Molina, Zobrist GIDP: Giminez
BASERUNNING SB: Bourgeois, Podsednik 2, Jennings
FIELDING E: Bourgeois

Tampa Bay Rays
PITCHERS	IP	H	R	ER	BB	SO	ERA
Price	4.1	5	1	1	0	4	2.60
Dillard (W, 1-0)	2.2	1	0	0	0	5	1.92
Oviedo	2	2	1	0	0	6	3.68
TOTALS	9	8	2	1	0	15

Chicago White Sox
HITTERS	AB	R	H	BI	BB	SO	AVG
Konerko, 1B	4	0	2	0	0	1	.283
Rios, LF	4	2	2	0	0	1	.287
TOTALS	36	2	8	2	0	15
BATTING 2B: Konerko 2 3B: Rios
BASERUNNING SB: Ramriez
FIELDING E: Wise

Chicago White Sox
PITCHERS	IP	H	R	ER	BB	SO	ERA
Sale (L, 0-3)	3.1	6	6	6	3	3	4.54
Quintana	2.2	3	0	0	0	3	2.89
Crain	1.2	1	1	1	2	4	0.87
Jones	0.2	3	2	2	1	2	5.68
Santiago	0.2	0	0	0	0	2	3.52
TOTALS	9	13	9	9	6	14

[KBLover]

Price Day-to-Day Again. Wil Myers Stays Steady.

The Rays announced that their ace, David Price, will be out "a few days" as his shoulder flared up again in his last start. The team has been saying that no trip to the DL is expected, but Price "may get an extra turn of rest" indicating that the pitcher may not make his next start.

Should Price not go, Jeff Niemann (3-0, 5.12) would likely get the call. That might be motivation enough to have them coax Price back out there.

Meanwhile, at AAA Durham, Wil Myers is taking his demotion in stride. Either that or he's taking his frustration out on AAA pitchers.

He's picking up where he left off, batting .375 with an OPS near 1.200 still. There's wonder about just how long the Rays can keep him down, especially if the offense at the majors slows down again.

[KBLover]

Another Fast Start
Nine Runs in First Two Innings Pave the Way
to a 13-4 Win.

What ever the Rays are doing lately in the early innings seems to be working. After scoring five in the first last game, the team scores 7 in the second to take a 9-0 lead...

...on four hits. Four.

Podsednik singled and stole second. Loney was trying to just move him to third, but the throw got away and he ended up on third, scoring Podsednik. Loney then scored on a sacrifice fly.

The second inning started walk, HBP, HBP, walk to score another run. Loney doubled in three runs. Zobrist then stroked a triple later to score two more and then scored on another sacrifice fly. In all, seven runs scored on just three hits.

The Rays put some more runs on the board, including a Zobrist home run.

Moore was is usual up-and-down self, but with all the run support, it didn't matter. Moore gave up 4 runs (3 earned) in seven innings of work.

The Rays close out the month at 18-9 and getting the bats going without the long ball. The pitching staff is also keeping it in the yard more, something they struggled a bit to do in the early going.


Game Recap

Tampa Bay Rays at Kansas City Royals
Apr 30, 2013	1	2	3	4	5	6	7	8	9	R	H	E
Tampa Bay (17-9)	2	7	0	1	0	0	0	2	1	13	11	2
Kansas City (9-15)	0	0	1	1	0	2	0	0	0	4	9	1

Tampa Bay Rays
HITTERS	AB	R	H	BI	BB	SO	AVG
Zobrist, 3B	4	2	3	4	0	1	.307
Podsednik, CF	5	2	2	2	1	0	.412
TOTALS	34	13	11	12	7	3
BATTING 2B: Podsednik, Loney 3B: Zobrist HR: Zobrist HBP: Escobar, Molina SF: Zobrist, Bougeois, Johnson GIDP: Escobar, Molina
BASERUNNING SB: Podsednik
FIELDING E: Moore, Zobrist

Tampa Bay Rays
PITCHERS	IP	H	R	ER	BB	SO	ERA
Moore (W, 4-1)	7	8	4	3	0	5	4.14
Peralta	2	1	0	0	0	3	5.02
TOTALS	9	9	4	3	0	8

Kansas City Royals
HITTERS	AB	R	H	BI	BB	SO	AVG
Perez, C	4	1	2	1	0	1	.282
Tejada, DH	4	0	2	1	0	1	.333
TOTALS	35	4	9	3	0	8
BATTING 2B: Perez, Johnson, Tejada 2 SF: Franceour GIDP: Butler, Perez
FIELDING E: Perez

Kansas City Royals
PITCHERS	IP	H	R	ER	BB	SO	ERA
Guthrie (L, 2-4)	1.1	4	9	7	2	0	6.03
Hochevar	2.2	2	1	1	1	0	11.37
Chen	3.1	3	2	2	2	2	3.24
Collins	1.2	2	1	1	2	1	2.08
TOTALS	9	11	13	11	7	3

[KBLover]

Rays Stats and Standings
As Of May 1st

MLB Standings - Updated: May 1, 2013
AL EAST	W	L	GB	RS	RA
Red Sox	22	5	-	182	93
Rays	18	9	4.0	172	111
Blue Jays	14	13	8.0	103	104
Yankees	13	15	9.5	122	128
Orioles	10	17	12.0	114	144
AL WILD CARD RACE	W	L	GB	RS	RA
Rays	18	9	-	172	111
A's	16	12	-	115	142
Blue Jays	14	13	1.5	103	104
Tigers	13	13	2.0	151	103
Angels	13	14	2.5	105	105

         Hitting
           Name              AB      H       R       2B      3B      HR     RBI      SB      CS     SB%      BB      SO     AVG    BABIP    OBP     SLG     OPS
       Ben Zobrist          101      31      23      7       2       5       15      0       1     0.000     10      21    0.307   0.347   0.369   0.564   0.934
      Kelly Johnson          97      34      23      6       0       8       25      0       1     0.000     7       29    0.351   0.433   0.394   0.660   1.054
      Yunel Escobar          91      25      14      4       1       3       19      0       0     0.000     7       15    0.275   0.301   0.327   0.440   0.766
     Desmond Jennings        86      21      10      3       0       2       11      5       2     0.714     5       23    0.244   0.311   0.286   0.349   0.635
       James Loney           79      25      18      5       0       5       15      0       0     0.000     7       12    0.316   0.323   0.372   0.570   0.942
        Luke Scott           77      21      15      4       0       4       12      0       0     0.000     8       18    0.273   0.309   0.341   0.481   0.822
       Jose Molina           71      19      11      6       0       0       7       0       0     0.000     4       14    0.268   0.333   0.307   0.352   0.659
     Jason Bourgeois         71      19      11      2       0       1       9       10      2     0.833     6       14    0.268   0.321   0.325   0.338   0.663
      Shelley Duncan         52      19      8       2       0       4       17      0       0     0.000     7       15    0.365   0.455   0.441   0.635   1.075
        Matt Joyce           48      8       9       1       0       2       7       1       0     1.000     8       11    0.167   0.171   0.286   0.313   0.598
      Sean Rodriguez         47      14      5       5       0       1       11      1       1     0.500     3       9     0.298   0.351   0.340   0.468   0.808
     Scott Podsednik         34      14      11      2       2       0       4       6       1     0.857     2       2     0.412   0.438   0.444   0.588   1.033

       Team Totals          963     270     172      53      5       40     165      23      8     0.742     81     218    0.280   0.326   0.336   0.470   0.807





         Pitching            W       L      ERA      GS      QS      CG     SHO      SV     BSV     HLD      IP      H       HR      BB      K       BF     WHIP   BABIP    FIP
       David Price           1       2      2.61     6       4       0       0       0       0       0      38.0     37      2       8       26     161     1.18   0.280    3.02
        Matt Moore           4       1      4.14     6       4       0       0       0       0       0      37.0     44      5       8       29     164     1.41   0.320    3.91
    Jeremy Hellickson        2       0      4.59     5       3       0       0       0       0       0      33.3     37      4       8       15     140     1.35   0.292    4.45
        Alex Cobb            1       2      4.50     5       1       0       0       0       0       0      28.0     28      5       7       27     118     1.25   0.291    4.21
       Chris Archer          2       0      1.50     3       2       0       0       1       0       0      24.0     17      3       8       15      99     1.04   0.192    4.45
       Jeff Niemann          3       0      5.12     2       1       0       0       0       0       0      19.3     21      3       5       12      80     1.35   0.300    4.62
       Joel Peralta          2       1      5.02     0       0       0       0       0       4       4      14.3     23      2       2       13      64     1.75   0.447    3.49
     Fernando Rodney         1       0      3.00     0       0       0       0       2       3       2      12.0     13      1       0       14      47     1.08   0.375    1.82
        Jake McGee           0       0      0.87     0       0       0       0       4       0       2      10.3     4       1       1       5       35     0.49   0.107    3.65
     Kyle Farnsworth         1       1      2.61     0       0       0       0       0       0       1      10.3     6       2       3       11      38     0.87   0.182    4.33

       Team Totals           18      9      3.65     27      15      0       0       8       7       12    241.7    251      30      54     183     1014    1.26   0.296    3.84

[KBLover]

Bats Start May Cool

Rays Held to Just Four Hits As Shields,
Royals Squeeze One Out 3-2.

Hopefully, this isn't a sign of how May will go. The Rays hitters just couldn't find any kind of hard hit ball. They had to scrape together the two runs they did get. Zobrist drove in both of the runs, first Loney in the 1st and then Podsednik in the 3rd.

Alex Cobb had a no-hitter going through three innings, but gave up a single to start the fourth. That single eventually became a run. The next inning, the Royals strung a couple hits together, a single by Francoeur and Kottaras, combined with yet another Escobar error, one of two in the game, and a run-scoring double play to give the Royals the 3-2 lead.

Oviedo came in and took care of the rest of the game with no significant problems, though he worked around a lead off double in the 7th when he first entered the game.

However, the Rays posed no major threat until th 9th. Escobar reached on a single and an error, putting him on second with one out. Jennings couldn't do anything useful, and Maddon pinch hit for Molina with Matt Joyce. After a decent battle, Joyce hit a ground ball to third and throw to first got him to end the game.

Shields was the main story for the Royals. He went 7 strong innings, striking out 7 and allowing just 4 hits. Cobb gave up 3 runs in 6 innings but only one of those runs was earned. He was by no means overpowering, garnering just 2 strikeouts, but he tended to keep his pitches in good locations.


Game Recap:

Tampa Bay Rays at Kansas City Royals
May 1,	1	2	3	4	5	6	7	8	9	R	H	E
Tampa Bay (18-9)	1	0	1	0	0	0	0	0	0	2	5	2
Kansas City (9-16)	0	0	0	1	2	0	0	0	X	3	7	2

Tampa Bay Rays
HITTERS	AB	R	H	BI	BB	SO	AVG
Zobrist, 3B	3	0	2	2	1	0	.317
Loney, 1B	3	1	2	0	1	1	.329
TOTALS	32	2	5	2	2	7
BATTING HBP: Podsednik GIDP: Duncan
BASERUNNING SB: Podsednik
FIELDING E: Escobar 2

Tampa Bay Rays
PITCHERS	IP	H	R	ER	BB	SO	ERA
Cobb (L, 1-3)	6	5	3	1	0	2	3.97
Oviedo	2	2	0	0	0	1	2.89
TOTALS	8	7	3	1	0	3

Kansas City Royals
HITTERS	AB	R	H	BI	BB	SO	AVG
Dyson, CF	4	1	2	0	0	0	.279
Francoeur, RF	3	1	2	0	0	0	.222
TOTALS	32	3	7	2	0	3
BATTING 2B: Francoeur GIDP: Escobar
BASERUNNING SB: Getz, Dyson
FIELDING E: Moustakas, Getz

Kansas City Royals
PITCHERS	IP	H	R	ER	BB	SO	ERA
Shields (W, 2-2)	7	4	2	2	1	7	3.86
Herrera (H, 3)	1	0	0	0	1	0	3.52
Holland (S, 6)	1	1	0	0	0	0	0.00
TOTALS	9	5	2	2	2	7

Notes: David Price is expected to make his usual start tomorrow. Luke Scott is also available from his minor injury. The Rays were held under 3 runs for the first time since April 9, when the Rays lost 2-0...a span of 22 days (21 games).