The Tampa Bay Rays had to get more ice to keep the champagne cold after losing the opening game to the Detroit Tigers 7-5 Thursday afternoon. Scott Kazmir was looking to be the winning pitcher as he was when the Rays clinched their first ever playoff birth over the past weekend. But, the Tiger bats laid that thought to rest quickly in this game. Kaz gave up 4 home runs in the first 5 innings allowing the Tigers to pounce on their prey and keep it down. Kaz once again lasted only 5 innings and throwing 102 pitches. He missed his locations often and by a large margin on most occasions. The Rays pitching staff allowed 5 HR altogether as Chad Bradford gave up a solo blast in the 7th inning.
The big bat from the Rays came from Ben Zobrist. Zobi had 2 HR with 4 RBIs and 2 runs scored. Evan Longoria chipped in with a solo blast as well. The Rays had a few other opportunities to score runs but failed to get the big hit when needed.
A few items of note in this game, other than the obvious loss, first, Joe Maddon is in the process of deciding who his rotation will be going into the playoffs. This outing was just another inconsistent, high pitch, short day for Kaz. That cannot figure well for him heading into the playoffs. Kaz has been having this same issue all season long and he has not been able to resolve it. The other issue is an issue with MLB. How the heck can MLB schedule an early day game after a night game when a team has to travel?! What kind of hooey is that?! These guys were only able to get 3-5 hours sleep between games. How can any athlete go out and perform optimally on that kind of sleep?
Anyway, tomorrow is another day. The Rays don’t play until tomorrow night so they’ll be good and rested. Sonny will take the hill and close out the AL East. BTW – Sonny is my choice for the #3 SP in the playoff rotation.
Go Rays!!
