The Tampa Bay Rays failed to sweep the Toronto Blue Jays by loosing game 3 by a score of 9-4.  The pitching was woeful for the Rays.  The offense tried to keep up but the pitching staff, from starter to relievers, was unable to stop the Jays bats.

Edwin Jackson struggled from the get go giving up a hit to the first batter he faced.  Jackson struggled through his shortest outing since May 21^st going only 4.1 innings allowing 6 runs on 8 hits.  Jackson gave up 5 of the 6 runs via the long ball.  The bull pen did not do much better.  A combination of 4 relievers gave up 3 runs on 3 hits and 5 free passes.      

The offense kept up with the Jays until the 5^th inning.  The Rays had back to back homers by Evan Longoria and Carlos Pena in the 3^rd which ended the scoring for the Rays.

This was a bad loss because it was a pitching loss.  The Rays strong point has been the bull pen this year.  The last 2 games the pen has looked eerily similar to years past.  I hope this is an anomaly and corrects itself tomorrow as the Rays open a 3 games set against the Oakland A’s. 

Get off your couch and out to The Trop!  Go Rays!!

The Tampa Bay Rays are mired in an offensive slump rolling into the mid season break. They were swept by the NY Yankees this afternoon 2-1 in 10 innings. Edwin Jackson pitched a great game today. He pitched 6 1/3 scattering 6 hits, 1 ER, 2BB and 3 K’s over that span. He deserved a victory today but the offense was virtually non existent. Grant Balfour got tagged with the loss when Bobby Abreu went after a good pitcher’s pitch and knocked a double in the gap to score Jeter from 1st with the game ending run.

The Rays have been struggling the last 3 games with their offense. Carlos Pena hit a HR to tie the game at 1 all in the 6th inning, the first run the Rays had scored in 16 innings. Today they were only able to rack up 5 hits and 3 BB while giving up 11 K’s. We did have opportunities again to score runs but the situational hitting was not there.

With this loss and the Red Sox victory the margin has closed to a mere 2 games. Hopefully the Rays will turn this ship around heading to Cleveland for a final 4 games before the All Star break. The Indians have been struggling all season and currently sit at the bottom of the AL Central with record of 37-52. This should be an easy series victory for the Rays with the possibility of a road sweep. That is a great way to go into the break!

Go Rays!!

The Tampa Bay Rays failed to get the sweep of the Kansas City Royals when they lost the last game of the series 7-4 in 10 innings.  Matt Garza pitched 6 2/3 but was in and out of trouble all day.  He gave up 9 hits, 2BB, 3 ER and had 5 K’s.  He did manage to wriggle out of trouble a few times to keep the Rays close.  Dan Wheeler gave up 4 runs (3 earned, E5) on 2 HR and 1 IBB in the top of the 10^th to seal the victory for the Royals.                                                       

The pitching was good enough to win this game.  It was the offense that struggled mightily.  The Rays banged out 11 hits and 4 BB and failed to get the timely hit when needed.  Several times they had multiple runners in scoring position and failed to advance the runners.  Overall as a team they stranded 12 runners.  They also managed to strike out 12 times.  Carlos Pena tied the game in the bottom of the 9^th with a blast to right field to give the Rays hope.  But their hopes were quickly dashed when the top of the 10^th began with an unlikely Evan Longoria throwing error allowing the runner to advance to 2^nd.  The Royals never looked back….

The Rays now take their show to NY to face the Yankees in a short 2 game series.  Here are your pitching matchups: 

July 8 – Scott Kazmir (7-3, 2.63) vs. Sidney Ponson (5-1, 4.19)

July 9 – Edwin Jackson (5-6, 4.08) vs.  TBA

The lack of situational hitting MUST improve for the Rays to continue to lead the AL East.  The lack of production will “sting” them at some point and could prove to be the hurdle they must jump to get to the next level.  This game is the perfect example of what can potentially happen, we lost to a bad team in the Royals – what do you think would happen if we were playing a good team say in October…… 

Now, go turn on ESPN and route for the Twins!

The Rays will invite the Kansas City Royals into The Trop for a 4 game series beginning Friday July 4^th.   The Rays will look to extend their lead in the AL East by beating up on the 39-47 Royals.  While the Rays face the 4^th place (AL Central) Royals, the Red Sox and Yankees will spend the next few days beating up on each other in the Bronx.

Here are the scheduled pitching matchups: 

July 4 – Edwin Jackson (4-6, 4.33) vs. Brian Bannister (7-7, 4.88)

July 5 – Andy Sonnanstine (9-3, 4.60) vs. Zack Greinke (7-4, 3.65)

July 6 – James Shields (6-5, 3.70) vs. Luke Hochevar (5-6, 4.91)

July 7 – Matt Garza (7-4, 3.47) vs. Gil Meche (6-9, 4.74)    

The Rays have had to make several roster moves on the off day.  Jason Bartlett was placed on the 15 day DL with a keen sprain.  IN his absence the Rays have called up both Ben Zobrist and Reid Brignac.  Zobrist was last called up to fill in while Bartlett was away for the birth of his son.  Zobrist, although he committed several errors at shortstop, hit consecutive HR while facing the Florida Marlins.  Reid Brignac is also being called up as Zobrist has been dealing with a sore shoulder and Joe Maddon is unsure if he will be able to play every game.  This will be Brignac’s first call up to the major league club.  Brignac, 22, was named to the International League All Star team hitting .265, 7HR and 38 RBIs in 78 games with the Durham Bulls.  Mitch Talbot was optioned back to Durham.    

My prediction for this home stand is ANOTHER SWEEP!   It’ll be a 7-0 home stand!  

 GO RAYS!!

The Tampa Bay Rays let the Pittsburgh Pirates off the hook Saturday night.  The Rays generated 10 hits and 4 walks but managed to leave 12 on base.  Anytime you see numbers like this you know the ending cannot be a good one, this was no different.  Jason Hammel gave up a 13^th inning HR to Jason Bay for a walk off win.  Bay had gone 0 for 5 with 3 K’s up to this point.  It’s a mystery having had a guy figured out all game long how you serve up a HR pitch at this point in the game.  SP Edwin Jackson pitched well enough to win the game.  He went 6.2 innings giving up only 6 hits, 3 ER, 2 BB and 3 K’s.

Johnny Gomes had tied the game at 3 with a pinch hit HR in the 8^th.  The game remained knotted at 3 until the 13^th.   Eric Hinske, Carlos Pena and Jason Bartlett led the offensive charge all hitting 2B’s. 

The unfortunate fact of this game is that the Rays failed to get hits when they needed them.  Leaving multiple runners on base (12) and giving up a lot of strike outs (10) has been a trend for this team.  I thought that they had finally stepped beyond that point in their development with the offense they have shown on this road trip.   But, maybe that is wishful thinking on my part.  They had an opportunity to end the night sitting alone atop the AL East as the Red Legs lost.  The Rays must gain consistency in these areas to be able to continue to compete in the long term.  Don’t get me wrong, I know they are going to lose games.  If this were an isolated incident I would be ok with that.  It wasn’t, it has been a season long trend. 

Today’s matchup pits Andy Sonnanstine (8-3, 4.85) toeing the rubber against Tom Gorzelanny (6-6, 6.43).  Gorzelanny has proven to be a model of inconsistency.  He has accumulated 55 walks to only 41 K’s.  If the Rays hitters are patient at the plate they WILL get on base one way or another. 

This afternoon the Rays have the opportunity to end this road trip 5-1.  That would be a great boost to their confidence heading back home to The Trop for a match up against the Red Sox.  I’ll be watching to see how they improve or adjustments they make to score those runs when they have the opportunity. 

OK gang off on a short 6 game road trip so buckle up! First we head south to Miami to filet some fish. The Marlins (40-35) have been playing some great baseball this season much like the Rays (44-31). They now sit 1 game behind the Phillies in the NL East as the Rays sit 1 game behind the red legs in the AL East. This should be a great match up! The Rays took the series winning 2 of 3 when the Marlins came to The Trop 11 days ago.

Pitching Matchups as follows:

June 24 – Sonnanstine (8-3, 4.92) vs., Olsen (4-4, 3.51) TV – ION Radio – 1250 WHNZ, 680 WGES (sp)
June 25 – Shields (4-5, 3.94) vs. Tucker (2-1, 4.50) NO TV Radio – 1250 WHNZ, 680 WGES (sp)
June 26 – Garza (5-4, 4.10) vs. Hendrickson (7-5, 5.73) TV – FSN (12:10 First Pitch) Radio – 1250 WHNZ, 680 WGES (sp)
Key to Rays Victory: To win this series the Rays MUST take these young pitchers deep into the count. They gave easy outs to Houston in the last game of the series by swinging at first pitches – Backe only threw 5 pitches the first inning on Sunday. The Marlins starters are young and will wear down (except Hendrickson and I don’t think I have to say anything here).

After this the Rays travel to the Steel City, Pittsburgh to face the Pirates for 3. Edwin Jackson will be serving his suspension so Scott Kazmir will move up 1 day and pitch the Friday night game. The Bucs are struggling this year – trailing their division leader by 12 games at this posting. The Bucs have been very inconsistent this year winning some games they are not expected to win and losing some games they are expected to win.

Pitching Matchups as follows:

June 27 – Kazmir (6-3, 2.03) vs. Snell (3-7, 5.99) TV – ION Radio – 1250 WHNZ, 680 WGES (sp)

June 28 – Jackson (4-6, 4.35) vs. TBD TV – FSN Radio – 1250 WHNZ, 680 WGES (sp)
June 29 – Sonnanstine vs. TBD TV – ION Radio – 1250 WHNZ, 680 WGES (sp)
Keys Rays Victory: Consistency on all sides of the ball. The Rays cannot forget to play their game — solid pitching, solid defense and taken the pitchers deep.

My prediction – 4-2 road trip!

Go Rays!!!

Edwin Jackson had a hard time finding the strike zone Sunday after noon in the Citrus Series finally.  Jackson gave up 2 3-run home runs, 3 BB, 5 hits and 6 earned runs in 5 innings pitched to take the loss. 

Jackson was not the only problem with the Rays in this loss.  The defense was subpart.  Jason Bartlett was charged with 1 error but, in my opinion, 2 others could have been charged with errors as well.

The offense was a nightmare on this particular occasion.  We gave away 12 strikeouts to the Fish and only 1 BB.  BJ Upton gave away 3 of those strike outs, 2 without even swinging.  Eric Hinske did manage to connect for a solo blast to right center. 

The Chicago Cubs will be rolling into town – the best team in MLB (granted they play in a weak division).  This will be a huge test for the Rays.  We will be short a starter for each game due to suspensions being served (Crawford on Tuesday and Iwamura Wed and Thurs) and due to injury (Pena).

The opening game of this 3 game set will have Scott Kazmir (6-2) going against Ryan Dempster (8-2).  Get off your couch and out to The Trop to support our Rays

Evan Longoria, Willy Aybar and Dioner Navarro hit back-to-back-to-back jacks in the 2nd inning off starter Joe Saunders to propel the Rays to victory. Longoria had an outstanding day at the dish going 3 for 4 with 2 HR, 2B, BB, 4 runs scored and 3 RBI in his homecoming to SoCal. Navarro also had a monster day going 4 for 5 with a HR, 2 2B, 3 runs scored and 4 RBI. Carl Crawford proved to everyone his knee is not an issue by swiping 2 bags – nice to see him being aggressive out there!

Edwin Jackson pitched well after a few early inning hiccups. He allowed 10 H, 4 ER BB, 2 K and 1 HR (Hunter) in 7 innings pitched. He earned the victory to bring his overall record to 4-5, 4.06.

This was a key victory for the Rays after a day of ineptitude in the series finale in Texas. This victory shows that even through tough times they can come together as a TEAM and WIN! And they can WIN against the best. This victory will carry them a long way confidence wise.

Tonight James Shields (4-4, 3.64) will face Jared Weaver (5-6, 4.79) in the middle game of this 3 game set. The key to this victory will be if Shields can keep his composure if he should encounter any difficulties. These young Rays pitchers have been a bit exposed emotionally this season and they’ll need to keep a better hold of themselves on the mound.

This is another historic day in Rays’ history as the Rays have never gone back-to-back-to-back! Their solid play this season makes me anxious to see what other historic moments this season has to offer!

It appeared as though the Tampa Bay Rays rolled into Texas with a chip on their shoulder.  They hit very well and Scott Kazmir pitched lights out once again.  He earned his 6^th straight victory — first time a Tampa Bay Ray pitcher has ever done that.  Kazmir pitched a strong 8 innings allowing only 2 runs with 6 strike outs and 0 BB.  He also picked a runner off first base.

The bats backed up the excellent starting pitching performance from Kaz by scoring 12 runs on 13 hits and only 5 Ks and no one player had multiple Ks – a big change from the previous series!  Home runs were also a large part of their offense with Eric Hinske, BJ Upton, Evan Longoria and Dioner Navarro all connecting.  Upton also stole 2 bases off the starter. 

This offensive explosion is well overdue.  Great to see them score runs when they had runners on base.  Kaz improves his record to 6-1 and we have picked up a full game on Boston as they were shut out at home by Seattle 8-0.  Maybe they need a team brawl more often?!

Speaking of the brawl here is the suspension list as handed out buy the league front office:

James Shields – 6 games to have begun Friday (appealing)

Jonny Gomes – 5 games to have begun Friday (appealing)

Edwin Jackson – 5 games to begin June 13

Carl Crawford – 4 games to begin Wednesday

Akinori Iwamura – 3 games to begin June 17^th

What ever happens with the appeals the Rays have said they will take their licks and move forward.  They began that process last night having a great night of recovery while walloping the Texas Rangers.  Great way to put the past behind and focus on now!

Go Rays!! 

The Tampa Bay Rays lost Game 2 of this 3 game series the Boston Red Sox 5-1 vaulting them ½ games over the Rays and into first place in the AL East.  More importantly may be the 8^th inning of the game when the feisty Rays showed the gumption that has tempered their rise from the cellar of the AL East.   BJ Upton was ejected and Joe Maddon was throwing profanity from the pitching mound into the Red Sox dugout at centerfielder Coco Crisp.  

Upton was tossed for arguing a third strike call with umpire Paul Emmel.  Upton was 0 for 4 with 3 strike outs.  I think BJ should stop arguing calls and start swinging the wood that seems to sit atop his shoulders all too frequently.  Joe Maddon even commented that the team is striking out far too often as the team has been fanned 19 times in the first 2 games of this 3 game series.  Swing the bats boys!

Maddon took exception to a slide by Coco Crisp into 2^nd that was obviously meant to hurt the defensive player, who in this case turned out to be Aki.  Crisp claims that earlier in the game Jason Bartlett had placed his knee in a position to hurt Crisp on his steal of 2^nd.   Crisp went into 2^nd base spikes up as if he were breaking up a double play right into Aki’s knee.  Maddon threw a few profane remarks at Crisp from the pitching mound during a pitching change.  

Speaking of throwing, the remarks thrown by Maddon were the best pitches of the night.  Edwin Jackson struggled mightily allowing 6 H, 4 runs and 3 BB in 5 innings.  It seems to this fan as though the mystique of Fenway is getting the better of the Rays young pitchers.  Both Garza in game 1 and Jackson in game 2 seemed to be very uncomfortable standing on that mound. 

On the offensive side, Eric Hinske had a productive game.  He was 2 for 4 with a 2B, the only RBI of the game and a SB.  Evan Longoria also had a nice day at the plate going 2 for 3 with a 2B, BB and the only Ray run scored. 

My home run of the game goes to:  Eric Hinske for being the only Ray to actually knock in a run (LOB – 7).  Keep it up!

My strike out of the game goes to:  Edwin Jackson for allowing the pressure to affect him so badly.  Shake it off and move on!

 Tonight is the last game of this series and the Rays then move on to face the red hot Texas Rangers.  This fan’s hope is the feistiness we saw last night carries over.  These Rays need to be more aggressive at the plate and on the base path when