Rays 1, Astros 6
ALDS Record: 2-3. Rays lose best of five series and an opportunity to play against the New York Yankees in the American League Championship series. The winner of that series will represent the AL in the World Series. The Rays' season is now officially ended.
Attendance: 43,418. Minute Maid Park
The Rays could very well have won game five of the ALDS against the Astros. In fact, they should have won it. Tyler Glasnow tipped his pitches in the first inning which resulted in an Astro outburst: three singles and a double accounting for three runs in the first ten pitches. Then after an out, another single for another run. 4-0 Astros. The game was virtually over before it had begun. The Rays bullpen held the Astros scoreless for the next six innings, while the Rays scored on an Eric Sogard homer in the second. Had it not been for the pitch tipping, the Rays could have gone into the late innings winning 1-0. In the eighth Emilio Pagan gave up a pair of homers, and the game was not 2-1 Astros, but an out-of-reach 6-1.
Of course adding to the Rays' misery on Thursday night was Gerrit Cole, who threw his second masterpiece of the series. He went eight innings, 108 pitches, and gave up only two hits, that one run, and two walks. He struck out ten. But a one-run game is a different animal from a 4-1 game going into the late innings. Pitch tipping tipped this game in the Astro's favor.
That said, there is no bitterness, nothing but gratitude and thanks to all the Rays for giving their fans a great summer that lasted clear into the middle of October. GM Erik Neander, gets the credit along with Chaim Bloom, Sr. VP of baseball operations, for putting this team together. Kevin Cash has emerged as one of baseball's premier managers, smart, innovative, fearless--and he refuses any credit for the team's success, which he says is strictly the players' doing. It has been a pleasure watching him grow as a manager over his five-year tenure. And the people who hired Cash deserve credit too for seeing all the potential in a young managerial candidate: Principal owner Stu Sternberg and co-presidents Brian Auld and Matthew Silverman. The 2019 season had many heroes. They fell a little short of their goals, but the ones they did achieve were milestones in a franchise whose future in the Tampa Bay region is still a huge question mark.
Primarily the players get the kudos of course. There were many times, in the summer especially, when it was possible to second guess the manager and wonder why some of the players were still on the roster. But gradually the team played its way out of a long slump and emerged as a force to be reckoned with--position players, a limited corps of starting pitchers, a bullpen, unlike any other in baseball history, that took on a huge portion of the team's success, a defense that got better and better all year, and hitters who refused to believe they were out of a game. It was thrilling to watch them all year, a pleasure and a privilege. Rays up.
One last thought: What if the last two sell-outs against Houston in the ALDS are signs that a turnaround in attendance is underway? That possibility might just alter the upcoming conversations between the politicians and the Rays' front office. Maybe the greatest achievement of the 2019 Rays will be that they managed to keep the franchise in the Tampa Bay area. Hope springs eternal.
Tuesday, October 8. GAME FOUR, ALDS. Rays even series, 4-1. Showdown coming.
Rays 4, Astros 1
ALDS Record: 2-2 in best of five series
Attendance: 32,178. Tropicana Field. Another full house with rowdy Rays' fans waving towels and ringing cowbells. It was an outright love fest so at odds with the neglect the same fans showed during the regular season. Somehow this is the head scratching reality of Rays baseball, which may well be headed to Montreal for at least half of every season. The puzzle of Rays' attendance could not be more frustrating.
The Rays were juiced by the crowd from the get-go. Tommy Pham, the second man up in the first inning, hit a 2-2 changeup on a line over the left field fence, stunning Justin Verlander, who was confident he could handle the Rays on three days rest instead of four or five. Hadn't he one-hit them into the eighth inning in game one? Two batters in and he had already matched that hit output and scored a run as well. Suddenly Verlander and the Astros began to wonder if maybe they had made a strategic error putting him out there on short rest. They were trying to put the Rays away in four games, and Verlander had seemed the best man for the job, but Pham's homer gave the entire Astro organization pause. You could almost hear them second guessing themselves.
And the first inning wasn't even over. Ji-Man Choi walked, Avasail Garcia singled, Travis d'Arnaud singled in Choi, and Joey Wendle doubled to score Garcia, and suddenly Verlander was behind 3-0 after making 32 pitches. The second guessing was over. It was clear they had made a mistake. Not only was this not going to be a repeat of game one, it had all the markings of another wipeout. In the fourth, Willy Adames hit a long home run to make it 4-0, and Verlander was through for the night: three and two thirds innings, seven hits, three walks, and four runs.
In the meantime, Kevin Cash was busy with a pitching plan of his own. This was not to be an opener and bulk-man day, so normal all year for the Rays. Instead, it was all bullpen, like spring training games. The idea was to never give the Astros two at-bats against the same pitcher. Diego Castillo started and went one and two-thirds. Ryan Yarbrough pitched two innings, Nick Anderson pitched two and a third, Colin Poche pitched one and a third (and gave up a homer to Robinson Chirinos), Emilio Pagan pitched two-thirds of an inning, and for the last two outs, Cash called on his ace Cy Young winner Blake Snell, who shut the door on an Astro rally and sealed the victory--and a showdown winner-take-all game five on Thursday in Houston.
The Relay. As compelling as all these storylines are, the turning point of the game was a defensive gem that has already passed from history to legend. In the top of the fourth, with Jose Altuve on first, DH Yordan Alvarez hit a Yarbrough pitch to straightaway center field at a blistering 113.7 mph. Even speedy Kevin Kiermaier was unable to catch up to it. It short-hopped the wall and took a high, loopy bounce that Kiermaier had to wait for. When it came down 384 feet from home plate, he caught it, pivoted and threw to relay man Willy Adames, who also caught, pivoted, and threw from 178 feet to the plate where d'Arnaud caught it and made a sweep tag on the speedy Altuve, who was making a hook slide to evade the tag, hoping to score by sliding his left hand over the plate. By a fraction of an inch, a mere millisecond, the tag was made before Altuve's hand hit home. It was a stunning turn for the Astros, who never recovered enough to climb back into this game.
Game five, Thursday, 7:07, Minute Maid Park, Houston. Gerrit Cole vs. Tyler Glasnow. All hands on deck for the finale.
ALDS Record: 2-2 in best of five series
Attendance: 32,178. Tropicana Field. Another full house with rowdy Rays' fans waving towels and ringing cowbells. It was an outright love fest so at odds with the neglect the same fans showed during the regular season. Somehow this is the head scratching reality of Rays baseball, which may well be headed to Montreal for at least half of every season. The puzzle of Rays' attendance could not be more frustrating.
The Rays were juiced by the crowd from the get-go. Tommy Pham, the second man up in the first inning, hit a 2-2 changeup on a line over the left field fence, stunning Justin Verlander, who was confident he could handle the Rays on three days rest instead of four or five. Hadn't he one-hit them into the eighth inning in game one? Two batters in and he had already matched that hit output and scored a run as well. Suddenly Verlander and the Astros began to wonder if maybe they had made a strategic error putting him out there on short rest. They were trying to put the Rays away in four games, and Verlander had seemed the best man for the job, but Pham's homer gave the entire Astro organization pause. You could almost hear them second guessing themselves.
And the first inning wasn't even over. Ji-Man Choi walked, Avasail Garcia singled, Travis d'Arnaud singled in Choi, and Joey Wendle doubled to score Garcia, and suddenly Verlander was behind 3-0 after making 32 pitches. The second guessing was over. It was clear they had made a mistake. Not only was this not going to be a repeat of game one, it had all the markings of another wipeout. In the fourth, Willy Adames hit a long home run to make it 4-0, and Verlander was through for the night: three and two thirds innings, seven hits, three walks, and four runs.
In the meantime, Kevin Cash was busy with a pitching plan of his own. This was not to be an opener and bulk-man day, so normal all year for the Rays. Instead, it was all bullpen, like spring training games. The idea was to never give the Astros two at-bats against the same pitcher. Diego Castillo started and went one and two-thirds. Ryan Yarbrough pitched two innings, Nick Anderson pitched two and a third, Colin Poche pitched one and a third (and gave up a homer to Robinson Chirinos), Emilio Pagan pitched two-thirds of an inning, and for the last two outs, Cash called on his ace Cy Young winner Blake Snell, who shut the door on an Astro rally and sealed the victory--and a showdown winner-take-all game five on Thursday in Houston.
The Relay. As compelling as all these storylines are, the turning point of the game was a defensive gem that has already passed from history to legend. In the top of the fourth, with Jose Altuve on first, DH Yordan Alvarez hit a Yarbrough pitch to straightaway center field at a blistering 113.7 mph. Even speedy Kevin Kiermaier was unable to catch up to it. It short-hopped the wall and took a high, loopy bounce that Kiermaier had to wait for. When it came down 384 feet from home plate, he caught it, pivoted and threw to relay man Willy Adames, who also caught, pivoted, and threw from 178 feet to the plate where d'Arnaud caught it and made a sweep tag on the speedy Altuve, who was making a hook slide to evade the tag, hoping to score by sliding his left hand over the plate. By a fraction of an inch, a mere millisecond, the tag was made before Altuve's hand hit home. It was a stunning turn for the Astros, who never recovered enough to climb back into this game.
Game five, Thursday, 7:07, Minute Maid Park, Houston. Gerrit Cole vs. Tyler Glasnow. All hands on deck for the finale.
Monday, October 7. GAME THREE, ALDS. Rays make a statement, 10-3.
Rays 10, Astros 3
ALDS Record: 1-2 in best of five series
Attendance: 32,251. Tropicana Field. It was a loud and rowdy, all-Rays full- house cheering on the team that has given them so much all through this long season. These are the same fans who never show up in force during the season, but for Monday night's playoff game, they were in the mood to say thanks to the Rays as they faced elimination in this best of five series against the Astros. The game promised to be just as difficult as the first two had been, as they faced off against the third of the Astro's super-starters, Zack Greinke. But the fans were oblivious to the uphill battle looming. They were a towel-waving, bell-ringing human wave of excitement.
Fans at the Trop. Photo courtesy of Ben Wiley.
Charlie Morton was on the mound for the Rays, and after the first inning, it looked like it might be a long night. He got lead-off hitter George Springer, but Jose Altuve worked an eight-pitch at-bat that ended with a home run. It took the man the players call "Charlie Freakin' Morton" (tee shirts available) 31 pitches to get out of the first, but he only gave up that one run. It took him 21 more pitches to finish up the second, but there would be no more run scoring under Morton's five-inning, 93-pitch watch. Chaz Roe got two outs in the sixth, but gave up three hits and two runs. He was followed by Brendan McKay, Oliver Drake, and Colin Poche, who combined for three scoreless innings.
Meanwhile, picking up Morton who was already at 52 pitches, was Kevin Kiermaier in the home second. Avisail Garcia singled and Travis d'Arnaud was hit by a pitch before Kiermaier stepped to the plate and hit a ball over the center field wall and almost into the large devil ray tank. Suddenly the Rays had taken the lead and the crowed erupted. Fan favorite Ji-Man Choi hit another home run in the third making it 4-1. And then in the bottom of the fourth, they added four more runs, capped by Brandon Lowe's home run, and the lead grew to 8-1. Willy Adames' homer in the sixth made in 9-3, which grew again to 10-3 with an add-on run in the seventh.
It was an offensive explosion that made an emphatic statement in front of a super-excited crowd. Pitch for pitch, this may well have been the most dramatic and pure fun of all the games in Rays' history.
After the final out. Photo courtesy of Ben Wiley.
With the series now 2-1 in favor of Houston, the Rays bought themselves one more game Tuesday night. Astro's manager A.J. Hinch has already named Justin Verlander as his starter, and the Rays will probably have a full-fledged bullpen day. It sounds like a mismatch on the surface, but the Rays' bullpen has come together after a long and sometimes inconsistent summer to be an exciting unit eager to take the mound, eager to answer Kevin Cash's call to arms.
Verlander will be making a start on short rest, something he has never done in his career. It is impossible to know how he will react, which has got to give the Rays some hope. And it is unreasonable to think that under even the best of circumstances he could match his game one heroics, an eight-inning one-hitter. What's more, the Rays hitters may well be better able to hit Verlander having faced him a mere four days ago.
In short, there's hope in the Tampa-St. Pete area. This team doesn't panic, doesn't give up, and doesn't fear any team in either league. It might be Houston who should be feeling the pressure.
ALDS Record: 1-2 in best of five series
Attendance: 32,251. Tropicana Field. It was a loud and rowdy, all-Rays full- house cheering on the team that has given them so much all through this long season. These are the same fans who never show up in force during the season, but for Monday night's playoff game, they were in the mood to say thanks to the Rays as they faced elimination in this best of five series against the Astros. The game promised to be just as difficult as the first two had been, as they faced off against the third of the Astro's super-starters, Zack Greinke. But the fans were oblivious to the uphill battle looming. They were a towel-waving, bell-ringing human wave of excitement.
Fans at the Trop. Photo courtesy of Ben Wiley.
Charlie Morton was on the mound for the Rays, and after the first inning, it looked like it might be a long night. He got lead-off hitter George Springer, but Jose Altuve worked an eight-pitch at-bat that ended with a home run. It took the man the players call "Charlie Freakin' Morton" (tee shirts available) 31 pitches to get out of the first, but he only gave up that one run. It took him 21 more pitches to finish up the second, but there would be no more run scoring under Morton's five-inning, 93-pitch watch. Chaz Roe got two outs in the sixth, but gave up three hits and two runs. He was followed by Brendan McKay, Oliver Drake, and Colin Poche, who combined for three scoreless innings.
Meanwhile, picking up Morton who was already at 52 pitches, was Kevin Kiermaier in the home second. Avisail Garcia singled and Travis d'Arnaud was hit by a pitch before Kiermaier stepped to the plate and hit a ball over the center field wall and almost into the large devil ray tank. Suddenly the Rays had taken the lead and the crowed erupted. Fan favorite Ji-Man Choi hit another home run in the third making it 4-1. And then in the bottom of the fourth, they added four more runs, capped by Brandon Lowe's home run, and the lead grew to 8-1. Willy Adames' homer in the sixth made in 9-3, which grew again to 10-3 with an add-on run in the seventh.
It was an offensive explosion that made an emphatic statement in front of a super-excited crowd. Pitch for pitch, this may well have been the most dramatic and pure fun of all the games in Rays' history.
After the final out. Photo courtesy of Ben Wiley.
With the series now 2-1 in favor of Houston, the Rays bought themselves one more game Tuesday night. Astro's manager A.J. Hinch has already named Justin Verlander as his starter, and the Rays will probably have a full-fledged bullpen day. It sounds like a mismatch on the surface, but the Rays' bullpen has come together after a long and sometimes inconsistent summer to be an exciting unit eager to take the mound, eager to answer Kevin Cash's call to arms.
Verlander will be making a start on short rest, something he has never done in his career. It is impossible to know how he will react, which has got to give the Rays some hope. And it is unreasonable to think that under even the best of circumstances he could match his game one heroics, an eight-inning one-hitter. What's more, the Rays hitters may well be better able to hit Verlander having faced him a mere four days ago.
In short, there's hope in the Tampa-St. Pete area. This team doesn't panic, doesn't give up, and doesn't fear any team in either league. It might be Houston who should be feeling the pressure.
Saturday, October 5. GAME TWO, ALDS. Rays rally in 9th, but fall 3-1
Rays 1, Astros 3
ALDS Record: 0-2 in best of five series.
Attendance: 43,378. Minute Maid Park.
For the second straight night the Rays faced the best pitchers in baseball and came up short. No surprise there. Friday night they were bested by Justin Verlander. Saturday night featured Gerrit Cole in a likely Cy Young year when he went 20-5 with an ERA of 2.50 and a WHIP (walks and hits per inning pitched) of 0.89. He also struck out 326, and pitched 212 innings. He was dominant all year long. And he was again against the Rays Saturday night going seven and two-thirds, giving up four hits and a walk, but setting a record with 15 strikeouts.
In the ninth against reliever Roberto Osuna the Rays rallied for a single run, but were in a position for even greater damage with two golden opportunities: bases loaded with no outs and bases loaded with one out. The game ended with Travis d'Arnaud striking out (and looking bad doing so) and Kevin Kiermaier tapping out softly to first. It would have been a sweet comeback after having been so totally dominated by Cole for so long, but they weren't up to the task.
Blake Snell, still rehabbing after all and no doubt being pressed into service a little sooner than he should have been because of the situation, did a good job for three and a third, which was when Alex Bregman homered off him. He was replaced by Diego Castillo for a good fourth and fifth innings, Ryan Yarbrough for a perfect sixth, and then the Rays' best late inning relievers, Nick Anderson and Emilio Pagan, both of whom gave up the winning runs. Colin Poche got the last out. All told, it was a good outing for Rays pitching, just not good enough to battle Cole on this particular night.
Some will criticize Rays hitting in this game, but not being able to handle Cole is no disgrace. Their failure to produce more than a single run in the ninth, however, is on the hitters who should clearly have done better against a couple of journeymen relievers, Osuna and Will Harris. Despite the heroics of Cole, this game was winnable for the Rays, who simply failed to execute in the clutch.
And so now down two games to none in a best of five series, the Rays must win Monday's game, which is being played at Tropicana Field, a much friendlier venue than Minute Maid Park with its raucous orange and black screamers rooting the Astros on.
The Rays will send Charlie Morton to the mound to face the third of Houston's aces, Zack Greinke, who joined the team in a July trade with the Arizona Diamondbacks. His record with the Astros is 8-1 (3.02 ERA) and his full season record is 18-5 (2.93 ERA). His WHIP was 0.98 and he pitched 208 innings striking out 187. Morton went 16-6 with a 3.05 ERA and a 1.08 WHIP while striking out 240 over 194 innings. It's a good matchup. The Rays will probably be underdogs again, but that seems to suit them just fine. Once again, don't count the Rays quite yet.
ALDS Record: 0-2 in best of five series.
Attendance: 43,378. Minute Maid Park.
For the second straight night the Rays faced the best pitchers in baseball and came up short. No surprise there. Friday night they were bested by Justin Verlander. Saturday night featured Gerrit Cole in a likely Cy Young year when he went 20-5 with an ERA of 2.50 and a WHIP (walks and hits per inning pitched) of 0.89. He also struck out 326, and pitched 212 innings. He was dominant all year long. And he was again against the Rays Saturday night going seven and two-thirds, giving up four hits and a walk, but setting a record with 15 strikeouts.
In the ninth against reliever Roberto Osuna the Rays rallied for a single run, but were in a position for even greater damage with two golden opportunities: bases loaded with no outs and bases loaded with one out. The game ended with Travis d'Arnaud striking out (and looking bad doing so) and Kevin Kiermaier tapping out softly to first. It would have been a sweet comeback after having been so totally dominated by Cole for so long, but they weren't up to the task.
Blake Snell, still rehabbing after all and no doubt being pressed into service a little sooner than he should have been because of the situation, did a good job for three and a third, which was when Alex Bregman homered off him. He was replaced by Diego Castillo for a good fourth and fifth innings, Ryan Yarbrough for a perfect sixth, and then the Rays' best late inning relievers, Nick Anderson and Emilio Pagan, both of whom gave up the winning runs. Colin Poche got the last out. All told, it was a good outing for Rays pitching, just not good enough to battle Cole on this particular night.
Some will criticize Rays hitting in this game, but not being able to handle Cole is no disgrace. Their failure to produce more than a single run in the ninth, however, is on the hitters who should clearly have done better against a couple of journeymen relievers, Osuna and Will Harris. Despite the heroics of Cole, this game was winnable for the Rays, who simply failed to execute in the clutch.
And so now down two games to none in a best of five series, the Rays must win Monday's game, which is being played at Tropicana Field, a much friendlier venue than Minute Maid Park with its raucous orange and black screamers rooting the Astros on.
The Rays will send Charlie Morton to the mound to face the third of Houston's aces, Zack Greinke, who joined the team in a July trade with the Arizona Diamondbacks. His record with the Astros is 8-1 (3.02 ERA) and his full season record is 18-5 (2.93 ERA). His WHIP was 0.98 and he pitched 208 innings striking out 187. Morton went 16-6 with a 3.05 ERA and a 1.08 WHIP while striking out 240 over 194 innings. It's a good matchup. The Rays will probably be underdogs again, but that seems to suit them just fine. Once again, don't count the Rays quite yet.
Friday, October 4. GAME ONE, ALDS. Astros manage a win over Rays, 6-2
Rays 2, Astros 6
ALDS Record: 0-1 in best of five series
Attendance: 43,360. Minute Maid Park.
In what may be the most important Rays story of the day, the city of St. Petersburg has given permission to Tampa to resume a search for a new ballpark. For months St. Pete has refused to budge on this issue, insisting that the Rays honor their contract to remain at Tropicana Field until the expiration of their lease in 2027. Now, suddenly, perhaps in the wake of the Rays first playoff team in six years, keeping the team in the region seems to have become a priority. Or perhaps the reason is that the Rays front office has been flirting with the possibility of splitting each season between Tampa-St. Pete and Montreal, Canada. Either way there is a new glimmer of hope that we will get to keep the team here, where it began and belongs.
As to the division championship game between the Rays and the Astros, it was a close game with Houston's Justin Verlander and Tampa Bay's Tyler Glasnow matching scoreboard zeroes for four innings. In the bottom of the fifth with one on, Glasnow threw a good pitch, a 97 mph fastball up in the strike zone, to Houston's always underestimated Jose Altuve, who turned it around and deposited it in the left field stands. Glasnow deserved better, especially against Verlander, who didn't give up a hit until the fifth, a harmless single.
Brendan McKay replaced Glasnow and allowed a single and double, putting runners on first and third. Then with two out Chaz Roe came in and got a playable popup into shallow right field. With three players converging on the ball, second baseman Brandon Lowe thought he was in position to make an over the shoulder catch, but the ball hit his glove and fell to the ground. The Rays could easily have escaped the inning without giving up a single run, but suddenly it was 4-0 and the game was out of hand with Verlander dominating Rays' hitters until he left in the eighth, when the Rays put up a pair of runs. Too little too late.
The stakes are higher in the playoffs, but this type of game, with a great pitcher overwhelming the opposition and a popup that falls between fielders is what baseball is all about. The Rays know that and will not go into game two on Saturday night feeling demoralized.
The trouble is they face Gerrit Cole whose record for 2019 is 20-5 with a 2.50 ERA and a major's leading 326 strikeouts. Once again they have their work cut out for them, but they will take heart from the additional statistic that the Rays have beaten him twice in four games (with no-decisions in the others) and that his ERA against them in that stretch is a more encouraging 3.51.
Taking the mound for the Rays will be Blake Snell, whose road back from arm trouble and the IL has been alternately sharp and shaky. The Rays will need a strong performance that lasts four or five innings, and hope they can score against Cole, before giving the ball to the bullpen, which will need to be on point the rest of the way.
Again it's an uphill battle, but just as the first game turned against them on a couple of plays, the Rays will play hard and perhaps get the breaks this time. It's never a good idea to count this team out.
ALDS Record: 0-1 in best of five series
Attendance: 43,360. Minute Maid Park.
In what may be the most important Rays story of the day, the city of St. Petersburg has given permission to Tampa to resume a search for a new ballpark. For months St. Pete has refused to budge on this issue, insisting that the Rays honor their contract to remain at Tropicana Field until the expiration of their lease in 2027. Now, suddenly, perhaps in the wake of the Rays first playoff team in six years, keeping the team in the region seems to have become a priority. Or perhaps the reason is that the Rays front office has been flirting with the possibility of splitting each season between Tampa-St. Pete and Montreal, Canada. Either way there is a new glimmer of hope that we will get to keep the team here, where it began and belongs.
As to the division championship game between the Rays and the Astros, it was a close game with Houston's Justin Verlander and Tampa Bay's Tyler Glasnow matching scoreboard zeroes for four innings. In the bottom of the fifth with one on, Glasnow threw a good pitch, a 97 mph fastball up in the strike zone, to Houston's always underestimated Jose Altuve, who turned it around and deposited it in the left field stands. Glasnow deserved better, especially against Verlander, who didn't give up a hit until the fifth, a harmless single.
Brendan McKay replaced Glasnow and allowed a single and double, putting runners on first and third. Then with two out Chaz Roe came in and got a playable popup into shallow right field. With three players converging on the ball, second baseman Brandon Lowe thought he was in position to make an over the shoulder catch, but the ball hit his glove and fell to the ground. The Rays could easily have escaped the inning without giving up a single run, but suddenly it was 4-0 and the game was out of hand with Verlander dominating Rays' hitters until he left in the eighth, when the Rays put up a pair of runs. Too little too late.
The stakes are higher in the playoffs, but this type of game, with a great pitcher overwhelming the opposition and a popup that falls between fielders is what baseball is all about. The Rays know that and will not go into game two on Saturday night feeling demoralized.
The trouble is they face Gerrit Cole whose record for 2019 is 20-5 with a 2.50 ERA and a major's leading 326 strikeouts. Once again they have their work cut out for them, but they will take heart from the additional statistic that the Rays have beaten him twice in four games (with no-decisions in the others) and that his ERA against them in that stretch is a more encouraging 3.51.
Taking the mound for the Rays will be Blake Snell, whose road back from arm trouble and the IL has been alternately sharp and shaky. The Rays will need a strong performance that lasts four or five innings, and hope they can score against Cole, before giving the ball to the bullpen, which will need to be on point the rest of the way.
Again it's an uphill battle, but just as the first game turned against them on a couple of plays, the Rays will play hard and perhaps get the breaks this time. It's never a good idea to count this team out.
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