Rays 8, Royals 5
Record: 19 - 9
Attendance: 11,744
The Rays jumped out to another first inning lead on a two-out Yandy Diaz single that drove in Ji-Man Choi, who had drawn a two-out walk. (The Rays have outscored their combined opposition in the first inning 29-4, best in the league.) And in the second, they added three more runs on a Michael Perez double and a Tommy Pham, two-rbi triple.
Going into the bottom of the third, the Rays had an easy 4-0 lead that seemed secure after Ryne Stanek did his opener job well and given the ball to reliable Yonny Chirinos as the bulker. But Daniel Robertson dropped an infield popup and with the extra out, the Royals scored three times. Chirinos, however, pitched a solid five and two-thirds, allowing only two earned runs on two hits and a walk. One of the hits was a long home run by Jorge Soler in the seventh. The Rays and Royals traded runs in the last three innings with the Rays outlasting the Royals 8-5 in the end, but not before Chaz Roe, who pitched the ninth, put a scare into us. He struck out the side (looking excellent) but also gave up a hit, a walk, and a run (looking not so excellent).
Winning again on the road (where they are a sparkling 10-2), going ten games over .500, and edging up to the end of April with an MLB best, 19-9 record, was the lead story line. But there was one other big story and a couple of smaller ones.
The other big story was the promotion of Nate Lowe from Durham. All he did last year was hit a combined (over three levels of minor league ball) .330 with 27 home runs and 102 RBIs. Oh, and he was the Rays' Minor League Player of the Year. So far at Durham this April, he was hitting .300 with three homers and 14 RBIs. Not bad for a guy who wasn't drafted by the Rays until the 13th round (out of Mississippi State) in 2016, and even that was tainted by rumors that the only reason he was drafted at all was to help persuade his brother Josh, whom the Rays drafted number 13 overall in the same draft, to sign with the Rays. Nate laced a double to left center in the eighth and walked, 1-4. It's hard not to get excited about his upside.
The two smaller story lines are related. First is the extended slump of Willy Adames, who started the year going 1 for 27, then collected 13 hits hits in his next 29 at bats, and is now one for his last 20. He wasn't in tonight's lineup. Adames is the only true shortstop on the current roster, although Andrew Velazquez is hitting .325 at Durham and Jake Cronenworth also at Durham is hitting .370. Adames is the defensive specialist among the candidates, which is very important infield glue, but don't be surprised at a move. Maybe soon.
The related smaller story is the improved condition of Matt Duffy, out with hamstring and back issues. There are more mix and match possibilities in the infield than you can get with a suit with two pairs of pants and a reversible vest.
Tuesday's game has Blake Snell scheduled against Jakub Junis. And both of them scheduled against severe thunderstorms and hail..
No comments:
Post a Comment