Saturday, March 30. Game 3: "We're just not built that way."

Rays 3, Astros 1

Record:  2-1

Attendance:  16,010 (54,094)

            

          Versatility won the day.  In the post game interview, Manager Kevin Cash said that some teams are able to send the same eight men out there every night.  “We’re just not built that way.”  And so we have depth and versatility—and tonight it worked.  Meadows was in left, Pham was the DH, Wendle was at short, Lowe was at second, Ji-Man was at first (for the third consecutive game), and Michael Perez was behind the plate.  The key to the W tonight was Perez, who had two key hits, a single and a double and an RBI—and he threw out José Altuve trying to steal second. So we worry about the drawbacks of versatility on one day, and the next day we rejoice in it.  Rays baseball. 

            The most impressive player for the Rays tonight was starter Taylor Glasnow, the pitcher who came over from the Pirates last year in the Chris Archer trade.  He pitched five strong innings, giving up an early home run to Alex Bregman who managed to put one over the waist-high fence in left, 315 feet away from home plate.  Glasnow was 0-5 in spring training with a 10.38 ERA, and suddenly he gets the W against one of the toughest hitting lineups in the major leagues.  He said he’d been experimenting all spring with a slight pause in his delivery, keeping at it all spring, but with the pathetic numbers he put up, he went back to his old delivery for his first start of the new year.  And suddenly he was in the victory circle once again.

            Wrapping this one up, for his second save in as many days, was José Alvarado, the Rays’ unannointed closer.  If he saves 40 games this year, he’ll become the savior of the season.  Nice.