Tuesday, April 2. Game 6: Brilliant Blake

Rays 4, Rockies 0

Record:  5-1

Attendance:  10,933       

            This one was all about Brilliant Blake Snell, who threw seven innings of two-hit ball striking out 13.  The Rockies seeing Snell for the first time were mismatched from the outset, experiencing the frustration American League teams reluctantly got used to last year in Snell’s Cy Young season.  Contributing offensively, Guillermo Heredia, who came to the Rays from Seattle over the winter, drove in two runs in the first, and Christian Arroyo, who was called up from Durham to take Joey Wendle’s place on the roster, drove in the fourth run of the game in the sixth, then dazzled defensively by starting a double play around the horn in the eighth.  Wilmer Font gave up a walk in his mop-up two innings, but was otherwise encouragingly perfect to finish the game off in style.  All told a solid outing from a team that is coming together nicely in the early going of the new season.

            Not even Daniel Robertson’s removal from the game due to illness could dampen Rays’ spirits, although Yandy Diaz’s removal due to an ankle sprain late in the game was a greater concern—but even that seemed to be a day-to-day problem rather than an IL problem.  And once again, roster depth softened the blow with Ji-Man Choi stepping right in for Diaz at first.  Tomorrow afternoon 35-year-old Charlie Morton goes against 24-year-old German Marquez, who just signed a contract extension locking him in for five years at $43 million.  The Rockies think they have their number one starter for years to come.  We’ll see tomorrow when the old master squares off against the young master.  Game time is 1:10.

            Both teams travel after the game.  The Rays have Thursday off before opening up a weekend set against the San Francisco Giants followed by three more in Chicago against the White Sox.  So beginning on Friday the fifth, we get to see if these Rays are going to be as good away as they are at home.  That’s how baseball unspools year after year, slowly, one game and one series at a time.  MLB is trying to speed the game up for the sake of those brought up in the Computer Age who value speed above all else, but baseball will never speed up enough to satisfy that generation.  Baseball is more like gardening, slow and carefully planned, both of them beautiful instruments of grace.

            For the second straight night attendance did not break 11,000.  A team this good with its ace on the mound should be selling out, even on a Tuesday night. Portland, Montreal, Las Vegas, Charlotte, Nashville—even Newark, NJ are all licking their chops.