Rays 4, Tigers 0
Record: 36-23
Attendance: 14,272
The Rays turned once again to Charlie Morton to give their rotation stability and stop a slide, and he delivered in spades, pitching seven scoreless innings, giving up only five hits, walking no one, and striking out eight. The 32-year-old journeyman Oliver Drake pitched two perfect innings to wrap up the night's business. And suddenly the Rays are breathing a little easier after four straight losses. Stability. Charlie Morton. Whew.
Oliver Drake is a 6-4, 32-year-old journeyman pitcher acquired by the Rays from the Blue Jays for $70,000 back in January of this year. It was a typical under-the-radar move by the Rays' front office. Drake was drafted out of the Naval Academy in the 43rd round in 2008 by the Baltimore Orioles but didn't make his major league debut until 2015. But then he began his travels, two teams in 2017 and five teams in 2018.
The Minnesota Twins claimed Drake off waivers from the Blue Jays in August 2018 but in November they put him up on waivers again and the Rays claimed him, but 20 days later they designated him for assignment and he was signed by the Blue Jays, but on December 30 they too designated Drake for assignment. At that point the Rays stepped in again, this time to buy his contract for $70K.
And if yesterday's relief appearance to finish up Charlie Morton's game, the Rays may have gotten themselves another bargain basement player who has knocked around for a few years before finding a home at Tropicana Field. He joins a bullpen that has been struggling and one that could use an infusion of new blood.
The offense was as good as it needed to be, picking up four runs at intervals, one in the third, two in the fifth and one more in the eighth. The only drama in the game was Austin Meadows' drive to right center in the third which split the outfielders and bounced off the wall. Meadows, in full throttle, slid safely into third, and when the ball bounced back to the fence, he sprinted home. The runs in the fifth came from an Avisail Garcia double and Ji-Man Choi single. The add-on run in the eighth scored on a fielder's choice. Very efficient. And they took advantage of sloppy Tiger defense, three errors on the night.
Tommy Pham is expected back to the lineup for today's matinee, when the Rays are expected to start opener Ryne Stanek and follow him with Bulkman Jalen Beeks.
It was always a pipe dream that the Rays might land closer Craig Kimbrel, but it seems all but official now that he will be signed by Traitor Joe Maddon's Chicago Cubs. The numbers were not so far out of sight that the Rays might match them as reported by ESPN online: $10 million this year and $16 million for the next two. Many observers however are concerned that he's long past his high point as a reliable closer and that his erratic showing in last season's post-season may be a sign that a long-term contract is a questionable decision.
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