With his third strikeout of the day, Rays pitcher Alex Cobb picked up his 468th strikeout as a member of the team.
Trailing Matt Garza (467) by two strikeouts on the team’s all-time list, Alex Cobb certainly earned seventh position on the list.
With two outs in the fourth inning, Blue Jays slugger Kendrys Morales became victim number 468 for Cobb. He now ranks 7th on the all-time list. Current San Francisco Giants pitcher Matt Moore is next on the list. Moore racked up 494 punch-outs during his tenure (2011-2016) with the Rays.
Time for @Acobb53 to do his thing. pic.twitter.com/t1XZj9YO7G
— Tampa Bay Rays (@RaysBaseball) May 7, 2017
Blue Jays Follow Rays Blueprint
Manager John Gibbons had some shuffling to do after the team DFA’d pitcher Mat Latos on Friday. Having seen Kevin Cash utilize an all-relievers approach in a recent victory over the Baltimore Orioles, Gibbons did the same on Sunday afternoon at Tropicana Field.
Making the first start of his career, Joe Biagini was called upon to emulate what Austin Pruitt was able to do for the Rays on April 25. In his previous outing, against the New York Yankees, Biagini amassed 41 pitches – it was a, then, season-high. On Sunday afternoon he threw 52 pitches, allowing two hits and one un-earned run in his four innings of work. The Jays utilized five bullpen arms on the day, RHP Ryan Tepera picked up his second win of the season.
Best Start of the Season Spoiled
Facing Cobb, third baseman Darwin Barney picked up his first home run of the season in the eighth inning. The 401-foot blast gave the Blue Jays a 2-1 lead. Closer Roberto Osuna came on in the ninth to pick up his fourth save of the season.
After the game Cobb was asked if he thought today was his best start since returning from Tommy John surgery.
“Yeah. I think that the angle that I’m trying to get on the pitches was there…direction, in and out of the zone with the fastball. Obviously, would like the change-up to be there a little bit more. It did induce some ground balls through the course of the day. But, learning how to pitch with those two pitches right now is getting a little bit better each time out. Hopefully I’ll be able to learn how to pitch with that third one next time out as well.”
Up Next:
The Kansas City Royals are in town for a four-game series starting Monday night at Tropicana Field. Blake Snell (0-2; 3.45) looks for his first win of the season. He faces former Rays pitcher Nathan Karns (1-2; 4.97)
