Glasnow gets off to a slow start but rebounds very nicely to throw seven strong innings. Garcia hammers homer and Rays never look back.
ST. PETERSBURG — WIN[ter] is coming! And they keep coming for the Rays! OK, that was my one and only poor attempt for a Games of Thrones reference.
With The Rays having an off day on Monday, the team commemorated the 72nd anniversary of Jackie Robinson breaking baseball’s color barrier tonight with everyone wearing the iconic number 42.
“It’s an inspiration.” Avisail Garcia said when wearing number 42 tonight. “He did a lot for us, so it’s an inspiration to have his number on my back.”
That inspiration showed tonight, as Garcia hit a go ahead two-run homer to dead center in the fourth inning giving the Rays a 3-2 lead in tonight’s game. The home run was Garcia’s second of the season. He finished the game 2-for-4 also adding three RBI. The three RBI were his most in a game since August 30th, 2018 against the Red Sox while he was a member of the White Sox.
Glasnow gets into Groove
In what was a shaky, 26-pitch first inning for Glasnow, he finished his final six innings in incredibly efficient fashion. In fact, he didn’t throw more than 14 pitches in an inning for the rest of the game, including two innings with single digit pitches.
“I was able to mix in a couple of different pitches.” Glasnow stated about his outing tonight. “I showed them the changeup and threw some curveballs for strikes. I think it was not everyone being able to see the fastball. I felt good. Went out and attacked. I was trying to execute and it ended up working for me.”
His night finished going seven innings allowing two earned runs and striking out three Orioles.
Glasnow’s stellar season continues as he improves to 4-0 sporting a 1.13 ERA and a 0.88 WHIP. The breakout prediction is looking really good thus far.
Pham’s Streak Continues
I told you as long as he gets on base, I’m going to keep mentioning it. Tommy Pham drew a walk in the fourth inning — starting the team’s three run rally. It marks the 48th consecutive game he has reached base. The Rays are 39-16 (.709) with Pham in the starting lineup.
For the Nerds: Part 1
In the 7th inning, Kevin Kiermaier became the first player in Rays history to be caught stealing twice in the same inning. He was thrown out at second base, but was ruled safe due to an E6. Then was later picked off trying to steal third. According to the Elias Sports Bureau, that was just the 13th time in history a player was caught stealing twice in the same inning.
For the Nerds: Part 2
According to Baseball Reference, a team with a 12-4 start through their first 16 games has a 49.4 percent chance to make the playoffs. The Rays were given a 28.2 percent chance of making the playoffs when Fangraphs did their preseason projections in March. The Rays currently have a 69.8 percent chance of making the playoffs now, before tonights win. That is the highest increase in all of baseball.
Road Trip Complete
The Rays came home from a 9-game road trip — in which they went 7-2 — with the best record in all of baseball. The offense scored 56 runs during those nine games, including four Austin Meadows home runs. Meadows earned AL Player of the Week with his offensive outburst.
With their win tonight, they now are 13-4 on this young season. The opposite of their 4-13 start last year.
Injury Update
The Rays placed Blake Snell on 10-day IL with a fractured right toe retroactive to April 14th. It is projected that Snell will only miss one start. The team called up RHP Emilio Pagan from Durham for replace Snell.
Up Next
Game two one the series features Rays RHP Ryne Stanek (0-0; 2.16) facing Orioles RHP David Hess (1-2; 3.32). First pitch is scheduled for 7:10 pm EST at the Trop.
