The Tampa Bay Rays were able to take two-of-three from the Minnesota Twins over the weekend. Next up on the 10-day road trip, the Texas Rangers.
After taking part in the longest game in Target Field history (6 hours 26 minutes) on Sunday, the Rays made several roster moves before the series opener against Texas.
Beltre Returns, De Leon Debut
On Monday, the Rays called up No. 3 prospect Jose De Leon in an effort to provide depth in the bullpen. Understandable, since Erasmo Ramirez had become the first player since Indians pitcher Steve Farr in 1984 to start a game the day after recording a save.
Looking for a spark, Rangers fans were more than happy to see their star third baseman on the field for the first time this season. Adrian Beltre (calf) had not played since the World Baseball Classic in March. He went 1-for-5 on the night, picking up his first hit of the 2017 season.
On two separate occasions the Rays overcame deficits on Monday. The biggest of which coming in the seventh inning when trailing 7-5. After Colby Rasmus tied the game with his third double of the season, Kevin Kiermaier walked setting up Tim Beckham for a go-ahead three-run home run.
De Leon picked up his first victory of the season despite laboring through two-and-two-third innings. The right-hander allowed four hits, walking three, while allowing three earned runs. Steven Souza Jr finished the night with four hits and scored four runs.
Andriese Exits, Bullpen Regulars Flop
With injuries, and marathon games taking there toll, it was only a matter of time before the bullpen simply couldn’t handle the workload. The roller-coaster of players going up-and-down put the team in a difficult position and it became clear on Tuesday night.
Starting pitcher Matt Andriese was unable to get through two innings, leaving with groin tightness after throwing his 28th pitch. He has since been placed on the 10-day DL.
#Rays have made 12 roster moves over 3 days – 2 to DL, 4 optioned, 6 recalled (Garton was down and up)
— Marc Topkin (@TBTimes_Rays) May 31, 2017
The Rays relied on five different relief pitchers to get them through the night. Rookie Chih-Wei Hu and Tommy Hunter gave the Rays four-and-a-third scoreless innings but the Rangers battled back in the sixth.
Danny Farquhar entered the game in the seventh inning with a three-run lead. He departed after retiring just two batters, allowing three hits and surrendering the advantage. Chase Whitley entered with the game tied at five.
Prior to Tuesday night, Whitley had allowed only four earned runs (16 games) all season. He allowed five men to reach base in the inning, four of which came around to score. The Rangers held on to the 9-5 victory.
Late Homers Lift Rays
Homering for the second straight game, Souza Jr (10) provided an early lead for Chris Archer on Wednesday. After an Adrian Beltre sac-fly gave the Rangers a 1-0 first-inning lead, Souza’s two-run shot put the Rays on top.
Archer took the mound in the fourth inning with a 3-1 lead. After Beltre led off with a double, Rougned Odor singled. Jonathan Lucroy then grounded into a double-play, scoring Beltre from third.
After allowing another run in the fifth inning, Archer gave up the lead in the seventh when Elvis Andrus ripped an RBI-double to centerfield, scoring Shin-Soo Choo from second.
Trailing by one run in the ninth inning, Tampa Bay showed exactly why they lead the majors in home runs. Kiermaier kept the game alive with his sixth round-tripper of the season. Austin Pruitt shut the door on Texas in the bottom-of-the-ninth and then the Rays’ bats took over in the tenth inning.
Logan Morrison (solo-shot) and Derek Norris (two-run shot) gave the Rays their 82nd and 83rd home runs of the season.
Despite allowing the tying run to reach scoring position, the three-run lead was enough for Alex Colome to earn his 15th save of the season. The victory gave Tampa Bay their fifth consecutive series-win on the road.
