Archer ties Rays mark with 15 K’s in win over Angels
By Roger Mooney | Tribune StaffANAHEIM, Calif. – Chris Archer’s stuff was nasty. That’s what Chris Iannetta of the Los Angeles Angels told Rays catcher Rene Rivera during one of his at-bats Tuesday night.
Those Angels who reached first base on singles told Tampa Bay first baseman Jake Elmore they were there only because they closed their eyes when they swung.
It was that kind of night for Archer, who tied the Rays’ single-game strikeout mark during the 6-1 victory against the Angels at Angel Stadium.
Archer fanned 15 in eight innings, including Mike Trout three times, to match the club mark set Oct. 2, 2012, by James Shields against Baltimore. It was Shields’ final start for the Rays, and he lost 1-0.
“He’s filthy,” Iannetta said. “He throws 94 to 98 (mph), he throws an 86- to 92-mph slider, and he throws a slider for strikes that you have to chase. And he throws it where he wants to. He’s exceptional.”
Archer didn’t realize he tied the record until Evan Longoria congratulated him on the achievement after the eighth inning.
“If you’re out there counting strikeouts, you either really desperate for them or you’re just so out-of-this-planet good the game’s easy,” Archer said. “I was in the moment. I knew that I struck out quite a few people, but my focus was each individual pitch.”
Archer allowed six hits – a home run by Albert Pujols was the only blemish on the night – and did not walk a batter.
What made the performance more remarkable was what happened in Archer’s previous start.
He matched his then-career-best with 12 strikeouts against Seattle in eight scoreless innings. He didn’t walk a batter, either, making Archer and Tampa native Dwight Gooden the only pitchers since 1914 to record 12 or more strikeouts without walking a batter in back-to-back starts, according to the Baseball Reference. Gooden did it in September 1984 during the end of his rookie season.
“What a performance,” Rays manager Kevin Cash said. “Archer, outstanding. Two really strong performances back-to-back. I don’t know which one was more impressive. We’ll take ’em both.”
Archer relied on his fastball and slider to get ahead of the Angels’ hitters. He mixed in just enough curveballs to give them fits. All three pitches were working.
“It was his game,” Rivera said. “I was just back there suggesting stuff. He was getting early strikes and putting people away.”
Archer, who now leads the American League with 97 strikeouts, struck out seven of the first 10 batters he faced.
“It all stems from fastball command,” Archer said. “They take bad swings at the slider because you’re in the zone with the heater so much. And then when they’re thinking slider you can go heater. I just feel like the past 10 days the command of the fastball has been significantly better than the 10, 15 days prior. Our defense is great so I’m not afraid to throw the ball over the plate.”
Archer also credited pitching coach Jim Hickey and bullpen catcher Stan Boroski for coming up with game plans that have allowed Archer to be successful.
“They tell you how to get people out in the zone and out of the zone,” Archer said. “You go out there and do it the first time through, you gain confidence so you continue to stay within the game plan, attack, trust your defense and the end result is a ‘W.’ ”
Archer, who won for the third time in his last four starts, has 27 strikeouts over his last two. Even he found that to be impressive.
“Even when I was in high school and I was supposed to be doing that, I never did that,” he said.
The Rays gave Archer a quick lead on Logan Forsythe’s two-run homer in the first inning. It was his sixth home run of the season, matching his career high. The homer also increased Forsythe’s RBI total to 24, two shy of his career high.
Pujols cut the lead to 2-1 in the fourth inning with his third home run in two nights.
The Rays increased the lead to 5-1 in the sixth on a two-run single by Elmore and an RBI single by Asdrubal Cabrera.
Both hits came with two outs.
The inning began when Brandon Guyer was hit by a pitch. Joey Butler forced Guyer at second base after Aybar made a nice stop on Butler’s grounder to short. Evan Longoria grounded back to Wilson for the second out.
Forsythe and Steven Souza Jr., then drew walks to load the bases for Elmore, who returned to the starting lineup at first base. Elmore lined a ball into right field that Kole Calhoune could not catch despite a diving effort.
Cabrera’s hit snapped a 10-game streak in which he did not drive in a run. It was also Cabrera’s sixth hit in 49 at-bats this season with a runner in scoring position.
Rivera singled home a run in the ninth inning for the final margin.
Cash talked about Archer being an ace the day before he faced Seattle at Tropicana Field. Cash said an ace is someone who gets outs even when the hitters know what’s coming.
The Angels had a pretty good idea of what Archer was doing Tuesday, yet it hardly mattered.
“He’s one of the elite pitchers in the game,” Calhoune said after striking out twice in three at-bats. “He had his good stuff. Obviously, he throws extremely hard, spotted the ball well, threw his slider in some tough spots. He was on it.”
It was the same thing with the Mariners.
“The way he’s pitching right now I’d certainly say he’s an ace of just about any staff,” Cash said. “You can take his numbers and probably put them up against anybody in baseball.”
But a true ace, Cash said, is a pitcher who can do this for a number of years. The only thing holding Archer back is his experience. This is only his second full year in the big leagues.
“He just hasn’t had the opportunity to do it yet,” Cash said, “but in this short stint that he’s in, I don’t see how you cannot.”
Cash was not going to get any arguments from the Angels after Archer’s performance.
“Without question he is,” Iannetta said. “He should get a lot more notoriety than he does. Good guy, goes about his business the right way, looks like he has really good work ethic. Great demeanor on the mound. Doesn’t show anybody up. Very professional out there. It’s evident in his ability to execute pitches.”
By Roger Mooney | Tribune StaffANAHEIM, Calif. – Chris Archer’s stuff was nasty. That’s what Chris Iannetta of the Los Angeles Angels told Rays catcher Rene Rivera during one of his at-bats Tuesday night.
Those Angels who reached first base on singles told Tampa Bay first baseman Jake Elmore they were there only because they closed their eyes when they swung.
It was that kind of night for Archer, who tied the Rays’ single-game strikeout mark during the 6-1 victory against the Angels at Angel Stadium.
Archer fanned 15 in eight innings, including Mike Trout three times, to match the club mark set Oct. 2, 2012, by James Shields against Baltimore. It was Shields’ final start for the Rays, and he lost 1-0.
“He’s filthy,” Iannetta said. “He throws 94 to 98 (mph), he throws an 86- to 92-mph slider, and he throws a slider for strikes that you have to chase. And he throws it where he wants to. He’s exceptional.”
Archer didn’t realize he tied the record until Evan Longoria congratulated him on the achievement after the eighth inning.
“If you’re out there counting strikeouts, you either really desperate for them or you’re just so out-of-this-planet good the game’s easy,” Archer said. “I was in the moment. I knew that I struck out quite a few people, but my focus was each individual pitch.”
Archer allowed six hits – a home run by Albert Pujols was the only blemish on the night – and did not walk a batter.
What made the performance more remarkable was what happened in Archer’s previous start.
He matched his then-career-best with 12 strikeouts against Seattle in eight scoreless innings. He didn’t walk a batter, either, making Archer and Tampa native Dwight Gooden the only pitchers since 1914 to record 12 or more strikeouts without walking a batter in back-to-back starts, according to the Baseball Reference. Gooden did it in September 1984 during the end of his rookie season.
“What a performance,” Rays manager Kevin Cash said. “Archer, outstanding. Two really strong performances back-to-back. I don’t know which one was more impressive. We’ll take ’em both.”
Archer relied on his fastball and slider to get ahead of the Angels’ hitters. He mixed in just enough curveballs to give them fits. All three pitches were working.
“It was his game,” Rivera said. “I was just back there suggesting stuff. He was getting early strikes and putting people away.”
Archer, who now leads the American League with 97 strikeouts, struck out seven of the first 10 batters he faced.
“It all stems from fastball command,” Archer said. “They take bad swings at the slider because you’re in the zone with the heater so much. And then when they’re thinking slider you can go heater. I just feel like the past 10 days the command of the fastball has been significantly better than the 10, 15 days prior. Our defense is great so I’m not afraid to throw the ball over the plate.”
Archer also credited pitching coach Jim Hickey and bullpen catcher Stan Boroski for coming up with game plans that have allowed Archer to be successful.
“They tell you how to get people out in the zone and out of the zone,” Archer said. “You go out there and do it the first time through, you gain confidence so you continue to stay within the game plan, attack, trust your defense and the end result is a ‘W.’ ”
Archer, who won for the third time in his last four starts, has 27 strikeouts over his last two. Even he found that to be impressive.
“Even when I was in high school and I was supposed to be doing that, I never did that,” he said.
The Rays gave Archer a quick lead on Logan Forsythe’s two-run homer in the first inning. It was his sixth home run of the season, matching his career high. The homer also increased Forsythe’s RBI total to 24, two shy of his career high.
Pujols cut the lead to 2-1 in the fourth inning with his third home run in two nights.
The Rays increased the lead to 5-1 in the sixth on a two-run single by Elmore and an RBI single by Asdrubal Cabrera.
Both hits came with two outs.
The inning began when Brandon Guyer was hit by a pitch. Joey Butler forced Guyer at second base after Aybar made a nice stop on Butler’s grounder to short. Evan Longoria grounded back to Wilson for the second out.
Forsythe and Steven Souza Jr., then drew walks to load the bases for Elmore, who returned to the starting lineup at first base. Elmore lined a ball into right field that Kole Calhoune could not catch despite a diving effort.
Cabrera’s hit snapped a 10-game streak in which he did not drive in a run. It was also Cabrera’s sixth hit in 49 at-bats this season with a runner in scoring position.
Rivera singled home a run in the ninth inning for the final margin.
Cash talked about Archer being an ace the day before he faced Seattle at Tropicana Field. Cash said an ace is someone who gets outs even when the hitters know what’s coming.
The Angels had a pretty good idea of what Archer was doing Tuesday, yet it hardly mattered.
“He’s one of the elite pitchers in the game,” Calhoune said after striking out twice in three at-bats. “He had his good stuff. Obviously, he throws extremely hard, spotted the ball well, threw his slider in some tough spots. He was on it.”
It was the same thing with the Mariners.
“The way he’s pitching right now I’d certainly say he’s an ace of just about any staff,” Cash said. “You can take his numbers and probably put them up against anybody in baseball.”
But a true ace, Cash said, is a pitcher who can do this for a number of years. The only thing holding Archer back is his experience. This is only his second full year in the big leagues.
“He just hasn’t had the opportunity to do it yet,” Cash said, “but in this short stint that he’s in, I don’t see how you cannot.”
Cash was not going to get any arguments from the Angels after Archer’s performance.
“Without question he is,” Iannetta said. “He should get a lot more notoriety than he does. Good guy, goes about his business the right way, looks like he has really good work ethic. Great demeanor on the mound. Doesn’t show anybody up. Very professional out there. It’s evident in his ability to execute pitches.”
