Rays believe they have formula for playoff run
MARC TOPKINTampa Bay TimesThursday, July 18, 2013 5:35pm
TORONTO — The Rays feel pretty good about where they are right now, riding a 17-4 streak into the All-Star break and resuming play tonight at the Rogers Centre in second place in the American League East, just 2 ½ games off the Red Sox's surprising pace.
But the bigger question is where are they going to be 10 weeks from now when they return to Toronto for the final weekend of their season.
There's a lot that goes into it, of course.
And plenty of questions to be answered between now and then.
Will their starting pitchers continue to perform as expected? Can they sustain their improved offense, which has posted the fifth most runs in the league? Will the heavily used bullpen hold up? Is the defense that good? What's fair to expect from rookie Wil Myers? Will they add help at the July 31 trade deadline?
"There are so many things that have to go right to win this division — we believe it's the toughest division in sports — so I don't think you can isolate just one factor," Rays executive vice president Andrew Friedman said.
"But we have always been at our best when our pitching staff has been locked in and if we can keep the opposition off of the board consistently in the second half, that will be a tremendous foundation."
The Rays are confident they have enough, and can do enough, to get back to the playoffs for the fourth time in six seasons, preferably by winning the division, and avoiding the one-game wild-card playoff.
That said, here are five numbers worth noting as the Rays play the first of the 66 games they have left to try to get there.
15
Consecutive quality starts by Rays pitchers
The Rays are built on starting pitching, and after an unexpectedly rough beginning to the season, scarred by injuries to David Price and Alex Cobb, was unusual and awkward. But, with Price back and throwing well, a sense of normalcy has returned, as the starters are again pitching like some of the game's best. And with Cobb aiming for an early August return, the Rays will be in that good-problem-to-have position of deciding how to make room.
38
Major-league most remaining road games for the Rays.
Though the Rays have the fourth most wins in the majors, they have a losing record away from the Trop, 21-22. And the road is rough right away, as the Rays open post-break play with a 10-game trip to Toronto, Boston and New York, having gone 4-9 thus far in those cities and failing to win a series. They still have to make two trips to the west coast — at D-backs and Dodgers Aug. 6-11 and at A's, Angels, Mariners on Aug. 30-Sept. 8. And they end the season visiting the Yankees and Jays. The biggest issues away from home have been the pitching, a 4.01 ERA compared to 3.67 at the Trop.
.136
Evan Longoria's batting average during Rays' 17-4 streak.
The Rays best player hasn't been playing very well lately, with just two extra-base hits and a .514 OPS in his 18 games during that stretch. But the good news is that there is a pretty good chance he is going to get better, and that the Rays have managed to do so well with so little from him, primarily carried by 1B James Loney (.373), DH Luke Scott (.351) and CF Desmond Jennings (.312).
36
Errors by the Rays, second fewest in the majors, behind Baltmore (30).
The Rays, and the O's, are on pace to break the '03 Mariners record for a 162-game season (65), and the improvement (down from 76 errors at this point last season) has made a big difference — and is a big reason the Rays pitching staff has been so effective. The tidiness in the infield has been impressive as SS Yunel Escobar and 2B Ben Zobrist have matching 52-game errorless streaks. Escobar has tied the team record, Zobrist has 23 more to go to do so. 3B Evan Longoria has a 40-game errorless streak of his own.
13
Consecutive saves converted by Fernando Rodney.
After a rough start to the season, in which he blew five of his first 14, Rodney has looked an awful lot like he did last season, which is obviously a good sign for the entire Rays bullpen. In 12 innings over those 13 games, he has allowed only six hits and struck out 19. More important, after allowing 19 walks in his first 21 appearances of the season, he has allowed only 5 free passes in his past 20. As Rodney, who is now 22 of 27, goes, so goes the whole 'pen, with a 2.29 overall ERA since his last blown save on May 25.
Marc Topkin can be reached at topkin@tampabay.com.
MARC TOPKINTampa Bay TimesThursday, July 18, 2013 5:35pm
TORONTO — The Rays feel pretty good about where they are right now, riding a 17-4 streak into the All-Star break and resuming play tonight at the Rogers Centre in second place in the American League East, just 2 ½ games off the Red Sox's surprising pace.
But the bigger question is where are they going to be 10 weeks from now when they return to Toronto for the final weekend of their season.
There's a lot that goes into it, of course.
And plenty of questions to be answered between now and then.
Will their starting pitchers continue to perform as expected? Can they sustain their improved offense, which has posted the fifth most runs in the league? Will the heavily used bullpen hold up? Is the defense that good? What's fair to expect from rookie Wil Myers? Will they add help at the July 31 trade deadline?
"There are so many things that have to go right to win this division — we believe it's the toughest division in sports — so I don't think you can isolate just one factor," Rays executive vice president Andrew Friedman said.
"But we have always been at our best when our pitching staff has been locked in and if we can keep the opposition off of the board consistently in the second half, that will be a tremendous foundation."
The Rays are confident they have enough, and can do enough, to get back to the playoffs for the fourth time in six seasons, preferably by winning the division, and avoiding the one-game wild-card playoff.
That said, here are five numbers worth noting as the Rays play the first of the 66 games they have left to try to get there.
15
Consecutive quality starts by Rays pitchers
The Rays are built on starting pitching, and after an unexpectedly rough beginning to the season, scarred by injuries to David Price and Alex Cobb, was unusual and awkward. But, with Price back and throwing well, a sense of normalcy has returned, as the starters are again pitching like some of the game's best. And with Cobb aiming for an early August return, the Rays will be in that good-problem-to-have position of deciding how to make room.
38
Major-league most remaining road games for the Rays.
Though the Rays have the fourth most wins in the majors, they have a losing record away from the Trop, 21-22. And the road is rough right away, as the Rays open post-break play with a 10-game trip to Toronto, Boston and New York, having gone 4-9 thus far in those cities and failing to win a series. They still have to make two trips to the west coast — at D-backs and Dodgers Aug. 6-11 and at A's, Angels, Mariners on Aug. 30-Sept. 8. And they end the season visiting the Yankees and Jays. The biggest issues away from home have been the pitching, a 4.01 ERA compared to 3.67 at the Trop.
.136
Evan Longoria's batting average during Rays' 17-4 streak.
The Rays best player hasn't been playing very well lately, with just two extra-base hits and a .514 OPS in his 18 games during that stretch. But the good news is that there is a pretty good chance he is going to get better, and that the Rays have managed to do so well with so little from him, primarily carried by 1B James Loney (.373), DH Luke Scott (.351) and CF Desmond Jennings (.312).
36
Errors by the Rays, second fewest in the majors, behind Baltmore (30).
The Rays, and the O's, are on pace to break the '03 Mariners record for a 162-game season (65), and the improvement (down from 76 errors at this point last season) has made a big difference — and is a big reason the Rays pitching staff has been so effective. The tidiness in the infield has been impressive as SS Yunel Escobar and 2B Ben Zobrist have matching 52-game errorless streaks. Escobar has tied the team record, Zobrist has 23 more to go to do so. 3B Evan Longoria has a 40-game errorless streak of his own.
13
Consecutive saves converted by Fernando Rodney.
After a rough start to the season, in which he blew five of his first 14, Rodney has looked an awful lot like he did last season, which is obviously a good sign for the entire Rays bullpen. In 12 innings over those 13 games, he has allowed only six hits and struck out 19. More important, after allowing 19 walks in his first 21 appearances of the season, he has allowed only 5 free passes in his past 20. As Rodney, who is now 22 of 27, goes, so goes the whole 'pen, with a 2.29 overall ERA since his last blown save on May 25.
Marc Topkin can be reached at topkin@tampabay.com.
