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Marc Topkin’s takeaways from Sunday’s Rays-Angels game

 
Rays third baseman Matt Duffy takes the throw but not in time to get the Angels' Mike Trout stealing third during the fifth inning Sunday, May 20, 2018. [Getty Images]
Rays third baseman Matt Duffy takes the throw but not in time to get the Angels' Mike Trout stealing third during the fifth inning Sunday, May 20, 2018. [Getty Images]
Published May 21, 2018

* It's always interesting to think of how many amazing plays you see made in a game, then often a simple one — such as the fourth-inning comebacker to Rays RHP Matt Andriese — gets messed up and costs teams heavily, as that led to two runs.

* Give manager Kevin Cash credit for being the front man for the organization in handling repeated questions and skepticism about the unusual and unorthodox pitching plans, doing so with relative aplomb and good humor, and just enough patience.

* Keeping 3B Matt Duffy healthy is paramount, given how much he can add offensively. Around the latest hamstring issue, he's hitting .382 over his past 17 games, and his .328 overall average would be sixth in the AL if he qualified.