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Rays journal: Latest pitching maneuvers bring another win

 
Published July 27, 2018|Updated July 27, 2018

BALTIMORE — Having traded half their rotation Wednesday — well, one of their two healthy "traditional" starters, Nathan Eovaldi — and one of their experienced multi-inning relievers in Matt Andriese, the Rays have to further sort out the already convoluted roles on their pitching staff.

Thursday, they figured it out enough to beat the lowly Orioles 4-3.

After using six pitchers Wednesday to beat the Yankees on what was supposed to be Eovaldi's start day, the Rays found a way to get nine solid innings out of four: opener Hunter Wood, relieving starter Ryan Yarbrough (who picked up his ninth win), Sergio Romo and surprise closer Austin Pruitt.

"It's kind of the cliche, but next man up,'' Yarbrough said.

RELATED: Marc Topkin's takeaways from the Rays' win.

His only mistakes came in the fifth, a leadoff walk to ex-Ray Tim Beckham — another one of those — and a Jonathan Schoop homer tied it at 2, after the Rays had taken a lead against ex-mate Alex Cobb, who dropped to 2-14 with a 6.08 ERA.

The Rays went back ahead in a rally started by a Ji-Man Choi blast that looked to be a home run to everyone but the umpires and the replay crew, but the double led to two runs.

Romo, brought in in the seventh inning to handle the tough part of the lineup, allowed a Chris Davis homer in the eighth to make it 4-3.
Pruitt, whom manager Kevin Cash said was "the last man standing,'' finished.

"They all did a really good job,'' Cash said as his Rays improved to 53-50.

Farewell performance?

Amid significant interest from a number of teams and trade conversations ongoing in advance of Tuesday's deadline, RHP Chris Archer on Friday makes his 177th and potentially last start as a Ray. "I haven't thought that much about it,'' he said. "There's always a lot of speculation. So my main focus, as cliche as it sounds, is just pitching (Friday) and giving our team a chance to win, that's it.'' The starting-pitching market appears to be moving, with the Yankees getting J.A. Happ from Toronto on Thursday and the Cubs reportedly in the lead for Texas' Cole Hamels.

Medical matters: Snell, Faria

All-Star LHP Blake Snell took the first step back from the shoulder fatigue that landed him on the DL last week, playing catch Thursday afternoon, with plans to increase the distance and intensity the next two days, then throwing a bullpen session Sunday. If all is well, he said, he would rejoin the rotation Tuesday or Wednesday versus the Angels. "It feels a lot better, so we'll see how it all goes,'' Snell said. … RHP Jake Faria, who was eligible to come off the 60-day DL on Sunday, will make his fifth rehab start, and the fourth with Triple-A Durham, tonight. He is 0-1 with a 6.97 ERA thus far.

RELATED: Two phone calls make major changes in lives of two new Rays.

It’s Romo’s world

RHP Sergio Romo's one-batter appearance at third base in the ninth inning Wednesday against the Yankees generated plenty of discussion and research. Romo was the first pitcher to also appear in a game at third in nearly 50 years, since Bill Wilson for the Phillies on Aug. 6. 1971. He also was the first pitcher to play third and get a save since the save was introduced as a statistic in 1969, and the first AL pitcher to play any other position and get a save since June 6, 1989, when Milwaukee's Chuck Crim did it after playing first.

Romo heard from family, friends and old teammates, several from Arizona Western Junior College, where he would play third when not pitching. But most meaningful, he said, was a call from his dad, Francisco. "One of his childhood dreams was to play third base in the big leagues,'' Romo said. "So I think that was special for him, and I got to have that conversation with him.''

Number of the day

18 Majors-most-matching rookies used by the Rays this season with C Michael Perez's Thursday debut, tying the team record set in 2015; new LHP Jalen Beeks will set the record with his first appearance.

Miscellany

The Rays late Thursday traded LHP Jonny Venters back to his original Braves team for international slot money.

• RHP Alex Cobb's start for Baltimore marked the 11th time this season the Rays faced a former teammate. They are 5-6; 3-0 vs. Cobb, 0-1 vs. Matt Moore (Rangers), 0-1 vs. Jake Odorizzi (Twins), 1-3 vs. David Price (Red Sox), 0-1 vs. James Shields (White Sox), 1-0 vs. Jason Hammel (Royals).

• Two-way prospect Brendan McKay made his first start for advanced Class-A Charlotte after missing a month with an oblique issue, allowing one hit and striking out five over three innings.