Advertisement

Rays journal: Lineup dominated by Masahiro Tanaka in loss to Yankees (w/video)

 
Austin Pruitt waits for Brett Gardner to round the bases after leading off the first with one of three homers Pruitt gives up.
Austin Pruitt waits for Brett Gardner to round the bases after leading off the first with one of three homers Pruitt gives up.
Published July 29, 2017

NEW YORK — Sometimes you just have to dig out the good news, and for the Rays on Friday it may well have been that they didn't get no-hit in a 6-1 loss.

Yankees starter Masahiro Tanaka looked so good, and made the Rays hitters look so bad, that it truly seemed like a victory when Adeiny Hechavarria singled with two outs in the sixth. That ended a run of 17 straight outs, including the first five and seven of the first eight on strikeouts, as Tanaka mixed his splitter and cutter/slider expertly.

"There didn't appear to be many pitches that guys could handle," Rays manager Kevin Cash said. "It wasn't like we were missing pitches; I think he made a bunch of quality to perfect pitches."

No-hit kind of stuff?

"Yeah, it was," Cash said. "Generally you tie no-hit stuff into a lot of power, but he does it a different way. You could tell early on from the swings guys were taking that he had really, really good late stuff, deceptive stuff."

The only other hit Tanaka allowed was a homer by Rays newcomer Lucas Duda in the seventh as he finished his eight innings with a career-high 14 Ks.

Cash was pleased with the five innings of work by Rays rookie starter Austin Pruitt, who was chosen over top prospect Brent Honeywell and others to come up and take injured RHP Jake Odorizzi's spot for a couple turns through the rotation.

Pruitt gave up three homers, on his third pitch to red-hot Brett Gardner, on a fairly well-located fastball to majors HR leader Aaron Judge in the fourth then a dooming three-run blast to rookie Clint Frazier on a poorly executed slider in the fifth.

"He actually threw the ball pretty good, he got beat by every little mistake he made," Cash said. "He was pumping strikes. I looked up at one point and I think he had 45 strikes to 12 balls. He was attacking. Until the three-run homer he did a really nice job."

Pruitt hadn't thrown more than 67 pitches or worked more than five innings this season, having been used mostly in relief before rejoining the rotation at Triple A July 1. He started the fifth with 57, but the Rays — who used six relievers Thursday — didn't have anyone warming, Cash saying at that point they thought he might have gotten into the sixth and Pruitt saying afterward fatigue was not an issue. But a pair of walks got him in trouble, and the mistake to Frazier — "Just left it up, couldn't have been more middle" — did him in. Pruitt, who finished with 81 pitches (58 strikes), is slated to start next Wednesday in his Houston hometown.

Number of the day

48 Players used by the Rays, with RHP Steve Cishek set to be the 49th; the team record is 52 in 2000.

Roster shuffling

. Giving up RHP Erasmo Ramirez to get Cishek from Seattle was hard, Cash said. "That was a tough goodbye for myself, for (pitching coach) Jim Hickey, for (bullpen coach) Stan Boroski, for a lot of people," Cash said. "Over the last two-three years Erasmo has taken the ball more than anybody in any situation, and we are very appreciative of that."

. RHP Andrew Kittredge, who gave up the losing homer in the 11th on Thursday, was optioned to Triple-A Durham so the Rays had space to add Pruitt and Duda.

. After the game, LHP Adam Kolarek was optioned to Durham to make room for Cishek to be activated today.

Stay updated on Tampa Bay’s sports scene

Stay updated on Tampa Bay’s sports scene

Subscribe to our free Sports Today newsletter

We’ll send you news and analysis on the Bucs, Lightning, Rays and Florida’s college football teams every day.

You’re all signed up!

Want more of our free, weekly newsletters in your inbox? Let’s get started.

Explore all your options

Fact of the day

Of the 20 active relievers with at least 250 appearances and ERAs under 2.90, the Rays acquired three this week — Cishek, Dan Jennings and Sergio Romo.

Miscellany

. CF Kevin Kiermaier (hip) went 2-for-3 with a walk as the DH in his second rehab game for advanced Class A Charlotte. INF Daniel Robertson (neck) went 1-for-2 in his second game while playing third.

. 1B Logan Morrison was out of the lineup after bruising his left heel in Thursday's game, but the Rays hope he can return today.

. Duda started at first and made a good first impression, battling through 10 pitches before striking out in the second and homering in the seventh. "He can hit," Cash said. "You can tell he has a good approach and he has a quick bat."