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Roger Mooney's takeaways from Thursday's Rays-Angels game

 
Published May 26, 2017

If you're walking, you're hitting, as the saying goes, so it's a good sign that RF Steven Souza Jr. reached base four times, with a hit by pitch, a single and two walks. Hitters feel they are coming out of slumps when they are walking, because they are seeing the ball better. That's good news for the Rays offense, since you saw how potent it was early in the season when Souza was hitting.

Manager Kevin Cash said no one in the organization considers RHP Matt Andriese a fifth starter even though that is how he slots in the order. Andriese has proven himself more than that. He turned in another solid start, made even more impressive because he gave the team eight innings on a day when he was fighting himself.

This should not be an easy road trip for the Rays. It begins in Minnesota, where the first-place Twins are starting to make believers out of people, and continues in Arlington, where the Rangers seem to be hitting their stride. The Rays, who feel they are more than a .500 team and are eager to begin a run that will launch them up the standings, have their hands full during the next six games.