Jun 07
Aki Iwamura, Carl Crawford, Carlos Pena, Coco Crisp Is CooCoo, Edwin Jackson, James Shields, Jason Hammel, Jon Lester, Jonny Gomes, Scott Kazmir, Sean Casey, Troy Percival Cork Gaines
THE GOOD: 8, 13, 12, 13, 20, 14, 10. That is how many pitches
Scott Kazmir threw in each of the first 7 innings for a total of 90. That allowed Kid K to come out for the 8th inning. Only one inning with 15 or more is a very good sign. Kazmir averaged 17.5 pitches per inning in ’07 and was at 16.2 pitches per inning this season, prior to last night…Rays batters walked 4 times and struck out only 5 times against one of the better starting pitchers in baseball. In the Red Sox series the Rays struck out 28 times in 3 games with only 8 walks.
THE BAD: BJ Upton did hit a home run and Carl Crawford had a rare triple, but the top 4 batters in the lineup were only a combined 3-19.
THE TELLING: Evan Longoria’s home run in the 5th inning landed in the club-level, an area that had only been reached 13 times previously. It was fun watching the left fielder take one step back and then realize it was wasted effort…
DEVIL RAYS WEBTOPIA…
- In case you missed it yesterday, Rays Index is now on Twitter. [Rays Index]
- Don’t forget to VOTE for Carl Crawford to start the all-star game. If you haven’t voted yet today, go NOW! [MLB All-Star Voting]
- The suspensions were handed for Thursday night’ brawl. James Shields (6 games), Jonny Gomes (5), Edwin Jackson (5), Carl Crawford (4) and Akinori Iwamura (3). The suspensions are staggered so that the Rays will not be without more than 1 position player and 1 pitcher at a time. However, Shields and Gomes were start their suspensions last night, but chose to appeal. The other will likely do the same when their suspensions are set to begin. Three Sox were also suspended including Jon Lester (5 games), Coco Crispy (7) and Sean Casey (3). [St. Pete Times]
- With off-days before and after the Marlins series, the Rays will be able to rework the rotation so that only one emergency starter is needed (most likely Jason Hammel) despite losing 2 starting pitchers to suspension. [MLB]
- Bugs & Cranks has a video clip showing the heated history between the Rays and the Red Sox. Of course the one not mentioned is the unprovoked punch by Julian “I am crazeeee” Tavarez thrown at Joey Gathright in spring training. [Bugs and Cranks]
- Bugs and Cranks purveyors of all Devil Rays videos, also has CooCoo Crisp’s postgame comments. [Bugs and Cranks]
- Rays the Stakes wrote an open letter to CooCoo Crisp. [Rays the Stakes]
- Troy Percival will be ready to come off the DL when he is eligible on June 13, while Carlos Pena will need more time than his June 19 return date. [St. Pete Times]
Jun 07
Durham 10, Richmond 2. For the 4th time in his last 7 starts, Mitch Talbot did not allow a run. This one may have been the most impressive with 7 shutout innings on only 2 hits and no walks. He struck out 7…Dan Johnson was 2-3 with his 9th home run…Elliot Johnson was 3-5 with 2 doubles and 3 RBI…Reid Brignac was 0-2 with 2 walks. Brignac has 8 walks in his last 9 games after only having 7 in his first 48 games.
Montgomery 6, Birmingham 3. Jake McGee picked up his 6th win, but did allow 3 runs in 6 innings, on 4 hits and 3 walks. He struck out 2…Ryan Reid continues his domination after his promotion to AA, with 2 perfect innings in relief with 3 strike outs.
Sarasota 12, Vero Beach 3. Ryna Morse gave up 5 runs (4 earned) in 4 innings…Desmond Jennings was 3-3 with a double and a walk.
Columbus 11, Rome 1. Brian Flores made only his 9th start, but made it a good one, throwing 7 shutout innings, allowing only 3 hits and no walks…Henry Wrigley had 4 hits in 5 at bats and drove in 2…Quinn Stewart added 3 hits in 4 at bats and 2 RBI…Chase Fontaine was 2-3 with 2 walks and scored 2 runs.
NOTES FROM DOWN ON THE FARM…
- Jeremy Hellickson who pitched 5 perfect innings on Thursday was removed because of a blister. [St. Pete Times]
- You can find all of the Rays draft pics here. [MLB]
