Don’t look now, but the Tampa Bay Rays are in the heart of the AL playoff race. Sure, it’s still early, but the Rays are getting plenty of offense from players not name Evan Longoria. That’s been their biggest issue over the years. Meanwhile, the Ray’s weekend opponents, the Detroit Tigers, will look to use their home cooking to gain some ground. The two teams on the fringes will meet in a four-game set.
This series will be contested from Thursday, June 15, 2017 through Sunday, June 18, 2017 at Comerica Park in Detroit.
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Pitching Matchups
Justin Verlander hopes to kick off the series on a high note for the Tigers. He gets the nod on Thursday and will oppose Alex Cobb for the Rays.
Verlander is the one of the more decorated pitchers in the game, but tailed off a few years ago, struggling to learn how to be successful with diminished stuff. He was back last year and should have won the Cy Young Award if you ask Kate Upton. Regardless, he’s regressed this year.
The veteran ace is just 4-4 with a 4.68 ERA and has taken a back seat in this rotation to Michael Fulmer. He’s working with an inflated WHIP, too, allowing nearly four and a half walks per game.
To add insult to injury—or perhaps the other way around—Verlander left a start earlier this month with a hamstring injury. He pitched over 100-pitches his last time out, however.
Speaking of injuries, Cobb is one that knows those all too well. He missed all but five starts over the last two years.
Prior to his injury, Cobb was known for his changeup. That pitch hasn’t been there for him most of the year, but is starting to come back which is a great sign for a pitcher who has been just about league average at 5-5 with a 4.29 ERA and 1.381 WHIP. His strikeout totals have been way down, partially due to the change.
His last time out, Cobb went six-innings of one-run ball against the A’s. That, however, was on the heels of a nine-run, five-inning performance the game before.
He’ll try to be more like last time out than the time before, particularly given Verlander is undefeated with a 1.57 ERA in his last three starts against the Rays.
As the series continues, the Rays will look to Erasmo Ramirez to outpitch lefty Daniel Norris on Friday before the headliner of Chris Archer against Fulmer on Saturday.
For Friday, Norris has been flirting with danger all year. He’s pitching to a 1.607 WHIP, but has a 4.41 ERA. He generally avoids real disaster, but it takes him a ton of pitches to get through five innings, leaving the Tigers’ weak bullpen overexposed. Ramirez was a bullpen arm earlier this year, but has moved to the Rays’ rotation because Blake Snell wasn’t cutting it.
Ramirez is 3-1 with a 4.20 ERA split between the rotation and the pen. He was shaky his last time out against the A’s, but escaped with limited damage.
Back to the main event, Archer and Fulmer represent the two aces at this point. Fulmer has passed Verlander for the time being. He leads Detroit in innings and ERA. He’s showing no signs of a sophomore slump and is 6-4 with a 3.40 ERA and 1.160 WHIP. He has allowed only four homers, but has not pitched for more than a week due to shoulder inflammation. His return will be worth watching.
Archer, on the other hand, didn’t get skipped in his last start. Instead, he gave up four runs in six innings against the A’s. That’s far from a solid outing, though Archer is still the top dog for Tampa Bay. He’s 4-4 with a 3.80 ERA and 1.181 WHIP, but went just five innings, allowing four runs against the Tigers earlier this year.
The series wraps up on Sunday with Buck Farmer pitching for the Tigers. He has been good as a fill-in. The Rays will have a fill-in of their own. Prospect Jacob Faria filled in for Matt Andriese in his last turn. He could get the chance again.
Who's Hot?
Corey Dickerson and Logan Morrison should both receive plenty of All-Star consideration. The two have been huge catalysts for the Rays’ surprisingly strong offense.
Dickerson is batting .337 with 15 homers and a .983 OPS, showing more than just raw power that attracted Tampa Bay a year ago when they gave away Jake McGee to get him. Morrison, meanwhile, isn’t showing the average at .238, but he’s walking plenty to give him a solid OBP and has a team leading 18 home runs and 41 RBIs. He’s been the thumper in the middle.
The two sluggers each have nine homers over the last 30 days as the Ray’s power has surged. Colby Rasmus has been a nice power boost, too, with six homers in that time.
Morrison has hit three of his homers in the last week. Adding to that, Tim Beckham has gone 8-for-19 and Rasmus is 7-for-17.
The Ray’s offense is hot and has been all year. Even Mallex Smith who is filling in for Kevin Kiermaier is swinging well.
J.D. Martinez and Justin Upton are the only two position players who are consistently living up to the back of their baseball cards so far for Detroit. With Miggy Cabrera, Victor Martinez and others struggling, it’s been hard for the Tigers to find any consistency given a poor bullpen and spotty rotation.
Nick Castellanos, however, may be heating up. He’s 8-for-25 in his last six games, slamming three homers and driving in six. That said, he has struck out nine times.
It’s a nice thought for a team that needs someone else to step up.
Who's Not?
The Tigers’ bullpen can perpetually live in the “Not” list. Detroit has no closer and has a bit of a pitching controversy.
Recently, Francisco Rodriguez called out his manager and pitching coach after he’s been pitching better—in lower leverage situations. He wants back in the closer’s role and may have a point. Nobody else is taking it, but he was awful in the ninth inning earlier this year.
For the Rays, Derek Norris is still hitting below the Mendoza Line at .191. He isn’t heating up either. He’s 3-for-18 in his last five games and is batting .117 over his last 18.
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