back to top

Rays face Angels, shoot for fifth straight win

angelsrising.info

The Tampa Bay Rays and visiting Los Angeles Angels will continue their four-game series Wednesday night in St. Petersburg, Fla., with the Rays looking to rely upon their not-so-secret weapon to triumph again.

The Rays are riding a four-game winning streak.

Rays manager Kevin Cash uses his bullpen more than any other manager in the majors — Rays relievers have thrown 511 2/3 innings this season.

And with good reason. The Rays’ bullpen began the day Tuesday tied for second in the American League in both wins (33) and saves (36) and was third in strikeouts (481).

And the Rays have done it with a collection of pitchers who weren’t necessarily expected to do big things — left-hander Jalen Beeks missed all of 2021 recovering from Tommy John surgery, Shawn Armstrong had a 6.31 ERA last season, and Jason Adam signed a split major league/minor league contract at the beginning of the season.

But all three have been vital to the club’s success. Adam has a 1.07 ERA and is tied for the club lead in saves. He has just seven, as 10 different pitchers have recorded at least one save.

“It’s so fun being a part of a bullpen where you know whoever’s going in there, they’re going to do their job,” Adam said. “It doesn’t matter when, doesn’t matter what. … Get your outs.”

The success the Rays relievers are having has been a process. An example is Beeks, who struck out Shohei Ohtani on Monday with two on and two out in the sixth inning of a one-run game.

Earlier this season, Beeks threw a fastball to Mike Trout and then a slider to Ohtani, and both hit Beeks’ pitches for home runs. So he simplified his approach when facing Ohtani this time.

“Stick to my strengths, not try to trick him,” Beeks said. “Just stick to what I do best.”

Left-hander Shane McClanahan (11-5, 2.29 ERA) will make his 24th start of the season Wednesday for the Rays. If there is any starter who can give the bullpen a bit of a break if needed, it’s McClanahan, who has pitched at least six innings in 18 of his 23 starts.

He is 1-0 with a 1.59 ERA in three career starts against the Angels. He earned a no-decision May 11 this season but threw seven scoreless innings while allowing just three hits and striking out 11 in a 4-2 win.

Right-hander Mike Mayers (1-0, 5.22) will serve as the Angels’ opener on Wednesday.

Trout is expected to be in the lineup for the Angels for the sixth consecutive day (five as the center fielder, one as the DH) since missing 30 games because of a back injury. He went 1-for-3 with a home run on Tuesday and is 5-for-18 with the one homer, two RBIs, one walk and four strikeouts in the five games since returning.

“I’m just getting back into the swing of things,” said Trout, whose homer Tuesday was his 1,500th career hit. “My body feels good. Being off for a month, sometimes the timing is off. But it’s starting to come back. I’m feeling good.”

Trout is expected to get the day off on Thursday.


www.yardbarker.com

Latest articles

Mariners look to beat Rangers for 10th straight...

The Seattle Mariners will aim to maintain their mastery of the Texas Rangers on Saturday...

Tigers hire Giants GM Scott Harris as president...

The Tigers’ search for a new front office leader has reached its conclusion, as they’re...

Astros seeks to knock off Rangers in rubber...

For all the attention clubs give to analytics, Houston Astros manager Dusty Baker is quick...

MLB Odds: Athletics vs. Angels prediction, odds and...

Who’s ready for some west coast action? The Oakland Athletics will travel to Anaheim to...
angelsrising.info

More like this

Assessing the Chicago White Sox’s offseason outlook

Aside from a new manager, the White Sox don’t seem destined for a major...

Offseason outlook for the Los Angeles Angels

Despite the continued excellence of Shohei Ohtani and Mike Trout, the Angels had another...

Previewing the 2022-23 free agent class: Designated hitter

Obviously, any hitter is capable of serving as a DH. Many of the players...

World Series Houston Astros vs. Philadelphia

The Phillies are red-hot, but the Astros are even hotter. Houston has yet to...

Mariners could be in position to deal from

Going into next year, the Mariners have considerable depth in their rotation. Luis Castillo...

Guardians have some tough middle infield decisions to make

Two months ago, I wrote about Andres Gimenez’s 2022 breakout and how it was a...