Three Up, Three Down: Week Three
Last week the Rays came home and got their record back to .500. Let’s see what else went right for them, as well as what didn’t.
Three Up
1. Home Sweet Dome
The Rays were glad to be back in St. Pete, after losing five straight on the road. They returned to the Trop and took four out of six from division rivals Boston Red Sox and New York Yankees. There was even a noticeable improvement in the offense as the team slash line (AVG/OBP/SLG) went from .185/.251/.274 on the road to .204/.311/.359 at home.
2. Catchers Not Named Zunino
Last week I discussed the struggles of starting catcher Mike Zunino. Those struggles continued as the backstop hit .125 with six strikeouts in eight at-bats. However, the other two catchers on the team, Michael Perez and Kevan Smith, combined to hit .400 with four RBIs, including the game-winner in all three victories against the Yankees.
3. Austin Powers
The Rays got a nice offensive boost with the return of outfielder Austin Meadows, who missed the first two weeks of the season due to COVID-19. Three of his five hits were for extra bases and his .238 batting average was good for sixth-best on the team among those who have at least 10 at-bats last week
Three Down
1. Injury Bug
While the team was celebrating the return of Meadows, the pitching staff took a hit this week, with three Tampa Bay arms hitting the injured list. Yonny Chirinos was the first to land on the 10-day IL with a triceps injury. Oliver Drake, who had the first two saves of the year for the Rays, was added on August 9th, the same day that Opening Day starter Charlie Morton left a game early because of shoulder soreness. Morton joined them on the list the next day.
2. Power Outage
The Rays amassed a paltry three homers in 196 plate appearances, ranking dead last among all MLB teams last week. Brandon Lowe hit his team-leading third of the season while Jose Martinez and Mike Brosseau each added their second.
3. Big Whiffers
While Tampa Bay lived by the strikeout last week, they fell victim to it during this homestand. The Rays reached three strikes in 30.6% of their plate appearances, tied with the Chicago White Sox and Milwaukee Brewers for the worst in the league. Willy Adames tops the list with eight, while Austin Meadows and Mike Zunino contributed seven and six, respectively.
All stats come from Fangraphs and/or Baseball Reference.
