Three Up, Three Down: Week Two
The Rays came back to Earth this week as the team couldn’t get anything going on the road. They return to the Trop on Tuesday to face division rivals Boston Red Sox and New York Yankees.
Three Up
1. How Soon Is Lowe?
2019 All-Star Brandon Lowe has been one of the few shining stars on offense for the Rays. The second baseman came into Sunday’s game tied for the team lead in RBIs with seven (Hunter Renfroe also has seven), but just one of four flappy boys hitting above the Mendoza Line. Lowe is also the only Rays player with an OPS over 1.000.
2. This Season Is Brought To You By The Letter K
While Tampa Bay’s pitching has been inconsistent this season, the one thing you can count on seeing is copious amounts of strikeouts. The team clocks in with 96 K’s, just four behind the league-leading Cleveland Indians. Rays pitchers combined for a team-record 19 strikeouts in a 9-inning game in a July 28th victory over the Atlanta Braves.
3. Your Patience Will Be Rewarded
While the Rays are doing a poor job of making contact with the ball, they are finding other ways of getting on base. The team went into Sunday’s game with 41 walks, tying the Los Angeles Dodgers for second in the league and just two behind the San Diego Padres. 29 percent of those free runners have come around to score which accounts for more than a quarter of the team’s offense.
Three Down
1. This Losing Streak Is Less Than Jake
After winning four out of five games to start the season, the Rays reeled off a five-game losing streak. They were swept by the Atlanta Braves and Baltimore Orioles, who finished 2019 with the second-worst record in baseball. Tampa Bay hit a paltry .185 during the streak and scored just 13 runs, 20 fewer than they did in their first five games.
2. Local Boy Makes Bad
Cape Coral native Mike Zunino was traded to the Rays from Seattle before the 2019 season. Zunino’s value comes from his defensive prowess behind the plate, mixed in with a little pop. The 29-year-old catcher came into the game on Sunday with a career average of .201 with 105 home runs, but so far this season he’s eked out just two hits in 20 at-bats, with a solo shot accounting for his only RBI.
3. Fool’s Gold Gloves
The Rays started Sunday with 10 errors and a .969 fielding percentage, good for second-worst and third-worst in the league, respectively. Willy Adames leads the team with four, averaging an error every other game. In 2019, the Tampa Bay shortstop committed 17 errors in 152 games, averaging one every 15 games.
All stats come from Fangraphs and/or Baseball Reference.
