In my mind, I had this game in the loss column even before first pitch.
The Rays offense looked half asleep yesterday against a lesser pitcher, and today they would be facing Troy Melton, he of the 1.86 ERA. Those of you with good memories will recall that Melton had pitched a gem against the Rays back in June, going eight innings and scattering a few hits. He’s a pitcher, Brian Anderson reminded us, who is good across the game but actually gets better second and third time through the line up, so it’s not like you can just wait until he tires out to get your offense going.
And for the Rays, Freddy Peralta had looked a little better in recent starts but you really had to squint to see the effective pitcher he’d been prior to this year.
So just based on the pitching matchup, this game had the worst win chances for the Rays of the series.
Of course, then, they won. Because you never know with baseball.
The Rays first got on the board in the second inning. Simpson singled, and DeLuca doubled him home. DeLuca got to third on a sac bunt and scored when Cedric Mullins hit a ball down the line for an RBI and what looked like a double for the speedy Mullins. Alas, though, Mullins overshot the base, and was tagged out.
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The Rays got their third run in the sixth inning. Jonathan Aranda doubled, and Junior Caminero singled, to put men on the corners.
Liam Hicks seemed to get all of a pitch but it fell just short of a home run. But the park contained it, and he had to settle for a very long sac fly that scored Aranda. Rays 3, Detroit 0
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Peralta got through 6 innings and wow was he good today. No runs, no walks, two harmless hits, and ten whiffs. I don’t know whether this is Rays finding tweaks or the Tigers not matching up well against him or just the randomness of baseball but whatever the explanation, more of this please. It was a really effective, efficient, keep your fielders engaged as you mow through batters kind of outing. If this version of Freddy Peralta is sustainable then I will maybe allow myself to think this team could get somewhere in the postseason (if they make it there of course, let’s not court the evil eye with overconfidence).
Maybe good pitching is contagious; after Peralta left the game the final three innings were covered by Kevin Kelly and Tyler Wells, who preserved the two-hit, no walk game. And the whole thing done in just a blink over two hours! Be still, my heart!
In sum, the Rays come away with a series win, thanks to perfect pitching, sharp defense and just enough offense
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