MLB Daily Thread: 7/7/17 Jon Jay Should be a Starter/Red Sox Lost

[redseat]

Welp, that sucked.... Chris Sale lost and the Red Sox looked dumb and Xander got hurt!

On the plus side Jon Jay can pitch! lol

 

[redseat]

 

[redseat]

ESPN say's by Beating Chris Sale, the Rays are sending a BIG Message!

By beating Chris Sale, Rays send 'pretty big message' to Red Sox

T. PETERSBURG, Fla. -- If the Tampa Bay Rays were making a statement Thursday night, as their manager suggested, it came through as loudly as the thunder outside Tropicana Field. We're listening now. And if the Boston Red Sox are smart, they are, too.

When the Red Sox came here to open their final series before the All-Star break, they hadn't seen the Rays since Mother's Day in Fenway Park. In the eight weeks that have elapsed, the American League East has been widely presumed to be a two-team race, with the Red Sox and New York Yankees destined to duke it out in August and September, just like the good old days of 2003 and 2004.


But the Rays have quietly won nine of their past 16 series. And when Thursday night's game ended, they were 26-21 since that May trip to Boston, 45-42 overall and only one game behind the second-place Yankees, who are in the midst of a 6-15 freefall.

It was against that backdrop that the sneaky-good Rays faced Red Sox ace Chris Sale. And wouldn't you know it, they beat him. Peter Bourjos hit a solo homer in the fifth inning, and with thunder audible underneath the Trop's dome, Wilson Ramos rocked a two-run shot in the sixth to fuel a 4-1 victory that served notice that the Rays are very much for real.

"I'd say it's a pretty big message," manager Kevin Cash said. "These guys, they came off a frustrating loss [Wednesday against the Chicago Cubs] and they didn't let it linger. They knew they had to be at their best on the mound and at the plate against Chris Sale. They did that, and it's put us in a position to build off of it now."

These Rays are built differently than in previous seasons. Rather than leaning on their starting pitchers and grinding out just enough runs to win low-scoring games, they have a multifaceted offense that came into Thursday night having scored the fifth-most runs in the league.

And for a change, it isn't longtime third baseman Evan Longoria leading the way either. First baseman Logan Morrison has 24 home runs and a .956 OPS. All-Star designated hitter Corey Dickerson has gone deep 17 times and posted a .918 OPS. Right fielder Steven Souza Jr. has 16 homers, too, while late-blooming infielder Tim Beckham has matured into a solid big league hitter at age 27.

The Rays also recently upgraded their defense by trading for shortstop Adeiny Hechavarria. Ramos has returned from knee surgery to bring stability behind the plate.

 

[redseat]

@bksballer89 you must be happy. The Yankees didn't lose yesterday

 

[Rock Strongo]

sales has 178 k's before the break, the most since schilling in 2002.

 

[redseat]

sales has 178 k's before the break, the most since schilling in 2002.

He is on fire k wise that's for sure. Too bad he had a "stinker" (not k wise) last night

 

[Rock Strongo]

He is on fire k wise that's for sure. Too bad he had a "stinker" (not k wise) last night

hes given up over 3 runs, 3 times this year.

 

[redseat]

hes given up over 3 runs, 3 times this year.

Yeah... which sucks... For him but oh well

 

[Rock Strongo]

Ichiro passes Carew for most foreign-born hits

 

[redseat]

Ichiro passes Carew for most foreign-born hits

well he's played for how long?

 

[redseat]

Can someone hurry up and make it 5 pm so I can get the flock out!

 

[soxfan1468927]

sales has 178 k's before the break, the most since schilling in 2002.

Fangraphs has Chris Sale on pace for a 9.72 WAR season, which would be the 10th best season of all time and best since Randy Johnson in 2001.

 

[DirtDirtDirt]

Looks like Tampa finally found themselves another solid starting pitcher after a lotta failed attempts

 

[bksballer89]

@bksballer89 you must be happy. The Yankees didn't lose yesterday

Amazing feeling. Also pickup a game on the sox since we last played

 

[DirtDirtDirt]

Brewers offense should slaghter this Yankee team this weekennd

Id expect Judge and Sanchez and no one else to have a good weekend


This is now the new norm

 

[PolarVortex]

Zig's Daily Thread > this train wreck piece of alpaca turds

 

[redseat]

Amazing feeling. Also pickup a game on the sox since we last played

oh I am sure

 

[redseat]

Zig's Daily Thread > this train wreck piece of alpaca turds

then leave.. Simple as that... No one is forcing you to be here!

 

[bksballer89]

Zig's Daily Thread > this train wreck piece of alpaca turds

So leave.

 

[bksballer89]

Brewers offense should slaghter this Yankee team this weekennd

Id expect Judge and Sanchez and no one else to have a good weekend


This is now the new norm

I got the Brewers sweeping. Thoughts?