Ha! Surprised to see that they have done that well against Yankees and Red Sox. Rays have looked very annoying in the games I've seen them. They might not have top end talent, but they have like 13-14 "Joe Smith" quality relievers and/or starters.
Your not kidding. Their best starter with 100+ innings pitched was Gausman who was traded to ATL midsummer. Alex Cobb seems their best at present with a not so great 4.90era and 1.41 WHip. Slightly better numbers than Bundy. We shouldn't expect help from this team. Looking up and down their pitching roster, its no wonder they occupy the cellar.
They started something like 3-14, crawled back to .500 and hovered there from late April until the end of July. 25-12 since then. Unfortunately Snell is not pitching against the A's. eta: they don't have a chance to make the playoffs, barring a historic collapse by another team, but they can sure play spoiler (and you know they want to): 3 against the A's and 4 against the Yankees, all at home.
Break up the Orioles! Huge 2-out 2-run single by former #1 overall draft pick Tim Beckham. Villar (batting 3rd? no idea he played for the O's) singled and scored that inning. And of course Bundy gives up his MLB leading 38th HR to Scotty Piscotty in bottom 1. Solo shot, 2-1, hopefully it's not all downhill from here.
single, lineout, single, WP gets runners to 2nd 3rd, swinging bunt to 3B that the LHP awkwardly throws past the catcher (run scores), line drive single up the middle (run scores), Oakland pulls the starter after 4.1. 4-1 O's eta: Rain falling in Baltimore...please no rainouts until 5 innings
I had no idea how well Villar was doing for the O's...exponentially better than Schoop (not Mark Harmon) who the Brewers traded Villar + 2 guys for.
Of course, I'll always remember Villar for this: And ironically it was against the Orioles! Funny how baseball works out sometimes.
That was awesome. Frankly, he'd be a hell of a replacement for Marwin someday. He's one of the few guys that does the same things, positionally.
I remember when Marwin beat out Villar in 2016 for the Utility Man role. Got Cy Sneed out of that trade, he's looked good in the minors. Love Villar's versatility, but if you're suggesting he be a Marwin replacement for us, he's not a free agent until after 2020 (unless you suggest a trade?). Bundy strikes out the Biscuit (who hit a homer earlier) to strand the runners on 1st and 2nd). Still 4-2, that was a stressful inning.
Yes, trade. If they don't want to pay Marwin ~6-8M a year for ~3 years, then why not flip a couple of superfluous minor leaguers to a rebuilding team for his replacement? I say this knowing nothing about what Villar would get in arb and what the FA market will look like this offseason. Proverbial spitball. ETA: don't **** this up, Orioles
110 runs scored in the 8th inning by the A's, most in MLB. Bases loaded 1 out, 4-2 lead, don't **** this up O's. And their lefty reliever goes 2-0 on Olson, a LHB. Now 3-1. Pitching scared. Great up and in FB to make it 3-2, then meat throws a pitch 3 feet outside to walk in a run. 4-3 O's, bases still loaded, 1 out. Meat gets pulled. The O's are trying to **** this up.
Dear god, please, Orioles, get out of this somehow. Bases loaded, 1 out, 4-3. The Biscuit comes to the plate to bat.
Givens strikes out Biscotti! One more out please (before any more score). Eta: Flyout to RF ends the inning. Three runners stranded, O's still up by one.
I'm pretty sure he was the guy I pointed out the first time I saw him, the last time we played the O's (don't remember him from last year for whatever reason): he has wicked stuff with a wicked arm angle. I like him, but he won't stay healthy for more than 4 years. Reminds me a ton of Dotel.
semien is super unclutch, perfect guy to be up with the bases loaded. phew. they're not out of the woods y et though but at least it's just the a's bottom of the order left.
