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Tampa Bay Rays Duel With Darvish & Rangers
UPDATE: Tampa Bay has made a late change to its rotation and will start rookie Chris Archer on Saturday in place of David Price.
The Texas Rangers can look forward to their third straight trip to the playoffs.
The Tampa Bay Rays might get to the postseason for a third consecutive year as well, although their prospects are much less certain.
So, the situations for these two contenders are very much different as they clash in a crucial weekend set in St. Petersburg, with the Rangers beginning to calculate their magic number while the Rays are desperate to collar the Yankees or Orioles, or both, in the AL East.
Down the road in October could also be a third consecutive playoff matchup between these sides, but let’s not get too far ahead of ourselves.
What we do know is that Texas and Tampa Bay will play the middle matchup of a three-game weekend set at Tropicana Field on Saturday, featuring a tantalizing pitching clash between fireballers Yu Darvish (Rangers) and David Price (Rays).
First pitch for the Saturday night showdown is slated for 7:10 p.m. (ET). Odds have yet to be posted with a late pitching change for Tampa Bay.
For the Rangers, they entered this weekend set on the heels of an 11-4 run in their last 15 games that thrust them 5½ games ahead of the suddenly-wobbling A’s in the AL West. Not only is Texas zeroing in on another division title, but the Rangers also entered the weekend in the lead for best record in the league and home-field edge in the Division Round and ALCS.
Not much was decided in two previous series between these teams this season, each winning three of the six meetings. All of those clashes, however, were in Arlington, where Texas won two of three vs. Tampa Bay in their last series encounter in late August.
Recent efforts also suggest the Rangers’ towering Japanese righthander Darvish has found a nice rhythm, as after much inconsistency for the first four months of the season has been flashing dominant form lately. Darvish has allowed only 18 hits over 27 2/3 IP in his last four starts while posting a 2.93 ERA that span. He’s also struck out 53 batters over his last five starts and kept the Rays in check on August 28 at Arlington, blanking them over seven frames while allowing just six hits and striking out 10 in a 1-0 Texas win.
Josh Hamilton's recent success at the plate may give Darvish room for error. Entering the weekend, he was hitting .346 with five homers, 14 RBIs and seven walks in his last 14 games, as half of his six hits over the past five have been homers.
But it’s worth noting how past results indicate Hamilton hasn't come close to being that productive at The Trop, batting .167 with one homer and 12 RBIs in 20 career games in St. Pete.
Adrian Beltre, however, has a .341 average with six homers and 17 RBIs over his last 22 visits to Tropicana Field. That includes the Rangers' last visit in Game 4 to clinch of last October’s ALDS, as Beltre connected for three homers, two of those off Friday’s Tampa Bay starter Jeremy Hellickson.
Beltre also enters this series as one of the AL’s hottest hitters the past few weeks, batting .443 with 11 homers and 21 RBIs in his last 15 games.
Meanwhile, the Rays will take their chances with star lefty starter Price, who has been nothing short of spectacular in this 2012 campaign with a 17-5 record. He’s been even tougher to hit at The Trop, where he sports a microscopic 1.66 ERA in 12 starts this season.
On the negative side, however, Price has not fared well in the past vs. Texas, as the ex-Vanderbilt portsider has had his problems vs. the Rangers, winning only one of eight career starts while posting a hefty 5.98 in those games. Included was a recent shellacking (Price’s only subpar effort sine the All-Star break) on August 27 at Arlington when allowing six runs and 10 hits in just four innings of work in an eventual 6-5 Texas win.
As for the Rays, losers of seven of 12 entering the weekend, every series is crucial these days, as they began the weekend 1½ games behind both the Yankees and A’s in the East, and also involved with the A’s, Angels, White Sox and Tigers in the chase for the two wild card berths. This series vs. the Rangers begins a crucial 10-day stretch in which Tampa Bay will also be facing Baltimore and the Yankees in the next week.
UPDATE: Tampa Bay has made a late change to its rotation and will start rookie Chris Archer on Saturday in place of David Price.
The Texas Rangers can look forward to their third straight trip to the playoffs.
The Tampa Bay Rays might get to the postseason for a third consecutive year as well, although their prospects are much less certain.
So, the situations for these two contenders are very much different as they clash in a crucial weekend set in St. Petersburg, with the Rangers beginning to calculate their magic number while the Rays are desperate to collar the Yankees or Orioles, or both, in the AL East.
Down the road in October could also be a third consecutive playoff matchup between these sides, but let’s not get too far ahead of ourselves.
What we do know is that Texas and Tampa Bay will play the middle matchup of a three-game weekend set at Tropicana Field on Saturday, featuring a tantalizing pitching clash between fireballers Yu Darvish (Rangers) and David Price (Rays).
First pitch for the Saturday night showdown is slated for 7:10 p.m. (ET). Odds have yet to be posted with a late pitching change for Tampa Bay.
For the Rangers, they entered this weekend set on the heels of an 11-4 run in their last 15 games that thrust them 5½ games ahead of the suddenly-wobbling A’s in the AL West. Not only is Texas zeroing in on another division title, but the Rangers also entered the weekend in the lead for best record in the league and home-field edge in the Division Round and ALCS.
Not much was decided in two previous series between these teams this season, each winning three of the six meetings. All of those clashes, however, were in Arlington, where Texas won two of three vs. Tampa Bay in their last series encounter in late August.
Recent efforts also suggest the Rangers’ towering Japanese righthander Darvish has found a nice rhythm, as after much inconsistency for the first four months of the season has been flashing dominant form lately. Darvish has allowed only 18 hits over 27 2/3 IP in his last four starts while posting a 2.93 ERA that span. He’s also struck out 53 batters over his last five starts and kept the Rays in check on August 28 at Arlington, blanking them over seven frames while allowing just six hits and striking out 10 in a 1-0 Texas win.
Josh Hamilton's recent success at the plate may give Darvish room for error. Entering the weekend, he was hitting .346 with five homers, 14 RBIs and seven walks in his last 14 games, as half of his six hits over the past five have been homers.
But it’s worth noting how past results indicate Hamilton hasn't come close to being that productive at The Trop, batting .167 with one homer and 12 RBIs in 20 career games in St. Pete.
Adrian Beltre, however, has a .341 average with six homers and 17 RBIs over his last 22 visits to Tropicana Field. That includes the Rangers' last visit in Game 4 to clinch of last October’s ALDS, as Beltre connected for three homers, two of those off Friday’s Tampa Bay starter Jeremy Hellickson.
Beltre also enters this series as one of the AL’s hottest hitters the past few weeks, batting .443 with 11 homers and 21 RBIs in his last 15 games.
Meanwhile, the Rays will take their chances with star lefty starter Price, who has been nothing short of spectacular in this 2012 campaign with a 17-5 record. He’s been even tougher to hit at The Trop, where he sports a microscopic 1.66 ERA in 12 starts this season.
On the negative side, however, Price has not fared well in the past vs. Texas, as the ex-Vanderbilt portsider has had his problems vs. the Rangers, winning only one of eight career starts while posting a hefty 5.98 in those games. Included was a recent shellacking (Price’s only subpar effort sine the All-Star break) on August 27 at Arlington when allowing six runs and 10 hits in just four innings of work in an eventual 6-5 Texas win.
As for the Rays, losers of seven of 12 entering the weekend, every series is crucial these days, as they began the weekend 1½ games behind both the Yankees and A’s in the East, and also involved with the A’s, Angels, White Sox and Tigers in the chase for the two wild card berths. This series vs. the Rangers begins a crucial 10-day stretch in which Tampa Bay will also be facing Baltimore and the Yankees in the next week.
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