@@Tampa Bay Rays

Game Chat: 4/2 Tigers (0-2) @ Rays (2-0) 1:10 PM

  • April 2, 2023


### Tigers (0-2) @ Rays (2-0) [](http://mlb.mlb.com/images/2017_ipad/684/dettb_684.jpg)

**First Pitch**: 1:10 PM at Tropicana Field

|Team|Starter|TV|Radio|
|-|-|-|-|
|[Tigers](/r/MotorCityKitties)|[Joey Wentz](https://www.mlb.com/player/666214) (0-0, -.– ERA)|BSDET|97.1, WXYTAM (ES)|
|[Rays](/r/TampaBayRays)|[Jeffrey Springs](https://www.mlb.com/player/605488) (0-0, -.– ERA)|BSSUN|WDAE, WQBN (ES)|

MLB|Fangraphs|Baseball Savant|Reddit Stream|IRC Chat
:-:|:-:|:-:|:-:|:-:
[Gameday](https://www.mlb.com/gameday/718742)|[Game Graph](http://www.fangraphs.com/livewins.aspx?date=2023-04-02&team=Rays&dh=0&season=2023)|[Strikezone Map](https://baseballsavant.mlb.com/gamefeed?gamePk=718742)|[Live Comments](https://reddit-stream.com/comments/auto)|[Libera: ##baseball](https://web.libera.chat/?channel=##baseball)

[](/baseballbot)
### Line Score – Scheduled

| |1|2|3|4|5|6|7|8|9|R|H|E|LOB|
|-|:-:|:-:|:-:|:-:|:-:|:-:|:-:|:-:|:-:|:-:|:-:|:-:|:-:|
|DET| | | | | | | | | |**0**|**0**|**0**|**-**|
|TB| | | | | | | | | |**0**|**0**|**0**|**-**|

### Box Score

*Posted at 8:00 AM.* *Updates start at game time.*
[](/baseballbot)

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1 comment

  1. Game notes for today:

    – Last season, the Rays had a .386 SLG with RISP. This was good enough for just 22nd in the league. They struggled to score runs because they were stuck playing small ball as opposed to driving runners in. They were stuck playing small ball because of all the fluke injuries. But now, the Rays are healthy. Between spring training and the first two games of the 2023 season, the Rays are 2nd(!) in all of baseball in SLG with RISP at a whopping .496. It’s still early and a small sample so I don’t expect that number to be very sticky, but it’s an encouraging trend and I do expect the team to settle in around the top 10 in this metric. Small ball as an offensive identity doesn’t work; swing the bat hard = hit the ball hard = score more runs = win more games
    – The REAL ace of this staff pitches today in his season debut. Jeffrey Springs aka the Carolina Reaper aka 2023 AL Cy Young winner aka Mr. Future World Series MVP is looking to continue the momentum from his fantastic spring training. His Z-whiff% this spring was 32.8% (96th percentile min 50 pitches swung at in the zone) and his called strike% was 38.3% (83rd percentile). Hitters were either swinging through a pitch in the zone or taking a called strike WAAAYYY more than the average pitcher when Spring was on the mound. Expect more of that today in a 5 IP and/or 75-85 pitch outing (yes, even if he’s dealing it won’t be very long; all the SP are still getting built up – it’s a marathon, not a sprint)

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