RAYS POSTCAST: The Tampa Bay Rays SPIRAL CONTINUES vs the Seattle Mariners

RAYS POSTCAST: The Tampa Bay Rays SPIRAL CONTINUES vs the Seattle Mariners

[Music] This is the Rays postcast, your instant game reaction for the Tampa Bay Rays, part of the locked on podcast network, your team every day. Hello and welcome to the Tampa Bay Rays Postcast, your spot for instant Rays reaction after every single game. My name is Jonathan Shields. Make sure you guys go follow me on Twitter, Johnny10 Shields. And yeah, guys, just another another gut punch. And you know, um you know, this loss is what it is. I still think about the loss yesterday. If the race season continues to spiral like it is, that loss yesterday along with 10 other ones is going to be circled and red Sharpie and one’s like, man, that’s a missed opportunity. But uh you know, a lot to break down from this game itself. The first uh there’s a lot to talk about those first two bullet points. Um, second, which is not responding to another team score is huge, huge, huge problem I’ve had with the Rays during this whole streak. Eight walks, four to the nine hole hitter. I mean, yeah, not much to be said. It’s hard to be positive right now, but we’re going to look at things to be positive about. We’re going to look ahead to the game tomorrow. But first, I got to talk about Joe Bole. This is what you’ll be talking about. So this was the Joe Bole that was in with with the A’s last year. It was this Joe Bole. So Joe Bole tonight three and a third still struck out five. His fast walk up to 102 which was insane. But five walks in a game this year is by far his most in the game this year. And he did it in three and a third innings. And you can just tell off rip he wasn’t he he just wasn’t comfortable there. And you know it was it was tough. It was tough. you know, a game the Rays needed that they have the pitching advantage with Joe Bole. And you know, they just he just couldn’t get it done. And when you fall behind hitters like the Rays do, not like all the Rays do, but like what has been, you know, kind of frequent during this stretch, you have to throw them strikes. And when you throw Julio Rodriguez 99 right down the middle after he saw it before and then saw that 100 down the middle was the pitch nine out of the last 10 pitches. He’s going to sit on it and he’s going to send it 436 feet. But the reason it got to that is because Joe Bole continued to fall behind every single hitter. And I get it’s like his trend to struggle in the first inning. That’s not good enough. And I, you know, he he’s kind of skated by, not just skated by, he’s been dominant at times and that’s what the race see in him and that’s what he can be. I’m still incredibly high on Joe Bole, but uh the the these walks problems and you know, he had three against the Yankees, which is other rough start, but five walks and three and a third is unacceptable. Even if it’s kind of an outlier thing, it just can’t happen. Not in a game of this magnitude. And the Rays can’t have eight walks as a team. They had eight walks and still lost by three runs. I mean, that is eight free passes. The Rays had eight walks or excuse me, they gave up eight walks. I believe the Rays only walked twice. The Rays walked four times. So, a lot of walks um in this game. Yandi had two of them. But, you know, after Brandon Laauo hit the home run, we’re going to get to our turning point. Time to reveal where the game was won or lost. It’s the turning point. It’s Rodriguez’s home run. And why was Randy on base? Because of a walk. And again, you get behind, you have to throw fast balls. Fast balls. Fast. Fast ball. These guys are the best hitters in the world. The Mariners are one of the hottest two teams of baseball right now. They’re going to connect especially on Ichi road day the juice in that building and they connected. Send it 436 feet. He had two of them and then double on his Cal Raleigh through run home run. Same thing. You were been starting off with fast balls. Fast ball is the thing that you trust right now. These guys again are the best hitters in the world. Not just the manders. The MLB in general best hitters in the world. And I mean the Rays could do some of them. I mean they have freaking minor league guys hitting. And what else do you expect? you know, another three-run homer from from Cal Raleigh. It’s five to one. And right there, you know, you kind of knew it was over. Um, you know, it’s the same thing as last time. Brandon Low and a Junior Carminer home run. They’re the only two that’s doing anything. When you look at this Rays lineup, Yandi Diaz, you know, you fear Brandon Low, you fear. No one fears Josh right now. You fear Junior. No one fears Chandler Simpson. No one fears Hunter Fuchia, who I think has been putting together really quality at bats. Actually disagree with Pinchetti Moral to save Moral for a little bit later. You kind of fear Kim, not really. and you throw down the middle every single pitch to Tristan Peters and Tristan Gray. I mean, you don’t fear them at all. Them two should never be in this light together ever. And I understand Taylor Walls was supposed to play today and that’s why Tristan Gray played, but um you know, Tristan Peters story, it’s cool. Uh he hit 280 something in the miners cost the Rays are running the field and he can’t hit in two games. I understand that’s incredibly unfair to judge a guy off two games, but the Rays need immediate results right now. They don’t need a cute story that’s going to hit ninth and play average average to below average defense in center field. They don’t need that. They need guys that can hit and they don’t have enough guys that you hit. When you only really have to pitch to three guys in the lineup right now, it’s not good enough. And you know, there’s three or four major things to raise do this offseason. And they might have to find two outfielders, at least one. They they need to figure out center field whether giving John Duca more leash Chandler training more there but the center field defense has been has been not very good besides a good three weeks from Cameron Meister back in like May. Um again you know I I don’t think I think the Rays thoroughly got outplayed in this one. It wasn’t like yesterday when when you know it felt like they stole it or the Mariners stole it. And you know w with that being said you know the the Rays have two very winnable series left on this road trip like I I am still confident in the Rays going on some sort of run you know winning seven out of 10 right but that time starting to run out five and a half back in the wild card you’re four games under 500 you’re facing an all-star in the Mariners’s best pitcher tomorrow you know and again the Mariners series was one of the toughest they had I was talking to my buddies today I would pick the Mariners go to the World Series of the American League right now. Like that’s how high I am on the Mariners. The Mariners before they made the trades at the deadline. I was that high on them. And then making the two trades for Naylor and and Suarez just kind of reaffirmed that belief. And you know, you’re playing with fire anytime you walk that many guys. And when you play with fire like that, you’re going to get burned. And the Rays didn’t just get burned. They got absolutely scorched. Absolutely scorched. But you know, we still got a lot to talk about. We’re going to talk about uh the thing that has bugged me more than anything during this road trip and we’re going to look at some positives from all this right after this. This episode is brought to you by Game Time. We’ve all been there. Logging on early and waiting forever for concert tickets to go on sale only to lose your spot for a show you’ve been dying to see. Live music should be about making memories, not dealing with the stress of ticket shopping. That’s where game time comes in. Game time makes getting concert tickets faster and easier than ever. Prices actually drop as it gets closer to showtime. And you can save up to 60% off with their killer last minute deals. You guys know I was in Anaheim. Seattle is another one that’s big on my bucket list to go. Their their ballpark looks beautiful. Um, but again, I got all those tickets with Game Time. Shows your seat view is the best ticket site for right now. 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You know, you can bet Baker Mayfield to go over on touchdowns, anything like that with pri prize picks. So download the Price Picks app today and use code lockown to get $50 in lineups after you play your first $5 lineup. That’s code locked on LB to get $50 in lineups after your first $5 play. Price picks. Run your game. So, if if you guys are in the live, make sure you leave a like. Our live yesterday got the most views a live has ever gotten, even before I was here. So, again, um, thank you guys. Everyone who watched um, and everyone that continues to join the live. I appreciate all you guys. I know it’s almost 1:00 a.m., but, you know, we’re still in here strong. Very much apprec appreciate all of you. So, the thing that’s bugged me, and I’ve talked about this a few times, when the other teams score, the Rays response has been poor to say the very least. It’s been really bad. When the Rays scores, feels like the other teams respond right away. Case in point, first inning, Brandon Lomers. All of a sudden, Mariners get the lead. After the Mariners get the lead, the Rays go ground out, line out, ground out, pop out, fly out, walk, line out. Mariners add on three bore. Line out. Strike out. Single. Caught stealing. Mariners add on another run. Walk. Strikeout. Strikeout. Fly out. Mariners put on more pressure. And then Junior finally hit the home run. The Rays had one hit in the next almost four and a half innings after the Mariners scored. Not good enough. I mean, the the Rays get two outs quicker than any team in baseball right now. And it goes back to not having guys you really fear. You know, like you said, Yandi Brandon Loud Jr. You really starting to miss Aronda right now and rightfully so. He’s an all-star. He hits over 320. You know, he’s he’s that guy. But you can’t play Tristan Gray and Tristan Peter together. Like I get the why you did it because Taylor Walls is hurt, but both those guys aren’t major league hitters in in my opinion. And again, what happens if Taylor Walls has to go to the injury list? It’s really not good. I I the Rays aren’t going to bring up Carson Williams because they don’t want to start his service time already. They wouldn’t come up to like September. So, you know, it just continues to be a struggle for the Rays right now to find guys that can, you know, consistently take competitive major league at bats. And, you know, that’s that that’s tough. But, you know, let’s look at some of the positives. There’s going to be a lot of negativity out there, but let’s look at some of the positives. I think Brandon Laauo having the best season of his career is an incredible positive for the race. He has been fantastic. Obviously, what Junior is doing has been the biggest story of the entire season. You know, 32 home runs, over 80 RBI’s. I mean, that guy, I would extend him right now. He’s proves he has the work ethic. Like, you know, that’s a franchise cornerstone piece. What Jonathan Rogers has been doing, obviously a positive. Drew Rasmus has been doing obviously a positive. What Garrett Clevener slash what Edwin You said has done in the second half, positive. You know, this Rays team is so much better than the record, but they fell at they fell on hard times and they lost a lot of winnable games and that’s how we get here. You know, that’s how we get to five and a half out of a out of a playoff spot with 43 games left or whatever it is, 44 games. And you know, with that being said, you know, the Rays go after the game tomorrow, which we’re about to preview, they go to Oakland for three, obviously three wavable games, to San Francisco for three, threeable games. I mean, that’s probably an area where you at least have to go 4-2, probably 5- one. You go to New York and St. Louis for five at home, winnable games. Two Cleveland, two Washington, winnable games. Cleveland’s hottest team in baseball right now, but still winnable games. You come home and play Seattle and Cleveland again. The Rays probably after this game tomorrow have their easiest stretch of the season. So, if they’re if they want to go on this stretch, they want to make things competitive, now is the time to do it. You know, still a lot of time left. Yeah, again, they going to have to win eight out of 10, right? Get on a run like that. And now’s the time coming up to do that. But, you know, let’s look ahead to the game tomorrow. Adrien Hower will take the mound against Brian Woo. Brian Woo, obviously an all-star this year, nine and six with a three erra. Really good fast ball for Woo. He’s been kind of consistently good. I mean, he hit a 28 RA last year. Um, you know, he’s always been good if the in the with the way with the way the race struggled today against not a good pitcher. Uh, okay. That that’s mean against a um, you know, below average pitcher considering considering the Mariners standards with how good their rotation is. You know, it’s it’s a little frustrating. He pitched against the Rays one time last year. Only went three innings, five hits, one earned. Um, in that game last year, actually the Rays ended up winning because Yandi Diaz hit a go ahead single in the eighth inning. I remember that game actually. But that’s besides the point. uh his last outing against the White Sox, seven seven innings, two hits, one earned. It’s been a lot of that this year, but you know, before that, he has shown chinks in the armor. You know, five earned runs against the Athletics, five runs against Houston the game after the All-Star break. So, he has shown some of the chinks in his armor, but for the most part, he has been really freaking good. And Andrew Hower has faced the Mariners already this season. It was one of his first starts of the season, and he was fantastic against him. He was his first start, six innings, two hits, no runs. So we we need that kind of Adrien Hower to salvage a series tomorrow and then go into a very winnable series with Oakland. You know, simple as that. Let’s uh win a game tomorrow, go into a winnable series with Oakland. You know, take at least two out of three. Then all of a sudden, you’ve won three or four. And then again, take another two out of three. All of a sudden, you’ve won five of seven, and you can start to really go on a run. But let’s go look at the comments as we go to. Gary says, “Hate to say it, but I don’t think the Rays are going to the postseason. Given the amount of schedule, given the amount of the schedule remaining, games back in the walk are standings, the number of teams ahead of them.” That’s a that is a fair observation. Yeah, to say the least. Mike says, “Ray pitching gave up eight walks for them, the number nine hitter.” This something that’s one of the first things that I touched on. It It is Yeah, it’s brutal. Unacceptable. It really unacceptable. was we go to Gary. Evans Shapiro is someone I that I think will be up for the A series because the Rays faced two lefties. So, I think Pierro does come up. Uh he’s been he said he’s been really good and and he plays all three outfield positions. Uh Rays just traded Cababie for him. Yeah, I think he’s a guy that comes up for the A series because they’re not going to keep Peters up when he’s a average defender and can’t hit lefties. As we go, Jack Stakes says it’s time to fully understand what this team has been paid for. essentially a very good minor league club with a couple of passer prime Allstars. Um, I don’t necessarily agree with that. An above average minor league club is not what this team is. You know, let’s relax a little bit. But we allow to be angry, but that’s a little bit too too far. You know, the the the Rays have still a lot of really good pieces. You know, again, it just starts with um it starts with a win tomorrow. You know, simple as that. I’m trying to kind of build ways for the Rays to go on this run, right? and it starts with a win tomorrow and then taking two out of three, winning the last two series and then you know you you finish this home stand or this road trip with a winning record and then you come home and you know you have two against the Yankees who are the team you’re chasing in the wild card. Let’s say you know you get back home and you’re only four out from the Yankees, right? And then now you’re back within striking distance, right? That’s only gaining a game and a half, maybe three and a half, you know, you know, two games on the Yankees during the stretch. But that requires a race to play good baseball. We haven’t seen the Raids play good baseball consistently in two months. So, it’s going to be interesting to see if the Raids can put together some, you know, put put together some uh competitive competitive games here. And, you know, it’s really if the Rays can just win three out of four, you know, if the Rays can win five out of six, if the Rays can win eight out of 10, um I’m telling you guys, anything can happen. But again, I don’t blame you guys for being being frustrated. I’m frustrated. I just don’t know if the Rays have the capabilities right now to go on a run like that. uh they have the pieces, they have the players, they have the pitching, they have the manager to do it. But um you know, it’s tough to pick yourself up every day, go back to the ball field when you’re losing consistent like the Rays are in not like not this game in gut-wrenching fashion, but in so many gut-wrenching ways that you know, it’s almost got to be hopefully this this is the Rays mindset that you know, we can go on a run, you know, uh look at the schedule like I just laid out. It’s advantageous. It is advantageous. So, uh, it it is again, it’s tough to be positive in this, but, you know, it’s taking a little of a time. Let’s win a game tomorrow. Let’s go take two out of three in Oakland. Let’s take two out of three in San Francisco. Get back home. You know, you got big two games with the Yankees and then kind of just go from there. So, a lot of time this season been trying to lay out this path for the Rays. Most of the time they, you know, uh, have not followed it too well. Uh, not to their lack of effort, but to the other teams, you know, playing good ball. So, you know, the Rays are due to for some good fortune. And I think that big fortune could be coming soon. But again, it starts with taking the last game of series for a team that I think is the the best team in in the American League when all is said and done. I would pick the Mariners to go to the World Series right now. And I probably will. Um, you know, I I probably will by the end of it. Let’s go to Argginus. I love this comment we’ll end on. He says, “Good or bad? Always watching and supporting this team.” So am I. Man, it’s a blessing. you guys would miss baseball season when it’s done to watch your favorite team every day. You know, in football you have once a week. In hockey, you have three, four, you know, three times a week, four times a week, maybe. Same with basketball. Baseball’s the is the season where you can watch your team every single day. And beautiful thing about baseball, Rays have a chance to get back on track tomorrow. Simple as that. Let’s see if they can do it against one of the best pitchers in the American League. Going to be a tall task. But again, I appreciate all you guys joining. Um, if you guys could please leave a like on your way out, subscribe if you are new. Uh, 80% of the people watching, look at this today are not subscribed. So again, please subscribe. It’s free, cost nothing. Uh, it just helps us out a lot. So again, hit the like button before you head out of here and we will see you guys tomorrow afternoon.

The Rays can’t get back in the win column, they lose to the Seattle Mariners 7-4. Just like yesterday this game started with a Brandon Lowe solo homer in the 1st inning to make it 1-0. The lead would be short lived. The Mariners would hit a 2 run homer in the bottom of the 1st. Then Cal Raleigh hit a 3 run homer to make it 5-1. The Rays would fall down 6-1 by the 4th inning. Junior Caminero would hit a 3 run home run to make it 6-4 but the Rays could not get any closer. Joe Boyle started for the Rays and struggled. He only went 3.1 IP walking 5 and allowing 6 runs. The Rays will look to avoid getting swept tomorrow afternoon.

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