Back to the Rays Report

Roger Mooney


Roger Mooney covers the Tampa Bay Rays for The Tampa Tribune, TBO.com and News Channel 8. He has covered the Rays since their first season in 1998, including 11 years for the Bradenton Herald. Roger has also covered Florida, South Florida and Florida State football, the Bucs and the Lightning.

Twitter @RMooneyTrib
Facebook TBO_Rays
EmailSend us your questions

More Links:

Most Recent Entries
More
Monthly Archives

Rays @ BoSox: Price starts comeback Friday in Bradenton

Posted Jun 19, 2013 by Roger Mooney

Updated Jun 19, 2013 at 06:03 PM

ROGER MOONEY
BOSTON David Price, out since May 16 with a left triceps strain, will make his first minor league rehab start Friday in Bradenton for the Class A Charlotte Stone Crabs.

Rays manager Joe Maddon said it will be a short outing, and Price’s comeback will be dictated by how he responds to each outing.

“It’s going to be a game-by-game moment,” Maddon said.

Price suffered a setback during the last home game when he felt soreness after throwing a simulated game. It was Price’s first time facing hitters and he was a little too amped.

Maddon said he expects Price to return to the rotation before the All-Star Break. But, unlike earlier this month when Maddon said Price would make four pre-All-Star Game starts, Maddon did not place a number of starts for Price.

As for tonight, the Rays will try to end a three-game slide tonight in the finale of this two-day, three-game series against the Red Sox at Fenway Park.

The Rays have lost eight of their last 10 games and sit in fourth place, seven games behind the first-place Red Sox. This is the farthest they’ve been behind the division leader since they were 7.5 games back on May 2.

Jeremy Hellickson starts for the Rays against Boston’s Ryan Dempster.

Avoiding the big inning will help Hellickson get back on his winning ways. So will some help from his offense. The Rays scored twice in Tuesday’s doubleheader – once each game.

They have scored two or fewer runs in all five games at Fenway this season.

Here are the lineups:

RAYS
Joyce RF
Jennings CF
Zobrists 2B
Longoria 3B
Loney 1B
Myers RF
Johnson DH
Molina C
Escobar SS
—
Hellickson RHP (4-3, 5.67)

RED SOX
Ellsbury CF
Nava RF
Pedroia 2B
Ortiz DH
Napoli 1B
Saltalamacchia C
Gomes LF
Drew SS
Iglesias 1B
—
Dempster RHP (4-7, 4.21)


(0) Read Comments

Rays-BoSox in rain delay

Posted Jun 18, 2013 by Roger Mooney

Updated Jun 18, 2013 at 03:18 PM

ROGER MOONEY
BOSTON The major league debut of Wil Myers is being delayed by rain.

Heavy rain stopped the Tampa Bay Rays-Boston Red Sox game at Fenway Park in the bottom of the fifth inning with the Red Sox leading 4-1, making it an official game.

The Red Sox will have the bases loaded with Jarrod Saltalamacchia batting against Josh Lueke when/if the game resumes. Rays starter Chris Archer, who allowed five hits and walked five, was pulled just as the rain picked up.

Myers, called up today, is 0-for-2 in his first two at-bats.

“I really think he’s going to be fine,” Rays manager Joe Maddon said before the game. He’s got this really unassuming way about himself. Just a very real kind of guy. There’s no pretense for me. So I just want him to go out there and be himself. He’s worked hard to get to this particular moment. To make your major league debut here is kind of interesting and neat, I think, in this ballpark. My expectations are (for him) to play hard and have some fun.”

His first at-bat came in the top of the second. Evan Longoria and James Loney began the inning with back-to-back walks. Myers, batting sixth, swung at the first pitch from Red Sox right-hander Alfredo Aceves and hit a pop up to shallow center field.

Myers batted again in the fourth inning and flied out to right field.

David Ortiz has three RBI for the Red Sox.

Luke Scott drove in the Rays lone run, following Myers’s second-inning at-bat with a double to right field.


(0) Read Comments

Rays 2 BoSox: Myers batting 6th, Longo back at 3B for Game 1

Posted Jun 18, 2013 by Roger Mooney

Updated Jun 18, 2013 at 10:39 AM

ROGER MOONEY
BOSTON Wil Myers will play right field and bat sixth today during the first game of the Rays day/night doubleheader against the Red Sox at Fenway Park.

And, oh by the way, Evan Longoria returns to third base for the first time since Thursday. He spent the last three games as the DH because of a case of plantar fasciitis in his right foot.

Also Desmond Jennings has been moved up the line to No. 2.

Chris Archer makes his fourth start of the season in the opener.

He and Jake Odorizzi, who pitches tonight, will become the first rookies in team history to start both ends of a double header. This is just the fourth time in the past 35 years that a visiting team started two rookie pitchers during a twin bill at Fenway Park.

The last time a visiting team started a pair of rookies and swept a doubleheader in Boston was 1927.

Here is the Rays lineup:

Joyce RF
Jennings CF
Zobrist 2B
Longoria 3B
Loney 1B
Myers RF
Scott DH
Molina C
Escobar SS
—
Archer RHP (1-2, 4.80)


(0) Read Comments

Archer, Odorizzi for doubleheader in Boston means lots of starts by rookies on this trip

Posted Jun 17, 2013 by Roger Mooney

Updated Jun 17, 2013 at 09:06 AM

ROGER MOONEY
ST. PETERSBURG The Rays have set their rotation for the three-game series in Boston that begins with Tuesday’s doubleheader.

Chris Archer is slated to start the first game of the day/night doubleheader. Jake Odorizzi will come up from Triple A Durham and pitch the night cap. Jeremy Hellickson is scheduled to pitch Wednesday.

Adding Odorizzi and eventually Alex Colome, who is expected to replace Alex Cobb’s spot in the rotation and start Friday against the Yankees in New York, means the Rays will start three rookie pitchers (Archer included) during this seven-game trip through Boston and New York.

With Archer’s next turn set for Yankee Stadium on the final day of the trip means four of the seven games will be started by rookies.

The Rays will not have to clear a roster spot for Odorizzi, who will be added to the roster through MLB’s 26th man rule for doubleheaders.

This will be Odorizzi’s third tour with the Rays. He was originally called up to replace David Price in the rotation when Price went on the disabled list. Odorizzi lasted two starts, allowed nine runs in nine combined innings and was sent back to Durham and replaced by Archer.

Odorizzi was recalled again last week to replace Cobb when Cobb was place on the three-day bereavement list because of the death of his grandmother. Odorizzi made one relief appearance, pitching 3 1/3 innings against the Royals during the first game of the recently concluded four-game series.

Colome made one start this season, pitching 5 2/3 innings without allowing an earned run in a win at Miami.


(0) Read Comments

Rays v KC: Cobb tries to right the ship, Johnson dropped in the order

Posted Jun 15, 2013 by Roger Mooney

Updated Jun 15, 2013 at 03:03 PM

ROGER MOONEY
ST. PETERSBURG Alex Cobb, so good in days following a Rays loss, will try to defend the honor of the rotation this afternoon while the offense searches for ways to get a hit with runners in scoring position against the Royals.

Cobb is 5-1 with a 2.77 ERA on days following a Rays loss.

The Rays offense is 1-for-22 with RISP in their last three games, all losses.

Kelly Johnson, 3-for-30 on this homestand, has been dropped to seventh in the order. Luke Scott, who has showed some life at the plate the past few games, will bat third and play left field. Rays manager Joe Maddon said he can get away with Scott in the outfield since Cobb is a groundball pitcher.

Johnson remains at third base. Maddon said he expects Evan Longoria, DHing again for the third straight game because of plantar fasciitis in his right foot, to return to third base Tuesday when the Rays play a doubleheader in Boston.

Here are the lineups:

ROYALS
Gordon LF
Hosmer 1B
Perez C
Butler DH
Cain CF
Lough RF
Moustakas 3B
Johnson 2B
Escobar SS
—
Guthrie RHP (7-3, 3.60)

RAYS
Joyce RF
Zobrist 2B
Scott LF
Longoria DH
Loney 1B
Jennings CF
Johnson 3B
Lobaton C
Escobar SS
—
Cobb RHP (6-2, 2.95)


(0) Read Comments

Next Page