Stat break: 2019 Tampa Bay Rays

 

Hitters

Name                AB     R   H   RBI   2B  3B   HR   BB   SB   Avg,

Adames            41       4    8     4       1    0      1      2      1      .195
Choi                  34       6    9     8       0    1      2      4      0      .265

d'Arnaud           23       2    7     4       0    0      1      0      0      .304

Y Diaz               16      1     2     3       0    0      0      3      0      .125

A Garcia           39       3   11     4       0    1      1      3      1      .282
Heredia               3       0     0     0      0     0     0       0      0      .000

Kiermaier          42      2      4    1       1    1      0      0      1      .095

B Lowe             28      5      9    4       2     0     2      1      0      .321

Meadows          43    11    16  13       5     0     4      6      3      .372
Pham                48      7     8     2       0     0     1      6      1     .167

Robertson         19      0     2     0      1     0    0       2      0      .105

Sogard              29      8   11     4       2     0    3       3      0      .379

Wendle             18      1     5     3       2    0      1      2       1     .278

Zunino               22      1     3     1       1    0      1      1       0     .136

Pitchers

Name                G    GS   IP        H    R    ER   BB    K     Sv.     W    L     ERA

Alvarado            3      0      3         2     3      3      4      4       0      0     0       9.00
Beeks                3     0       7         5     3      3      1      3       0      0.    1      3.86
D Castillo          7     0       7.3      5     1      1      3    10       0      0     0       1.23
Chirinos            3      0    15.6      7     8      8      1    13       0      0     1        4.59
Drake                4      0      6.6      2     1      1      2      9       0      1     0       1.35

Kittredge           4      1      4.3       5     2     2      1      6       0      0     0        4.16
Morton              4      4     22.3    20     9      8      7   23       0      1     2        3.22
Pagan              1      0       1         0      0      0      0     1       0      0     0        0.00
Poche             7      1       6.3      5      4      4      3    10       0      1     0        5.69

Snell                 3      3     17.6      11       6       6      0     23        0     2      1       3.06

Stanek              6      1        5           5       3        3    3        6        0      0     0       5.40
Yarbourgh        3      1     11.6      11       1       1      2      10        0     1      1       0.77

Dixie bracket: 2009 Marlins defeat 2019 Rays in six games

Game One: Marlins 4, Rays 3 (12 innings)
WP: Sanches (1-0)
LP: Beeks (0-1)
Save: Miller (1)

Game Two: Rays 7, Marlins 3
WP: Poche (1-0)
LP: Volstad (0-1)
HR: Uggla (2), Choi (2)

Game Three: Rays 6, Marlins 1
WP: Yarbrough (1-1)
LP: Nolasco (1-2)
HR: Meadows (3), Adames (1), Zunino (1)

Game Four: Marlins 8, Rays 2
WP: Vandenburk (1-0)
LP: Snell (2-1)
HR: Maybin (2), Cantu (2), Uggla (3), Paulino (2)

Game Five: Marlins 3, Rays 2
WP: Pinto (1-0)
LP: Morton (1-2)
Save: Nunez (3)
HR: Ramirez (2), Meadows (4)

Game Six: Marlins 5, Rays 3
WP: Sanches (2-0)
LP: Chirinos (0-1)
Save: Lindstrom (2)
HR: Pham (1), Cantu (3), Ramirez (3), B Lowe (2)

Three of Florida's wins were credited to relief pitchers, and three different Marlins picked up saves in the series.

For all the bullpen reliance to follow, the Marlins opened the series with strong start by Josh Johnson, who held the Rays to two runs, one earned, on four hits in eight innings. The game, in St. Petersburg's Tropicana Park dome, went 12 innings. Jalen Beeks threw three scoreless innings for the Rays until cracking in the top of the 12th, when Cody Ross doubled, Jeremy Hermida walked  and John Baker singled to start the inning; Hanley Ramirez later singled off reliever Ryne Stanek. Andrew Miller allowed a run in the bottom of the inning but got the save.

The Rays evened the series in Game Two with a bullpen game. Stanek opened and Colin Poche got credit for the win, but Yonni Chiniros did the bulk of the work, going 5.6 innings. Stanek, Poche and Chiniros combined to hold the Marlins scoreless until there was one out in the seventh inning. Tampa Bay scored six runs in the third off Chris Volstad. Ji-Man Choi drove in three runs for the Rays.

The series moved to suburban Miami for Game Three, where the Rays bopped three homers off Ricky Nolasco and Ryan Yarborugh threw six shutout innings. The Marlins had at least one baserunner in every inning against the lefty.

The Fish turned it around in Game Four. Jorge Cantu and Dan Uggla hit back-to-back homers in the first against Blake Snell, and Cameron Maybin capped a four-run sixth with a two-run homer. Rick Vandenhurk went five innings for the win, and relievers Miller, Kiko Calero and Matt Lindstrom combined to allow one hit in the final four frames.

Johnson left Game Five after five innings trailing 2-1. But Reynel Pinto, Burke Badenhop and Leo Nunez combined for four scoreless innings of relief, and Uggla singled in two runs in the sixth to put the Marlins ahead to stay, both in the game and in the series.

Florida wrapped it up in Tropicana Field in Game Six. Cantu's homer in the sixth put the Fish up 3-2. Sanches surrendered that lead in the seventh on a solo homer by Brandon Lowe, but Hanley Ramirez promptly homered off Chirinos to put the Marlins back in front, and Chris Coghlan doubled into Maybin in the ninth for a bit of insurance. Matt Lindstrom worked a perfect ninth, striking out two, to seal the win and the series.

Player availability: With two off days, the Marlins bullpen will be a full strength for the third round

Projected rotation: Johnson-Nolasco-Volstand-West-(Johnson)-(Nolasco)-(Volstad)

Stat break: 2019 Tampa Bay Rays

Hitters

Name                AB     R   H   RBI   2B  3B   HR   BB   SB   Avg,

Adames            23       1    5     1       1    0      0      0      0      .217
Choi                  13       3    4     5       0    1      1      1      0      .308

d'Arnaud           10       1    1     1       0    0      1      0      0      .100

Y Diaz               15      1     2     3       0    0      0      3      0      .133

A Garcia           21       1     9     4       0    0      1      3      1      .429
Heredia               2       0     0     0      0     0     0       0      0      .000

Kiermaier          23      1      3    0       1      0    0      0      1      .130

B Lowe               7      3      3    1       1     0     1      0      0      .429

Meadows          23      7    11    9       3     0      2      2      1     .478
Pham                22      3      4    1       0     0     0      5      0     .182

Robertson         12      0     0     0       0     0    0       1      0      .000

Sogard              12      7     5     3       1     0    3       2      0      .417

Wendle               6      1     1     1       0    0      1      2       1     .167

Zunino               10      0     2     0       1    0      0      0       0     .200

Pitchers

Name                G    GS   IP        H    R    ER   BB    K     Sv.     W    L     ERA

Alvarado            3      0      3         2     3      3      4      4       0      0     0       9.00
Beeks                1     0       2         1     1      1      0      1       0      0.    0       4.50
D Castillo          4     0       5         4     1      1      1      6       0      0     0       1.80
Chirinos            1      0      5         5     2      2      0      3       0      0    0        3.60
Drake                2      0      4         0     0      0      2      4       0      1     0       0.00
Morton              2      2     12       10     4      3      3    13       0     1      1       2.25
Pagan              1      0       1         0      0      0      0     1       0      0     0        0.00
Poche              2      1       2         1     1      1      0      3       0      0     0        4.50

Snell                2      2     12.6       6     1      1      0   16        0     2      0       0.71

Stanek             3      0        1.3      4     3      3      1     1        0      0     0     35.91
Yarbourgh        1      1        5        5     1      1      0      4        0     0      1       1.80

Dixie bracket: 2019 Rays defeat 2019 Royals in six games

Game One: Rays 4, Royals 0
WP: Morton (1-0)
LP: Junis (0-1)
HR: A Garcia (1)

Game Two: Rays 6, Royals 1
WP: Snell (1-0)
LP: Duffy (0-1)
HR: Sogard 2 (2), Meadows (1), d'Arnard (1)

Game Three: Royals 4, Rays 2
WP: Keller (1-0)
LP: Yarbourgh (0-1)
HR: Dozier (1), Choi (1), Wendle (1)

Game Four: Rays 11, Royals 7 (10 innings)
WP: Drake (1-0)
LP: Kennedy (0-1)
HR: Choi (2), Meadows (2), O'Hearn (1), Merrifield (1)

Game Five: Royals 5, Rays 3
WP: Junis (1-1)
LP: Morton (1-1)
Save: Kennedy (1)
HR: Soler (1), Lowe (1)

Game Six: Rays 4, Royals 0
WP: Snell (2-0)
LP: Duffy (0-2)
HR: Sogard (3)

The Tampa Bay Rays opened and closed the series with multi-pitcher shutouts, and in between generally stifled the Kansas City lineup.

Charlie Morton allowed a single to the second hitter he faced in the Tropicana Field opener. That was the only safety the Royals got all game. Ryne Stanek pitched the seventh and Oliver Drake the eighth and ninth innings for Tampa Bay. Morton walked one and struck out nine. Austin Meadows singled in two runs and also doubled and scored.

Eric Sogard hit a pair of solo homers in Game Two, the first one leading off the game, to give Blake Snell plenty of support. Meadows hit a three-run homer in the eighth to open up the margin. Snell left in the sixth inning having allowed three hits. Four Rays relievers allowed one hit apiece.

The series shifted to Kaufmann Stadium in Kansas City, and Brad Keller did unto the Rays as Morton and Snell had to the Royals: 7.2 scoreless innings with five hits allowed. Ryan Yarborough threw five scoreless innings but left after consecutive doubles by Aldaberto Mondesi and Whit Merrifield to open the sixth. Hunter Dozier hit a three-run homer in the eighth, and solo homers by Ji-Man Choi and Joey Wendle in the ninth weren't enough.

Tampa Bay trotted out the opener strategy in Game Four. Colin Poche gave up a homer in the first to Merrifield, then gave way to Yonny Chirinos, who allowed two runs in five-plus innings. But Stanek didn't retire any of the three men he faced in the eighth, and the game was tied after that frame. Meadows hit his second three-run homer of the series in the 10th, this one off Kansas City closer Ian Kennedy, and Oliver Drake threw two scoreless innings for the win.

The Royals forced the series back to Tampa Bay by beating Morton in Game Five. Jorge Soler hit a three-run homer in the third; he also doubled and scored in the eighth. Jakob Junis gave up a pair of runs in the first but followed with five scoreless innings to get the win.

Snell allowed three hits in seven innings in Game Six, while Sogard again led off the game with a homer off Danny Duffy. Meadows doubled and scored in Tampa Bay's two-run fourth, and Diego Castillo and Emilio Pagan each faced the minimum three batters in the eighth and ninth to wrap up the series.

Player availability: With two days off, Tampa Bay's bullpen will be rested for the second round.

Projected rotation: Morton-Yarbourgh(?)-Chirinos(?)-Snell-(Morton)-(Yarbourgh)-(Chirinos). Openers are possible in the Yarbourgh and Chrinos "starts"