Rays Notebook: Once Again, Brett Phillips Shows Off His Arm, This Time From the Outfield
BALTIMORE, Md. — Brett Phillips likes big moments, and he had several more on Friday night. He had a big hit in extra innings to put Tampa Bay ahead, but the highlight play of the night was a rocket throw by Phillips from right field during the Rays' game with the Baltimore Orioles.
In the fifth inning with the Rays leading 3-0, Phillips fielded the ball in stride after Cedric Mullins' single and came up throwing. He threw a laser to home that never hit the ground. Catcher Mike Zunino caught it and applied the tag, and Chris Owings was out easily.
His throw was clocked at 99.8 miles per hour. That's a gun.
Pretty sure this ball's return flight was faster pic.twitter.com/cat8WNOyK9
— Tampa Bay Rays (@RaysBaseball) May 21, 2022
"That was impressive. Very impressive,'' Tampa Bay manager Kevin Cash said. "We did some good things tonight, but that was a highlight play there, and Philly came up with a big hit, too. ''
The Rays wound up losing 8-6 in 13 innings, snapping their 15-game winning streak against the Orioles dating back to last summer. It was the longest winning streak against a single opponent in club history. Phillips has now hit safely in four-straight games.
A 99.7 mph STRIKE from @Brett_Phillips8. 😳 pic.twitter.com/DIbYmT4DuB
— MLB (@MLB) May 21, 2022
Beeks, Yarbrough strong early
Rays manager Kevin Cash said prior to Friday night's game that he's been wanting to get Jalen Beeks more work. Guaranteeing some time on the mound was made easier by using him as the opener. Beeks was very good, allowing just one hit and a walk in two innings.
He's now pitched 17 2.3 innings this year, and has allowed only three runs. They all came in one outing — at Anaheim on May 9 against the Los Angeles Angels — and he hasn't allowed a run in any of his other nine outings.
"We've kind of banked his innings, and I got away from it at times where I wasn't happy about the work I was getting for him,'' Cash said. "This allowed Jalen to get in there and get two or three innings of work.''
Ryan Yarbrough, who has made three straight starts, came on after Beeks and pitched well. He threw four scoreless innings before getting dinged with a couple of hits in the seventh. Both runners scored, but just one run was earned because of a Randy Arozarena error in left field. Prior to that, he had allowed only one earned run in 10 2/3 innings.
Kiermaier getting hot
Rays center fielder Kevin Kiermaier will always be known first and foremost for his defense, but his bat is heating up lately, too. He had three hits again on Friday, his second straight three-hit game.
If you think that doesn't happen very often, you would be right. The last time it happened for Kiermaier was Sept. 8-9 of 2016. A long, long, long time ago.
Kiermaier raised his batting average to .219 after Friday's game, the first time he's been over .200 since April 29 and it's the highest his average has been all season.
"I'm just trying to stay locked in. I'm feeling better and just trying to simplify everything,'' Kiermaier said. "I had some at-bats early on in that game that I'd love to have back, but I'm just trying to get on base and drive guys in when I can, and do whatever is asked in that moment.
"I'm working in that direction and feeling better of late, so hopefully I'll just continue to build off that.
Kiermaier's third hit came in the 13th inning with the score tied at 6-6. Wander Franco tried to score from second on a bang-bang play at home. He was called safe, but the play was overturned and the run came off the board.
"I thought we were scoring,'' Kiermaier said. "Wander had a good secondary lead. I liked our chances right there. The guy made a great throw. I don't know if a slide would have worked there or not, but Austin Hays has a cannon for an arm out there, and he made a great throw.
"You just do whatever your instincts tell you in the moment. It just didn't work out.''
These back-to-back three-hit games are rare. That 2016 moment? He went 3-for-4 against Baltimore on Sept. 8 and then went 4-for-5 the next night on the road against the New York Yankees. Prior to Friday, that's the ONLY time he's had three hits or more on consecutive nights.
Around the bases
- MARGOT UPDATE: Tampa Bay outfielder Manuel Margot traveled to Baltimore with the team and is still getting all his work in in the batting cage. He's on the injured list with a hamstring injury, but the rehab is going well and the plan is for him to return to the lineup next week. Cash said Margot will start to beginning running over the weekend as well.
- ZUNINO'S BAT: Rays catcher Mike Zunino hit a three-run homer in the fifth inning, his fourth of the year. They've all come since April 29. Six of his last 10 hits have been for extra bases, two doubles and four homers.
Related stories on Rays baseball
- ORIOLES TAKE OPENER (Friday): Tampa Bay's usually reliable bullpen had a rough night on Friday, giving up the lead on three different occasions before finally losing to the Baltimore Orioles 8-6 in 13 innings. The loss ended the Rays' 15-game winning streak over the Orioles. CLICK HERE
- RAYS 2022 SCHEDULE: Here is the Tampa Bay Rays' compete 2022 schedule, with results so far and all remaining game times, with dates, locations and times. CLICK HERE
Tom Brew is the publisher of Inside The Rays, and has been with the Sports Illustrated/FanNation network for three years. He is an award-winning writer and editor who has spent most of his four-decade career at the Tampa Bay Times, Indianapolis Star and South Florida Sun-Sentinel. He has written four books.