My Two Cents: Rays' Bullpen Wastes Terrific Rasmussen Start, But Others to Blame, Too
ST. PETERSBURG, Fla. — Drew Rasmussen had a day for the ages on Saturday, pitching a career-high seven scoreless innings against the Chicago White Sox. He was brilliant in his three-hit gem.
But then, disaster.
The Rays' bullpen, often reliable but currently dealing with injuries and fatigue to its best arms, couldn't hold the lead. And despite Rasmussen's gem, the Rays lost anyway, falling 3-2 when the White Sox scored three times in the eighth inning.
The obvious culprits were left-handed relievers Brooks Raley and Jalen Beeks, both of whom have been very good out of the Rays' bullpen this season, though not necessarily in high-tension late-inning situations like this one. Raley gave up a lead-off double to pinch-hitter Adam Engel — seldom-used shortstop Vidal Brujan misplayed the blooper — and then a one-out single to Chicago shortstop Danny Mendick, scoring Engel and cutting the lead to 2-1.
Jake Burger, a powerful right-handed slugger who homered against the Rays in April — ironically it was Drew Rasmussen who gave up that third-inning homer on April 15 that led to a Tampa Bay loss — came on to pinch-hit.
Rays manager Kevin Cash then replaced Raley with Beeks, another left-handed. It seemed curious at the time, but in reality, Cash's hands were tied.
And why? Because his best right-handed relievers weren't available. Andrew Kittredge (team-leading five saves) and J.P. Feyereisen (0.00 ERA in 24 1/3 innings) were both on the injured list. Jason Adam (0.83 ERA in 21 1/3 innings) pitched Wednesday and Thursday and warmed up to come in Friday, so he needed a day off. Matt Wisler, who threw 25 pitches Friday, wasn't available either.
So Cash rolled the dice with Beeks, who has been good enough against righties this year. Lefty hitters were batting just .100 against him, and coming into the game, righties were at just .183 against him and his tough change-up.
It seemed like a worthwhile gamble, especially with so few options, but Burger made him pay on his second pitch, a change-up that drifted back over the middle of the plate. Burger hammered it 427 feet into the left-field seats, and the White Sox were ahead 3-2.
It ended that way, too, which was tough to swallow.
Afterward, everyone said all the right things. Rasmussen, a former reliever himself, knows how good the Rays' bullpen has been all year. They've saved him a bunch of times too, so he wasn't about to throw anyone under the bus, despite not getting a decision he so richly deserved.
“Our bullpen is so good, so turning it over to anyone is never in question,” Rasmussen said after the game. “It stinks what ended up happening today, but those guys down there, they do such a great job. And so coming out in the seventh, there was nothing but confidence with whoever was coming in behind us.”
Beeks, who missed all of last year while recuperating from Tommy John surgery, took his medicine, too. As far as he's concerned, his job is to get outs, where that happens in the sixth inning of a rout or a tense eighth inning with the game on the line.
“That’s what we’re paid to do, come in and get outs,” Beeks said. “I didn’t get the out that time, but I’m happy with my mentality and the way I’ve been approaching the game so far this year. I just have to put the pitch in a better location.”
It's easy to pin the loss completely on Raley and Beeks, because that's the obvious part. But what's also important to remember is that this is a team game that requires solid play for nine innings.
Remember last year, when the Rays won 100 games? They did it with a great bullpen, but they also led the majors in runs scored after the seventh inning. The Rays often didn't leave the outcome on the fingertips of their pitchers.
That didn't happen on Saturday, and the Rays hitters really can be blamed as much as Raley and Beeks. They got a stunning eight walks from Chicago pitchers — including seven from normally tough starter Dylan Cease. But the Rays left nine runners on base all day and were just 1-for-6 with runners in scoring position.
In other words, they left a ton of potential runs stranded. And in a ton of big moments.
In the second inning, Rays center fielder Kevin Kiermaier came up with the bases loaded but grounded out to second. He had a rough day, going 0-for-5 as his struggles continue. From May 17-22, he had the best five-game stretch of his career, going 13-for-24, but he's gone just 2-for-32 since, a depressing .062 batting average.
And even in the fifth, when the Rays had scored their two runs — both unearned because of a Jose Abreu error with two outs — they still had a chance to pile on. With runners on second and third, Randy Arozarena grounded out to second base.
In the eighth inning, the Rays got two early singles from Yandy Diaz and Randy Arozarena, and then Brett Phillips walked with two outs to load the bases. But Isaac Paredes grounded out to shortstop to end the inning.
Vidal Brujan had a rough day, too. He was caught stealing in the fourth after a walk, and he was that second out in the eighth. He was up with runners on first and third, and all he needed to do was get a ball in play to likely tie the game. Instead, he struck out, and no runners moved. Toss these two things in with that misplayed fly ball, and that's a bad day all around. He's hitting just .134 so far, and seems like he's in way over his head.
So you get my point, right? It's fair to blame Raley and Beeks, because that's easy and obvious. But the Rays' bats needed to be better too, especially in those situations where runs were there for the taking. Throw some shade their way, too.
One thing I won't let you do, though, is blaming Cash for taking Rasmussen out after seven innings. You have to remember that he's a former relief pitcher getting stretched out this year for the first time. He had already pitched seven innings, a career high.
Sure, he was efficient and thrown only 81 pitches, but you also have to remember that depth of the game. Another number that matters is ''ups,'' how many times a guy has to sit through the bottom of the inning and then go back out on the mound 10 or 15 minutes later. When you're deep in a game and sweating like crazy, at some point fatigue sets in.
Rasmussen, who knows the bullpen life, knows that you have to trust the guys behind you. He knows full well that Burger is capable of a long homer because he served up a 430-foot shot to him in mid-April in Chicago. Leave him out there for the eighth, and that might have happened again, too. You just don't know.
In reality, this was a team loss with plenty of people to blame. Not Rasmussen, of course, but several others.
And as I always try to remind you, it's just one game in a very long baseball season. The Rays are still 31-22 on the season, and only the New York Yankees (38) and Houston Astros (34) have more in the American League.
This is a beat-up team and they aren't hitting much, especially with two of their best players — shortstop Wander Franco and second baseman Brandon Lowe — on the injured list. Their bullpen, mostly good all year, will get gassed at times, like they were on Saturday, their 12th game in a row without a day off.
That happens in a baseball season, too.
So live with it. You don't have to like it, and I didn't like it either, especially for Rasmussen. But that's the joy of baseball. There's another game in a few hours, so wipe the slate clean and get after it again.
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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.