Whit Merrifield's Homer Ends Classic Pitcher's Duel in Jays' 3-1 Win over Tampa Bay
ST. PETERSBURG, Fla. — One decision. One pitch.
Sometimes that's what pennant-chase baseball comes down to, especially on a night like Saturday when fans at Tropicana Field were treated to a terrific pitcher's duel between Toronto's Alek Manoah and Tampa Bay's Drew Rasmussen, two of the best hurlers in the game right now.
Both right-handers cruised through the first six innings, with neither giving up a run. Manoah worked around a pair of doubles in a few innings, and Rasmussen worked his way out of a bases loaded jam in the sixth inning, but other than that, they were practically unhittable.
Then it came decision time for Rays manager Kevin Cash. Rasmussen, who had allowed only two hits through six innings, was at just 83 pitches. Cash sent him back out for the seventh, and he got the first out before allowing a hit to Teoscar Hernandez.
That was it. Cash brought in Brooks Raley and sent Rasmussen to the showers. But Raley walked pinch-hitter Danny Jansen despite jumping out to an 0-2 start and then tried to get ahead in the count with a first-pitch slider. Whit Merrifield, who had doubled earlier in the game, pounded the pitch into the left-field seats for a three-run homer. It was enough — more than enough — to give the Blue Jays a much-needed 3-1 win and put them back atop the American League wild-card standings.
Two things to discuss, the decision and the pitch. Let's start with the pitch and work backward.
"In that situation, I was trying to get ahead in the count,'' said the left-handed Raley, who hadn't given up a home run to a right-handed hitter all year, covering 123 at bats. Righties are hitting just .205 against him. ''I wanted to throw a quality slider, and I did. He put a good swing on it and unfortunately tonight, that's the game right there in that spot.
"I threw the pitch I wanted to throw. The key to that is throwing strike one, and it hurts when you get bit like that, especially on a good pitch. This is playoff baseball and you want to win these games. It hurts when you don't win, and hurts for me tonight, but we'll come right back tomorrow and get right after it.''
And then there is the decision to change pitchers.
Cash said some of what impacted his call to take out Rasmussen was that long sixth inning, which was taxing. Rasmussen threw 26 pitches that inning, many of them under duress. After the hit by Hernandez, he felt good about going to Raley ''because Rales has been so good for us all year,'' Cash said.
Rasmussen understood, too, but it didn't ease the frustration any in losing the duel with Manoah.
"They asked me if I was good to go back out for the seventh, and I told them I was, and if I threw the ball well, they'd let me complete it,'' Rasmussen said. "But I missed over the plate with a cutter and Teoscar Hernandez is a really good player and he hit it really well. It was pretty obvious that if a runner got on, they were going to the bullpen. Those guys have been so good for us all year, and turning the ball over to them is a privilege. It was pretty simple. If I keep people off the bases, I get through the inning.''
Manoah (15-7) threw 113 pitches for the Blue Jays, who had lost the first two games of the series and had slipped behind the Rays in the wild-card race. Now they're a game ahead again, though the Rays hold the series tie-breaker heading into the series finale on Sunday.
The Rays did score a run in the eighth on two infield singles and a throwing error, but they couldn't get any more. Cash tipped his cap to Manoah, who is ''really good.''
Rasmussen (10-7) was too, and it felt like a playoff atmosphere as they matched pitch for pitch. It's very possible it could happen again in two weeks when the playoffs start. Right now, the Blue Jays are the No. 4 seed and the Rays are No. 5, one game behind. They would play a best-of-three series in Toronto. Seattle won Saturday night, though, and they are now just a half-game behind Tampa Bay.
The Rays can swing that homefield advantage back their way on Sunday though when they send ace Shane McClanahan to the mound in the 1:10 p.m. ET game. It's the final regular season game of the year at Tropicana Field, and then the Rays finish the season with a three-stop road trip to Cleveland, Houston and Boston.
Wander Franco went 1-for-4 for the Rays, extending his hitting streak to 11 games, a career high. The attendance was 22,169.
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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.