The anticipation of the second grew round Tropicana Field. As Drew Rasmussen trotted to the mound for the ninth inning, Tampa Bay Rays followers rose to their ft, cell telephones in hand, ready to doc historical past.
But Orioles shortstop Jorge Mateo had different concepts. On the primary pitch he noticed from Rasmussen — a cutter left over the plate — Mateo turned his hips and ripped the ball down the left discipline line for a double. When he reached second base, the Orioles dugout applauded Mateo’s efforts, breaking apart an ideal recreation with simply three outs remaining.
The groans from the gang led to an ovation. It ended after 24 batters — 24 batters who got here and went with out a lot of a menace — and Rasmussen nonetheless arrange the Rays for a 4-1 victory. But there was additionally a so-close, so-far aspec, because it turned the second time Tampa Bay has taken an ideal recreation bid into the ninth inning earlier than it was damaged up. The final time, July 14, 2019, was a mixed effort. And that one, too, was foiled by the Orioles, who’ve by no means been concerned in an ideal recreation.
Former Seattle Mariners ace Félix Hernández is the newest pitcher to achieve perfection. The 10-year anniversary of the twenty first good recreation in MLB historical past is Monday.
Soon after Mateo’s double, Rasmussen’s shutout evaporated, with Mateo scoring on a wild pitch. Rays supervisor Kevin Cash walked to the mound to switch a pitcher that had flirted with perfection and — as so ceaselessly is the case — got here up simply shy.
Rasmussen completed his day with one run in opposition to him by way of 8 1/3 innings, permitting one hit and no walks whereas hanging out seven batters on 87 pitches.
In his final outing, Rasmussen was held to only three innings, a part of a workload administration system for a 27-year-old pitcher who has already undergone two Tommy John surgical procedures in his profession.
Rasmussen’s unbelievable effectivity allowed him to work this deep into the sport. Before Sunday, his longest outing all yr was seven innings. He threw as many as 97 pitches as soon as, however that has not been a frequent pitch depend for him.
The Orioles managed simply two batted balls that left their bats at over 100 mph, and 12 of their first 18 outs got here on at-bats of three pitches or fewer. The longest at-bat in opposition to Rasmussen got here within the eighth inning when second baseman Rougned Odor labored an eight-pitch strikeout.
The implications Sunday — past the historic — additionally concerned the postseason race. With the loss, the Orioles fell 1 1/2 video games behind the Rays, farther from that remaining American League wild-card spot. And Baltimore additionally misplaced the season sequence in opposition to Tampa Bay, which has implications of its personal — ought to the groups tie within the standings, the tiebreaker goes to the Rays.
The Rays almost accomplished historical past by way of Rasmussen. Instead, they’ll should accept a sequence win and a leg up within the wild-card hunt.
One huge swing
Jose Siri didn’t transfer his ft. The Rays outfielder, standing close to third base, solely raised his arms as he turned his head to look at the blast off Randy Arozarena’s bat depart the yard in a rush.
Right-hander Jordan Lyles, however, didn’t waste his time to see the place Arozarena’s ball landed some 400 ft away. He shook his head, paced across the mound and rapidly requested for a brand new ball to proceed considered one of his finest outings this yr — apart from that one swing from Arozarena, a batter who had gone deep already this sequence in opposition to the Orioles and as soon as extra in opposition to Lyles earlier this yr.
Barring that lengthy ball, which got here off a low, inside sinker that Arozarena dug out, Lyles notched a season-high 9 strikeouts. He pressured 14 whiffs, in keeping with Statcast. And Lyles nearly obtained out of that third inning unscathed, after a single and double left two runners in scoring place with no outs.
Lyles labored a strikeout and popout, however as a substitute of strolling Arozarena with a base empty, he went after him. It didn’t work, and as his pitch depend rose to 87 within the fifth inning, Hyde changed Lyles after 4 1/3 frames. And after inheriting two runners, right-hander Joey Krehbiel allowed one to attain.
Around the horn
>> First baseman Ryan Mountcastle isn’t anticipated to want a stint on the injured checklist after he was hit on the facet of his left hand, though he’s thought-about day-to-day with the harm. Mountcastle examined his swing and throwing previous to Sunday’s recreation however wasn’t capable of play. Without him, Tyler Nevin performed first base, and utilityman Terrin Vavra practiced grounders there pregame.
>> During an look on MLB Network Radio on SiriusXM, govt vice chairman and normal supervisor Mike Elias acknowledged shortstop Gunnar Henderson is “on the radar screen” over the ultimate month and a half of the season. Henderson, the No. 1 prospect within the nation, per Baseball America, has a .959 OPS within the minors this season coming into Sunday.
ORIOLES@BLUE JAYS
Monday, 7:07 p.m.
TV: MASN
Radio: 97.9 FM, 101.5 FM, 1090 AM
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Source: www.bostonherald.com