Jeff Niemann Ineffective Again, Rays Fall to Red Sox 12-5

Tonight's Rays game was one of the more interesting of the season. Not for the outcome - there's only so much interesting in a 12-5 beating - but for the oddities that occurred within the chalked lines.

Lets start with Jeff Niemann. The Big Nyquil was making his third start since coming off of the DL, and this one didn't go any better than the previous two. He lasted only 1.2 IP, giving up six earned runs. Once again his command was off; he walked three batters and constantly missed Kelly Shoppach's targets. While he was off once again, he didn't get any help from the home plate umpire. Take a look at Niemann's strike zone plot:

via www.brooksbaseball.net

Talk about kicking a man while he's down. But with the Rays fighting for the division there are questions about Niemann that now have to arise. Is he fully healthy? Is it just a mechanical flaw that's causing his issues? That's for the Rays front office and medial staff to decide. Whatever the issue is they need to find a solution quickly. What do the Rays do if Niemann keeps pitching this poorly? If he gets lit up again there's no way the team can keep running him out there. That would likely force them to insert Jeremy Hellickson back into the rotation, or Andy Sonnanstine if they're worried about Hellickson's innings limit. You only need three good starting pitchers for the first round of the playoffs, so as long as the Rays can make it there they have plenty of time to evaluate what exactly is happening with Niemann.

To say the Rays got players involved in the offense would be a gross understatement. This is the area where even if the team is getting blown out one can find a level of enjoyment. In the 7th inning with the team down 11-2, Joe Maddon took full advantage of the expanded rosters, tying a Major League record by using six pinch hitters in one inning. Dan Johnson for Ben Zobrist, Matt Joyce for B.J. Upton, Willy Aybar for Jason Bartlett, Brad Hawpe for Carl Crawford, Desmond Jennings for Evan Longoria, Reid Brignac for Sean Rodriguez. The results were good too; three singles, two walks, and a foul out.

The pinch hitting bonanza resulted in the most interesting defense you'll see the Rays play all season. Matt Joyce in left, Desmond Jennings in center, Brad Hawpe(!) in right, Dan Johnson at third, Brignac at short, Aybar at second, and Pena at first. If Hawpe and Dan Johnson are in the game at RF and 3B, things are either going terrible, or terribly well. In any case, it filled a blowout with legitimate intrigue. Which is about all you can say for this game.