After a 10 innings of baseball, where the pitching impressed more than the hitting, the Rays and Yankees settled for a 1-1 tie.
In his second action of the spring, James Shields pitched an efficient 3 innings, allowing only 2 base runners on a double and a walk. Though the Yankees lineup did not feature its heaviest hitters, the Rays pitchers were able to keep Curtis Granderson, Nick Swisher, and Brett Gardner from pushing across any earned runs.
The only blemish on the Rays scoreboard came in the 8th inning, where an error by Ray Olmedo allowed the Yankees to score, tying the game at 1.
Offensively, the Rays had little to brag about as aggressive base running and a combined 7 strikeouts. Though they scattered 8 hits over the 10 frames -- including doubles from Tim Beckham and Casey Kotchman -- the Rays only score came from a 7th inning bases-loaded walk by Beckham.
Aggressive base running from Sean Rodriguez Matt Joyce ended the 2nd inning early as he tried to advance from first to third on an infield single. Beckham also cost the Rays an opportunity after third base coach Tom Foley waved Beckham home in the 3rd inning, only to be met by catcher Jesus Montero with ball in hand.
Other thoughts:
- Kotchman had a nifty day, hitting a double and gunning down a running at home.
- Juan Cruz had a nice outing too, coaxing one fly out and two ground outs.
- Jake McGee's inning did not go so great. The unearned run does count against him, but he did not sound very strong, giving up two line drive hits. Without Kotchman's excellent defensive play, the inning could have easily ended with the Yankees leading.
- The announcers kept talking about R.J. Swindle and his super slow pitch. I gave in eventually and looked at his (limited) Pitch F/X data. And boyee, he apparently throws a 50 MPH curve -- which I think probably borders on eephus -- and tosses his fastball in the lows 80s. Das crazy.
The Rays will be in action again tomorrow, taking on the Minnesota Twins at 1:05 pm EST as Spring Training action continues.