The Rays Tank: Vogelsong Sings a New Tune

The Giants dropped the Cardinals 6-1 in Game 6 of the NLCS last night, on the back of Ryan Vogelsong!

The 35 year old soft-tosser lasted 7.0 innings, not giving up a hit until the fifth inning, and without a single Cardinal batted ball leaving the infield over that stretch. Vogelsong K'd a career high nine batters with only one walk on the evening (?). The journeyman had not struck out more than five batters during the season, but was still able to force a Game 7.

Fun Fact: Did you know Ryan Vogelsong is a former All-Star? He was named to the National League squad last year by his manager, Bruce Bochy, and has been worth 4.8 WAR since 2011.

After a run in the first, the Giants blew the game open in the second inning against Chris Carpenter, starting with an error by short stop Pete Kozma with a man on third (Vogelsong'd!). A two-run double by Marco Scutaro and a single by Kung-Fu Panda gave the Giants a lead they would not relinquish. The Cardinals may have led the majors in batting average the last two seasons (h/t Mark McGuire), but have only managed one run in the last two games.

Fun Fact: Ryan Vogelsong eats a chicken enchilada before every one of his games. He also uses the same stall in the bathroom, no matter what. These things may or may not be connected.

Game 7 will feature Matt Cain against Kyle Lohse, 8:00 on Fox in San Francisco.

LINKS:

- The Process Report: Should the Rays have interest in James Loney?

- Stadium News: The city of St. Petersburg is threatening to sue Hillsborough County. Progress!

- Heath Bell and Cliff Pennington were sent to the Diamondbacks over the weekend, with the Athletics receiving Arizona CF Chris Young (11.7 WAR from 2010-12), and the Marlins receiving Oakland High-A prospect Yordy Cabrera while absorbing $8M of Bell's $21M remaining. Despite the A's crowded outfield (Cespedes/Crisp/Reddick), that's what you'd call a robbery by Billy Beane.

- The Red Sox have found their skipper a little quicker this time, acquiring Toronto manager John Farrell, their former pitching coach. Read more on both of the weekend trades at Baseball Prospectus.

- The Buccaneers lost the final game led by the only "Interim Interim Head Coach" in NFL history. Thankfully, we can sum this up in one GIF and move on.

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