Rays 6, White Sox 13: Cobb Clobbered

Here’s some not so fun facts about tonights game right off the bat:

• The batting order from 5-9 included 4 of 5 batter hitting under .200
• The 1 of those 5 above the Mendoza line was Alexi Ramirez
• Alex Cobb is coming off of a 1.1IP 7ER start
• Chris Sale was on the mound for the White Sox

So, that’s less than encouraging.

Alex Cobb giving up a double, single, and a homerun to the first three Chicago batters even less so.

Remember like four lines up I wrote a list of pretty dire facts about the lineup for tonight’s game? Well, that part of the lineup lead an immediate rally in the very next inning with four consecutive hits off Sale from Mahtook (single), Casali (double), Ramirez (single, driving in Mahtook and Casali), and Shaffer (single) to bring the Rays back to within one run.

Unfortunately, it would be but a fleeting moment that the Rays were that close.

Alex Cobb would not be sharp for the second week in a row. Cobb barely scrapped by 3 innings, giving up 8H, 2BB, 8ER and a game score of 4 (!). Of those eight hits, a whopping 6(!) went for extra bases, with three 2B, one 3B, and two HRs (a 2-run and a 3-run bomb).

Coming back from Tommy John Surgery is incredibly tough process, and the results will not always be pretty starting out. Cobb has had a couple really solid starts and a couple really bad ones too. Rays will need a good Alex Cobb in 2017.

The Rays would get multi-hit games from Mikie Mahtook (1B), Richie Shaffer (two 1B), and Curt Casali (2B and HR) against Sale.

The Rays showed off some more poor defense, with Brad Miller at first having an overall tough night in the field, with his big lowlight coming from an errant throw home leading to a second run to score. On the flip side, the Rays also had a very nice defensive play, with an over the shoulder catch by Richie Shaffer at 3rd ranging into the outfield.

Chase Whitley would come in to get some work, and continued to look fairly promising out of the pen. It didn’t start great, as Whitley would work himself into an immediate jam with back to back hits to Justin Morneu and Todd Frazier, following that up with a walk to Alex Avila. With the bases loaded, Whitley induced a sharp grounder to Brad Miller, who would make the aforementioned wild throw towards home, scoring two unearned runs. Whitley would stop the damage there, getting a groundout, flyout, and a lineout.

Whitley would settle down nicely, tallying 5Ks in his 3.2 innings of work. However, that 0 ERA would finally add a blemish after Tim Anderson would take a first pitch, dead center fastball out of the park.

Dana Eveland would take the mound for Whitley, because apparently the fans haven’t suffered enough. Eveland would create some fastbreak offense for the White Sox, giving up a walk, a single, a single, and a walk to the first four batters he faced.

The Rays would make the final score look a bit more respectable. After Ramirez reached on an error, and Richie Shaffer laced a double down the LF line, Juniel Querecuto would hit a gap shot triple to earn his first major league hit and RBI. Corey Dickerson would hit a grounder and beat the pitcher to 1st to allow Querecuto to scamper home for his first major league run.

The White Sox absolutely pounded the Rays, and have scored in 10 of the 16 innings they have batted in, for a total of 20 runs at the halfway point in this four game series.

Good luck tomorrow, Blake Snell.