Tampa Bay Rays News and Links: Adeiny Hechavarria has been really good

Last night, the Tampa Bay Rays defeated the New York Yankees thanks to some home runs provided from the unusual sources as Kevin Kiermaier and Adeiny Hechavarria both hit solo home runs. That would be it for the Rays offensive production during the game, but that’s all they needed as Blake Snell and the Rays bullpen were once again fantastic, holding the Yankees to one run on three hits.

The Rays bullpen since August 1st has been among the best, if not the best in all of baseball as they have a combined ERA of 2.48 and a wOBA of .250, both the lowest in the majors over that time and no opposing team is really all that close. Hitters have slashed .195/.262/.317 against them, all of which are the lowest in the majors.

Hechavarria has been on fire for close to a month now. Since August 15th, the Rays glove first short stop has slashed .298/.348/.607 with 4 HR (.310 ISO) over his 92 plate appearances, good for a 148 wRC+.

Despite the hotting hitting Hechavarria and dominant pen, the Rays still find themselves a ways away in the Wild Card chase as they sit four games back of the Twins, with the Mariners, Rangers, Royals, and Angels between them.

• Chris Archer goes to the mound this afternoon as the Rays look to take the series finale against the Yankees
• Tropicana Field remained intact following Hurricane Irma, but MLB hasn’t yet decided whether the Rays will play the Red Sox there this weekend. There is the possibility of the games being moved to Fenway with the Rays being the ‘home’ team.

• Regardless, the Rays will return to Tampa Bay during tomorrow’s off day so they can check on their homes
• Brendan McKay pitched for the Hudson Valley Renegades last night, leading them to victory in their respective playoff game.
• The Durham Bulls began the Governor’s Cup (Triple-A Championship) with a victory thanks to a tremendous performance from Ryan Yarbrough
• Shohei Otani, the star Japanese two-way star, will sign with an MLB team this off-season
• The Cleveland Indians tied the American League record for wins in a row as they took home their 20th consecutive victory, meanwhile the Rays haven’t won more than five games in a row since 2015
• The Los Angeles Dodgers decided they had enough of the losing thing as they finally snapped their streak
• MLB released the 2018 regular season schedule with Opening Day actually have games slated for each team