2011 ALDS: Matt Moore, Kelly Shoppach Lead Rays To 9-0 Win Over Rangers

The Tampa Bay Rays (1-0) could do no wrong on Friday afternoon, dominating the Texas Rangers (0-1) with superior pitching, fielding, and hitting en route to a 9-0 drubbing.

Starting the Rays, rookie Matt Moore stifled the Rangers and their second-best-in-the-league offense, twirling 7 innings of shutout baseball, walking only 2 and striking out 6.

The game started well for the Rays, who took the lead in the second inning and never looked back. After Rangers starter C.J. Wilson plunked Ben Zobrist, designated hitter Johnny Damon popped a homer into the shade of the right field bleachers, giving the Rays a 2-0 advantage. Catcher Kelly Shoppach then singled and come home on a Matt Joyce hit two outs later.

Leading 3-0, the Rays did let up, adding 3 more runs on Kelly Shoppach's monster home run to center field in the 3rd inning. With a 6-0 lead, Moore allowed only 4 more base runners through the next five innings, which Shoppach apparently found boring as he cracked another center field home run -- his second of the day -- to give the Rays an 8-0 margin.

In all, the Rangers starter and ace, C.J. Wilson, lasted on 5 innings, surrendering 8 runs, 7 earned runs (Damon was able to score on Shoppach's second homer after an uncommon Adrian Beltre error), and 3 HR, despite striking out 6 and walking only 1. Scott Feldman, who relieved Wilson, pitched 3 impressive frames, striking out 4 and allowing only 2 hits.

The Rays were able to add an insurance in the top of the 9th inning to finish the game with an impressive 9-0 win.

The Rays will send James Shields to the mound tomorrow for Game 2 of the ALDS to face Derek Holland. Gametime is slated for first pitch at 7:07 p.m. ET.

ALDS Game One, Tampa Bay Rays Vs. Texas Rangers: Matt Moore On His Dominating Postseason Debut

Mixing his pitches and hitting 96 on the gun in the 7th inning, Matt Moore shut down an explosive Texas Rangers lineup in his postseason debut in Game One of the American League Division Series. Moore went seven innings, giving up only two hits while striking out six and walking three. It was a tidy 98 pitch performance, all the more impressive given the stage, opponent’s offense, and hitter-friendly ballpark.

Moore was the story of the game. It was hard to imagine the Rays even being in the playoffs three weeks ago, so can you really be surprised at this point that they were powered by Kelly Shoppach and a pitcher who made his first major league start a week ago?

Moore said after the game that there were a little bit of nerves in the first inning, but that he was able to settle in nicely when his offense put 3 runs on the board early in the second inning. Both Joe Maddon and pitching coach Jim Hickey said Moore cooly and calmly accepted the call to start game one, but even Moore said there was no way he saw this coming:

Three weeks ago I was in the minor leagues and to be a part of this now and this postseason push, it’s something I never dreamed was going to happen this year.

After a comfortable win in which the Rangers never threatened, the Rays will now turn to James Shields in game two tomorrow night, looking to build on the Matt Moore magic from this afternoon.

Rays-Rangers ALDS Update: Matt Moore Plowing Through Texas

The Rays are dominating the Rangers through six innings in the first game of the ALDS, with Kelly Shoppach leading the way offensively with two home runs and five RBIs. But as amazing as Shoppach has been, the real story of tonight’s game is Matt Moore.

Moore was rated by Baseball America as the best pitching prospect in baseball earlier this season, and he’s done everything within his power to prove them right since being promoted to the majors in mid-September. In his first major league start, Moore struck out 11 hitters while allowing no runs in five innings…and that while pitching in Yankee Stadium in the midst of a playoff race.

As if that wasn’t enough, in his second major league start, Matt Moore got picked to start Game One of the ALDS for the Rays. In short, so far he’s been incredible. He’s throwing a six innings, two hit shutout against the Rangers, one of the best offenses in the majors, while striking out five batters.

That’s right, in his first two major league starts, Matt Moore has the following line: 11 IP, 0 runs, 16 strikeouts. Utter domination.

What were you doing when you were 22 years old?

Rays-Rangers ALDS Update: Kelly Shoppach Hits Two Home Runs, Rays Ahead 8-0

Going into tonight, it looked like this could be a tough matchup for the Rays. C.J. Wilson has been a dominant pitcher for the Rangers this season — posting a sub-3 ERA while pitching his home games in one of the biggest hitter’s parks in the league — and the Rays’ offense is not known for its incredible consistency. It was not unreasonable to expect the Rays to have a tough time scoring tonight.

Or at least, so I thought. The Rays have teed up off Wilson in the early innings of tonight’s game, rocking him for eight runs and seven hits in only five innings of work. Johnny Damon started things off with a two-run home run in the second inning, and then Kelly Shoppach has picked up the rest of the load, hitting two home runs and knocking in five runs.

Shoppach’s first home run was a three-run blast in the third inning, and then in his next at bat in the fifth inning, he ripped a two-run home run to put the Rays ahead 8-0.

In many ways, this performance from Shoppach is…unexpected. He hit .176/.268/.339 over 221 at bats on the season, and he’s mainly gotten playing time because he’s the Rays’ best defensive catcher. But Shoppach has always hit lefties well (.788 OPS this season against left-handed pitchers), and he’s been on a streak over the last week, hitting three home runs since last Wednesday. After making key errors in last season’s ALDS, Shoppach is doing his best to redeem himself.

Rays-Rangers ALDS: Tampa Bay Lineup For Game One

The Tampa Bay Rays have made available their batting order for Thursday's Game 1 of the American League Division Series against the Texas Rangers:

Sean Rodriguez, SS
B.J. Upton, CF
Evan Longoria, 3B
Ben Zobrist, 2B
Johnny Damon, DH
Kelly Shoppach, C
Casey Kotchman, 1B
Desmond Jennings, CF
Matt Joyce, RF
Matt Moore, P

The only Rays to have much success versus Rangers starter C.J. Wilson are Joyce (1-for-2), Rodriguez (3-for-9), and Shoppach (2-for-5). Sampling errors likely apply in these cases, but it's mildly encouraging that those three have posted solid numbers against the Texas southpaw. Kotchman, Joyce, and Damon are the only left-handed hitters in the Rays' lineup, which would seem to favor Texas, as righties hit just .227 against Wilson this season.

Tampa Bay sends Matt Moore to the hill for just his second career start at the Major League level.

However, if we learned anything about baseball in September, it's that nobody can predict it. Maybe the righty-heavy Rays will continue to defy the odds Thursday night.

Rays-Rangers ALDS: Texas Lineup For Game One

The Texas Rangers have posted their American League Division Series game one lineup, and it features a majority of right handed hitters. It is as follows:

Ian Kinsler, 2B
Elvis Andrus, SS
Josh Hamilton, CF
Michael Young, 1B
Adrian Beltre, 3B
Mike Napoli, C
Nelson Cruz, RF
Yorvit Torrealba, DH
Craig Gentry, LF
C.J. Wilson, P

The lineup is heavily right handed, presenting a great challenge to Rays rookie LHP Matt Moore, who will be making just his second major league start Friday.

Wilson, 30, is a 16 game winner that has dominated the Tampa Bay Rays in 2011. He has posted a 2-0 record in three starts with an ERA right around 2. The Rays are hitting just .152 off Wilson and will need to break out and find a way to get some runs off Wilson early if they hope to compete, as Texas boasts one of the leagues deepest and most talented bullpens.

Check back later as we will update this stream as soon as the Rays lineup is available.

Tampa Bay Rays Release ALDS Postseason Roster

Rays Rookie Matt Moore To Start ALDS Game 1 Vs Rangers

The Tampa Bay Rays have surprisingly elected to go with top rookie Matt Moore in game 1 of the ALDS vs the Texas Rangers

Rangers-Rays ALDS: Game Times And Lee Roy Selmon Tribute

The Tampa Bay Rays and Major League Baseball have announced start times for the first three games of the American League Division Series, that begins in Texas this Friday. The Rays will play two late afternoon/early evening games on Friday and Monday, both at 5:07 pm on TBS. They will also play a primetime matchup in Arlington on Saturday at 7:07, with TNT covering that game. 

Times for the if necessary games 4 and 5 have not been announced.

The Rays as of yet have not officially named their game 1 starter but the buzz around the team indicates that it will be Jeff Neimann taking the bump for the Rays on Friday against the Rangers lefty CJ Wilson. Neimann made two back-to-back starts against Texas in September and allowed a combined 12 runs in 9.2 IP.

The Rays have also announced that the family of former Buccaneer Hall of Famer Lee Roy Selmon will throw out the first pitch at Monday's game at Tropicana Field. Selmon passed away on September 4th after suffering a stroke in his Tampa Bay area home. 

MLB Playoff Updates: Jeff Niemann To Start For Tampa Bay Rays In ALDS Game 1

Rays pitching coach Jim Hickey was on WDAE 620 this morning, and he dropped a little nugget of information to anyone that was paying attention. While the Rays won’t officially announce their pitching rotation for the playoffs until this afternoon, Hickey stated that Jeff Niemann is going to start Game One.

Before you start running for the hills, remember that Jeff Niemann has some of the best peripherals on the Rays’ staff; even though his ERA is higher, there’s reason to believe he’s a more solid bet going forward for success than Jeremy Hellickson. Niemann has a 4.13 FIP and 3.64 SIERA, while Hellickson has a 4.44 FIP and 4.63 SIERA. If we’re going to give Hellickson the benefit of the doubt and a spot in the postseason rotation, we should give Niemann one too.

Of course, though, Niemann has one big problem: he’s hit or miss. When he’s on, he can lull teams to sleep with his quiet efficiency and mow down teams with his curveball. But when Niemann is off — and with such a big frame and such a fragile body, he frequently is — you don’t want him anywhere near the mound.

In September, Niemann had two great starts where he limited the opposing team to only two runs, but he also had two starts where he lasted five innings and allowed five runs or more. Both of those bad starts were against Texas.

The Rays will surely have Niemann on a quick hook, with rookie Matt Moore waiting in the wings in case he struggles. And with Niemann starting, it takes all the national attention away from Moore and hopefully allows him to prepare for the game with less pressure. Can you imagine the sort of attention he’d get if he, as a rookie with one career start, got slotted in as the starter for Game One? Madness.

That said, I’d still prefer to hear that the Rays were starting Moore in Game One, simply because I think he’s one of the best pitchers on our team right now. I can content myself with this news, though, and with the knowledge/hope that the Rays will pull Niemann at the very first sign of trouble.

Rays Vs. Rangers: Unlikely Division Series Starts On Friday

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Division Series Playoff Tickets Will Be Available Friday