SB Nation Tampa Bay - Rays Win The Blue Jays Series 2-1 With Some Late Game Magichttps://cdn.vox-cdn.com/community_logos/49019/tb-fave.png2011-08-04T16:47:29-04:00http://tampabay.sbnation.com/rss/stream/21050662011-08-04T16:47:29-04:002011-08-04T16:47:29-04:00Rays Do The Amazing, Come Back Four Times To Beat The Blue Jays 7-6 In Extras
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<p>The <a href="https://www.draysbay.com/" class="sbn-auto-link">Rays</a> (58-52) pushed the <a href="https://www.bluebirdbanter.com/" class="sbn-auto-link">Blue Jays</a> (56-55) one more game further back from third place, beating Toronto in a 12 inning late-game slugfest. <span>Wade Davis</span>, for the second straight start, hit trouble early, loading the bases with no outs in the top of the first. The Blue Jays barely took advantage, though, and left the inning with a 2-0 lead. Davis then hit a groove, pitching three consecutive 1-2-3 innings.</p>
<p>In the bottom of third inning, <span>Justin Ruggiano</span> and <span>Desmond Jennings</span> singled, then <span>Evan Longoria</span> belted a towering homer to left field, giving the Rays their first lead, 3-2. The Jose Bautista became displeased with human affairs in the eighth inning and thusly popped his 33rd homer of the season off Davis.</p>
<p><span>J.P. Howell</span> closed the inning for Davis without any damage, but then, in the top of the 10th, <span>Joel Peralta</span> walked <span>J.P. Arencibia</span> and <span>Yunel Escobar</span>. Peralta picked off Arencibia's pinch hitter, <span>Rajai Davis</span>, but then left in favor of <span>Jake McGee</span>, who allowed a devastating, one-run double to <span>Colby Rasmus</span>.</p>
<p>In the bottom of the tenth, with the Blue Jays now leading 4-3, Desmond Jennings kindly redirected <span>Jon Rauch</span>'s fastball to the left field seats, again tying the game at 4-4.</p>
<p><span>Juan Cruz</span> then joined the game in the top of the 11th, but two singles and a rare <span>Jose Molina</span> triple later, the Rays were losing 6-4. Jon Rauch started the bottom of the 11th, but promptly allowed <span>B.J. Upton</span> to double and <span>Casey Kotchman</span> to single. <span>Matt Joyce</span> grounded out, scoring Upton and bringing the game to 6-5.</p>
<p><span>Shawn Camp</span> emerged from the Jays 'pen and induced a fly out from the ever-struggling <span>Elliot Johnson</span>. Then, pinch hitting for <span>Kelly Shoppach</span>, <span>Robinson Chirinos</span> singled up the middle and tied the game 6-6.</p>
<p>After <span>Brandon Gomes</span> pitched a quiet 12th inning, B.J. Upton hit a key, one-out triple. Camp intentionally walked contact-maven Casey Kotchman and left-handed Matt Joyce and then struck out Elliot Johnson. Then, with one out remaining, Robinson Chirinos grounded a 2-1 pitch just beyond the reach of Yunel Escobar and a mob of Rays met him at first base.</p>
<p>Rays win, 7-6.</p>
https://tampabay.sbnation.com/2011/8/4/2344925/rays-do-the-amazing-come-back-four-times-to-beat-the-blue-jays-7-6-inBradley Woodrum2011-08-04T09:47:21-04:002011-08-04T09:47:21-04:00First Ever Rays Tweet-Up Happening Today
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<blockquote>↵<p>Happy tweet-up day at the Trop! Not sure what a tweet-up is, but sounds fun. (<a href="http://twitter.com/#!/SamFuld5/statuses/99112430575165442" target="_blank">@SamFuld5</a>)</p>↵</blockquote>↵<p>For such a forward-thinking front office, the <a class="sbn-auto-link" href="https://www.draysbay.com/">Tampa Bay Rays</a> have been slow to get on board the social media train. Up until this year, the Rays have had a very minimal presence on Twitter. Considering the team's poor attendance and small market size, the Rays have a fairly large following of fans on Twitter; the #Rays hashtag is almost always active, and -- if I don't say so myself -- the Rays have one of the strongest contingent of bloggers of any major league team. And yet, the Rays didn't used to do much to engage with those fans.</p>↵<p>How the times have changed. The Rays now have one of the most engaging team Twitter accounts -- <a href="http://twitter.com/#!/RaysRepublic" target="_blank">@RaysRepublic</a>, follow them! -- and they are holding their first ever "Tweet Up" at today's game between the Rays and <a class="sbn-auto-link" href="https://www.bluebirdbanter.com/">Blue Jays</a>. There are all sorts of cool deals and special events going on for people following @RaysRepublic during today's game, so <a href="http://tampabay.rays.mlb.com/tb/fan_forum/tweetup.jsp" target="_blank">check out the full list</a>:</p>↵<blockquote>↵<p><span style="font-size: 13px; line-height: 17px;"><strong>TWITTER TRIVIA:</strong></span><span style="font-size: 13px; line-height: 17px;"> At the start of every inning, @RaysBaseball/@RaysRepublic will post a Twitter Trivia question. The first person to respond with the correct answer will win a baseball signed by a Rays player! Nine innings means you’ll have nine chances to win!</span></p>↵<p><span style="font-size: 13px; line-height: 17px;"></span><span style="font-size: 13px; line-height: 17px;"><strong>PREGAME:</strong> If you purchased the Rays Tweet-Up ticket package, make your way to the Papa John’s Bullpen area to get your personalized Tweet-Up T-shirt and meet your fellow Citizens! Light food and drinks available.</span></p>↵<p><span style="font-size: 13px; line-height: 17px;"></span><span style="font-size: 13px; line-height: 17px;">As an exclusive discount for all followers of @RaysBaseball/@RaysRepublic, you can get 25% off your check (no alcohol) at the Everglades BBQ Smokehouse before the game. Just head to the Gate 1 Rotunda in center field and a Fan Host will direct you to the restaurant.</span></p>↵</blockquote>↵<p>This is just a small smattering of the full plans for today, so it sounds like it should be a very cool day for all involved. Here's hoping it's a success and that the Rays decide to many more of these going forward. For a team that's always looking for <a href="http://www.amazon.com/Extra-2-Street-Strategies-Baseball/dp/0345517652?tag=sbnation-20" target="_blank" rel="sponsored nofollow noopener">the Extra 2%</a>, engaging fans through social media is simply another way to help drive local interest and ticket sales.</p>↵
https://tampabay.sbnation.com/tampa-bay-rays/2011/8/4/2343844/first-ever-rays-tweet-up-tampa-baySteve Slowinski2011-08-04T08:10:48-04:002011-08-04T08:10:48-04:00Rays Vs. Blue Jays: Small Ball, Long Ball Propel Rays To 9-1 Win
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<p>After an uninspiring performance on Tuesday night, the Rays entered Wednesday night’s game against the Blue Jays with their backs against the wall. A loss would have slid them into fourth place for the first time since the first month of the season — a realistic scenario considering the Rays have been in a funk the last couple weeks.</p>
<p>But the threat of fourth place seemed enough to kick the Rays into high gear. They rolled through the the Jays last night, scoring eight runs by the third inning and cruising to a 9-1 win.</p>
<p>The way the Rays scored their nine runs was a bit out of the box. While Ben Zobrist, Casey Kotchman, and Robinson Chirinos all went deep off Blue Jays starter Carlos Villanueva, the Rays scored three runs off Villanueva through bunting. In the second inning, the Rays got runners on first and third with one out, and then proceeded to bunt three times in a row. Both Desmond Jennings and Robinson Chirinos bunted for base hits, driving in a run each, and Sean Rodriguez bunted and reached on a throwing error.</p>
<p>While Rays’ starter James Shields labored through the first few innings of the game, he settled down and ended up lasting 7.1 innings. Even though he didn’t have his best stuff and couldn’t fool the Blue Jays too often, Shields only allowed three hits, three walks, and one run (off a homerun). He struck out six batters.</p>
<p><b>Game Notes:</b></p>
<p>- Robinson Chirinos’ homerun in the third inning was his first career major league homerun. Chirinos reached base everytime he came to the plate last night, going 2-2 with two walks and four RBIs.</p>
<p>- Matt Joyce had a rough day on Tuesday, but he bounced back last night and went 3-4 with a double.</p>
https://tampabay.sbnation.com/2011/8/4/2343747/rays-vs-blue-jays-small-ball-long-ball-propel-rays-to-9-1-winSteve Slowinski2011-08-02T23:57:58-04:002011-08-02T23:57:58-04:00Missed Opportunities Cost The Rays; Blue Jays Win 3-1
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<p>The <a class="sbn-auto-link" href="https://www.draysbay.com/">Rays</a> (56-52) loaded the bases in the bottom of the second inning with no outs, but came away with nothing. <a class="sbn-auto-link" href="https://www.bluebirdbanter.com/">Toronto Blue Jays</a> stud Rickey Romero struck out <span>Matt Joyce</span> and <span>Kelly Shoppach</span> and then induced a jam-ending ground ball from <span>Sean Rodriguez</span>.</p>
<p>Romero (W, 9-9) had a combined 6 innings where he faced the minimum three batters. Altogether, Romero finished 8 innings, striking out 7, walking 4, and hitting <span>Casey Kotchman</span> in the second. The only blemish on Romero's tab came in the sixth inning when <span>Desmond Jennings</span> belted his second homer of the year into the right field bleachers.</p>
<p>The Blue Jays struck first against <span>David Price</span> (L, 9-10) when <span>Jose Bautista</span> ended his two week home run drought, popping a solo shot to left center. The Blue Jays then pushed their advantage to 2-0 when <span>Yunel Escobar</span> homered in the sixth. Jennings narrowed the gap to 2-1 in the bottom half, but the Blue Jays added yet another run after <span>Edwin Encarnacion</span> walked and then <span>Rajai Davis</span> doubled him home.</p>
<p>In the end, Price went 6 and 2/3 innings in a decent-but-not-brilliant outing. Meanwhile, the Blue Jays took to stealing bases as Rajai Davis and Chris Snider combined for three steals. Kelly Shoppach was able to catch Davis at third once -- and frankly, he caught him at second once also, but umpire Cory Blaser called Davis safe -- but altogether it was yet another poor showing for a Rays catcher.</p>
<p>The Rays begin game two of the long home stand tomorrow at 7:10 pm E.T.</p>
https://tampabay.sbnation.com/2011/8/2/2341035/missed-opportunities-tampa-bay-rays-blue-jays-win-scoreBradley Woodrum2011-08-02T12:13:31-04:002011-08-02T12:13:31-04:00Toronto Blue Jays At Tampa Bay Rays: Price Starts The Home Stand
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<p>The <b>Rays</b> (56-51) start their nine game home stand tonight, sending <span>David Price</span> to take on <span>Ricky Romero</span> and the Toronto <b>Blue Jays</b> (55-53). David Price (9-9, 3.76 ERA, 3.24 FIP) was in Cy Young consideration this time last year, but despite dropping out of the best-pitcher talk, Price has put up a solid 2011 season nonetheless. His old school statistics suggest he is merely above average, but his advanced stats describe a season just as good as that of Cy Young contender <span>James Shields</span>.</p>
<p>The Rays will need every bit of Price's punch tonight against the Blue Jay, who are starting lefty <b>Ricky Romero</b> (8-9, 3.08 ERA, 3.72 FIP) and a lineup 6th in home runs in the majors this year. Romero is coming off a gem of a game against the Baltimore Orioles in which he twirled 8 and 1/3 innings of shutout baseball.</p>
<p>Tampa Bay may choose to buck conventional wisdom load the lineup with lefties tonight against Romero. This year, Romero has struggled with the walk against lefties and utterly dominated righties. Look for a possible start for <span>Sam Fuld</span>, who has hit lefties and righties relatively equally throughout his career.</p>
<p>Over the last month, the Blue Jays have narrowed the gap between themselves and the Rays, looking for their first third-place finish since 2007. Hopefully the Rays can put some distance between themselves and the Jays starting tonight. </p>
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<h3>AL East Standings</h3>
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<th></th> <th>W</th> <th>L</th> <th>PCT</th> <th>GB</th> <th>STRK</th>
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</thead>
<tbody>
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<td class="td-name td-first "><a href="https://www.overthemonster.com/">Boston</a></td>
<td>66</td>
<td>41</td>
<td>.616</td>
<td>0</td>
<td class="td-last">Lost 1</td>
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<td class="td-name td-first "><a href="https://www.pinstripealley.com/">New York</a></td>
<td>65</td>
<td>42</td>
<td>.607</td>
<td>1</td>
<td class="td-last">Won 4</td>
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<td class="td-name td-first "><a href="https://www.draysbay.com/">Tampa Bay</a></td>
<td>56</td>
<td>51</td>
<td>.523</td>
<td>10</td>
<td class="td-last">Won 1</td>
</tr>
<tr>
<td class="td-name td-first "><a href="https://www.bluebirdbanter.com/">Toronto</a></td>
<td>55</td>
<td>53</td>
<td>.509</td>
<td>11.5</td>
<td class="td-last">Won 1</td>
</tr>
<tr>
<td class="td-name td-first "><a href="https://www.camdenchat.com/">Baltimore</a></td>
<td>42</td>
<td>63</td>
<td>.400</td>
<td>23</td>
<td class="td-last">Lost 3</td>
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<p class="updated">(updated 8.2.2011 at 12:08 PM EDT)</p>
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https://tampabay.sbnation.com/tampa-bay-rays/2011/8/2/2339314/toronto-blue-jays-at-tampa-bay-rays-david-priceBradley Woodrum