Rays come back to beat Padres again

by Gary Shelton on August 14, 2019 · 0 comments

in general, Tampa Bay Rays

Choi had a huge night as he returned to the lineup./CHUCK MULLER

Wednesday, 4 a.m.

Uh-oh.

He's baa-aack.

Jose Alvarado, the pitcher who has perfected nervous watching for the Tampa Bay Rays, returned to the mound Tuesday night. And it was time to chew your fingernails all over again.

Oh, the Rays won ... again. They won their fifth straight game, and their sixth of seven games, with a 7-5 comeback win over the San Diego Padres. But along the way, Alvarado contributed to the nerves of his fans while getting two outs in the eighth.

It seemed to unnerve Alvarado when Austin Meadows badly misplayed a fly ball to right. After that, Alvarado gave

Content beyond this point is for members only.

Already a member? To view the rest of this column, sign in using the handy "Sign In" button located in the upper right corner of the GarySheltonSports.com blog (it's at the far right of the navigation bar under Gary's photo)!

Not a member? It's easy to subscribe so you can view the rest of this column and all other premium content on GarySheltonSports.com.

Adames had a three-hit night for Rays. /CHUCK MULLER

up a single on a ball hit back to him ... that he overthrew to first base. He also walked one, and recorded a strikeout of Josh Naylor with pitches mostly out of the strike zone.

"Erratic," Rays' manager Kevin Cash said of Alvarado's effort.
"I don’t want to say that's to be expected. We’ve got to find a way to get that command and going. When he was in there he was at 50-50 strikes. With that stuff you’ve got to throw it in the zone."

Except for a few hiccups, the Rays' latest win was a good one. Starter Brendan McKay -- who gave up six walks after giving up three all season -- gave up four runs in the first inning, and he lasted only four innings. But the Rays came back and took the lead when Ji-Man Choi hit a two-run homer.

Choi, who has been left out of the lineup in recent days because the Rays were facing too many lefties, had two doubles and a homer. Willy Adames also had three hits, and Meadows had two.

“Ji-Man was huge," Cash said. "What he’s done here the last couple of days has not been easy. He’s basically an everyday player. With the schedule and the lefites, he’s had a couple of days off. He got in there and made the most of it. It was really really impressive what he did."

The Rays are now 21 games over .500. They are second  the AL Wild-Card race, leading Oakland by three games.

The Rays got for the series sweep today in San Deigo today at 3:40 p.m. Jalen Beeks will pitch for the Rays against the Padres' Cal Quantrill.

{ 0 comments… read it below or Subscriptions }

Leave a Comment

Previous post:

Next post: