Monday, 4 a.m.
Okay, Drew Rasmussen. It's your turn.
Not to add any pressure, that is.
Rasmussen is the next scheduled pitcher for the Tampa Bay Rays, which brings with it the expectations of excellence. That's what it's like for the Rays, where the starting pitching is a matter of "whatever you do, I can do better."
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Sunday, the Rays got another fine start, this one from Jeffrey Springs, who threw six no-hit innings and struck out 12 batters in leading the Rays to a 5-1 victory. It was the third straight impressive performance by a Rays starter.
-- In the opener, Shane McClanahan threw six shutout innings of four-hit baseball.
-- In Game Two, Zach Eflin threw five innings of three-hit baseball, allowing just one run.
-- In sweeping the Tigers, the Rays' starters struck out 23 and walked just three. Offensively -- which was supposed to be the team's problem, they have scored 21 runs on 27 hits.
It took the Rays a while to get going Sunday, and through four innings, Randy Arozarena scored the only run with a solo homer. But Isaac Parades singled in one run and Jose Siri singled in two in the sixth to open up the game. Brandon Lowe scored on a wild pitch for the fifth run.
"Really really good," Rays' manager Kevin Cash said of Springs' effort. "Just an outstanding performance. Ton of swing and misses, ton of called strikes. His stuff is playing at an all-time high."
On the best pitching staffs, there remains a bit of one-upmanship among the starters. That brings the focus to Rasmussen, who will face the Washington Nationals tonight at 7:05 p.m. on the road. Trevor Williams will start for Washington.