Saturday, 4 a.m.
It would be pushing things to suggest that this was the game the Rays had in mind when they shoved the millions of dollars across the table toward Zach Eflin.
It was, however, the type of game the Rays had in mind.
Eflin pitched his best game of the season Friday night, spinning a two-hit shutout at the Baltimore Orioles to bring the Rays back into a tie for the AL East Lead. Eflin allowed a single and a double and struck out eight in seven in gs, . Pretty much, he smothered the Orioles.
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It was Eflin’s 11th win of the seasons, and his 10th in 11 starts at Tropicana Field.
The Rays didn’t have a great offensive night themselves, but they took advantage of solo homers by Isaac Paredes and Jose Siri, both of whom had struggled throughout the team’s funk in July. Coming into the game, Siri was hitting .180 and Paredes was hitting .226 in July. But Siri hit his 20th and Paredes hit his 18th.
For the Rays, that was enough. After Eflin, the Rays had an impressive outing by their bullpen. Both Colin Poche and Pete Fairbanks struck out the side in the eighth and ninth inning, respectively. Fairbanks did walk a batter.
The Rays will play the Orioles again today at 4:10 p.m. at Tropicana Field. Shane McClanahan will start for Tampa Bay against Grayson Rodriguez of the O’s.
