Glasnow dominates Rangers before being pulled

by Gary Shelton on April 13, 2021

in general

Glasnow strike out 14 batters in winning./JEFFREY S. KING

Tuesday, 4 a.m.

This time, it worked out. This time, Kevin Cash was smart.

Poor Cash. Ten games into the season, and here he was again, at the site of his greatest controversy. Once again, his starting pitcher had been superb. Once again, that pitcher was pleading to stay in the game. Once again, Cash chose to pull him in favor of a shaky reliever from the bullpen.

Isn't this where the Rays bowed out of last season?

If Cash's eighth-inning decision to pull Tyler Glasnow Monday night brought back flashes of the World Series -- when he pulled Blake Snell in the sixth -- you probably weren't alone. But the Rays like to play the matchup game, so Cash pulled Glasnow from one of the finest starts of his career.




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Cody Reed came on to retire the next batter to get out of the inning, and Cash gave the ninth inning over to Diego Castillo, who had lost games in his last two outings. This time, he gave up a hit and a single, but he struck out the side to close out a 1-0 victory over the Rangers to get his third save of the season.

 “I don’t know how much more dominant you can be," said Rays' manager Kevin Cash. "He was outstanding. He was efficient. The strikeouts came in bunches, but he was doing it in like 3-4 pitches. He just had everything locked in. He was awesome."

Cash didn't seem to care that Glasnow argued to stay in the game.

“He didn’t want to come out," Cash said. "I don’t blame him. But we’re trying to make the right decisions going forward, where we at in the lineup. We’re always going to want guys to want the ball. He was awesome. It was really fun to watch."

It was Glasnow's first victory of the year, but it was his third impressive performance. His 14 strikeouts were one away from the team record (held by James Shields and Chris Archer).

"When he is on, it is so electric," Cash said. "It does not look very comfortable for a righty or a lefty. He creates so much depth on his off-speed pitches. It looks like sometimes they miss it by two feet. No fault to the hitter, it’s just how overpowering his stuff can be at times."

The Rays got their only run in the seventh inning when shortstop Willy Adames' home run barely cleared the left field fence. Both teams had only three hits on the night.

“That was not even fair," Adames said of Glasnow's performance. "It was something amazing to watch. I don’t even have the right words to describe how he was doing his thing. It was unbelievable. It was such a special night for him. If he can stay healthy....if he doesn't win the Cy Young, he’s going to be top three if he continues to do that."

Glasnow admitted he argued against being pulled.

“I just asked him if this was like a final answer," Glasnow said. "He said 'maybe not here.' I didn't want to make a show. I have so much respect for Cash. I wanted clarity to know that I could go more than 102 pitches in game. I know that I could have finished that game. I know that's not how the game is played anymore. I respect Cash. He has to coach his team however he wants. He gave me reassurance that in the future, I could possibly get a little more in my pitch count."

The Rays play the Rangers again tonight at 7:10 p.m. at Tropicana Field. Tampa Bay will start Ryan Yarbrough against the Rangers' Kyle Gibson.



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