Tampa Bay Rays: Alex Cobb Returns From Tommy John Surgery
Tampa Bay Rays starter Alex Cobb made his return to baseball Friday night just 16 months removed from Tommy John surgery.
Before Alex Cobb had Tommy John surgery in mid-May 2015, he said that he expected to be back in September 2016. Well, he turned out to be right. Cobb returned to the mound for the Tampa Bay Rays on Friday night and made his first MLB start since September 28, 2014 against the Toronto Blue Jays.
Facing the Toronto Blue Jays lineup is never an easy task for any MLB starter and they had Cobb working early. He struck out Jose Bautista to get things started, but things quickly took a turn when Josh Donaldson a ground rule double to center. The Blue Jays had the call reviewed because they thought it could have been a home run, but the ruling stood and Donaldson remained on second base.
Edwin Encarnacion hit the second pitch he saw from Cobb, a 91.1 mph sinker, into center for a double which scored Donaldson to put the Jays up 1-0. Cobb got Michael Saunders to ground out for the second out of the inning on a 91.3 mph sinker. It advanced Encarnacion to third and he scored on a Russell Martin single. Martin connected on a 92.5 mph sinker. Troy Tulowitzki grounded out to end the inning and those were the only two runs the Jays would score off Cobb.
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Cobb settled down after his shaky first inning and only gave up four hits in total. He struck out seven and walked one. He threw 84 pitches and according to Brooks Baseball they were, 47 sinkers, 17 curveballs and 20 sliders.
In his last inning of work, Cobb struck out the side. He got Devon Travis swinging on a 86.3 mph splitter. Bautista struck out for the second time on a 91.8 mph sinker that was called for strike three, and he also got Tulowitzki for the second time on an 87.3 mph splitter for a called strike three.
Six of Cobb’s seven strikeouts were called and two of them—against Martin to end the third and Tulowitzki to start the fourth—were on three pitches apiece with one foul ball and a called strike three.
Cobb told reporters after the game that it felt like his was making his Major League debut again. He said, “I’m happy.” His manager, Kevin Cash, was also happy, saying, “The performance was outstanding.”
Cobb added, “I wasn’t thinking about injury possibilities. I was just out there and I wanted to get outs. I felt the groove of the game again, quick innings, get off the field and give the guys a chance to handle the sticks a little bit and get your team back in the lead.”
Cobb needed 53 pitches to get through the first two innings. It looked like it could be a long night for the fans and the Rays’ bullpen, but once Cobb settled down, he only threw 31 during the final three innings.
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.The Rays went on to win the game 8-3 and Cobb, in his first test back from rehab, definitely got a passing grade. You could even say he passed it with flying colors.