Tampa Bay Rays bullpen day working out well thus far
The Tampa Bay Rays are having a bullpen day instead of a fifth starter. Thus far, it is working out well.
When the season opened, the Tampa Bay Rays had an interesting plan for their pitching staff. As other teams were discussing the idea of going to a six man rotation, the Rays were set to use just four starters. On those occasions when a fifth starter was needed, Tampa Bay planned on using a bullpen game.
Although the Rays planned rotation changed when Nathan Eovaldi ended up on the disabled list, the plan for a bullpen game did not. On Thursday, the Rays had their second such game, with both coming against the Red Sox. Although the results have not appeared in terms of the win column, at this point, the experiment is going well.
Unfortunately for Tampa Bay, they lost both of those contests. However, over the course of those two games, the Rays bullpen have held Boston to just six runs in 20.1 innings, allowing 27 baserunners. Interestingly enough, Andrew Kittredge was tagged with both losses, once as a starter, and the other time in his more accustomed role out of the bullpen.
More from Call to the Pen
- Philadelphia Phillies, ready for a stretch run, bomb St. Louis Cardinals
- Philadelphia Phillies: The 4 players on the franchise’s Mount Rushmore
- Boston Red Sox fans should be upset over Mookie Betts’ comment
- Analyzing the Boston Red Sox trade for Dave Henderson and Spike Owen
- 2023 MLB postseason likely to have a strange look without Yankees, Red Sox, Cardinals
Even though the Rays have yet to win one of these bullpen games, the results are encouraging. Holding a lineup such as the Red Sox to six runs over those two games is an impressive feat, regardless of the method used. After all, the Red Sox were expected to be one of the contenders for the World Series this season, with a greatly improved offense as the look to return to the World Series.
Thursday’s game appeared set to be a victory for the Rays. Yonny Chirinos was impressive in his spot start, allowing just three hits in his five shutout innings, striking out four batter. Tampa Bay even held a 2-0 lead into the bottom of the ninth, when All Star closer Alex Colome allowed two runs on four hits and two walks to blow the save. Given Colome’s track record, this can just be seen as a blip on the radar, but it put more of a strain on the bullpen.
As the season progresses, it will be interesting to see how long the bullpen game remains effective. The Rays only have Chris Archer, Blake Snell, and Jacob Faria listed as starting pitchers on their depth chart. However, neither Snell nor Faria have pitched deep into a game thus far, totaling 13 innings over their three starts. If this continues to be the case, these bullpen games will be a burden on an already overworked Rays relief corps.
The Tampa Bay Rays bullpen game is working – for now. We will see if this is still the case when the dog days of Summer come around.