Tampa Bay Rays manager Kevin Cash is not the only one to blame

Tampa Bay Rays second baseman Brandon Lowe was a non-factor in the World Series for the most part

The bright 26-year-old Brandon Lowe had another disappointing playoff series in the World Series. Tampa Bay Rays fans were hoping Lowe would turn things around in the World Series after hitting his first home run of the 2020 postseason in Game Five of the ALCS against the Astros.

Up until the World Series, Lowe had recorded just six hits, striking out 28 times. He continued to struggle against the Dodgers pitching, striking out 10 times in six games which led the team. He did, however, hit three big home runs that propelled the Rays to win two games. But those three home runs that came in Game Two and Game Four were the only hits for Lowe in the World Series.

Lowe finished the 2020 postseason with a brutal .137 batting average, .196 OBP, and .305 slugging. The Rays second baseman is not just some platoon player, Lowe was an All-Star player last season and the Rays needed him. Lowe was arguably one of the best Rays hitters during the regular season so I cannot go easy on Lowe’s terrible postseason.

Lowe hit second in the lineup from Game One through Three, and hit fifth in Game Four, and cleanup in Game Five and Six. He was in a very important part of the lineup and he did not succeed, it is as simple as that. Especially as the second hitter in the lineup, part of Lowe’s role is to get on base and set the table for others like Randy Arozarena.

Lowe struck out too many times and failed to draw bases on balls as well. We can see that Lowe was not the only player struggling to get on base for the hot Arozarena because of his limited RBIs. Arozarena had several solo home runs because his teammates could not get on base, and I put a lot of the blame on Lowe who is a talented player.

I love that Rays manager Kevin Cash still had faith in Lowe to come up big for the Rays and he did on three swings but that was it. I felt like at some point, something needed to change whether that be moving him down in the lineup or even giving him a day off. I understand Cash’s thinking because Lowe was the Rays best regular season performer, but this time it did not work.

Willy Adames, another young infielder, failed to produce like he did in the regular season

The energetic 25-year-old shortstop, Willy Adames, had another solid regular season for the Tampa Bay Rays. The young Rays infielder just finished his third season in the majors and he has surprisingly been producing on the offensive side of the game with a career .262 batting average and .755 OPS.

But Adames failed to make an impact in the lineup during the entire postseason including the World Series. Adames did his job on defense as the starting shortstop at such a young age but when you have multiple players in the lineup strugling, it adds up.

In the World Series, Adames got on base just three times all from hits. Like Lowe, Adames struck out often in the World Series and was not able to draw any walks. Especially as a bottom of the lineup hitter, you would hope Adames could find his way on base however he could.

Adames was able to get on base in the regular season at a decent rate when he posted a .332 OBP but it did not translate in the postseason. It is also interesting because Adames did draw 13 walks prior to the World Series, but just could not control the strike zone against the Dodgers.

Adames finished the 2020 postseason hitting .136 with a .301 OBP. Adames’ offensive woes were front and center during the entire postseason like Lowe but the Rays do not have much wiggle room to keep Adames out of the lineup.

Joey Wendle can play shortstop but Adames is a better defensive option and Wendle would often be in the starting lineup playing third base. There were rumors that Rays top prospect Wander Franco could be called up especially since Adames had been struggling.

Calling up Franco to the World Series roster was really the only alternative to Adames if the Rays wanted to make a change. But as we know, Franco was still left off the roster and they stuck with Adames. This might have been another big mistake the Rays made.

But what we know is that Adames struggled and could not play like he did in the regular season just like his double play partner, Brandon Lowe. Had Lowe and Adames played like their regular season selves, it could have made a huge difference.

Austin Meadows, Joey Wendle and Mike Zunino played almost every day and disappointed

Tampa Bay Rays manager Kevin Cash had Austin Meadows, Joey Wendle, and Mike Zunino in the lineup almost everygame during the postseason and they were just terrible in the World Series. The three struggled for most of the entire postseason and could not figure out their offensive woes when the Rays needed them the most.

The former first round pick in 2013 had a fantastic 2019 and was on the All-Star team. In 2020, Meadows missed almost half the season due to injury and was barely hitting above .200. His struggles continued into the postseason and had a .188 batting average in the World Series.

Meadows was selected to be the table-setter for the Rays several times and he was unable to get on base. Meadows had just three hits in 16 at bats, and did not even walk once in the World Series. And then you had Brandon Lowe following Meadows in the lineup often and that synergy was just not working.

The infield utility player also struggled on the offensive side. Wendle was very good during the 2020 regular season finishing the season with a .286 batting average and getting on base .342 percent of the time. In 18 at bats, Wendle had a .111 batting average. He was able to drive in three runs but his consistency was not present.

A similar story for the starting catcher Zunino. Again, Zunino is in the everyday lineup for his defense but he was somewhat producing prior to the World Series. Zunino had eight hits in 37 at bats before the World Series. But once the national title was on the line, Zunino was only able to get one hit.

The big picture is the Rays offense struggled in the postseason. And especially in the World Series, some of the common run producers became easy outs for the Dodgers pitchers. On top of the offensive woes across the majority of the lineup, a few pitchers struggled in the World Series as well.

Charlie Morton only had one bad start in the postseason and it was in the World Series

The 36-year-old veteran Charlie Morton was nearly unhittable in the postseason until his start in the World Series. Morton made four starts in the postseason and had given up only one earned run in his first three starts.

His three outings prior to the World Series came against the Yankees, and the Astros. Morton was hot going into the World Series with 17 strikeouts in 15.2 innings and only allowed 11 hits. All three of his first starts led to a Rays win as well.

Morton started Game Three of the World Series and the expectations were set high for him. It did not go exactly as planned for Morton.

Morton gave up a first inning home run to Justin Turner and in the third inning, Morton gave up another two runs. In the fourth inning, the Dodgers put up another two runs giving the Dodgers a 5-0 lead.

Morton’s pitch count was getting high and would be taken out of the fifth inning after only recording one out. The Dodgers would go on to win the ballgame 6-2 and take a 2-1 lead in the World Series.

It was unfortunate to see Morton struggle after his outstanding 2020 postseason. Game three was set to be a great pitching duel between Morton and Walker Buehler and the Dodgers young star outshined Morton.

Nothing much to say here besides Morton having his first rough start of the 2020 postseason.

Tyler Glasnow had two World Series and was rocked both times

The 27-year-old starter for the Rays, Tyler Glasnow, was pitching alright during the postseason prior to the World Series. Kevin Cash called his name to start Game One of the World Series against the Dodgers and it did not go well.

Glasnow was off to a good start through three innings without giving up a run. Glasnow struck out five Dodgers batter in those first three innings.

Then came the big Dodgers fourth inning which started off with a walk. After recording the first out of the inning, Cody Bellinger hit a two run homerun. Glasnow was able to finish the inning after giving the Dodgers two runs but his struggles would continue into the fifth inning.

Glasnow walked Mookie Betts, walked Corey Seager, struck out Justin Turner, and then gave up two runs in back to back at bats. Glasnow would be pulled after just 4.1 innings giving up four runs.

But, Glasnow left two runners on base that would score against the relief pitcher so Glasnow was accountable for six runs in his World Series outing. Although he struck out eight Dodgers batters, he allowed three hits and six walks.

Glasnow would make his second World Series start in Game Five where he went five innings and gave up four earned runs. Both Glasnow outings led to a Rays loss.

Glasnow did not perform well and give his team a chance to win based on his prior resume. Expectations were set high for the hard throwing starting pitcher and he frankly did not live up to them.

Morton and Glasnow’s World Series performances put the Rays in a bad spot, and one reliable Rays reliever was also disappointing.

Nick Anderson was one of the best relievers in the regular season but the Tampa Bay Rays pitcher became a different person in the postseason

Tampa Bay Rays reliever Nick Anderson was one of the most heavily relied upon pitchers for Kevin Cash since last season. Anderson threw a 0.55 ERA during the 2020 regular season and struck out 26 batters in 16.1 innings.

One glaring moment where Anderson failed the Rays was in Game Six after coming in to replace Blake Snell. Cash controversially took out Snell after pitching like a stud.  Anderson came in and gave up two runs in the sixth inning which gave the Dodgers a 2-1 lead in the game.

For Anderson, the postseason has been a struggle and it continued in Game Six. This was one of the reasons why pulling Snell in the sixth inning on 73 pitches was questionable because Anderson had been struggling.

Over the 2020 postseaosn, Anderson pitched 14.2 innings and allowed nine earned runs. Anderson gave up only one earned run in the entire regular season. Despite Anderson’s struggles from the beginning of the postseason, Cash continued to call upon Anderson.

This seemed to be a similar trend for Cash and the Rays. He has a lot of trust in his players despite their postseason struggles which can be good, but also very dangerous. In 2020, Cash’s overtrust of his players like Lowe, Adames, and Anderson really hurt their World Series chances.

As mentioned previously, Cash will be highly criticized for ultimately losing Game Six after pulling Blake Snell and his trust in his struggling players. But, many Rays players just did not perform when they needed them the most.

The Dodgers out-clutched the Tampa Bay Rays players and deserve to win the World Series. They were the better team and the Rays somehow made it to the World Series despite all of their struggling players.