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ST. PETERSBURG, Florida – Tampa Bay manager Kevin Cash has been on the phone with the opposing manager with increasing regularity this season, telling him who will be his starting pitcher the next day.
These courtesy calls are necessary because the Rays are once again a convention challenge, this time on what it means to be a departing pitcher. The thought-provoking idea was unveiled this weekend, when Tampa Bay completed an unlikely Yankees sweep with a 7-6 victory Sunday, sealed by the 12th round of rookie Jake Bauers.
The Yankees have lost three consecutive games for the first time this season, sidelining them for first place in the Boston Red Sox, though they retain percentage points ahead of their rivals. Sunday's defeat particularly stung because Bauers' attack at center against Chasen Shreve was the only Yankees-sanctioned success in eight innings and he wasted a five-shot day from Giancarlo Stanton.
It was an expensive loss, too. Receiver Gary Sanchez left the game due to a groin injury during the 10th inning and it is highly likely that he headed for the injured list.
The Florida series highlighted the virtues of the Rays' approach to their pitching team – and exposed its flaws. They needed seven pitchers on Sunday to keep the Yankees away.
Rays have created a glossary to define how they use their rotation. There are, of course, starters – Blake Snell, Nathan Eovaldi and, when he comes back from the disabled list, he has Chris Archer.
There are also openers who start the game but only for three to six out. Between the two, there are days of surveys – when we expect the launcher to launch between 50 and 60 shots.
And Cash often does not know who will start the next day until the end of the game.
"I understand," said Aaron Boone, director of the Yankees. "It makes sense, especially when there are starters and Archer, and you have enough dynamic arms that you feel like being throwers in your system." It makes sense to make his better if you do not have an ideal starter and you can choose your seats.
This seems like an idea that deserves to be considered for the Yankees, who have probably lost Masahiro Tanaka until the match break and Jordan Montgomery for the season. While Jonathan Loaisiga has shone in his major league debut, he is trying to make the jump from the AA class, and Domingo German continues to fight early in the games.
The German, who triumphed Kevin Kiermaier and doubled Matt Duffy and Carlos Gomez in the first leg on Sunday, allowed 10 points in the first run in nine starts. So maybe the Yankees could use their increasingly dominant paddock – maybe deploy Jonathan Holder – to start a party and get through the top of the order.
The Rays, who are perpetually at the bottom of the league in terms of payroll and income – they have completed the last participation six years in a row – have long been incubators of unconventional ideas. They were the first team to popularize the severe defensive changes and they took the idea of locking young talent to the extreme in 2008, when they signed Evan Longoria to a contract of 17, $ 5 million after six games in the majors.
After four consecutive uncompetitive seasons – they have not finished less than 13 games in first place since they reached the playoff game in 2013 – the Rays have dropped several veterans last winter and started tinkering again.
"It's definitely a process for us with the payroll," said pitcher Matt Andriese, a starter-turned-raiser who started Sunday's game. "You compare our payroll to the Yankees and the Red Sox and it's not comparable.We have to find different ways to be competitive and that's thanks to young talent."
The problem with the Rays was that their young pitchers needed seasoning. Rather than exposing them too often to the best hitters of the opponents, they start one of their best bullies to navigate the first five batters of a game.
That duty fell on Ryne Stanek on Friday, a right-hander who opened the door and opened the scoring. Stanek sailed the first run against the Yankees and was replaced by southpaw Ryan Yarbrough, who worked three innings and one-third and faced the Yankees' heart-order – Aaron Judge, Stanton, Didi Gregorius and Sanchez – once.
Four other Tampa raisers combined to finish 2-1. Sergio Romo has earned the stop, but he has also opened five games this season.
In Saturday's and Sunday's games, the Rays had days of records. Wilmer Font was so effective on Saturday, scattering three hits in 80 shots, which lasted five innings and two thirds in what became a 4-0 win. Andriese was not as effective Sunday, allowing Miguel Andujar to start a three-run circuit and leave with two runners, but he left the mound with a 6-3 lead.
Left-handed Jose Alvarado cleared his mess. He eliminated the batters Aaron Hicks and Neil Walker around a shot by Andujar. A victory finally followed.
Yet the formula of the Rays is not without its imperfections. Their paddock was so worn out that they had to stay with Sunday's cool arm, former Yankee Vidal Nuno, who pitched four good innings but made a critical mistake. He hung a curve as Stanton lined up on the left field wall to tie the score at 6-6 in the eighth.
But it was not enough to finish the Rays, who tinkered a new version of a complete game and left with a sweep.
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