SAN FRANCISCO — For these in the hunt for proof that Tyler Glasnow is doing simply nice after lacking a flip within the rotation — after which some — with again spasms, look no additional than Christian Bethancourt’s glove.
After the Rays’ backstop obtained one significantly nasty fastball from Glasnow, he regarded down at his mitt solely to seek out that the webbing was damaged the place the ball hit the leather-based.
“He was throwing very hard,” Bethancourt mentioned.
Glasnow picked up proper the place he left off because the Rays thumped the Giants, 10-2, in Monday night time’s sequence opener at Oracle Park. Backed by a season-high 18 hits from the Tampa Bay offense, the 29-year-old righty logged a top quality begin in his first look since July 31, permitting a run on three hits and three walks over six innings.
With ace Shane McClanahan out for the rest of the common season, the Rays want Glasnow at his finest to anchor the rotation greater than ever. Entering Monday, Tampa Bay starters had a 4.29 ERA for the reason that All-Star break, with Glasnow proudly owning a 1.67 mark in that span.
A wholesome Glasnow will go a great distance down the stretch, and Monday’s win helped the Rays preserve tempo with the Orioles within the American League East and acquire a further half-game on Houston for the highest AL Wild Card spot.
Glasnow, the reigning American League Pitcher of the Month, was scratched from his Aug. 6 begin in Detroit with again spasms. The Rays had initially deliberate to fit him again into the rotation final Saturday, however they opted to offer him just a few extra days of relaxation.
“That’s kind of the risk/reward of pushing him back, pushing him back,” supervisor Kevin Cash mentioned. “He’s just so good. You don’t want to miss any time that we have maybe a glimpse of a chance of him pitching, and he was outstanding tonight.”
Back like he by no means left, Glasnow struck out seven and acquired Giants batters to swing and miss 13 instances. His velocity was a tick above his season common, and he maxed out at 98.8 mph when he froze Johan Camargo with a four-seamer to strike out the facet within the third inning.
After dealing with the minimal by 4 innings, Glasnow’s command started to wane, as he walked three and gave up a pair of base hits in his ultimate two frames. The Giants plated one and threatened so as to add on extra within the fifth inning, however Glasnow buckled down and induced a strikeout and a lineout to strand the bases loaded.
“Whenever there’s someone in scoring position, you kind of get that extra, like, ‘don’t-let-them-score’ feeling,” Glasnow mentioned. “I just felt like I got into a pretty decent rhythm there, after that strikeout, and I felt like the last two hitters, everything was kind of starting to sync up.”
Though Glasnow successfully restricted the injury, his crew wasn’t precisely hurting for offense, both, as each member of the beginning lineup recorded at the least one hit. Harold Ramírez, Curtis Mead and Bethancourt led the way in which with three apiece.
It was Mead’s first profession three-hit sport, and Bethancourt’s trio of knocks included a laser solo shot off Luke Jackson, his first homer since May 20.
Osleivis Basabe, who will get the majority of taking part in time at shortstop with Wander Franco on the restricted listing, chipped in his first huge league RBIs together with his two-run single within the fourth that acquired the scoring began for the Rays.
Rounding out the milestones for Tampa Bay’s younger gamers was a Major League debut. Left-hander Jacob Lopez relieved Glasnow and pitched the ultimate three innings, incomes the save.
Lopez escaped a bases-loaded jam with an emphatic strikeout of Giants rookie Wade Meckler — additionally making his Major League debut — to finish the seventh inning. “I’m happy he swung, because it was a ball,” mentioned Lopez, who allowed a run on three hits in his three frames.
“We were all very impressed with his composure, because we probably didn’t help him out that much defensively,” Cash mentioned. “And that’s the last thing you want to do with a young pitcher, is put him in a jam when it’s not needed. But he kept his composure, got a big strikeout to end the inning. I think he fed off that the next two innings.”
Content Source: www.mlb.com