The Tampa Bay Rays won the first game of the postseason. Now they must win another game in order to further their playoff run. Tonight, they face the Cleveland Indians. These teams are very evenly-matched. Take a look at their stats:
Batting Average: Rays- .257 Indians- .255
Runs Per Game: Rays- 4.3 Indians- 4.6
ERA: Rays- 3.74 Indians- 3.82
They are extremely similar, but the Rays beat the Indians four out of the six games these two teams played. Whichever team advances will go on to play the Boston Red Sox, the Rays division rival and the team Indians’ manager Terry Francona won a World Series with.
The Tampa Bay Rays will have Alex Cobb on the mound who had a great season for them going 11-3 with a 2.76 ERA. Recently, he has been dominant only allowing three hits in his last outing against the New York Yankees. In the last 23.2 innings that he has pitched, he has only allowed three runs. This is definitely the guy the Rays want pitching for a game that means so much to a team that has never won a World Series. He will look to follow David Price’s commanding start yesterday.
Cleveland will have a rookie on the mound who debuted with the team in July. Danny Salazar will be in charge of containing the Rays’ bats and leading his team into the postseason. Yesterday, the Rays beat rookie pitcher Martin Perez with Even Longoria going yard with a 2-run home run. Over the ten games he has pitched, he has allowed 18 runs with seven home runs. The Rays have yet to face Salazar which may help the Indians or it may hurt them.
The Rays beat a rookie pitcher yesterday and I think they do it again tonight. The Rays have been on a roll and I do not think the Indians have enough to beat them. They are playing smart baseball and that is how you win in this sport. The Rays’ picked off Elvis Andrus yesterday and I really believe that will help with their confidence. Desmond Jennings is still not 100 percent, but played yesterday and will continue to play. Rays vs. Indians- who you takin?
