Points To Ponder

Points To Ponder:
Rays v. Jays
July 18-20

• The Rays are 3-7 over their last 10 games, having lost 7 in a row coming into the break, while the Jays are 6-4 over that same span.
• The Rays are 8.5 games ahead of Toronto in the wildcard race.
• The Rays are 5-1 against Toronto so far this season.

Pitching match-ups:

• Tonight we get Shields v. Burnett. Shields has been a bit (just a bit) of a disappointment to this point so far this season, amassing a record of 7-6 with 5 of his 7 wins coming at home. His ERA stands at 3.83 and he is 3-0 in 4 career starts against the Jays. Burnett is 10-8 this season, but is only 3-5 away from Toronto, his career numbers against the Rays are; 6-3 with a 3.21 ERA in 14 starts.
• Saturday's match-up is Garza v. Halladay. Garza has been the most consistant Rays pitcher as of late and has shown a lot more composure on the mound since his little run-in with Navi in June. He (Garza) is 7-5 in 17 starts this season with an ERA of 3.96. Garza is 0-2 with a 7.71 ERA in his career against the Jays. Halladay is the Jays Ace and is 11-6 with an ERA of 2.71 this season. In his last start he shut-out the Yankees, allowing just 2 hits.
• Sunday's match-up should be Kaz v. Parrish (although Jackson may get the start for Tampa if Kaz needs more rest coming off the all-star game). Kaz has also been a bit disappointing this season as he has struggled mightily with pitch-count, rarely making it into the sixth inning. Kid-K is 7-5 with an ERA 3.04 and hasn't won since June 27th. Parrish is 1-0 in 3 games while replacing the injured Marcum/McGowan.

I have a feeling that the Rays will be looking to re-establish their offensive prowess today, so I'd look for Tampa to come out swinging in a desperate attempt to end this losing streak right now, especially considering the fact that they face Toronto's Ace tommorrow night.

I give the series to the Rays 2-1 (but I wouldn't be the least bit surprised to see Garza show up the Jays' Ace (Halladay) on Sat. and the Rays pulling off the sweep.)

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Will the Rays sweep the Pirates?

The Rays are getting set to open a 3 game series with the Pirates tonight, will they be able to make it back-to-back road sweeps?

Points to ponder:

Pitching:
The Rays pitchers for the 3-game set are:
Scott Kazmir, LHP (6-3, 2.03)
Edwin Jackson, RHP (4-6, 4.35)
Andy Sonnanstine, RHP (8-3, 4.85)

The Pirates pitchers:
Jimmy Barthmaier, RHP (0-0, -.--)
Taubenheim (0-0)
Tom Gorzelanny, LHP (6-6, 6.43)

Advantage: Uh, Duh... Rays.
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Defensively: The Rays have recorded 19 less errors than the Pirates. Call me a homer, but anytime Dirtbag is playing third that's an inherent advantage right off the top.

Advantage: Rays
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Offensively: The Rays and Pirates have fairly similar offensive numbers with BA, OBP, and SLG all within a few hundredths of each other. The Rays have stolen substantially more bases with a league-leading 85, whereas the Pirates have a league-low 23. The Pirates have struck-out less, but they've also walked less. Pittsburgh has also scored more runs so far this season (382 versus Tampa's 365)

Advantage: I give a slight edge to The Rays, due to the dispairity in stolen bases.
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Mindset: The Rays are preparing for another homestand v. Boston, so their heads may be on the wrong series. If they lose focus Pittsburgh could sneak up on them. The Pirates aren't well known for looking ahead, or backward, or really paying attention at all.

Advantage: Pirates

Well, I say even though all signs point to yes, with Jackson/Sonny pitching I never rule out an aweful game, so I'll say a resounding NO. Two out of three will suffice.
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