ST. PETERSBURG Josh Oliver Jersey , Fla. — The Tampa Bay Rays were a wobbly 34-40 on June 20, but have pitched their way back to .500 mostly without true starting pitchers.
“It’s pretty remarkable what they’ve strung together here as of late, and today was no different,” Rays manager Kevin Cash said after Saturday’s win.
The Rays turn to their best starter of the first half in Blake Snell http://www.thejaguarsfootballauthentic.com...ersey-authentic , who looks to be a first-time All-Star with a 10-4 record and a 2.31 ERA.
Snell has taken only one loss in his last eight starts, and was superb against the Astros on June 19, throwing seven innings and holding a potent lineup to one run and three hits in a 2-1 victory. He managed to survive seven walks, including three in one scoreless inning, getting key double plays to work his way out of predicaments.
In his last seven starts, Snell has a 1.27 ERA. He is 1-1 with a 5.21 ERA in four career starts against Houston.
The Rays, who have been above .500 for only three days all season Ryquell Armstead Jersey , face a stiff challenge Sunday in Astros right-hander Charlie Morton.
Morton (10-1, 2.54) hopes to continue a career resurrection since coming to Houston. Before arriving, he was 46-71 in his career. Since joining the Astros, he’s 24-8 in two seasons with a career-low ERA this year and a career-best strikeout rate of 11.5 per nine innings.
Morton is 3-0 in his last four games, with three earned runs allowed in his last 19 innings and none in his last two starts. He faced the Rays on June 20 and dominated, throwing six innings and holding Tampa Bay to two hits and one unearned run. He was even better in his last start, holding Toronto scoreless in seven innings while striking out 13 http://www.thejaguarsfootballauthentic.com...ersey-authentic , one off his season and career high.
Houston manager A.J. Hinch doesn’t like playing at Tropicanaa Field, and his team’s bats have been stifled in all three games, including Thursday’s 1-0 victory. The Astros have lost eight games this season with Verlander starting, and in six of those losses, they’ve scored a total of five runs.
“I hate the results at this ballpark, if you look back at what we’ve done,” Hinch said. “Those are facts. It is what it is. We have another game (Sunday). We need to figure it out before then.”
Astros standout Alex Bregman said the stadium has given Houston problems Garrett Bradbury Jersey , but some of the credit should go to Rays pitchers, who have given them fits this weekend.
“I don’t know if it’s the ballpark. I think they just have a good staff,” Bregman said. “They have been playing really good ball as of late.”
he National Football League (NFL) is a strange league in that rookies at prime positions can make a drastic impact. For instance, Leonard Fournette was one of the league's most effective running backs last season and Saquon Barkley is expected to be just as effective in his first season with the New York Giants. The league is increasingly becoming younger and teams and adapting. Players don't want to play the dangerous sport for as long and are also becoming less effective into their early 30s due to the physical nature of football. As a result, teams seem more willing to take chances on players via trade and free agent signings and, at the same time, more eager to cut ties with a player if he isn't performing up to expectation early in his career http://www.thevikingsfootballauthentic.com...ersey-authentic , although part of that can be owed to the absence of guaranteed contracts in the league.Every league has its fair share of teams that have made regrettable trades or signings but, because of the changing nature of the league, the NFL has been more prone to ridiculous transactions in recent memory. Not saying that this list was 100 percent inspired by the Khalil Mack trade, but it's not hard to guess as to where that transaction ends up on the list. But that's just one of 20 recent moves teams are already wishing they hadn't made in the past year or so. Not surprisingly, the Browns and Bills show up more than once on the list, but even successful teams like the Patriots and Rams aren't immune from bad decisions.