The playoffs got underway Friday night in Texas, and in the first game of the ALDS, the Tampa Bay Rays beat up on the Texas Rangers, winning by a score of 9-0. The Rays lead the series one games to none.
The big story in this game was Matt Moore, the Rays rookie who just four weeks ago was pitching for the Durham Bulls. Here we are on September 30th, and he’s starting off the playoffs for the Rays. Moore only threw 9 1/3 innings for the Rays this season, but was dominant, striking out 15 and walking just three. The 21 year old absolutely stymied the Rangers, allowing two hits and walking just two in seven shutout innings while striking out six. Both of the Rangers hits came courtesy of Josh Hamilton. The rest of the squad didn’t have one on the game, as their usually potent offense was absolutely shut down by the rookie.
Moore got a lot of help from his offense, most notably veterans Johnny Damon and Kelly Shoppach. Damon started the scoring with a two run homer in the second inning, and finished the scoring with an RBI single in the ninth to tally the ninth Rays run in the game. Shoppach would homer twice, in the third and fifth innings, and would end up driving in five runs while scoring three. The Rays pounded out 11 hits, with a BJ Upton double joining the homers by Damon and Shoppach in the extra base category.
Pretty much, Tampa got big hits when they needed to. Aside from the homers, CJ Wilson didn’t pitch all that bad for the Rangers. He only walked one hitter and struck out six in his five innings of work. But those three homers absolutely killed him. Scott Feldman relieved Wilson in the sixth, and helped preserve Texas’ bullpen, throwing three scoreless innings. Feldman didn’t walk a batter and struck out four.
The Rangers offense was worth next to nothing against Moore. The top three hitters in their order (Ian Kinsler, Elvis Andrus and Hamilton) combined to reach base four times in 12 plate appearances, while the other six members of the lineup reached just once in 20 plate appearances, when left fielder Craig Gentry was plunked by Moore. The offense wasn’t particularly patient either, seeing only 125 pitches. In contrast, the Rays saw 175, nearly 50% more.
Game two in this series will be tomorrow at 7:07 PM in Arlington, and the Rangers look to right the ship with Derek Holland. Tampa counters with their ace, James Shields. At first glance, this doesn’t seem too fair, as Holland had a 3.95 ERA this year (compared to Shields’ 2.82) in over 50 fewer innings than Shields. If Holland isn’t able to pick up the slack tomorrow, this series could very easily be over on Monday when the teams head to Tampa.
