Monday night began with that ‘oh no’ feel to it again for Tampa Bay Rays starting pitcher Blake Snell.
One pitch, one double for Baltimore Orioles leadoff hitter Adam Jones. Two pitches later, Jones was standing 90 feet away from home when Snell plugged a breaking ball in front of the plate and it got away from catcher Wilson Ramos.
The 24-year-old left-hander responded with back-to-back strikeouts of Manny Machado and Jonathan Schoop and then popped up slugger Mark Trumbo.
Threat averted and Snell proceeded to deliver his longest outing of his brief Major League career. He completed seven innings for the first time in 31 starts and worked into the eighth.
But rather than getting to celebrate Snell’s promising performance, it’s little more than a silver lining from another frustrating loss. Tampa Bay’s lineup managed to produce just six hits and five walks while getting shutout for the fifth time this season.
Prior to the eighth inning, the only run Snell gave up came on Jones’ third-inning solo home run to left. He was charged with two more when new relief pitcher Sergio Romo surrendered back-to-back singles and a sacrifice fly during a forgettable Rays debut.
One eight-inning run was charged to Romo and the Orioles tacked on another in the ninth against Chase Whitley, but it’s irrelevant when the offense posts a goose egg in support.
The Rays are going to snap out of their current five-game funk at some point. When they do, they’re going to need more of this from Snell if they plan on staying in the American League East and wild card races.
Efficiency is a key for Snell becoming a more effective starter and he managed to stay around the strike zone Monday to avoid deep counts and walks that run up his pitch total. The lefty’s strike rate of 63.3 percent (69 of 109 pitches) represents a season high and it’s just the third time he’s cracked 60 percent in 12 starts this season.
Snell only struck out four Orioles in seven-plus innings but also only walked one and got eight groundball outs to two in the air. He’s got strikeout stuff, that’s for sure, but putting that stat out of mind at the moment may go a long way in becoming a more reliable option every five games.
Eric Horchy is a staff writer with OutsidePitchMLB.com. You can follow and interact with him on Twitter: @EricHorchy
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