CLEVELAND -- In the first inning of Tuesday’s game against the Guardians, Rays right-hander Shane Baz looked like the pitcher who had struggled to the tune of a 9.00 ERA through his first six starts since the All-Star break.
Four of the first five batters reached base, and three of them came around to score thanks to two RBI singles and a sacrifice fly.
“It was a series of unfortunate events,” catcher Nick Fortes joked after Tampa Bay's 3-0 loss to the Guardians at Progressive Field.
But then something clicked, and the 26-year-old righty spent the next five innings looking like the kind of pitcher who could be a front-line ace for the Rays.
While the rough first inning proved costly for Tampa Bay on Tuesday, Baz’s start showed exactly how good of a starter he can be when his stuff is clicking.
After allowing a Brayan Rocchio single with two outs in the first inning (which extended the Guardians’ lead to three runs), Baz was perfect for the rest of the game, retiring the final 16 batters he faced.
“He just kind of wasn’t synced up in the first inning,” manager Kevin Cash said. “The first fastball he threw was 93 miles per hour; he’s not a 93 mph pitcher. I’m proud he was able to reset himself.”
Baz’s first inning was a combination of bad luck and self-inflicted wounds. Cleveland only had one hit harder than 75 mph, but he had little room for error thanks to the two walks.
“You can’t control what happens once the ball leaves the bat,” Baz said. “The two walks are probably what hurt me the most. Just a flat first inning.”
Baz recorded 16 whiffs in his six innings. He also recorded multiple whiffs with all of his pitches, while his fastball led the way with eight.
“[Bench coach] Rodney Linares said it during the game: it’s top-end starter stuff,” Cash said. “We’ve just got to find a way to find that rhythm early on and be consistent with it.”
His best sequence came at the end of his start, when he struck out four of the final six batters he faced. He got three strikeouts swinging with his fastball and was able to strike out Guardians star José Ramírez looking with a cutter.
Unfortunately for Baz and the Rays, Guardians left-hander Parker Messick was even better on the other side. He allowed just four hits across seven scoreless innings in his second big league start and first at home. Messick attacked the Rays in a way Cash said was similar to how Ian Seymour stifled Cleveland’s lineup on Monday.
“He was willing to go in there with all three pitches,” Cash said of Messick. “He threw a good ballgame.”
Three of the Rays’ four hits came from Yandy Díaz, who singled and doubled off Messick before hitting another single in the ninth inning off closer Cade Smith. His double marked the only time the Rays were able to get a runner past first base.
“Messick’s got a really quick delivery, so it kind of speeds you up a little bit, and that fastball changeup combo was pretty good today,” Fortes said.
Baz is at 144 innings this year, which is far and away the most he’s thrown in a season. His previous career high was 79 1/3, set last year in his first season back from Tommy John surgery.
Baz is one of numerous Rays who have already eclipsed (or are approaching) a season high in appearances, and Cash is hoping the work those players put in this season will help them when next year rolls around.
“We’ve dealt with limitations on pitchers this year, and we’ll probably do that for the remainder [of the year], but [we’re doing it] so those guys can be better next year,” Cash said. “We’re trying to keep them healthy and protect them from themselves. Going wire-to-wire on the roster and getting all these experiences is invaluable.”