Snell's 'weird night' sends Rays to Gm 1 loss
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When asked the key to the Rays plan to win the American League Division Series showdown against the Yankees, manager Kevin Cash kept it simple: the pitching staff.
| Game | Date | Result | Highlights |
|---|---|---|---|
| Gm 1 | Oct. 5 | NYY 9, TB 3 | Watch |
| Gm 2 | Oct. 6 | TB 7, NYY 5 | Watch |
| Gm 3 | Oct. 7 | TB 8, NYY 4 | Watch |
| Gm 4 | Oct. 8 | NYY 5, TB 1 | Watch |
| Gm 5 | Oct. 9 | TB 2, NYY 1 | Watch |
Shop for postseason gear: The Rays turned to 2018 Cy Young Award winner Blake Snell in Game 1 on Monday, but the left-hander struggled to find consistency, allowing four runs over five innings, in the Rays¡¯ 9-3 loss to the Yankees at Petco Park.
¡°It was just a weird night for me,¡± Snell said. ¡°I couldn¡¯t get in rhythm, I couldn¡¯t find consistency with pitches, so that was really frustrating. I had to battle with really not a whole lot. Overall, it was frustrating.¡±
In the history of best-of-five postseason series, Game 1 winners have gone on to take the series 98 of 136 times (72 percent). Last postseason, three of the four Game 1 winners in the LDS went on to win the series.
Snell, who found success with a 3.38 ERA in two starts against the Yankees this season, was unable to keep them inside the ballpark. The Yankees connected on three home runs off the left-hander, including two in the fifth that gave New York a 4-3 edge after Ji-Man Choi had given the Rays the lead in the fourth. The three home runs off Snell tied a career high. The last time a team hit three homers in a game off Snell was on March 28, 2019, against the Astros.
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¡°The curveball to [Aaron] Judge was a stupid pitch because I threw so many before that and I know how he thinks. So I already knew that was a bad pitch,¡± Snell said. ¡°To [Kyle Higashioka] I threw a down-and-in fastball, but just missed my spot, so that¡¯s another frustrating one. And then [Clint] Frazier, I liked the pitch I threw to him, he was just ready for it and knew what pitch was coming in that count. But I like that pitch, so tip your cap to him.¡±
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Aside from the three solo homers, Snell¡¯s biggest downfall was not being able to get ahead in the count, and when he did, he wasn¡¯t able to record swings and misses at his usual clip. The game began with Snell jumping out to an 0-2 count against DJ LeMahieu, who fought back to a 3-2 count before lacing a single back up the middle. Snell threw LeMahieu all four of his pitches in the at-bat to no avail.
? Arozarena adds to tear with Game 1 homer
Snell recorded just two swinging strikes on 20 curveballs on Monday, which is significantly lower than his season average. Snell came into Monday¡¯s start with a 61.8 percent whiff rate on the curve, the highest rate by any starting pitcher with any pitch. He recorded eight swings and misses on 10 curves in the Game 1 win over the Blue Jays in the Wild Card Series.
¡°Blake was so good against Toronto attacking the zone with whatever pitch and tonight it looked like, I don¡¯t know, maybe trying to be a little bit too fine,¡± Cash said. ¡°Probably for good reason because they¡¯re so talented in that lineup, but it¡¯s tough pitching against that lineup, and it¡¯s tougher when you¡¯re behind on them.¡±
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Overall, Snell, who came into the start with a 34 percent whiff rate, got just five swinging strikes out of 36 swings on Monday, 13.9 percent, his lowest whiff rate in a start since Sept. 1, 2017.
¡°I think he gets in a groove when he gets some commitments,¡± said Rays catcher Mike Zunino. ¡°I thought he threw a couple of really good breaking balls that they laid off of, and that sort of dictates where we go with the next sequence. But they did a good job of laying off some pitches.¡±
Though Snell had the early struggles, the Rays¡¯ pitching staff will have to find a way to pitch better and slow down the Yankees¡¯ high-powered offense. John Curtiss allowed five runs in the ninth, forcing the Rays to use a fourth reliever in Shane McClanahan. The nine runs allowed on Monday were the most by the staff this season other than when the Blue Jays scored 12 on Aug. 14.
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As a team, the Rays haven¡¯t lost on back-to-back days since Sept. 7-8 against the Nationals. The Rays will lean on Tyler Glasnow to keep it that way in Game 2, hoping the right-hander can even the series at one game apiece.
¡°Today is today and tomorrow is a new day,¡± Choi said. ¡°We will definitely have a different approach. We are still confident we are going to win. We have a confident group. Tomorrow we are going to bounce back and see where it goes from there.¡±