Baz closes book on 2024 season with strong final start

BOSTON -- After holding the Red Sox to two runs over six innings in the Rays’ 7-2 win Saturday afternoon at Fenway Park, Shane Baz can look back with quite a bit of pride on what he accomplished this season.

Perhaps more importantly, the 25-year-old right-hander can finally look forward to an offseason that won’t be defined by rehab work and a season that shouldn’t be limited by injuries.

Baz had plenty of help as the Rays improved to 80-81, giving them a chance to finish the season with a .500 record. After scoring 18 total runs over their last nine games, the Rays broke out for seven. Junior Caminero had three hits, including a two-run blast over the Green Monster. Josh Lowe had another timely hit, a two-run single in the Rays’ four-run fifth.

But Baz handled the heavy lifting in Tampa Bay’s penultimate game of the season, allowing only three hits and a walk while striking out seven as he breezed through six innings on 86 pitches. Now, he can head into a mercifully normal offseason on a positive note, having put together a 4-1 record and a 2.09 ERA over his final seven starts.

“I think I still have a lot that I can work on and improve on, but yeah, I can't complain,” Baz said after his third straight quality start. “I feel like I was able to pull my weight and throw every five days and give us a chance a lot of the time, so I was happy with it.”

Baz’s career hasn’t progressed in any sort of linear fashion since he sped through the upper Minors to debut for the Rays three years ago. He had arthroscopic surgery on his right elbow during the following Spring Training, made six starts for Tampa Bay that summer then underwent Tommy John surgery on Sept. 28, 2022.

He spent all of 2023 working his way back to the mound, a process that spanned two offseasons -- “Not fun,” he said -- and limited his workload this year. He spent nearly two months building up his stamina in Triple-A, then finally rejoined the Rays on July 5.

Since then, Baz has capitalized on the opportunity to be a mainstay in the rotation and delivered the type of performance you’d expect from a former top prospect of his caliber. In 14 big league outings, the hard-throwing starter recorded a 3.06 ERA and a 1.06 WHIP with 69 strikeouts in 79 1/3 innings.

“Very encouraged with the way he finished,” manager Kevin Cash said.

Baz said he’s looking forward to having time in the offseason to focus on adding strength and refining his arsenal. Pitching coach Kyle Snyder recently noted that Baz, who shut down Boston’s lineup with mostly fastballs and curveballs, will work on his slider and changeup over the winter.

But Snyder raved about the “steady progress” Baz has made since his return and how effectively he’s pitched. And just getting to this point is an accomplishment not lost on Baz.

“He worked really hard to get back to this, being the starting pitcher that he's capable of. Certainly hiccups along the way, but felt like he mentally overcame them and he's put together a run of some really impressive starts,” Cash said before the game. “Like the way that he's going to be able to head into the offseason feeling good about the results he's gotten, the workload he's gotten, and should be pretty limit-free come next year.”

Baz’s outing continued an impressive run for Tampa Bay’s starters, who have allowed three earned runs or fewer in 21 consecutive games, the longest single-season streak since a 25-gamer from May 2-13, 2019.

Reliever Kevin Kelly continued an equally impressive run after Baz left the mound, pitching a clean seventh to extend his scoreless streak to 24 1/3 innings, the longest active mark in the Majors and the third-longest run in franchise history.

Perhaps it was fitting that, in a game started by Baz, right-hander Drew Rasmussen handled the final two innings. Having come back from his own elbow procedure this summer, he eased back into the mix as a two-inning reliever and posted a 2.83 ERA in 28 2/3 innings over 16 outings.

The Rays must decide this offseason whether Rasmussen will return to the rotation or stay in the bullpen. But either way, Cash said, “He’s got a chance to really help us out” next season.

“It wasn't perfect tonight, but you just look back over where I've been over the last 18 months or so, and I'm truly just blessed to have the opportunity to be back playing on the field,” Rasmussen said. “Pretty good year, and we're excited about things moving forward.”