Rays' rotation paving way in strong stretch

This story was excerpted from Adam Berry’s Rays Beat newsletter. To read the full newsletter, click here. And subscribe to get it regularly in your inbox.

ST. PETERSBURG -- For the first time this season, the Rays have won four series in a row. As they’ve won eight of their last 11 games during that stretch, beginning with June 19, their starting pitchers have put together the third-best ERA in the Majors.

Yes, those two things are related.

“Look, we're gonna go as our pitching goes. That's kind of how we're built,” manager Kevin Cash said Sunday afternoon. “They've done a really good job. … At the end of the day, we've got to pitch well to win series, and that's what they've been doing.”

Starting pitching has not necessarily been Tampa Bay’s strength this season. Entering Tuesday’s series opener in Kansas City, the Rays’ 4.25 rotation ERA ranks 19th in the Majors. They only have one starter with an adjusted ERA+ better than the league-average mark of 100: Taj Bradley, at 114 after 10 starts. Zach Eflin is next, at 99 in 15 starts.

But the last few turns through the rotation, things have been falling into place.

Bradley has been excellent, of course, looking more and more like a future ace the further away he gets from his one bad start in Baltimore on June 1. He’s showing elite stuff, a deep arsenal, an impressively mature mentality for someone with his relatively limited experience and confidence that he can succeed at this level every time he takes the mound.

“He’s got some of the best stuff, I would say, in the league,” starter Zack Littell said. “It all comes down to just him recognizing on his best days and even on his worst day, he's going to be able to go out and get anybody out. And it just comes with experience.”

But it’s more than just Bradley. The Rays’ rotation has allowed two earned runs or fewer in seven straight games and in 10 of their last 11 games, pitching to a 2.58 ERA during that stretch. Their starters’ ERA in that span is third in the Majors behind the Royals (2.33 ERA in 12 games) and Astros (2.52 ERA in 11 games).

The Rays aren’t exactly letting their horses run wild, as they’ve only had three starts during this stretch of at least six innings: Eflin twice (seven innings on June 22 and six scoreless on Friday) and Bradley once (six innings on June 19). But they’re getting the best out of their starters and getting enough length from them, with only one start shorter than five innings since June 19 (Ryan Pepiot, 3 1/3 innings on June 21) to keep their bullpen fresh.

Eflin’s seven-inning start in a 4-3 loss at Pittsburgh on June 22 stands out in that regard. He didn’t win that game, but his efficiency allowed Tampa Bay to use just one reliever after him. The next day, Aaron Civale went five innings on only 61 pitches, but Cash could deploy high-leverage relievers Garrett Cleavinger, Kevin Kelly, Jason Adam and Pete Fairbanks in a tight game after Civale turned over the Pirates' lineup twice. The bullpen didn’t give up a hit the rest of the way, and the Rays won, 3-1.

“It does feel like we're getting deep enough in games, and we're having that longer start, then we can get aggressive maybe with the bullpen to rely on them the next day, and then we get [another] longer start,” Cash said. “It's been synced up really, really well.”

This is potentially an interesting time for the rotation to find its footing, because there could be a starting pitching logjam in the coming weeks that could lead to some activity before the July 30 Trade Deadline.

Jeffrey Springs is making rehab starts for Triple-A Durham, deliberately building up his workload with an eye on returning at some point later this month. Springs signed a four-year extension in January 2023 and couldn’t have been much better to start last season, allowing just one run on four hits and four walks while striking out 24 in 16 innings over his first three outings before undergoing season-ending Tommy John surgery.

Additionally, former top prospect Shane Baz is getting built back up in Triple-A after finishing his recovery from Tommy John surgery. Baz, who zoomed through the upper Minors to debut in late 2021, has recorded a 1.57 ERA with 35 strikeouts and 10 walks in 23 innings over his last five starts for Durham.