|
 Odorizzi pitched six shutout innings and the Tampa Bay offense
backed him with four solo home runs as the Rays thumped the Detroit
Tigers 8-0 on Wednesday night at Comerica Park.
Pitching with a lead had been a luxury for Odorizzi, who received
the lowest run support in the American League through his first 23
starts. The Rays were scoring 3.16 runs per nine innings for him
before their outburst.
"Any time we're hitting the ball like that, it's nice to be out
there," said Odorizzi (7-8), who scattered six hits and struck out
six. "That's kind of the story of the game. It didn't matter who was
up there; everybody hit well today. It's good to be the beneficiary
of that, put up some zeroes and let them keep hitting."
His last win was also against the Tigers, on July 28. He got out of
a two-out, two-on jam in the third when Tigers right fielder J.D.
Martinez hit a long fly ball that center fielder Brandon Guyer
tracked down. He also struck out designated hitter Miguel Cabrera in
a similar spot in the fifth.
"The last one, I just threw it as hard as I could and challenged
him," Odorizzi said. "It's either going to be hit 500 feet or it's
going to be a strikeout. I just went for it and he swung through
it."
Rays designated hitter Logan Forsythe and second baseman Tim Beckham
homered and drove in two runs apiece. Catcher J.P. Arencibia and
right fielder Mikie Mahtook also blasted solo home runs for the Rays
(68-71), who snapped a three-game losing streak by taking the finale
of a three-game series. Shortstop Asdrubal Cabrera added a two-run
double.
The four homers came in an eight-batter stretch spanning the sixth
and seventh innings.
"When Logan hit that home run, it felt like the floodgates kind of
opened up," Mahtook said. "Baseball is a contagious game. Once he
did that, the next guy did it and the next guy did it. That's when
baseball gets really fun."
Losing pitcher Kyle Lobstein (3-7) was charged with five runs on
seven hits in 5 2/3 innings. The Tigers' staff has given up a
major-league-high 170 homers.
"It was kind of a mixed bag," Detroit manager Brad Ausmus said of
Lobstein's outing. "He had six strikeouts and got some swings and
misses. But, obviously, he gave up some runs and a couple of long
balls."
Detroit (64-75) has been shut out on eight occasions, including five
times since Aug. 10.
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"We've had 54-something games with two runs or less. It's tough to
explain," Ausmus said. "Tonight, a lot of it had to do with the fact
that our defense was standing out on the field 20 minutes at a time
as we're trying to get through innings. That doesn't really help."
The Rays broke through with three runs against Lobstein in the
fourth. Mahtook drew a one-out walk and third baseman Evan Longoria
followed with a single. Forsythe poked an opposite-field double to
bring home Mahtook and Cabrera followed with a line-drive double to
left-center, knocking in Longoria and Forsythe.
Lobstein was removed in the sixth after giving up solo shots to
Forsythe and Beckham. The Rays tacked on three more runs in the
seventh.
NOTES: Detroit DH Victor Martinez was back in the clubhouse but
remained out of the lineup for the third straight game because of an
illness. Tigers manager Brad Ausmus expects Martinez to start the
opener of a four-game series at Cleveland on Thursday. ... Tampa Bay
CF Kevin Kiermaier was not in the lineup as manager Kevin Cash
decided to rest the Gold Glove candidate. Kiermaier had appeared in
all but one game since June 27. ... The Rays' 13-inning loss on
Tuesday was their 10th consecutive extra-innings defeat, the most in
one season since the 2012 Houston Astros lost 11 straight
extra-innings games. ... The Tigers' James McCann has not committed
an error in his first 102 games as a catcher, which is a major
league record in the modern era (since 1900). The previous record
was 93 games by Frankie Pytlak of the Cleveland Indians (1932-34).
McCann was out of the lineup Wednesday after catching all 13 innings
on Tuesday.
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