The ninth inning at Texas briefly turned into a worst-case scenario for Tampa Bay, but Bryan Baker’s exit ended up looking far less alarming than it first appeared.
Baker, the MLB saves leader, came on to protect a 7-5 lead against the Rangers and immediately ran into trouble. He walked Jake Burger and Evan Carter to open the frame, and his velocity took a noticeable dip in the process. Baker’s fastball, which had been sitting around 95 mph, was down near 91 mph during the outing.
That’s when the concern really started to build. Rays pitching coach Kyle Snyder came out to check on him first, followed by manager Kevin Cash, and a member of the athletic training staff also made the trip to the mound. Baker then left the game, and Tyler Wells stepped in.
For a moment, it looked like Tampa Bay might be dealing with a major blow to one of the most important arms in baseball. Baker entered the night with 39 saves, the most in MLB, and had been a key reason the Rays have stayed atop the American League. He also owns a 1.44 ERA this season.
After the game, though, Baker offered a much more reassuring explanation. He said he believed dehydration had made it harder for him to repeat his mechanics, and he did not expect the issue to stick around.
“Give me an electrolyte packet and a couple of hours, I think I’d be OK,” Baker said.
That was a welcome update for Tampa Bay, especially after the way the inning unfolded. Wells finished things off for his sixth save of the season, and the Rays escaped with a 7-6 win over Texas.
In the end, the scary part was the moment itself. If Baker is right and dehydration was the only issue, the Rays appear to have avoided a serious injury to their closer.
In Other News...
Rays Suddenly Face Bigger Bullpen Concern With Garrett Cleavinger
The Rays made another bullpen adjustment after placing left-hander Garrett Cleavinger on the 15-day injured list with left forearm tightness, a move that comes on the heels of a rough outing and leaves Tampa Bay with a more immediate question in the late innings. To cover the roster opening, right-hander Ty Johnson was called up from Triple-A Durham, while infielder Oliver Dunn was designated for assignment.
Cleavingers absence matters because he had become one of the left-handed options the Rays could lean on in a relief mix that rarely gets much breathing room. The forearm issue adds another layer of concern, and it now puts his availability for the rest of the season in doubt as Tampa Bay tries to stabilize a bullpen that has already had to absorb plenty of shuffling. [Read more 🡒]
Rays Deadline Move Is Suddenly Looking Huge In AL East Race
The Rays are already in the playoffs, but the bigger prize still sits in front of them as the AL East race tightens. A lot of their deadline attention centered on depth and fit, and one of the quiet developments has been the addition of catcher Liam Hicks, who has given the lineup a noticeable lift since arriving in Tampa Bay. With the division still in play, those kinds of midseason moves can end up mattering just as much as the headline-grabbing ones.
Freddy Peraltas recent run on the mound has only added to the feeling that Tampa Bay is peaking at the right time. The Rays have needed both sides of the roster to come together late, and the combination of steadier pitching and timely offense has put them in position to keep pushing for the division title. What looked like a standard deadline reset is starting to look like one of the moves that could define their finish. [Read more 🡒]
Jonathan Aranda Delivered In A Rays Moment Rangers Will Regret
Jonathan Arandas latest big swing came at exactly the right time for the Rays, who outlasted the Rangers 6-3 in a game that needed extra innings to settle. Tampa Bay had built its day around Drew Rasmussens steady work on the mound, and the right-hander once again gave the club the kind of start that keeps it in control deep into games, even after Texas clawed back to tie things in the eighth.
In the 10th, the Rays finally broke the deadlock and turned a tense road contest into another win they can point to as a marker of how theyve been playing when Rasmussen takes the ball. Aranda has been one of the more reliable bats in the mix, and this was the kind of moment that can linger for the Rangers long after the final out, especially after Tampa Bay found a way to answer the late push and finish the job. [Read more 🡒]