MILWAUKEE -- The Rays left Game 1 with a loss, but they may have also left some useful information behind.
In a 3-2 defeat to the Brewers on Friday night at American Family Field, Kevin Cash chose not to chase every small deficit with his highest-end bullpen pieces. Cam Booser, Tyler Wells and Bryan Baker never got the call, even with Tampa Bay playing from behind all night.
Instead, Cash leaned on Steven Matz, Kevin Kelly, Garrett Cleavinger and Cole Sulser. That group is not exactly unfamiliar to the Rays, who have made a habit of mixing and matching bullpen roles all season, but it was not the trio of top options the Brewers were facing at the back end.
The plan nearly held. Those four relievers combined to allow one run over three innings, and Cash came away encouraged by how they handled the middle of the game.
“I felt like our bullpen came in and did a really nice job,” Cash said. “Chourio hits a ball right by [Jonathan] Aranda. Other than that, for them to navigate through those innings where they had some traffic, that was good for us.”
The only run that decided the game came in the seventh. Matz, back out for a second inning, opened the frame with a walk, then Kelly gave up a two-out RBI single to Jackson Chourio. That turned out to be the difference.
There was another layer to Tampa Bay’s approach, though. The Rays got an extended look at Milwaukee’s best bullpen arms, and they believe that can matter in a series that still has plenty of games left.
Jacob Misiorowski had already been removed with a lead after five innings, and the Brewers went to Abner Uribe for four outs, Aaron Ashby for five and closer Trevor Megill for the final three. DL Hall warmed up for a potential left-handed matchup but never entered.
Cash knows that exposure can add up.
The hitters who faced Uribe, Ashby and Megill on Friday could see them again Saturday. Maybe again Monday, Tuesday or Wednesday, too. Over a long series, the repeated matchups can tilt things toward the offense.
“There's some benefit, maybe, from a loss. We saw Ashby.
We saw Uribe. We saw Megill,” Cash said.
“I'd like to think that's going to help us moving forward a little bit.”
At the same time, the Rays preserved several arms they may need later. Baker, Booser, Wells, Ian Seymour and a starter working in relief, like Freddy Peralta or Griffin Jax, all stayed on the shelf in a game where two runs likely weren’t going to be enough anyway. Matz had to throw 31 pitches to get five outs, but Kelly needed only 12 pitches to face four batters, Cleavinger threw 10 pitches to get three outs and Sulser needed just four pitches to retire one hitter.
Whether that turns into an edge for Tampa Bay is still ahead of them.
“I think times seen, it matters,” Cash said. “I don't know how much you can quantify for it, but it certainly matters to some degree.”
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