Tyler Glasnow Looks Great in 2nd Start, But Rays Fall to Red Sox Late
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BOSTON, Mass. — What mattered a lot Monday night was that Tyler Glasnow made his second start after Tommy John surgery and looked great once again for the Tampa Bay Rays. He passed his playoff audition with flying colors.
It also mattered a lot that Wander Franco and Manuel Margot hit home runs against Boston Red Sox pitching, and seem dialed in for the American League playoffs. that start on Friday. Another box checked. Franco had three hits on the night.
Throw in another good thing, that the Rays' vaunted bullpen arms all got another full day of rest, and you really couldn't have asked for more.
The fact that the Red Sox actually came back and won 4-3, erasing a three-run deficit, really is irrelevant. It's very clear that the Rays are in playoff prep mode, and everything that went on Monday night was just fine with them.
Sure, they would have liked to win the game, but leaving minor-leaguer Kevin Herget on the mound for four-plus innings after Glasnow's start was part of the plan to rest all of the bullpen arms. And the fact that Herget gave up four runs and took the loss was just an incidental result.
Fellow minor-leaguer Easton McGee pitched three innings at Houston on Sunday for the same exact reason. It's all about Friday.
"Once we realized we weren't going to have an opportunity to get home field, I think the best thing that we can do is make sure (the bullpen) is 100 percent going in to the postseason,'' Rays manager Kevin Cash said. "We know we are going to lean on those guys and that's kind of the decisions that I, we, have made.''
Toronto, which has won four games in a row, has clinched the top wild-card spot and will be the No. 4 seed in the playoffs, hosting the No. 5 seed in a best-of-three series starting on Friday. The Seattle Mariners, who lost to Detroit Monday night, are the opponent for now. They are 1 1/2 games ahead of the Rays, and play a doubleheader against the Tigers and a single game on Wednesday.
The Rays, who have two games left with the Red Sox, seem set for the No. 6 seed, which means a trip to Cleveland for a three-game series with the Guardians. Seattle's magic number to clinch the No. 5 seed is two.
Tyler Glasnow pitched 3 2/3 scoreless innings on Monday, allowing just two hits. (USA TODAY Sports)
What mattered most on Monday night was Glasnow, and he was terrific. He struck out seven and held the Red Sox to two hits in 3 2/3 scoreless innings.
He even worked through trouble in the first inning after a leadoff walk to Tommy Pham and a single by Jonathan Devers. He threw 27 pitches in the first inning, but got eight outs in a row until Devers singled again with two outs in the third. He should have had a 1-2-3 inning in the fourth, but his pitch to strike out first baseman Tristan Casas got past catcher Christian Bethancourt for a drop third strike. That's when Cash pulled him after 64 impressive pitches.
Cash thought it was good that Glasnow worked through early trouble and said he will definitely start Game 2 of the wild-card playoffs on Saturday.
"I don’t think there’s anything wrong with having a little bit of adversity. He definitely had that in the first inning. He’s going to have to go through that a little bit and he settled in," Cash said. “Sometimes it’s better when you’re coming back to have those challenges.”
Glasnow was thrilled as well, and is excited to be able to contribute in the postseason. He felt good after four rehab starts at Triple-A Durham, and it's been the same here through two starts as well. In a combined 6 2/3 innings in his two starts, he's allowed just one run, four hits and has struck out 10.
That's impressive.
“I wasn’t necessarily looking for results. It was more like comfort and like being able to complete my delivery and everything,” Glasnow said. “I feel like since Triple-A to now, everything’s been feeling sharp and I feel like I have a good idea of what I want to do.”
The Rays and Red Sox play again on Tuesday night, starting at 7:10 p.m. ET. Jeffrey Springs (9-4, 2.45 ERA) will start for the Rays. He'll take on Nathan Eovaldi (5-3, 4.05).
