We saw a rematch of the 2008 World Series as the Rays took on the Phillies in this Grapefruit League contest. Philadelphia started the veteran Jake Arrieta on the mound this afternoon. He won the NL Cy Young award in 2015 as a member of the Chicago Cubs. The Rays got their first hits off of Arrieta in the bottom of the 3rd inning as Daniel Robertson and Austin Meadows connected for back-to-back singles. Robertson would score on a wild pitch later in the inning to put the Rays on the board and make it 5-1 Philadelphia. Hunter Renfroe added to the Tampa Bay run total when he absolutely demolished a homerun that went over everything. Rays’ fans have been waiting to witness the insane power from Renfroe firsthand, so this was a great sight to say the least. Arrieta exited after the homerun with an apparent injury. He didn’t have a bad outing as he only gave up the 2 runs on 3 hits in 3 1/3 innings. The Rays kept chipping away at the Phillies’ lead as Michael Perez singled in a run in the 5th inning. The next inning, Brian O’Grady collected an RBI double to make it a one-run ballgame. O’Grady is now hitting .348 with a couple homeruns as he attempts to make the Rays’ roster.
Brendan McKay started this game on the bump for Tampa Bay. It was only his second appearance of the spring and the rust really showed today. He completed 1 1/3 innings and gave up 3 extra base hits which included 2 homeruns from Josh Harrison and Roman Quinn. His command was off today as he consistently missed his spots resulting in very hard contact. Colin Poche also struggled to throw strikes today as he walked in a run with the bases loaded to extend the Phillies’ lead to 4-0. The Phillies jacked another long ball off of the hard throwing lefty, Jose Alvarado. It was a hit parade for Philly today as Alvarado gave up 2 hits in his outing and they collected 7 hits total in just the first 3 innings. Chaz Roe was a bright spot for the Rays’ pitching staff today as he gave up no runs on one hit and struck out 2 including the former Ray, Logan Forsythe. The Phillies’ minor leaguers put up 4 more runs in the 8th inning off of Aaron Slegers and Sam McWilliams. Due to the coronavirus scare, this was the last Spring Training game this year as the Rays dropped their 3rd straight by a score of 8-4.
Tampa Bay Rays Reviews 