Friday, October 8, 2021 • ALDS Game 2 • Tropicana Field • St. Petersburg, FL
LHP Chris Sale (0-0, -.–) vs. RHP Shane Baz (0-0, -.–)
BOSTON RED SOX
GAME ONE RECAP: The Red Sox committed 0 errors and out-hit the Rays, 9-6, in last night’s 5-0 loss…It marked the 11th time in Postseason history a team had 9+ hits and 0 runs (1st time in Red Sox history). The Sox were shut out for the 8th time in Postseason
history (1st since 2016 ALDS-G2 at CLE)…It marked their 3rd shutout loss in a Postseason Game 1 (also 2009 ALDS at LAA and 2013 ALCS vs. DET).
ON THE OFFENSIVE: The Red Sox did not draw a walk in last night’s game, after they walked 7 times in their Wild Card Game victory over the Yankees. The Sox became the 1st team to record 9+ hits and 0 XBH in a Postseason game since the 2014 Giants in Game 4 of the NLDS vs. WSH. The Sox hit 9 balls at 102+ MPH, 5 of which were outs.
DOWN 0-1: The Red Sox have gone on to win 2 Division Series after losing Game 1 (1999 vs. CLE and 2003 vs. OAK). The Sox have never won Game 2 of an ALDS after losing Game 1 (0-2 in 1995, ‘99, 2003, ‘05, ‘09, ‘16, and ‘17). 8 of the 26 World Series champions in Division Series history (since 1995) lost Game 1 of the DS, most recently the 2019 Nationals and 2015 Royals.
IN OUR DEFENSE: The Red Sox have been charged with only 4 errors in their last 16 games (beginning 9/17). On Tuesday vs. NYY, the Red Sox threw out Aaron Judge at home plate on an 8-6-2 putout in the 6th inning, keeping the score at 3-1…In the regular season, Sox outfielders led MLB with 43 assists, their most in a season since 1987 (47).
LEADING OFF: Last night, Kiké Hernández became only the 49th player ever to appear in 60+ Postseason games. Hernández has played in more Postseason games (60) and hit more Postseason HR (8) than any other player on the Red Sox’ ALDS roster. There have been 3 Postseason leadoff HR hit by Red Sox, all in the World Series: Patsy Dougherty (1903-G2), Johnny Damon (2004-G4), and Dustin Pedroia (2007-G1).
X FACTOR: Xander Bogaerts has made 24 Postseason starts at shortstop, 2nd-most in Red Sox history behind Nomar Garciaparra (25)…In Tuesday’s win vs. NYY, Bogaerts gave the Sox a 2-0 lead with a 2-run HR in the 1st inning. Bogaerts won World Series titles with the Red Sox in 2013 and 2018…He is the only player that was on the club’s active World Series roster in both of those years.
MOST POSTSEASON GAMES IN RED SOX HISTORY
Rk. Player Seasons G
1. David Ortiz……………..2003-05, ‘07-09, ‘13, ‘16 ……76
2. Jason Varitek…………..1998-99, 2003-05, ‘07-08…..63
3. Dustin Pedroia…………2007-09, ‘13, ‘16, ‘17 ………..51
4. Manny Ramirez……….2003-05, ‘07…………………….43
T5. Trot Nixon ………………1998-99, 2003-05……………..38
T5. Jacoby Ellsbury………..2007-09, ‘13…………………….38
7. Xander Bogaerts… 2013, ‘16-18, ‘21 …………..35
PLAYOFF HISTORY: The Red Sox are 9-2 in their last 11 Postseason games…They are making the 25th Postseason appearance in franchise history, their 1st since winning the 2018 World Series championship. The Sox are 103-87-1 in Postseason play…They are 1-0 in Wild Card Games and 22-15 in 37 series, having gone 7-6 in 13 trips to the ALDS (23-26 in games), 6-5 in the ALCS (30-32), and 9-4 in the World Series (49-29-1).
AGAINST THE FIELD: The Red Sox were 26-30 against Postseason teams in 2021, having played the Rays (8-11), Yankees (10-9), White Sox (3-4), Astros (2-5), and Braves (3-1)…They were 66-40 (.623) against all other teams.
ROSTER BREAKDOWN: The Red Sox’ ALDS roster features 13 pitchers and 13 position players. 9 players on the Sox’ ALDS roster have won a World Series (Bogaerts, Devers, Hernández, Schwarber, Vázquez, Brasier, Eovaldi, Rodriguez, Sale).
PITCHING IN: Last night, Nick Pivetta threw 4.2 innings of relief…That is tied for the 6th-longest relief outing in Red Sox Postseason history and was the club’s longest since Nathan Eovaldi’s 6.0-inning effort in Game 3 of the 2018 World Series. In their last 23 games (beginning 9/8), the Red Sox have posted a 3.40 ERA (77 ER/203.2 IP). Tuesday vs. NYY was the 1st time in franchise history the Red Sox struck out 11+ batters and walked none in a Postseason game…They were the 22nd MLB team (7th AL team) to accomplish the feat.
EASTERN STANDARD: The Red Sox and Rays are meeting in the Postseason for the 3rd time (2008 ALCS and 2013 ALDS)…The Sox are 6-6 vs. TB in the Postseason, with 7 of the 12 games decided by 1 or 2 runs (see table on next page). Red Sox manager Alex Cora and Rays manager Kevin Cash were teammates with the Red Sox in 2007 and 2008, helping lead BOS to the Postseason in each year.
WILD THING: The Red Sox made their 1st appearance in the Wild Card Game on Tuesday and defeated the Yankees at Fenway Park, 6-2, in front of a sellout crowd of 38,324. The Sox improved to 7-6 all time in winner-takeall Postseason games…They are 8-1 in their last 9 Postseason games against the Yankees. 7 teams have won a World Series without winning their division, including the 2004 Red Sox and 2 teams that played in a Wild Card Game (2014-SF, 2019-WSH).
NATHAN’S FAMOUS: Nathan Eovaldi allowed 1 run in 5.1 IP against the Yankees on Tuesday (4 H, 0 BB, 8 SO)…In 7 career Postseason games (all with BOS), he is 2-1 with a 1.63 ERA and a 0.80 WHIP (27.2 IP, 19 H, 5 ER, 3 BB, 24 SO). Eovaldi is 3-0 with a 1.96 ERA in 3 Postseason starts (4 ER/18.1 IP)…The only other pitchers to throw 5.0+ innings and allow 2 runs or fewer in each of their first 3 Postseason starts with the Sox are Josh Beckett (4), Jon Lester (3), and Babe Ruth (3).
LOWEST POSTSEASON ERA, RED SOX (MIN. 20.0 IP)
Rk. Pitcher ERA
1. Babe Ruth …………………….. 0.87 (3 ER/31.0 IP)
2. Jonathan Papelbon…………. 1.00 (3 ER/27.0 IP)
3. Nathan Eovaldi ………..1.63 (5 ER/27.2 IP)
COMEBACK KIDS: The Red Sox led MLB with 47 comeback wins in the regular season; the Rays ranked 2nd (46). The Sox’ largest deficit overcome to win was 4 runs, done 4 times, including in their final game of the regular season (trailed 1-5, won 7-5 on 10/3 at WSH). The Sox’ largest deficit overcome to win a Postseason game is 7 runs, to win Game 5 of the 2008 ALCS against the Rays at Fenway Park (trailed 0-7, won 8-7).
TEAM OF THE CENTURY: The Red Sox have won 4 of the last 17 World Series titles (2004, ‘07, ‘13, ‘18), the most championships in MLB this century. Under the current ownership group (2002-present), the Sox have been to the Postseason 11 times…The only other teams with 10+ appearances in the last 20 years are NYY (16), STL (13), LAD (13), and ATL (11).
MOST WORLD SERIES TITLES SINCE 2002
Rk. Team World Series Titles
1. Boston Red Sox 4 (2004, ‘07, ‘13, ‘18)
2. San Francisco Giants 3 (2010, ‘12, ‘14)
3. St. Louis Cardinals 2 (2006, ‘11)
4. 10 teams tied 1
IT’S NOT HOW YOU START: The Red Sox opened their season by getting swept by the Orioles at Fenway Park, then won their next 9 games…They were the first team in MLB history to open a season with a losing streak of 3+ games and immediately follow it with a win streak of 9+ games (source: Elias). The Sox are the 31st team to reach the Postseason despite losing its first 3 games (last: ATL in 2019). 5 teams have won the World Series despite losing their first 3 games of the regular season: 1911 A’s, 1914 Braves, 1973 A’s, 1998 Yankees, and 2012 Giants.
MONSTER MASH: The Red Sox ranked 10th in MLB with 219 HR…They homered in 34 of their final 37 games; in that time (beginning 8/23), they ranked 5th in MLB with 62 HR. The Sox hit 4+ HR in a game 13 times, 2nd-most in franchise history (15 times in 1977).
From the No. 9 spot, the Sox led the majors in XBH (52) and SLG (.392)…They hit 18 HR, tied for the 2nd-most in franchise history (24 in 2003, 18 in 2011).
RED SOX WITH 20+ HOME RUNS IN 2021
Player HR RBI OPS
Rafael Devers 38 113 .890
Kyle Schwarber 32 71 .928
Hunter Renfroe 31 96 .816
J.D. Martinez 28 99 .867
Bobby Dalbec 25 78 .792
Xander Bogaerts 23 79 .863
Kiké Hernández 20 60 .786
THREE’S COMPANY: The Red Sox led the majors with 37 three-run homers, their most in franchise history (source: Elias)…The Giants (32) and Rays (30) ranked 2nd and 3rd. The Sox hit 40 HR with at least 2 runners on base (3 grand slams), the most in MLB this season and the 2ndmost in franchise history (41 in 2005).
TOUGH WITH TWO: The Red Sox led the majors in 2-strike XBH (205), as well as 2-strike RBI (329), 35 more than any other team…The top 4 leaders in 2-strike RBI made the Postseason (BOS-329, SF-294, HOU-293, ATL-288). The Sox led MLB in HR in counts of 0-2 (18) & 1-2 (29). The Sox led MLB in runs scored with 2 outs (334), ahead of TB (333), ATL (326), and LAD (326). With RISP & 2 outs, the Sox led the AL in AVG (.262) and OPS (.824).
EXTRA CREDIT: The Red Sox went 11-5 (.688) in extra-inning games, MLB’s 3rd-best record…They were 8-1 in extra-inning games on the road, the best record in the majors among teams who played at least 5 extra-inning road games. The Sox tied their franchise record for most wins in extra-inning road games (8-3 in 1956, 8-2 in 2017).
TONIGHT’S STARTING PITCHER
41-CHRIS SALE, LHP 5-1, 3.16 ERA, 9 starts
W-L ERA G GS IP ER HR BB SO AVG WHIP
2021 5-1 3.16 9 9 42.2 15 6 12 52 .269 1.34
CAREER 114-77 3.03 321 241 1672.1 563 178 386 2059 .219 1.04
POSTSEASON 1-2 5.76 7 4 25.0 16 5 9 36 .247 1.32
Last Start: Tossed a season-low 2.1 innings in the season finale Sunday at WSH (4 H, 2
R, 3 BB, 7 SO)…All 7 outs he recorded came via strikeout.
Postseason: In his Postseason career, has made 7 appearances (4 starts) and posted a 5.76 ERA (16 ER/25.0 IP) with a .247 opponent AVG, 36 SO, and 9 BB.
The Sox are 2-2 in his Postseason starts.
Helped the Sox win the 2018 World Series, closing out the Fall Classic by striking out the side in the 9th inning of Game 5 at Dodger Stadium.
Also made 1 start and 1 relief appearance in the 2017 ALDS vs. HOU. vs. TB: Is 10-6 with a 2.93 ERA (43 ER/132.0 IP) over 22 career outings (20 starts) vs. TB.
In 12 career outings (11 starts) at Tropicana Field, he is 5-3 with a 2.09 ERA (18 ER/77.2 IP) and a .172 opponent AVG.
In 2 starts against the Rays in 2021, allowed 3 ER in 9.2 IP (2.79 ERA) with 9 SO, 3 BB, and 2 HBP…Gave up 16 hits, 14 of which were singles.
Since joining the Red Sox in 2017, is 3-1 with a 2.53 ERA and 12.63 SO/9.0 IP over 7 starts
vs. TB (46.1 IP, 13 ER, 65 SO)…Has gone 6.0+ innings in 6 of his 7 start vs. TB. 2021 Season Highlights: Returned to make 9 starts for the Red Sox after missing the entire 2020 season (Tommy John surgery).
The Red Sox went 7-2 in his starts this season.
Allowed 3 ER or fewer in each of his 9 outings and 2 ER or fewer in 8 of them. In 6 starts at night, was 4-1 with a 2.84 ERA, a 1.04 WHIP, and a .219 opponent AVG (31.2 IP, 10 ER, 25 H).
Threw an immaculate inning on 8/26 vs. MIN (3rd inn.), joining Sandy Koufax as the only pitchers on record to throw 3 in a career (later joined by Max Scherzer).
Career Highlights: In 93 career starts for the Red Sox, is 40-24 with a 3.09 ERA. Leads active AL pitchers (min 1,000.0 IP) in ERA (3.03), opponent AVG (.219), SO% (30.6%), and WHIP (1.04).
Ranks 1st in the Live Ball Era (min. 1,000.0 IP) in SO% (30.6%) and SO/BB ratio (5.33). Finished in the top 6 in AL Cy Young Award voting in each of his first 7 seasons as a starter: 2012-6th, 2013-5th, 2014-3rd, 2015-4th, 2016-5th, 2017-2nd, 2018-4th.
Is the only pitcher to ever finish in the top 6 in AL Cy Young Award voting in 7 straight years. Is a 7-time All-Star (2012-18)…Started 3 consecutive All-Star Games for the AL from 2016-18.
TAMPA BAY RAYS
DIVISION SERIES ROSTER—Was announced prior to Game 1:
Ê Pitchers (13): RH Shane Baz*,
RH JT Chargois, RH Pete
Fairbanks, RH J.P. Feyereisen*, LH Josh Fleming*, RH
Andrew Kittredge, LH Shane
McClanahan*, RH Collin
McHugh, RH Luis Patiño*, RH
Drew Rasmussen, RH David
Robertson, RH Michael Wacha, RH Matt Wisler
Ê Catchers (2): Francisco
Mejía, Mike Zunino
Ê Infielders (5): Ji-Man Choi,
Yandy Díaz, Wander Franco*,
Brandon Lowe, Joey Wendle
Ê Outfielders (5): Randy Arozarena*, Kevin Kiermaier,
Jordan Luplow, Manuel
Margot, Austin Meadows
Ê DH (1): Nelson Cruz
* = rookie (7)
ON THE WEB—The Rays Postseason Media Guide is now available at mlbpressbox.com (login required), rayspressbox.com (using username rays\
media and password R@ys1998#) and https://bit.ly/3lkgPqv (no login necessary)…see a member of the Rays Communications staff for assistance.
BY THE NUMBERS—Last night the Rays recorded the third postseason
shutout in club history, following the 2013 Wild Card Game at CLE (4-0)
and Game 1 of the 2011 ALDS at TEX (9-0)…the Rays are 28-29 all-time in
the postseason (17-13 at home, 11-9 at Tropicana Field, 11-16 on the road)
and have won five consecutive postseason games at Tropicana Field…according to MLB.com, in postseason history teams taking a 1-0 lead in any
best-of-five series have gone on to win the series 72 pct. (101 of 140) of
the time…in Division Series with the current 2-2-1 format, teams winning
Game 1 in their home ballpark have advanced 77 pct. (33 of 43) of the
time…excludes 2020, when Division Series were played at neutral sites.
RAYS vs. RED SOX—The Rays have faced the Red Sox in two prior postseason series, winning the decisive Game 7 of the 2008 ALCS to advance
to the first World Series in club history, and losing the 2013 ALDS in 4
games…tonight is the 13th postseason game against them in club history,
which passes the Astros for their most against a single opponent…this is
the third multi-game series against them, breaking a tie with the Astros
and Rangers for their most postseason series against a single opponent.
Ê The Rays went 11-8 against them in the reg. season (7-3 at home,
4-5 on the road), winning the season series for a third straight season…the Rays lost the first four meetings but went 11-4 after that.
Ê The two clubs met seven times in 10 days from Aug 30–Sep 8 and
13 times in just under six weeks from July 30–Sep 8…the Rays took
over first place in the AL East after the middle game of a July 30–Aug
1 sweep over them and remained in first for the rest of the season.
Ê The Rays were a season-high-tying 4½ GB of the Red Sox in the AL
East as late as the end of play on July 5, but after that the Rays went
51-26 and the Red Sox went 38-38, resulting in a 12½-game swing.
PITCHING PLANS—Tonight’s game will be started by rookie Shane Baz,
who was selected from Triple-A Durham on Sep 20 and went 2-0 with a
2.03 ERA (13.1-IP, 3-ER) in three regular-season starts…Baz will become
the second pitcher in major league history to start a postseason game with
three or fewer career regular-season appearances up to that point, joining TB Matt Moore in Game 1 of the 2011 ALDS at TEX…at 22 years, 113
days he will become the 2nd-youngest starter in Rays postseason history
behind Moore’s postseason debut…Baz will be the 2nd-youngest pitcher
in postseason history to start against the Red Sox, following 21-year-old
NYM Dwight Gooden in Game 2 and Game 5 of the 1986 World Series.
Ê Baz’s start comes after Shane McClanahan started and went five
scoreless innings last night…according to Sarah Langs of MLB.com,
the Rays are the second team in postseason history to start rookie
pitchers in the first 2 games of a postseason series, joining the A’s
(Jarrod Parker, Tommy Milone) in the 2012 ALDS at the Tigers.
Ê The Rays have 13 pitchers on their Division Series roster, none of
which made a start in any of the club’s 20 games from last postseason…10 of 13 pitchers were not on the 2020 World Series roster.
THE GREAT RANDINO—Last night Randy Arozarena became the first
player in postseason history to homer and steal home in the same game,
according to Stats LLC…he hit a solo homer off Nick Pivetta leading off
the 5th inning and stole home off Josh Taylor in the 7th…Arozarena has
11 HR in 26 career postseason games, tied for 24th all-time despite being
tied for 371st with 95 postseason plate appearances…according to ESPN
Stats & Info, his 11 career postseason homers are five more than any other
rookie in major league history, with Evan Longoria ranking 2nd with 6.
Ê Randy’s 11 HR have come in his last 19 postseason games, tied for
2nd in postseason history for a 19-game span behind NYY Babe
Ruth (12) from Oct 15, 1923–Oct 1, 1932…he is also the first player
in postseason history with 11+ HR and 29+ hits in a 20-game span.
Ê According to Sarah Langs of MLB.com, his 11 career postseason
homers would make him the all-time leader for 21 other franchises,
in addition to the Rays where he ranks 1st over Evan Longoria (9).
THE WANDER YEARS—Last night Wander Franco made his postseason
debut at 20 years, 220 days and hit a RBI double in the 1st inning and
doubled in the 7th…he became the youngest player with a postseason RBI
since WSH Bryce Harper (19.362) in Game 5 of the 2012 NLDS vs. STL…
according to ESPN Stats & Info, he was the 2nd-youngest player all-time
with an RBI in his first postseason game behind BAL Manny Machado
(20.091) in the 2012 AL Wild Card Game at TEX…according to Stats LLC,
he became the first player in ML history to have multiple extra-base hits
in his regular-season debut (June 22 vs. BOS) and his postseason debut.
Ê Franco became the youngest player in major league history with
multiple hits in his postseason debut…he became the 2nd-youngest
with an extra-base hit in his postseason debut behind OAK Claudell
Washington (20.035) in Game 1 of the 1974 ALCS vs. BAL.
ROCK THE CATWALK—Last night Nelson Cruz homered off the C-ring
catwalk in the 3rd inning, the fifth time a fair ball hit a catwalk in the postseason following TOR Danny Jansen in 2020, TB Willy Adames in 2019,
TB B.J. Upton in 2008 and TB Evan Longoria in 2008…Cruz has 18 HR in
his postseason career, tied for 6th all-time…according to the Elias Sports
Bureau, he is the sixth player to hit a postseason homer for four different
teams, joining Ron Gant, Russell Martin, Mike Napoli, John Olerud and
Reggie Sanders…at 41 years, 98 days he became the 2nd-oldest player to
homer in postseason history behind 43-year-old Julio Franco (2) in 2001.
FOUNTAIN OF YOUTH—Last night the Rays became the first team in
postseason history to have two rookies record an extra-base hit (Wander Franco, Randy Arozarena) and another rookie toss a scoreless start
(Shane McClanahan) in the same game…with Arozarena batting leadoff
and Franco hitting 2nd, the Rays were the first team to start rookies in
the No. 1 and No. 2 spots of the order in Game 1 of a postseason series…
it marked the sixth time in any postseason game, a list including Jacoby
Ellsbury and Dustin Pedroia in Games 3-4 of the 2007 World Series.
BEASTS OF THE EAST—The Rays went 51-25 against AL East foes, including 25-8 from July 29 through season’s end and 45-17 beginning on
May 13…the Rays won the season series over the Orioles (18-1), Red Sox
(11-8), Blue Jays (11-8) and Yankees (11-8), the third time in club history
they won the season series against all four AL East teams (2020, 2010).
Ê The 51 intradivision wins were a club record over 2019 (44)…the
AL East was the second division in the divisional era (since 1969) to
have four teams with 90+ wins, joining the 1978 AL East (4).
Ê The Rays clinched a postseason spot on Sep 22, won the AL East
on Sep 25 and secured the No. 1 seed on Sep 29…the Rays clinched
the best record in the AL for the third time and became the first AL
club to do so in back-to-back seasons since the 2011-12 Yankees…
they ended the season with sole possession of the AL’s best record
for 61 straight days from Aug 6 through the end of the season.
Ê The Rays made the Division Series for the seventh time since 2008,
and the only other clubs to do so as often since then are the Dodgers (11 including this season), Yankees (8) and Cardinals (7).
HOW THEY GOT HERE—The reigning AL champions went 100-62, setting a club record for wins over 2008 (97)…they ranked 2nd in the majors
in runs scored and led the AL in ERA and run differential…the Rays went
47-25 (.653) after the All-Star break, best in the AL and 3rd in the majors.
Ê The Rays became the 19th AL team in the Wild Card era with 100+
wins…seven of the first 18 won the pennant; four won the World
Series: 2018 Red Sox, 2017 Astros, 2009 Yankees and 1998 Yankees.
Ê The Rays had a club-record 46 comeback wins, 2nd in the majors
behind Boston (47)…they led the majors with 17 wins when trailing by 3 runs (or more), 9 wins when trailing by 3 runs (or more) in
the 6th inning or later, and 7 wins when trailing after 8 innings.
Ê The Rays went 52-29 at home, 4th in the majors and 2nd in the AL,
including an AL-best 45-17 from May 13 through season’s end…the
52 home wins tied 2009 for 2nd in club history behind 2008 (57)…
the Rays had a 2.93 ERA at home, 1st in the majors (LAD, 3.00).
TONIGHT’S GAME 2 STARTER: RH SHANE BAZ (0-0, 0.00 ERA)
2021 GAME LOG
GAME DEC ERA IP H R ER BB SO HR HB WP P/K FINAL
9/20 vs. TOR W-1 3.60 5.0 2 2 2 0 5 2 0 0 65/51 W, 6-4
9/26 vs. MIA W-2 1.69 5.2 3 0 0 1 9 0 0 1 82/52 W, 3-2
10/2 at NYY — 2.03 2.2 1 1 1 2 4 1 0 0 51/28 W, 12-2
2021 PITCH TRACKING DATA
STAT FB SL CB CH CT
Usage Rate 54.5 21.2 18.7 5.6 — # vs. RHB 58 39 20 0 —
# vs. LHB 50 3 17 11 —
Avg. Velocity 97.0 86.7 82.5 88.7 —
Max Velocity 99.5 89.2 86.0 90.1 —
Whiff Rate 30.4 40.7 50.0 20.0 —
Strikeouts 9 3 5 1 —
HR Allowed 2 1 0 0 —
Avg. Exit Velocity 87.7 87.1 91.1 92.2 —
Opp Avg. .143 .077 .111 .333 —
Avg. Spin Rate 2415 2422 2689 1981 —
Runs Above Avg. 1.8 1.1 0.7 -0.1 —
CODE: FB-4-seam fastball, SL-slider, CB-curveball, CH-changeup, CT-cutter
2021 BY INNING
STAT 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8
Runs Allowed 1 1 0 0 1 0 — — Earned Run Avg. 3.00 3.00 0.00 0.00 4.50 0.00 — —
Batters Faced 11 10 9 7 8 4 — —
Opp Avg. .100 .100 .000 .143 .250 .333 — —
2021 SPLITS
Home: 2-0, 1.69 ERA (10.2-IP, 2-ER)
Road: 0-0, 3.38 ERA (2.2-IP, 1-ER)
Day: 1-0, 1.08 ERA (8.1-IP, 1-ER)
Night: 1-0, 3.60 ERA (5-IP, 2-ER)
Grass: 0-0, 3.38 ERA (2.2-IP, 1-ER)
Turf: 2-0, 1.69 ERA (10.2-IP, 2-ER)
Pre-ASB: —
Post-ASB: 2-0, 2.03 ERA (13.1-IP, 3-ER)
2021 SPLITS vs. BATTERS
vs. LHB: .250 (4-16), 1-HR, 6-SO
vs. RHB: .067 (2-30), 2-HR, 12-SO
Innings: 5.2, 9/26/21 vs. MIA
Pitches: 82, 9/26/21 vs. MIA
Hits: 3, 9/26/21 vs. MIA
Runs: 2, 9/20 vs. TOR
Earned Runs: 2, 9/20 vs. TOR
Walks: 2, 10/2 at NYY
Strikeouts: 9, 9/26/21 vs. MIA
Home Runs: 2, 9/20/21 vs. TOR
Complete Gms: —
Shutouts: —
Win Strk: 2G, 9/20/21 – Current
Loss Strk: —
CAREER HIGHS
YEAR CLUB W L ERA G GS CG SHO SV IP H R ER HR HB BB-I SO WP BK
2021 Montgomery 2 4 2.48 7 7 0 0 0 32.2 22 9 9 3 2 2-0 49 1 0
Durham 3 0 1.76 10 10 0 0 0 46.0 28 10 9 6 5 11-0 64 2 0
Tampa Bay 2 0 2.03 3 3 0 0 0 13.1 6 3 3 3 0 3-0 18 1 0
POSTSEASON—Will be making his postseason debut…will become the fifth traditional rookie starter (non-opener) in club history to start a postseason game, joining Shane McClanahan (1) in 2021, Jeremy Hellickson (1) in 2011, Matt Moore (1) in 2011 and Wade Davis (1) in 2010…will become the second pitcher in major league history to start a postseason game with three or fewer career regular-season appearances up to that point, joining Moore in Game 1 of the 2011 ALDS at TEX…at 22 years, 113 days he will become the 2nd-youngest starter in Rays postseason history behind Moore’s postseason debut…Baz will be the 2nd-youngest pitcher in postseason history to start against the Red Sox, following 21-year-old NYM Dwight Gooden in Game 2 and Game 5 of the 1986 World Series.
Baz’s start comes after Shane McClanahan started and went five scoreless innings last night…according to Sarah Langs of MLB.com,
the Rays are the second team in postseason history to start rookie pitchers in the first 2 games of a postseason series, joining the A’s
(Jarrod Parker, Tommy Milone) in the 2012 ALDS at the Tigers.
SEASON IN REVIEW—Selected on Sep 20 from Triple-A Durham and finished the season in the Rays rotation…went 2-0 with a 2.03 ERA (13.1-IP, 3-ER) and 18 SO in 3 starts, most recently going 2.2 IP on Oct 2 at NYY and yielding a 1st-inning solo homer to Anthony Rizzo…all 3 runs allowed in the majors came on solo homers (Teoscar Hernández, Lourdes Gurriel Jr., Rizzo)…held right-handed batters to a .067 (2-for-30) avg. with 12 SO.
On Sep 20 vs. TOR, made his major league debut at 22 years, 95 days and became the 3rd-youngest Ray to start and win his major league debut behind Scott Kazmir (20.212) on Aug 23, 2004 at SEA and Joe Kennedy (22.013) on June 6, 2001 at TOR…78.5 pct. (51 of 65) of his pitches were strikes, the highest for a starting pitcher in his major league debut since pitches were first tracked in 1988.
Yielded 3 hits in his second start and joined Jeremy Hellickson in 2010 as the only Rays pitchers to start their major league career with back-to-back outings of 5 IP (or more) and 3 hits (or fewer).
TROPHY CASE—Named Minor League Pitcher of the Year by the Rays Baseball Operations department…went 5-4 with a 2.06 ERA (78.2-IP, 18- ER) and 113 SO in 17 starts between two levels…began the season with Montgomery and made 7 starts there before earning a June 15 promotion to Durham…tied for 5th among Rays minor leaguers in strikeouts…at the time of his Sep 20 call up, led Triple-A East with a 1.76 ERA (min. 10 starts). Ê Named the organization’s Minor League Pitcher of the Month for June, going 3-0 with a 0.93 ERA (29-IP, 3-ER) and 42 SO in 6 starts between two levels…pitched five perfect innings on June 9 vs. Birmingham, his last start before receiving a promotion to Durham.
Made the AL Team for the All-Star Futures Game, his first career selection, pitching a perfect 2nd inning with a pair of strikeouts.
Recorded a career-high 10 SO in 3 starts (last Sep 11 vs. Norfolk).
Is currently ranked by Baseball America as the No. 11 overall prospect in baseball and by MLB.com at No. 20 overall…these two publications rank him the No. 2 and No. 3 pitching prospect in baseball.
Has been tabbed by Baseball America for having the Best Fastball in the organization for two consecutive years (2019-20) and the Best Slider in the organization for three straight years (2018-20).
FROM MEDALIST TO MAJORS—Pitched for Team USA in the 2020 Tokyo Olympics (July 30–Aug 7, 2021) and won a silver medal…named to the U.S. Team roster on July 2, along with then-Bulls teammate Joe Ryan and future Rays teammate David Robertson…started against Japan in Game 1 of the modified double elimination bracket, his only Olympic appearance, and yielded 5 hits, 2 runs and 3 BB in 2.2 IP of a no decision…Team
USA lost, 7-6, on a walk-off single in the 10th inning before defeating the Dominican Republic in the repechage and South Korea in the semifinals to advance to the Gold Medal Game, where they again lost to Japan, 2-0.
HOW HE GOT HERE—Selected No. 12 overall by the Pirates in the 2017 Amateur Draft out of Concordia Lutheran (Texas) HS…committed to pitch at Texas Christian University before signing with them…acquired as the player to be named from the July 31, 2018 trade that sent Chris Archer to Pittsburgh and Tyler Glasnow and Austin Meadows to the Rays…in 2019, made 17 starts for Class-A Bowling Green in his first full season in the Rays organization…in 2020, was part of the Rays 60-man player pool and spent the summer at the alternate training site in Port Charlotte.
