Bleacher Report - Tampa Bay Rays

Matt Moore Becomes 1st AL Lefty 23 or Younger to Start 8-0 Since Babe Ruth

Ethan Grant — Sun, 19 May 2013 17:45:41 -0400

Matt Moore improved to 8-0 on the 2013 MLB season on Sunday afternoon, beating the Baltimore Orioles and joining a club that has only one other member: Babe Ruth.

After Moore's Sunday start, he became the first American League left-handed pitcher since the Great Bambino to be 23 years old or younger and produce an 8-0 mark to start the season.

Major League Baseball's Twitter account helped break the news after the Tampa Bay Rays completed the 3-1 win on Sunday:

Unlike his Hall of Fame companion, Moore likely won't be giving up the mound for the plate anytime soon.

While reigning AL Cy Young winner David Price (who is now on the DL) hasn't lived up to his supreme billing, it's been Moore who has most helped keep the Rays afloat, producing eight of their 23 wins so far this season.

In addition to his sparkling undefeated record, Moore also boasts a 2.29 ERA and allowed just one earned run over seven innings pitched against the Orioles during his record-setting day.

First coming to fame during his first taste of the bigs in 2011, Moore started just one game for the Rays before being thrown into the fire in Game 1 of the ALDS against the Texas Rangers. All he did was produce seven innings of two-hit ball as the Rays took a 1-0 series lead against Texas that year.

Tampa Bay responded by rewarding him with a five-year contract extension following its playoff exit.

For his career, Moore is now 20-11 in parts of three seasons with the Rays.

To be mentioned in the same class as Ruth in anything is quite the compliment, and that honor extends to when the big lefty was on the mound for the Boston Red Sox in the middle of the 1910s.

He finished his pitching career with 94 wins and had at least 18 wins three times with the Red Sox. Two of those seasons, he eclipsed 23 wins, including the 1917 season in question—Ruth was 8-0 before finally losing to the Chicago White Sox in mid-May.

It's not often baseball records come crashing down, especially on the pitching side. With more restrictions, fewer innings pitched and even fewer pitchers capable of matching the dominance of the hurlers in the early part of the 20th century, reports like this become harder and harder to find each year.

Moore, however, has not been a run-of-the-mill pitcher since being called up. His poise as a rookie in the playoffs was astounding, and although he had a ho-hum 11-11 campaign in 2012, he's bounced back without a loss to start the season.

Somewhere in baseball heaven, Ruth is smiling, likely glad Moore won't be able to touch any of his records at the plate before his career is over.

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Tampa Bay Rays First Quarter Grades

Yossi Feins — Fri, 17 May 2013 08:05:33 -0400

It hasn't been an ideal start to the year for the Tampa Bay Rays. With one quarter of the season already behind us, the Rays currently stand at an even 20-20.

The've really underachieved overall as a team, as things simply aren't falling into place for them just yet.

With a strong offense and a struggling bullpen, it's looked like 2009 all over again so far for Tampa Bay. They missed the playoffs and finished the season with just 84 wins that year, so Rays fans hope their team is not going down a similar path.

After the first 40 games of the 2013 season, here's a graded evaluation of the Rays' offense, starting rotation, bullpen and defense.

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David Price Injury: Updates on Rays Star's Triceps

Ethan Grant — Wed, 15 May 2013 20:21:47 -0400

Tampa Bay Rays starting pitcher David Price hasn't gotten off to the start this season that he or his team would have liked, and his 2013 campaign took another step back on Wednesday night against the Boston Red Sox.

UPDATE: Thursday, May 16, at 5:05 p.m. ET by Sam Westmoreland

Price's DL stint isn't expected to last longer than the required 15 days, according to Joe Smith of the Tampa Bay Times.

---End Update---

UPDATE: Thursday, May 16, at 3:15 p.m. ET by Eric Ball

Price is officially headed to the 15-day disabled list, according to the MLB Roster Moves Twitter account:

---End of update---

UPDATE: Thursday, May 16, at 1:05 a.m. ET by Ian Hanford

According to MLB.com reporter Adam Berry, Price is unlikely to make his next start after leaving Wednesday night's game:

Price said the MRI results turned out to be "as good as it could have been," but the real test will be how he feels Thursday. The southpaw wouldn't rule out the idea of making his next start, scheduled for Monday, but manager Joe Maddon said that is "probably unlikely."

Price also offered these words:

"This is something I take pride in, being available every fifth day and being out there for my team," Price said. "I don't know how that's looking right now, but I'll just get re-evaluated tomorrow."

---End of update---

Price left his start against Boston in the top of the third inning with an apparent arm injury, which ESPN sideline reporter Tim Kurkjian confirmed is a triceps issue during the broadcast of the game (via Roger Mooney of the Tampa Tribune):

Buster Olney of ESPN confirmed the sideline report:

MLB's Twitter account helped break the news that Price was leaving the game:

Brian MacPherson, a beat writer for the Red Sox, also weighed in, noting that Price has been dealing with allergy issues but was seen "clenching his left fist" in the process:

Bullpen spot-starter Jamey Wright entered the game for Price, as SunSportsRays reported:

Price, the reigning American League Cy Young winner, came into the game with a 1-3 record and 4.78 ERA. For his career, he is 62-34 with a 3.26 ERA. He led the American league in wins (20), winning percentage (.800) and ERA (2.56) during his award-winning 2012 season.

This year, he hasn't nearly been on par with his 2012 campaign or, for that matter, any of his other professional seasons. Not since 2009 have we seen Price with an ERA above 4.00, and he's been well above that mark for most of 2013.

His ERA ballooned to 5.24 after allowing four earned runs in 2.1 innings of work on Wednesday night, and he'll be on the hook for his fourth loss if the Rays cannot climb back from their current 8-2 hole against the Red Sox.

No stranger to injury, Price missed time in spring training in 2012 because of a bizarre incident involving a towel and his neck, via Mooney of the Tribune. This injury looks more serious, though, and might explain why Price has struggled so mightily this year after a dominant 2012 season.

As Fox Sports Florida mentioned on Tuesday and MacPherson discussed earlier, Price has struggled with allergy issues all season. As a result of the problem, he's dealt with rashes and blurred vision since January—something the team only learned about this week.

However, as Price clenched his left arm and fist after leaving the mound, this didn't look anything like a problem with his nasal congestion or ability to see. Arm issues are never good for a pitcher, especially when the prognosis comes back the way Price's did after an early diagnosis in the locker room.

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