2010 MLB Playoffs: David Price and Five Mistakes That Cost Tampa Bay Rays Game 1
The Tampa Bay Rays entered the playoffs as the American League East Champions, with the second-best record in baseball.
None of that mattered once Cliff Lee took the mound for the Texas Rangers, which defeated Tampa Bay 5-1 in Game 1 of the ALDS. David Price got off to a shaky start and didn't receive much assistance.
5. Defense Cannot Afford Errors
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Defense wins championships.
If Tampa Bay continues to display a lack of defensive ability, they will not be advancing any further in the postseason. Evan Longoria's throwing error in the fourth inning allowed Elvis Andrus to safely reach first base. Longoria's error was saved by Michael Young fouling out to right to end the inning.
Sean Rodriguez's error wasn't as meaningless.
The Rays were trailing 4-0 when Rodriguez committed a throwing error to begin the fifth inning, allowing Josh Hamilton to make it safely to first. Hamilton then stole second base before ultimately reaching home on Vladimir Guerrero's double to center.
Texas has an offense that has a lot of power bats in its arsenal. The Rays cannot afford to give away bases if they plan on advancing past the ALDS.
4. Runs Win Games
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Winning a baseball game is very simple—score more runs than the other team. Tampa Bay couldn't figure out how to score runs against Texas.
It is no surprise that the Rays struggled at the plate, because they have struggled all season, ranking 26th in batting average. However, they were ranked third in runs due to their ability to manufacture them out of nothing. The Rays came into the postseason averaging five runs a game in the regular season.
Tampa Bay has to figure out how to get more hits and capitalize on runners in scoring position. There is little room for error in the postseason, especially after losing Game 1. If the Rays plan on advancing to the ALCS, they will need to get much more productivity out of their bats.
3. Cannot Strikeout With Bases Loaded
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Opportunity only knocks so many times.
Cliff Lee got off to a very rough start against Tampa Bay in Game 1. With only one out the Rays had the bases loaded in the first inning. Jason Bartlett was on third, Carl Crawford on second, and Evan Longoria was on first base with Carlos Pena at the plate. All Pena needed to do was drive a ball to the outfield and Bartlett would've scored.
Easier said than done.
Pena actually got ahead 2-1 in the count against Cliff Lee. The next pitch appeared to be ball three, but home-plate umpire Tim Welke ruled the ball tipped Pena's bat, making it a foul ball. Pena and manager Joe Maddon disputed the call with no results. Pena would end the at-bat by striking out looking on a fast ball with a full count.
The next batter was the designated hitter Rocco Baldelli. Baldelli hit the first pitch foul, looked at a second pitch strike, and struck out swinging on the third pitch. The outcome wasn't surprising since the Rays' 1,292 strikeouts are the most ever by a team that advanced to the postseason.
Tampa Bay failed to capitalize on its opportunity to jump out to an early lead and get the sold out crowd in Tropicana Field involved in the game.
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2. David Price Has to Be Dominant Early
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David Price has come a long way. The 25-year-old lefty made his first Opening Day roster this season as the fourth starter in the Rays rotation. He finished the season as the team's ace and became the first Rays pitcher in team history to record 15 wins and set the record at 19 wins. He was the youngest pitcher since Dwight Gooden to start an All-Star Game and is a Cy Young finalist.
None of that mattered when he took the mound today.
Although his resume is limited, his value is beyond measure to the Rays. Their best chance of winning is when he is on the mound.
Price got off to a rough start in the second inning, allowing three hits that included a RBI double by Jeff Francoeur and a RBI single by Bengie Molina. Price would allow two more earned runs in his 6.2 innings pitched. He did manage to strikeout eight batters in the game but it wasn't enough to get the win.
"It's very frustrating," Price said. "I know I need to come out and throw better than that, no matter if it's a postseason game or just any other game. Going up against a guy like Cliff Lee and a team like the Rangers, you have to throw better than that to give us a better chance, and hopefully I'll get another shot at throwing again this series."
If he does get another chance to take the mound in this series, he has to be dominant early or the end result will be the same.
1. Dance With Who Brung You
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Joe Maddon and the Tampa Bay Rays are constantly changing lineups. This season alone the Rays have used 129 different lineups including eight Rays that played three or more positions this season. Normally, Maddon's decisions come through but today's lineup made no sense at all.
Rocco Baldelli started the game for the Rays as the Designated hitter although he only played in 10 games this season. He came into Game 1 batting a whopping .000 at Tropicana Field this season. Dan Johnson came in to pinch hit in the ninth inning after Baldelli's two strikeouts. Also, Willie Aybar was left off the postseason roster.
Kelly Shoppach started at catcher instead of John Jaso, who ranked first among AL rookies this season in on base percentage, first in walks, third in batting, and second in runs. Shoppach got no hits in his three at-bats including a strikeout.
The Rays came into the postseason with the best record in the American League. Although the road they took to get to the postseason included batting by committee, there has to be some stability once you get there to advance.
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