THURSDAY, APRIL 17, 2014 vs. NEW YORK YANKEES LH David Price (2-0, 2.91) vs. LH CC Sabathia (1-2, 6.63) First Pitch: 7:10 p.m. | Location: Tropicana Field, St. Petersburg, Fla. | TV: Sun Sports | Radio: WDAE 620 AM, WGES 680 AM (Spanish) Game No.: 16 (7-8) | Home Game No.: 8 (3-4) | All-Time Game No.: 2,606 (1,202-1,403) | All-Time Home Game No.: 1,302 (670-631) THOUGHTS & PRAYERS—Yesterday Rays Senior Baseball Advisor Don EASTERN SUPREMACY—Since 2011, BEST RECORD WITHIN Zimmer underwent more than six hours of surgery to repair a leaky valve the Rays own the best record within AL EAST, SINCE 2011 in his heart…he is resting comfortably and is expected to remain in the the AL East at 128-98 (.566)…during Tampa Bay 128-98 .566 hospital a few days while he recovers…Zim, now in his 66th season of pro- this span their four AL East opponents New York 123-107 .535 fessional baseball, has worn 14 different major league uniforms as a player, (BOS, NYY, BAL, TOR) all rank among Baltimore 113-118 .489 manager and coach (see page 42 of the 2014 Rays Media Guide) but has the majors’ top 9 in runs scored—yet the Boston 111-116 .489 Toronto 97-133 .422 spent the most time in a Rays uniform (11 seasons). Rays have recorded a 3.44 ERA, more Ê Zim underwent surgery the same day the Rays wore No. 42 in honor of than a run better than the rest of base- LOWEST ERA WITHIN Jackie Robinson—his teammate on the 1954-56 Brooklyn Dodgers. ball (4.49) vs. these four clubs. AL EAST, SINCE 2011 Tampa Bay 3.44 New York 4.23 RAY MATTER—Tonight the Rays open a 7-game homestand against the DP > CC—Tonight David Price and CC Boston 4.23 Yankees (April 17-20) and Twins (April 22-24), with an off-day in between Sabathia face each other for the 10th Baltimore 4.31 on Monday…they enter tonight with a 3-game losing streak in which they’ve time…Rays have won 8 of 9 so far while Toronto 4.79 been outscored 22-5…yesterday they completed their first road trip of the Price is 6-1 with a 2.41 ERA (59.2-IP, 16- season, going 3-5 at Kansas City (1-2), Cincinnati (2-1) and Baltimore (0- ER) in those games…including tonight, ACTIVE MLB PITCHERS, 2)…this series finishes a stretch of 15 straight games vs. teams that had 10 of his 21 career starts vs. NYY have MIN. 150 starts winning records in 2013 (5-6 so far). come against Sabathia. Winning Pct. Ê The Rays have slipped to fourth place in the AL East but are only Ê Since Price won his 2012 AL Cy David Price 73-39 .652 2.0 GB…they’ve held a share of first for 8 of the past 13 days. Young, he’s faced a fellow Cy Tim Hudson 207-111 .651 Ê The Rays are the majors’ only unbeaten team in one-run games Young winner 4 times (all at Tropi- Jered Weaver 113-62 .646 (4-0)…these wins account for their last 4 victories, including two 1-0 cana Field) and the Rays have Earned Run Average wins (April 8 at KC and Sat at CIN). won all 4 games: Opening Day Clayton Kershaw, LAD 2.59 2014 vs. TOR (R.A. Dickey), Aug Adam Wainwright, STL 3.11 Felix Hernandez, SEA 3.18 15 DOWN, 147 TO GO—The Rays have a losing record through 15 games 24, 2013 vs. NYY (Sabathia), Aug David Price, TB 3.18 for the 5th time in the last 7 years…last season they began 5-10 (.333) be- 3, 2013 vs. SF (Tim Lincecum) fore going 87-61 (.588) the remainder of the season…the pitching staff car- and May 9, 2013 vs. TOR (Dick- ries a 3.53 ERA, 2nd best in club history through 15 games (3.33 in 2010). ey)…Price in these games is 2-0 with a 2.08 ERA (31.1-IP, 7-ER). Ê Since becoming the Rays in 2008, Tampa Bay is 49-22 (.690) when LUMBER IN SLUMBER—The Rays have scored only 14 total runs in facing a former Cy Young winner, including 16-7 vs. Sabathia. their last 9 games (1.56 per game), beginning April 6 vs. TEX, while bat- ting .191/.259/.297 (56-for-293)…this is their lowest-scoring 9-game stretch LONGO LOCKED WITH PEÑA—3B Evan Longoria is currently tied with since 1998…technically it’s tied for their 2nd-fewest runs over a 9-game Carlos Peña for the franchise home run record of 163…he’s gone 11 games stretch in club history—the Rays had 9 runs over 9 games, July 2-13, 1998, and 41 at-bats since his home run that tied Peña, April 3 vs. TOR…with his and had 14 runs over 9 games four other times that month…the club record next long ball, he will become only franchise leader in baseball currently with for fewest runs over a 10-game stretch is 14 in July 1998. that team…next in line are CWS Paul Konerko (21 behind Frank Thomas’ Ê In their first 6 games of the season—before this slump began—the 448), NYM David Wright (29 behind Darryl Strawberry’s 252) and MIA Rays scored 31 runs (5.2 per game) while batting .267/.372/.435. Giancarlo Stanton (32 behind Dan Uggla’s 154)…he is 12 doubles away Ê Yesterday’s 3-0 loss at BAL was the third time the Rays have been from tying Carl Crawford’s club record of 215, and 42 RBI away from tying shut out this season, tied with Seattle for most in the AL and matching Crawford’s club record of 592. their most in club history (2001) through 15 games…the Rays have been shut out twice more through 8 innings before scoring in the 9th. MEDICAL MATTERS—Only three starting pitchers in the AL East are on the Ê The Rays have 28 doubles, one behind New York for the AL lead. disabled list, and all three are Rays: RH Jeremy Hellickson (arthroscopic right elbow surgery), LH Matt Moore (pending Tommy John surgery) and RH BAD GEOMETRY—The Rays have a .258 batting avg. on balls in play (ma- Alex Cobb (left oblique strain)…Rays Medical Director Dr. James Andrews jor league average .294)—that is, only 25.8 percent of balls they put in play will operate on Moore on Tuesday in Pensacola, Fla., on Tuesday…he is the have fallen for hits…this is the 2nd-lowest mark in the majors to Houston first Rays major leaguer to undergo Tommy John surgery since RH Jason (.220), and no team has sustained a BABIP that low over a full season since Isringhausen nearly five years ago (June 16, 2009). the 1981 Blue Jays (.252). Ê Tomorrow LH Erik Bedard will become the seventh starting pitcher used by the Rays this season…the Rays used only seven starters in 153—Pitches seen in yesterday’s 3-0 loss at BAL, 6th most in club history 2009 and 2010 over each full season, and employed eight starters in (out of 153 games) when the Rays have been shut out in a 9-inning game. 2011 and 2012. Ê RH Juan Carlos Oviedo is scheduled to pitch tonight for Triple-A RAYS vs. YANKEES—Tonight is the first of 19 games scheduled between Durham vs. Norfolk, his 6th rehab outing for the Bulls…in his last 4 the clubs…Rays make their first visit to the Bronx to finish off their next road outings he has totaled 4 IP, 1 H, 1 R/ER, 0 BB, 5 SO. trip, May 2-4…in 2013 the Rays posted a 12-7 record vs. New York, best in club history (5-4 at home, 7-3 at Yankee Stadium), and won 8 of their last LAST SEVEN YEARS—Since becoming the Rays in 2008, Tampa Bay 10 meetings…additional notes on the 2013 season series with New York: owns the 2nd-best record in the majors (557-431, .564) after the Yankees Ê Rays pitchers shut out the Yankees four times—only the third team in and are the only team with five 90- the last 30 years to do so (1997 Blue Jays, 1990 A’s). win seasons in that span…they have MAJORS’ BEST RECORDS, SINCE 2008 Ê The Rays recorded a 2.98 ERA (172.1-IP, 57-ER), lowest by any team reached the postseason four times in New York-AL 573-414 .581 vs. NYY (min. 10 games) since the 1997 Blue Jays (2.89)…they held the last six years, tied with the Cardi- Tampa Bay 557-431 .564 New York to a .213 bating avg., lowest of any Yankees opponent nals, Phillies and Yankees for tops in St. Louis 547-440 .554 since 1990 when the A’s, Red Sox and White Sox were all lower. baseball. Ê The Rays recorded their first-ever sweep in the Bronx, Sep 24-26, outscoring New York 19-3 and eliminating them from Wild Card con- 64% OF ROSTER ACQUIRED BY TRADE—Sixteen players on the Rays tention…it included 2 shutouts, the first time a visiting team shut out 25-man roster were acquired by trade…they also had 15 such players on the the Yankees twice in one series since the 1999 Angels (May 11-13).