Rays Pitching Staff Stepped up Against High-Powered Nationals

The Tampa Bay Rays' pitching staff faced a stiff test this past weekend, going up against a surprisingly productive Washington Nationals offense.

Entering play on June 21, the Nationals were the highest-scoring offense in baseball, averaging 5.36 runs per game. Leading the way is star outfielder James Wood and shortstop CJ Abrams, both of whom should be representing Washington on the National League All-Star Team.

Seven players have produced OPS+ numbers in triple digits, with contributions being made up and down the roster. Their lineup produces many obstacles for a pitching staff to navigate, but the Rays hurlers were up for the challenge.

Tampa Bay won the series, taking two out of three games. They allowed only nine runs in total, holding a dynamic offense in check all weekend. Setting the tone right from the start was Griffin Jax.

Rays pitching gets job done against Nationals

The converted relief pitcher, he threw five strong innings in the opener, allowing only two earned runs, and was the winning pitcher on record. It was nice to see Steven Matz finally have a clean outing out of the bullpen, throwing 1.2 scoreless innings with Kevin Kelly finishing off the seventh.

Garrett Cleavinger and Bryan Baker then closed the game out in the eighth and ninth for a 5-2 victory.

In Game 2, Ian Seymour, another relief pitcher who is being thrust into a rotation role because of injuries and ineffectiveness, surrendered three runs in five innings of work. It was enough to keep the Rays in the game, but the offense wasn’t able to get the job done in a 3-2 loss.

Craig Kimbrel and Cole Sulser threw three shutout innings combined to keep Tampa Bay alive before Cam Booser surrendered a run in the top of the ninth inning in what ended up being a 4-2 loss.