Desmond Jennings went 1-4 with an RBI double and a walk in the Rays 7-2 victory over the Blue Jays.
Joe Maddon wants the Rays to stay aggressive on the bases this year and Desmond Jennings seems to be doing exactly that. Last night was no different, as Jennings went 1-for-4 with a walk and a double in which he slid in very hard to second base, cautiously avoiding the tag by switching which arm was outstretched.
Jennings was seeing the ball well throughout the first series of the year, collecting three walks along with four doubles in 18 plate appearances. The four doubles are already 13% of what he had for all of 2013. Here’s to hoping he keeps it up and we see a breakout year for Desmond!
With the Rays 7-2 victory over the Blue Jays, they split the series 2-2, meaning the Blue Jays have yet to win a series against the Rays in their last 21 attempts.
For more on yesterday's game, you can check out Ian's outstanding recap here! The Rangers come to town this weekend for a three games series and Jake Odorizzi will take the mound tonight against Joe Saunders.
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Marc Topkin thinks that more contract extensions could be on the way for the Rays, and he now lists Cobb, Myers, Escobar and Zobrist as the likely candidates. Taking it further, Robbie Knopf has heard rumblings that Escobar has a new contract looming...
#Rays indeed have had serious extension talks w/Escobar. Heard not close to deal at moment, but also still very possible it happens
— Marc Topkin (@TBTimes_Rays) April 4, 2014***
Childrens Dream Fund announced that this year’s Rays on the Runway event will be held on Wednesday, June 25. Tickets go on sale April 15th and start at $125.
ICYMI: Some of the DRaysBay staff gave their predictions for the Rays prospects in 2014. Take a look and chime in with your own predictions!
Congratulations are in order for Sean Rodriguez and wife, Giselle, as they welcomed a new Rays fan to the world!
Congratulations to @SeanJRodriguez1& Giselle, who delivered a large baby boy: 9 lb, 21-1/4". Vince Belnome optioned back to @DurhamBulls.
— Tampa Bay Rays (@RaysBaseball) April 4, 2014Links:
- Jason Hanselman analyzed the the Chris Archer extension deal by comparing two parallel universes, one in which Archer gets this deal and another in which he's a super-two for arbitration.
- Jeff Sullivan analyzed (with .gifs) Mark Buerle's recent performance against the Rays.
- Daniel Murphy of the New York Mets responded to critics yesterday who were giving him a hard time about taking paternity leave and missing the first couple of games for the Mets.
- An anonymous Dodgers player thinks that the Australia trip may be the cause of injuries for Kershaw and Brian Wilson.
- Fun with three dimensional strikezones! Etan Green for FiveThirtyEight republished some research which takes a look at inconsistencies of umpires calling strikes in different situations.
- Evan Longoria is named the third baseman on the "Best Possible Baseball Team" according to Matthew Kory for Sports on Earth.
- ESPN's SweetSpot blog talks about what Longoria has done throughout the first series of the year.
- CarGo was removed from Wednesday’s game due to dizziness, but yesterday his manager said he may have swallowed his dip. Ew!
- Cubs catcher goes boom, falls down.
- Matt Adams of the Cardinals gets robbed while trying to catch a foul ball, pushes the fan who caught the ball, and the fan reacts by flipping off Adams.
- Rob Neyer gives his take on measuring team chemistry.
- Beyond the Box Score examines the value of a good record at home vs. beating inferior teams.
- Jim Caple of ESPN.com highlights the best promotions of 2014 around MLB.
- If you have a little one between the ages of eight and sixteen, sign them up for the chance to be a Junior Announcer for the Rays this season!
- From Will Vragovic of the Tampa Bay Times, a picture of Archer reacting to Escobar’s fantastic diving play in last night’s game.