New-look pen helps Rays salvage series finale
NEW YORK » Last weekend, Sergio Romo was with the Los Angeles Dodgers, Dan Jennings the Chicago White Sox and Steve Cishek the Seattle Mariners.
On Sunday, they combined for three hitless innings for the Tampa Bay Rays in an example of baseball’s latest fad: stacking bullpens for playoff pushes.
“We came just guns blazing, and it was fun to be a part of something like that,” Cishek said Sunday after the Rays’ bullpen logged five scoreless innings during a 5-3 win over the New York Yankees that salvaged the finale of a four-game series.
Pitching on his 24th birthday — and with his lucky rubber ducky on hand in a clubhouse equipment bag — rookie Jacob Faria started just four of 20 batters with strikes and lasted 12 outs.
Acquired last weekend, Romo got two outs, as did Jennings, obtained just before Thursday’s series opener. Added on Friday, Cishek (2-1) retired five batters for the win.
“It’s kind of what they brought us in for,” Romo said. “You always want to justify any team making a move or any team trying to show you that want you around.”
Tampa Bay had been 0-6 at Yankee Stadium this year and had lost eight of its previous 10 games. The Rays are 3½ games behind the AL East-leading Yankees and 2½ games out for a wild card berth heading into a series at AL-best Houston.
“This was a swing game,” Rays manager Kevin Cash said.
Corey Dickerson hit a goahead, two-run single in a three-run third off rookie Jordan Montgomey (7-6), and the Rays scored all their runs with two outs, overcoming 16 strikeouts by Yankees pitchers.
Faria celebrated his birthday Saturday night at the Cuba Restaurant and Rum Bar in New York’s Greenwich Village along with his fiancee, his mom, her mom and her sisters. Jessica Soto had gone to Kleinfeld Bridal earlier in the day to pick out a gown for their wedding on Nov. 16, 2018. She bought Faria a new Apple watch.
But he faulted himself for “just kind of going through the motions early” in his warmup, and he gave up three runs and three hits with eight strikeouts.
“It was a just a matter of not preparing enough before the game,” he said. “My bullpen was not very good, and I’ve fallen into such a routine of, like, OK, no matter what the bullpen is, I’ll fix it in the game.”
Romo relieved after Faria walked the first two batters of the fifth. He started with a wild pitch and then struck out Aaron Judge on a slider and retired Matt Holliday on a pop to short right.
Romo had a 6.12 ERA in 30 games with the NL Westleading Dodgers.
“What is it? A old face, new place-type thing? It’s been fun,” Romo said. “I don’t feel that I came to a lesser situation, although we’re not in first place, like the other squad.”
Jennings got Didi Gregorius on a groundout and retired the leadoff man in the sixth, then was replaced by Cishek with two on after a walk and shortstop Adeiny Hechavarria’s throwing error on a grounder.