Key trio gives Rays reasons for Oct. optimism

Tsutsugo, Arozarena homer and Morton (5 IP, 6 K's) solid against O's

September 20th, 2020

When the Rays begin their postseason run in just over one week, Yoshi Tsutsugo, and are three players they’re going to rely on in order to make a deep run.

With Austin Meadows out for the season, Tsutsugo will be the team’s leadoff hitter against right-handed pitching, while Arozarena will get more playing time in the outfield. As for Morton, the Rays just need the 36-year-old to be healthy entering the postseason so he can be the third piece in a dominant rotation that includes Tyler Glasnow and Blake Snell.

In the Rays’ 3-1 win over the Orioles on Saturday at Camden Yards, all three players showed that they’re more than capable of shouldering the added responsibility. With the victory, Tampa Bay’s magic number to win the American League East is down to four with seven games remaining.

“I feel really good about what I was able to do individually tonight,” Arozarena said in Spanish. “But I feel happy with the wins we’re getting as a team to help us get closer to winning our division.”

During Tsutsugo’s 10-year career in Japan, the lefty slugger hit leadoff just one time. Tsutsugo has hit leadoff three times in the four games against the O’s this weekend, and he has done a solid job with the responsibility.

In the third inning on Saturday, Tsutsugo launched his eighth homer of the season, a solo shot off O’s starter Jorge López. The homer came off a 95.3 mph fastball up in the zone, which is an encouraging sign for Tsutsugo, who has struggled on pitches in that location. Tsutsugo entered Saturday’s game hitting .143 on pitches up and in the zone.

Over his last three starts while batting in the leadoff spot, Tsutsugo is 4-for-12 with a triple and a walk. In the three game-opening at-bats, Tsutsugo is 1-for-3, but he has seen at least five pitches in each of those at-bats.

“You look at what Yoshi’s done and where he came from, he’s really turning his season around as we speak, game by game, at-bat by at-bat,” said Rays manager Kevin Cash. “There’s more left that he’s capable of doing over the next seven games, for sure, and as hot as we can get him heading into the postseason, it’ll be a benefit to all of us.”

After homering in four of his first seven games this season, Arozarena has cooled off over his last eight games, going 2-for-22. But on Saturday, the Rays’ outfielder showed off his impressive bat speed, smacking his fifth home run of the season, a two-run shot off López, to give Tampa Bay a 3-1 lead.

“He’s got plenty of power, plenty of pop, really quick bat,” Cash said. “That was a big one at that point in the game. Their pitcher on the other side was actually really tough. He did a good job of really quieting us, but he had good stuff going, so he made it challenging. But Randy was ready for that one.”

In Meadows’ absence, Arozarena will get more playing time and will see an increase in opportunities against right-handed pitching. On Saturday, Arozarena was the team’s designated hitter and hit third in the lineup.

“I feel really good about the opportunity the team has given me,” Arozarena said. “They told me that I would get a lot of opportunities here when I got traded in January, and I just feel really happy about all the opportunities they’ve given me until this point.”

While Arozarena and Tsutsugo provided the offense, Morton was the bright spot on the mound. In his fourth start since coming off the injured list, Morton allowed one run on five hits and two walks, striking out six over five innings.

Morton needed 33 pitches to get through the first and 51 to get through two, but the right-hander was able to settle in and throw 94 pitches to complete his five innings, which should mean that his workload is back to normal as he enters his next start, likely his last before the postseason.

“It’s pretty frustrating to be at [51] pitches through two innings and then it’s not looking very promising to get through four,” Morton said. “I got into some deep counts, but I’m glad they let me try to finish that fifth inning.”