ST. PETERSBURG, Fla. — Out by out, the Tampa Bay Rays are revamping the roles of major league pitchers.
A decade after embracing Joe Maddon’s entertaining managerial style and buying into baseball’s analytical movement to transform from perennial losers to playoff contenders, the budget-minded franchise is trying to reinvent itself through unconventional means.
Welcome to the dawn of the “opener” and “bullpen days,” which the Rays have used to overcome a dearth of starting pitching to rebound from the worst 17-game stretch to begin a season in team history.
It’s a world where longtime relievers Sergio Romo and Jonny Venters made the first starts of their major league careers, and the Rays used 30 pitchers – seven of them rookies who combined for 39 starts – through their first 106 games.
“It’s still early but I think we found out that it does benefit some pitchers,” Manager Kevin Cash said.
Depending on the matchup, the Rays may use an “opener” to face three to six batters to begin a game.
A “bullpen day” starter, by comparison, generally pitches deeper into games though usually no more than twice through a lineup.
“I think some of our young starters have been benefited by not having to face that first four or five hitters in the lineup,” Cash said. “I give a lot of credit to those guys for buying into a unique approach that’s been talked about a lot. It’s nice that they have come together, embraced it, and I think enjoyed it to some extent. When it goes well, it’s a lot of fun.”
The “opener” debuted May 19, when Romo made the first start of an 11-year career after 588 relief appearances. Since then the Rays have the major leagues’ second-best ERA.
In all they’ve used an “opener” 24 times, going 11-13 in those games. Additionally there have been 19 “bullpen days” in which the team has gone 9-10.
Tampa Bay is averaging 4.3 innings per starter, by far the fewest in the majors, according to Baseball Info Solutions. Toronto is 29th at 5.27 innings.
“It definitely is different. It definitely is outside the box. But the way it’s all been pieced together, it’s almost turning into our normal,” said Romo, who more recently has re-settled into a more customary role as a closer.
TIGERS: Right-hander Warwick Saupold cleared waivers and was sent to Triple-A Toledo.
DODGERS: Los Angeles put right-hander Ross Stripling on the 10-day disabled list with right big toe inflammation.
MONDAY’S GAME
BRAVES 5, MARLINS 3: Freddie Freeman hit a go-ahead homer in the third, Ronald Acuna Jr. also went deep and Atlanta won at home.
Brian Anderson’s two-run homer off Julio Teheran (8-7) in the first gave Miami a lead that Wei-Yin Chen (3-8) couldn’t hold.
Send questions/comments to the editors.
Success. Please wait for the page to reload. If the page does not reload within 5 seconds, please refresh the page.
Enter your email and password to access comments.
Hi, to comment on stories you must . This profile is in addition to your subscription and website login.
Already have a commenting profile? .
Invalid username/password.
Please check your email to confirm and complete your registration.
Only subscribers are eligible to post comments. Please subscribe or login first for digital access. Here’s why.
Use the form below to reset your password. When you've submitted your account email, we will send an email with a reset code.