TAMPA— On Saturday night against the Cleveland Guardians, Tampa Bay Rays right hander Shane Baz has a chance to build on momentum.
While the mentality in the Rays clubhouse focuses on not getting “too high” or “too low”, The contrasting elements have embodied Baz’s season.
The 26-year-old rattled off three straight winning decisions to begin the year before dropping his next three. Baz responded by winning five straight, then the wheels came off.
Baz lost eight straight decisions through July and August, bringing him below .500 after holding an 8-3 record. In July, he posted a 5.40 ERA before logging a 7.92 ERA in August, the second worst of his four-year career over the course of a month.
The numbers illustrate the struggles Baz has faced. But on Monday night against the Seattle Mariners, he finally got back in the win column with a six-inning shutout effort that featured six strikeouts.
Success returned, and Baz has the answers to maintain it.
“Just mixing stuff up, and just being a little smarter with pitch selection,” Baz said on Friday in the Rays clubhouse. “Just being more aggressive and making them hit their way on.”
Moreover, Baz wanted to keep Seattle’s hitters guessing.
“Just trying to be unpredictable. I feel like I executed pitches better.”
Success is hard to achieve on one’s own, and Baz is no exception. A good outing is a result of a collaborative effort that includes pitching coach Kyle Snyder and his catchers, Nick Fortes and Hunter Feduccia.
“I would say it was definitely a team effort. Between me, Kyle, Fortes, Fetti; just trying to pick our spots to throw everything and just be unpredictable.”
“Just trying to keep hitters in between speeds.”
Baz’s rough stretch is hardly isolated. Until recently, the team has struggled immensely.
Yet, confidence and a consistent work ethic never wavered. Now, the Rays are 10-3 in their last 13 games and look poised for a postseason push.
“I think everybody in here has been really consistent with how they go about their preparation and their attitude every day and just being ready to go at game time,” Baz said. “I think, for the starters, we’ve done a really good job of just being ready to every start and giving us a chance to win.”
“I think everyone in here was confident that we could put ourselves in a spot like this and play some baseball like we have been.”
Baz has his work cut out for him against the Guardians lineup, which features Steven Kwan and Jose Ramirez, who hold the fourth and 11th best strikeout rate in the majors, respectively.
“You have to be ahead any way you can,” Baz said. “They’re great hitters and they’ll think along with you.”
“You just have to mix it up and be unpredictable with them. They don’t chase a lot of stuff early in the count.”
Baz (9-11, 4.98 ERA) will face right-hander Tanner Bibee (9-11, 4.77 ERA) when the Rays take on the Guardians on Saturday at 7:05 p.m.