The Rays lost to the Reds in extra innings in a very fine pitchers’ duel. They are hitting better lately but did not show it on Friday. Rasmussen (5-3, 3.30) starts on Saturday. He pitched well in his return from the IL, holding the Jays to a single run over 4+innings in his last outing. You seldom get length out of Rasmussen, but of all teams, the Rays know how to get the most out of their pitchers.

The same would not appear true with the way the Reds are handling their rookie fire-baller Greene (3-10, 6.01).He has had a few good outings but the bad more than outweighs the good, as we can see from his stats. He has definitely not shone lately, giving up 15 runs in 14 innings. He leads the league in the unenviable stat of most home runs allowed to date.

The Reds are a very poor home team, with an indifferent offense this year. Their bullpen is not at all dependable usually, but they’ve managed two good relief efforts in their last two games. Don’t count on a third. Neither pitcher will likely go long tomorrow. I am banking on the Rays and the Rays’ bullpen to bounce back and win.