The Tampa Bay Rays are making a very late run to try and sneak in to the playoff picture in the American League, and they are being led by their new ace, Blake Snell. The hurler gave up just one hit over five shutout innings to become the first pitcher in the majors to reach 20 wins this season. The Rays stayed hot with a 4-0 shutout of the Texas Rangers on the road Tuesday night, as he is the first pitcher to reach 20 victories in two seasons.
What is so unbelievable about Snell's record is that he was sent down to Triple-A Durham last season after going 6-14. Since returning to the majors, he has gone 25-6 and has now tied a Rays' franchise record with the 20 victories, which David Price had in the 2012 season. Price went on to win the Cy Young Award that year.
The 25-year-old won his eighth consecutive start, striking out five and now has 200 punch-outs on the season. He walked just two, but needed 92 pitches to get through five innings, as he exited the game with a 1.97 ERA.
The win for Tampa Bay continues to give them hope in the race for the final American League Wild Card spot, as they have won four straight and 13 of 16 in the month of September. They entered the game on Tuesday just 6.5 games behind the Oakland Athletics in the Wild Card race.
At the very least, their ace, Snell, could very well take home the Cy Young this season. No other pitcher in the big leagues had more than 18 wins last season, while Rick Porcello won 22 in 2016, the same year Max Scherzer and J.A. Happ each won 20. Both Porcello and Scherzer took home the award that season. The Rays will stay on the road this weekend, visiting the Toronto Blue Jays with hopes of continuing this late-season surge.
What is so unbelievable about Snell's record is that he was sent down to Triple-A Durham last season after going 6-14. Since returning to the majors, he has gone 25-6 and has now tied a Rays' franchise record with the 20 victories, which David Price had in the 2012 season. Price went on to win the Cy Young Award that year.
The 25-year-old won his eighth consecutive start, striking out five and now has 200 punch-outs on the season. He walked just two, but needed 92 pitches to get through five innings, as he exited the game with a 1.97 ERA.
The win for Tampa Bay continues to give them hope in the race for the final American League Wild Card spot, as they have won four straight and 13 of 16 in the month of September. They entered the game on Tuesday just 6.5 games behind the Oakland Athletics in the Wild Card race.
At the very least, their ace, Snell, could very well take home the Cy Young this season. No other pitcher in the big leagues had more than 18 wins last season, while Rick Porcello won 22 in 2016, the same year Max Scherzer and J.A. Happ each won 20. Both Porcello and Scherzer took home the award that season. The Rays will stay on the road this weekend, visiting the Toronto Blue Jays with hopes of continuing this late-season surge.
