Tampa Bay Rays’ Joe Maddon comments after team suffers shutout defeat to Texas Rangers
The Tampa Bay Rays’ manager Joe Maddon took the opportunity to comment on his team’s defeat to the Texas Rangers on Tuesday, September 6. The gaffer spoke to the press after the match and offered his insight on the event. The game took place in the Rays’
home ground of Tropicana Field in St. Petersburg, Tampa. This was the second encounter of a three-game series and the Rangers took the opportunity to even the wins tally with a shut-out feature from C. J. Wilson.
The Rangers were at the brink of suffering a shut-out defeat on Monday through a strong pitching performance from Rays’ James Shield. The tables turned on Tuesday, however as the away team snatched up an 8-0 victory. Tampa Bay brought on Jeff Niemann for
pitching duty but the move had no effect as the Texas hitters made short work of the club and moved on to victory in dominating fashion.
Niemann moved to his seventh defeat of the season within the first 4.2 innings. He conceded nine hits and seven runs early on, forcing Maddon’s hand on replacing him with bullpen ace, Cesar Ramos. C. J. Wilson, on the other hand, did his part for the Rangers
as he allowed five hits and no runs in his complete game.
The Tampa Bay skipper offered some comments on Niemann’s performance and deliveries.
"Everything was flat," the Manager said of Niemann's pitches. "It was up in the zone. He threw three or four fastballs down that were really good. Otherwise, it just wasn't his typical performance."
Maddon also had some words for Wilson, who has been good against the Rays on many occasions. The hurler cancelled out the Rays with four double plays and six strike-outs.
"He has been disgustingly consistent against us," Maddon said. "He's just on top of his game whenever he sees us in the batter's box."
With a few weeks left, it seems very unlikely that Rays will move to the wildcard position. Maddon has a lot of work cut out for him and he understands his squad’s requirements.
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