They gave Drew Smyly a day off. They sent Matt Andriese to the bullpen. They sent Dana Eveland to the minors.
Ah, but what should the Tampa Bay Rays do with Chris Archer?
Archer, an all-star a year ago, continued his terrible start to his season, and to his games, in a 6-1 loss the Cleveland Wednesday night. It was the Rays’ seventh straight loss, the longest of the season, and it left them eight games under .500.
Archer’s horrible start is one of the biggest mysteries of the season. This time last year, he was 9-4 with a 2.01 ERA. This year, he is 4-10 with a 4.70 ERA. No one has lost more games in the major leagues. He has given up 15 more walks than his first 16 starts a year ago, and ten more home runs and 13 more first-inning runs.
โIt’s definitely frustrating,โ manager Kevin Cash said. โWe’ve got a couple of frustrating things going on. I don’t think it’s a mystery at all.โ
For Archer, it took nine pitches before he was on his way to losing again. He walked Carlos Santana on five pitches, then gave up a home run to Jason Kipnis to fall behind 2-0. Archer ended up giving up four earned runs and six hits in six innings.
โIt is very frustrating putting the team behind the eight ball numerous times this season,โ Archer said, โIt’s something I need to get better at.โ
After ten losses, it might be easy to be exasperated at Archer. On the other hand, he would have had to shut Cleveland out to win. The Rays managed only three hits for the second straight night against Cleveland. Trevor Bauer struck out 10 and went the distance.
The Rays have the day off today, then go to Baltimore. Matt Moore will pitch Friday.
