The atmosphere heading into tonight’s game was as tense as an October matchup, a pay-per-view fight, or the opening scene of Jaws. Then the Rays let all the air out of the tire in the first inning. Lame. Tampa Bay won the game without much effort, besting the Bombers 5-2.
We’ll have a full recap up later. In the meantime, here are some highlights:
Winner of the Game
Clint Frazier is just 25 years old. Whether it’s prospect fatigue, or injuries, or the manufactured pearl-clutching from last year, it’s easy to forget that. But he is so, so good. And tonight, in an otherwise slog of a game, he gave fans a reason to watch: his prodigious power to left field.
In the bottom of the fourth, he was all over John Curtiss’ offerings, pulling balls just foul into the second deck. He eventually walked, but you just knew he was going to hit one out. It happened two innings later, when Frazier clanged one off the left-field foul pole for a solo shot.
That might not sound all that impressive, distance wise, but goodness, Frazier hit it a mile high.
Clint Frazier's Pole Power pic.twitter.com/O8LoCfhqvp
— Matthew Stucko (@MatthewStucko) September 3, 2020
It is so much fun getting to watch him play, even if the rest of the team sometimes feels like work.
Honorable Mention: The ninth-inning comeback attempt
Loser of the Game
Jordan Montgomery turned in an absolute clunker, retiring only two batters. The Rays dunked on him, plating four runs in less than a run, and turning this into an impromptu bullpen game. Montgomery got a couple swings and misses, but any pitch the Rays’ batters got, they crushed. His final line: 0.2 IP, 5 H, 4 ER, 1 BB, 2 K, 2 HR.
Honorable Mention: The umpiring crew for ejecting Ben Heller, who lost the ball and accidentally hit Hunter Renfroe. Use your judgement, guys.