Wendle stays hot as Rays shut out Marlins for fourth straight game in Miami

MIAMI — Joey Wendle is feeling himself at the plate right now.

The Rays second baseman has registered a hit in eight of his last nine games dating back to Aug. 20, raising his season batting average from .264 to .301 during that span. On Saturday night, with the Marlins still holding hope and within striking distance of the Rays, Wendle came through with another significant at-bat.

With the bases loaded and the Rays leading 2-0 in the eighth inning, Wendle worked a 2-2 count against Marlins reliever James Hoyt before unloading on a low slider. Wendle blasted the ball over the head of right fielder Jesús Sánchez, the former Rays prospect, for a ground-rule double, knocking in two runs. His clutch hit was the dagger as the Rays defeated Miami, 4-0, to maintain their four-game lead over the Yankees in the AL East.

Tampa Bay (23-11) currently has the best record in the American League.

“Joey’s had really good at-bats,” manager Kevin Cash said. “He’s a pretty complete hitter. He can spray the ball all the way around. He’s not looking necessarily to do too much, just stay on pitches, and I think he’s doing that well.”

Dig deeper beyond his timely hitting and you’ll discover Wendle has found a rhythm and mindset that works for him.

Though the Rays rank 10th in the major leagues in hits (274) and sixth in RBIs (160), they’ve also been strikeout victims too many times. Tampa Bay’s hitters have combined to strike out 320 times, which is tied for second-most strikeouts in the league.

The 🐐 went down, got it, and sent it flying!

Wendle's automatic double brings in 2 more runs as the @RaysBaseball pad their lead! https://t.co/nTh0CQeuQM pic.twitter.com/sZrBeurTJI

— FOX Sports Sun: Rays (@FOXSportsRays) August 30, 2020

Wendle serves to buck that negative offensive trend.

Among Rays hitters with at least 50 at-bats, Wendle has the least amount of strikeouts (15) on the team. For comparison, shortstop Willy Adames and second baseman/outfielder Brandon Lowe — two of the club’s hottest hitters — have struck out the most with 37 and 32 strikeouts, respectively.

Wendle’s .301 batting average ranks second on the team (min. 50 AB), trailing only infielder Yandy Díaz’s .303 average. Wendle’s OPS (.813) is third on the team behind Lowe (1.010) and Adames (.860).

“I’ve really just been trying to slow things down and see the ball a little bit deeper,” Wendle said, smiling. “Sometimes it just depends on the night. I didn’t feel particularly good my first two at-bats and then made some adjustments to a point where I was feeling a little bit more confident and comfortable up there.

“I think it’s a combination of feeling good here and there and then just trying to compete and grind through some at-bats, and just put the ball in play. It’s starting to come around at the plate. It seems like we’ve been able to get some pretty consistent production over the last couple of weeks.”

Wendle’s uptick in production this year comes after a 2019 season in which he lacked any type of consistency. Wendle battled a hamstring issue that placed him on the injured list at the beginning of last season, and then he fractured his wrist last April. He wound up doing three stints on the IL, all of which lasted at least three weeks. He played in just 75 games and finished with an OPS of .633. A year ago at this time, Wendle was hitting .206.

On Saturday night, as he jogged back to second base following his double that helped secure the victory, Wendle wore a big smile on his face.

“It’s simple,” Wendle said. “We have a 60-game season. Every game matters. We need to focus. We need to really be in the moment and focused on what we’re doing. (It takes) a lot of resolve, a lot of focus. I think guys are really starting to hit our stride.”

Marlins’ stellar pitching spoiled again

For the second consecutive night, the Marlins were unable to score a run against the Rays. Actually, it’s been more than two years (July 4, 2018) since the Marlins last scored a run against the Rays at Marlins Park.

The Marlins have been shut out at home by the Rays in four consecutive games. Tampa Bay has outscored Miami, 11-0, during that span. The 36 scoreless innings by Miami marks a new Rays club record at a road park, according to Stats LLC. The previous record was 34 scoreless innings at Angel Stadium in 2012.

That’s a shame for the Marlins considering the two stellar pitching performances they’ve received this weekend. On Friday, Sixto Sánchez, the club’s top prospect, made his second career start, tossing seven scoreless innings with 10 strikeouts. He provided glimpses of dominance, which is exciting for Marlins coaches and executives. On Saturday, it was Pablo López’s turn. López allowed just two runs on six hits with five strikeouts and zero walks over seven impressive innings.

Unfortunately for them, Miami’s offense failed to come through on consecutive nights.

“I felt like that was the best Pablo’s thrown,” Marlins manager Don Mattingly said. “I thought he was really good all night. He was able to use all his pitches. His sequences were really good.”

On the Rays’ side, rookie starter Josh Fleming matched López’s effectiveness. In just his second career start, the left-handed Fleming allowed only three hits with six strikeouts and zero walks in 5 1/3 innings.

“He was outstanding for us,” Cash said. “Flem really set a strong tone. He was so efficient. He threw some fastballs underneath, got some good sink on the fastball. He cut the ball in really, really well. He doesn’t pitch like a guy who has two starts under his belt at the big-league level.”

Up next

The Rays will look to sweep the Marlins on Sunday afternoon. Blake Snell (2-0, 3.04 ERA) gets the start for Tampa Bay. Sandy Alcantara is scheduled to start for the Marlins. Alcantara has spent the majority of the season on the COVID-19 injured list. Sunday will be just his second start of the season.

(Photo of Joey Wendle: Mark Brown / Getty Images)