On Monday night, Seattle had its way with Tampa Bay, with a 12-5 thumping that stood at 8-0 after two innings. Mariner hitters feasted on the offerings of Rays’ starter Cesar Ramos who was abandoned by his defense which committed 4 errors in those first two frames.
What was notable about this game, though, was this – Ramos stayed in to pitch 6.2 innings, holding Seattle scoreless over the last 3.2 IP of that stint. It was the first game this season with a starter going 6+ innings and allowing 9 or more runs. There was only one such game last year, by Ramos’s teammate David Price, and none in 2012.
These games haven’t always been so rare (this was the 268th such start since 1946), but staying in for 6+ innings after allowing 8 runs over the first two frames is very rare indeed. More on starters who “take one for the team” after the jump.