Tampa Bay’s Alex Cobb great in return from DL
By Todd Salem
Tampa Bay Rays’ starting pitcher Alex Cobb missed over a month with an oblique issue that landed him on the disabled list. He returned to action Thursday night and appeared to be in mid-season form.
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Against the first-place Oakland Athletics, Cobb threw 6.2 innings, allowing just five base runners, while striking out six.
He didn’t allow a run and lowered his already impressive season ERA to 1.40. Of course, because of the scuffling Grant Balfour, he did not receive a win, as it took an extra-innings, three-run home run by Sean Rodriguez for the Rays to grab a victory away from Oakland.
The win brought Tampa Bay’s record to 20-28 on the season. While every win is important trying to claw out from beneath a .500 record, Cobb’s successful return from the DL was the more important factor here for Rays fans.
They are in last place in the American League East, already six games behind the Toronto Bluejays. While their 209 runs allowed thus far this season isn’t terrible, it is a far cry from what people expected from this team. Tampa was supposed to be the cream of the pitching crop, especially in this division. Instead, because of injuries and ineffectiveness in the rotation, as well as troubles in the bullpen, the Rays have not lived up to those expectations.