The Tampa Bay Rays came back to Tampa after two tough losses to the Milwaukee Brewers in the World Series.
Trying to climb out of a 2-0 hole, manager Kevin Cash is not starting his hottest hitter in Game 3: Jonathan Aranda. Aranda has reached base in five of his eight plate appearances in the World Series and has an extra-base hit as well.
Aranda made a couple of bad defensive plays in Game 2 to aid the Brewers' 4-0 comeback win. The Rays are starting Ryan Vilade at first base, but the decision to bench Aranda has more to do with who is starting for the Brewers than the defensive miscues in Game 2.
Robert Gasser is starting for the Brewers, and the young southpaw has been great against two really good San Diego Padres and Los Angeles Dodgers lineups so far this postseason. He is really tough on left-handed hitters, and the Rays are playing matchup, as they have for most of the year.
"Gasser's somebody who's really difficult on lefties," Rays president of baseball operations Erik Neander said on MLB Now on Monday. "You're probably going to get him, and there's a gauntlet behind him the way they're set up. We felt that this was the best foot forward in talking with Cash. The best foot forward is to be as competitive as we can be against Gasser, and we'll see where the game goes from there. In terms of where it is, Vilade has hit lefties this year. (Victor) Mesa's in there, and he's hit lefties. (Aranda) is going to have a big spot off the bench at some point in here this game. We know that by the way that they match up and handle games this whole postseason."
The Rays and Brewers both play platoon matchups a ton throughout the season, and the philosophy has not changed now. Aranda had a .678 OPS against southpaws all year. Gasser has not been great against righties overall, but he has been much better as of late.
The Rays need to find any advantage they can, and having Aranda on the bench to face the Brewers' tough righties, Abner Uribe and Trevor Megill, could be huge.
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