Until Alex Rodriguez hits hits 600 home runs, we'll be baseballreference.com-ing his batter vs. pitcher history against his opposition for the night. Tonight? Wade Davis and the Tampa Bay Rays.
Career at Tropicana Field: 21 Home Runs
Career vs. Tampa Bay: 43 Home Runs
Vs. Wade Davis, Tonight's Starter: 4-8, 2 HR's, 4 RBI, 1 BB, 1 K
Rays Bullpen:
Vs. Andy Sonnanstine: 8-18, 3 HR's, 8 RBI, 1 BB,
Vs. Joaquin Benoit: 2-13, 1 HR, 3 RBI, 3 BB's, 5 K's
Vs. Grant Balfour: 1-9, 2 RBI, 2 BB's, 2 K's
Vs. Dan Wheeler: 1-8, 2 K's
Vs. Lance Cormier: 2-6, 3 RBI, 1 BB, 1 K
Vs. Randy Choate: 4-4, 3 RBI
Vs. Rafael Soriano: 0-2, 1 BB
Analysis: I like Alex's chances tonight. First off, the scene shifts to Tropicana Field, where he's been historically successful, and where the left field porch is a Yankee Stadium-esque 315 feet down the line with about a five-foot high wall. Secondly, he's got really great matchups tonight: he's hitting .500 against the starter with 2 homers, which must make his whip through the roof. And it's an AL East team, so he's got some level of familiarity with every single hitter. That being said, that familiarity could play against him in the later innings: there are some pitchers - Balfour, Benoit, and Wheeler - that are the easy choices for Joe Maddon to bring in in situations where Rodriguez will soon come to the plate. Against them he's a combined 4-30 with only one homer. (Definitely not coming in: Randy Choate, who has given up a hit to Rodriguez in all four plate appearances.)