Christopher Morel Adds Punch to Tampa Bay Rays Lineup
Looking at his career batting average, a Tampa Bay Rays fan might not picture Christopher Morel as one of the team's top hitters. Yet Morel has been coming through recently for the Rays, and that's a good thing.
In his last 10 games, Morel is 7 for 38 with three doubles, two home runs and five RBI. He has a .239 batting average with 22 hits in 92 at-bats. Morel currently has a .402 slugging percentage with an OPS at .716. He's a .224 hitter in his career.
The right-handed-hitting outfielder and designated hitter was looking to keep up his pace at the plate on Sunday. The Rays and New York Yankees closed out their three-game weekend series at Yankee Stadium.
Morel stands out for Tampa Bay as team struggles
Morel's efforts are going against the recent 10-game surge for Tampa Bay. As a team, the Rays have been hitting .209m but have won six of 10. The pitching staff has been doing a good job, posting a 3.03 ERA in that stretch.
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Junior Caminero also has been pitching in for the Tampa Bay offense. Caminero is second on the team with 12 extra base hits, which include six doubles and six home runs.
Tampa Bay plays in the always-tough American League East. The Rays are doing their best to keep pace with the Yankees and the Boston Red Sox. But they really need a collective contribution from all of its players to stay in contention this season.
Entering Sunday's game, Tampa Bay had a 6-5 road record while sitting at 15-18 overall. The team's pitching staff has also done a pretty good job in keeping the long ball from being a problem. Tampa Bay is 7-3 in games where it did not allow a home run by an opponent.
Keeping the red-hot Aaron Judge in check on Sunday was one of their main goals. Tampa Bay needs to keep playing at a solid clip, hopefully wrapping up a series win against the Yankees.
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