There have to be numerous teams across baseball looking at the Tampa Bay Rays and wondering if they can apply the ‘opener’ pitching strategy for themselves. It involves starting a pitcher who is traditionally a bullpen reliever and allowing them to go through the opponent’s batting order one to two times before being replaced by a pitcher with some length who can eat up the middle innings.
The idea is that a pitcher loses his effectiveness the more times he goes through the opponent’s batting order. So by minimizing that risk, the Rays are able to more effectively handle an opponent’s best hitters at the top of the lineup night in and night out.