The call from catcher J.P. Arencibia was for a fastball down and away. J.A. Happ was down in the count 3-1 to Desmond Jennings with runners on second and third, came set from the stretch and unleashed a 91 m.p.h. two-seamer. All in all it wasn’t a terribly located pitch.

The next thing the Toronto Blue Jays left-hander remembers is a loud ringing in his ear. He was down on the pitching mound. And there was pressure. He cupped his ear and blood streamed onto his hand. It took a few seconds before he realized what had happened — a line drive had struck him on the left ear.

There were people around him, assistant trainer Mike Frostad tending to him with a towel, Munenori Kawasaki, Brett Lawrie, and Maicer Izturis to one side, Arencibia and John Gibbons on the other. Then came head trainer George Poulis, Tampa Bay Rays counterpart Ron Porterfield and team physician Dr. Michael Reilly. Paramedics jumped in. His right knee throbbed. How bad is this, Happ wondered.

“I felt a lot of pressure on my ear, that’s why I was holding it, I looked down and saw some blood on my hand, so I wasn’t sure,” Happ recalled Wednesday afternoon of his frightening injury the night before. “Obviously with the Brandon McCarthy injury last year, this type of thing is scary, you never know. But the paramedics and our trainers did a great job, they kept me comfortable and kept me calmed down.”

it was a scary moment for everyone involved and no one could breathe a sigh of relief until Happ waved to fans as he went off the field on a stretcher. Happ needed eight stitches to seal the fracture in his skull behind his ear, but miraculously, he will not require surgery and doesn’t even have any post-concussion symptoms. As it turned out, Happ’s worst injury was to his knee, which “twisted under his weight as he crumpled to the ground.” Further tests showed that Happ had suffered only a sprain and could be back on a big league mound within a few weeks. It was about as good of a situation as anyone could have hoped following what happened, and it’s lucky for everyone involved that Happ is fine.

The person who felt the most guilty had to be Desmond Jennings, the player who hit that ball, and Happ assuaged his tension not only by being OK but also talking to Jennings on Wednesday. Happ’s injury was a terrifying moment that made the game after lose his significance, but thankfully he emerged from the incident without serious damage and we can just focus on baseball again.

Roberto Hernandez looked really good for the Rays on Tuesday. Nevertheless, he allowed 6 runs, 5 earned, on 8 hits in 6.2 innings. How is that possible? Here were the Rangers’ run-scoring hits in the game: 1) a bloop single by Lance Berkman in the 3rd to score 2 runs 2) a groundball single up the middle by Elvis Andrus in the 5th 3) an Adrian Beltre groundout in the 5th 4) an Andrus groundout in the 6th 5) with Jake McGee on in relief of Hernandez, an error by James Loney. That pretty much sums it up- no line drives, no extra base hits, and few hard groundballs as well, simply allowing soft contact and everything finding a hole. Hernandez was further set back by several missed calls on excellent sinkers that looked like a ball all the way before coming back over the inside corner to left-handed batters. As Brian Anderson described it on the Rays broadcast, the umpire simply gave up on those pitches, costing Hernandez big strikes in key spots. Hernandez’s secondary pitches were inconsistent but his sinker moved about as good as you’ll ever see, forcing groundall after groundball with nice sink per usual but also flashing big-time run in towards right-handed batters to make them look foolish and sharp late bite that Anderson said made Hernandez’s sinker seem almost like a slider. His pitches moved so well that he was all over the place at times, hitting two batters and losing control on a pitch that went up-and-in, but for the most part he was sharp and primed to deliver a great outing. However, Lady Luck just happened to be squarely against him and his final numbers were not nearly indicative of how good he looked. If Hernandez’s sinker continues to look like that, though, his stats by the time the season comes to a close will be better than anyone could have hoped.

If Hernandez had gotten better luck, he might have gone say 7 innings allowing 2 runs. Even if he had done that, there’s a pretty good chance the Rays would have lost this game nevertheless. The Rays dug in against Rangers rookie right-hander Nick Tepesch and quickly dug their own graves in this game. Tepesch surrendered 3 walks in the game, all in the 2nd inning, but the Rays left the bases loaded. The Rays had a chance to down Tepesch’s outing in the 2nd and completely blew it. The following inning, Desmond Jennings doubled off of him and later scored on a Ben Zobrist groundball. That was basically it for the Rays’ chances. From the 3rd all the way to the 8th, Tepesch had a stretch where he retired 15 of 16 batters, including 11 outs on the ground, as the Rays let him get comfortable and proceeded to get dominated. For good measure, they also blew a 2nd and 3rd, 1 out situation in the 8th after Tepesch departed, going down feebly against lefty Robbie Ross. Tepesch was incredible and deserves a lot of credit. He went 7.1 innings allowing just 1 run on 4 hits, striking out 5 while walking 3. But the Rays looked absolutely lost in the batters’ box and they can’t just chock that all up to Tepesch. They were disastrous and they paid the price in this game as the Rangers 4-hit them on their way to an easy 6-1 victory.

Beyond Hernandez’s great stuff but poor results, there were a few positives in the game for the Rays, and those were the performances Desmond Jennings, Brandon Gomes, and Kelly Johnson. Jennings went 2 for 4 with a pair of doubles and the Rays’ only run scored, seeming to be the Rays’ only hitter with any life in his body. Gomes worked the 8th and looked really good, allowing a single to begin the inning before retiring the next three in order, most notably retiring Ian Kinsler on a nasty slider. And then there was Johnson, who has really struggled this season but did a great job throwing out Kinsler at second base in the 7th inning and then got a scratch single on a swinging bunt in the 8th. Johnson and Yunel Escobar have done almost nothing for the Rays this season, but maybe this is the game that gets Johnson going a little bit and Escobar should be on the way soon as well.

The Rays look to salvage the final game of their 3-game set with the Rangers and build some momentum on Wednesday as they take on Texas in a matinee at Rangers Ballpark in Arlington at 2:05 PM. It will be a battle of talented lefties as Matt Moore opposes Derek Holland, and the Rays desperately need Moore to build off his strong season debut and help deliver them to a much-needed win.

Indians starter Trevor Bauer, called up for this one start, was wild from the beginning, walking the bases loaded without recording an out. The Rays plated a run when Evan Longoria walked, forcing in Desmond Jennings. After a pop foul for the first out, Yunel Escobar hit a line drive to right. Matthew Joyce attempted to score, but was gunned down at the plate by an excellent throw from Ryan Raburn to end the threat.

Cleveland threatened in the top of the third, putting runners on first and second with no one out. Michael Bourn attempted to move the runners over, but Longoria fielded the bunt and fired to second to force the runner, as Escobar alerted covered the base. After Alex Cobb escaped the threat, it was the Rays turn to look to score. Following a leadoff walk, Jennings stole second and third. Joyce hit a high chopper to third, and Jennings broke for home. Although he slammed into Lou Marson, he held onto the ball and tagged Jennings out. Jennings has been getting on base since Spring Training, and has carried that into the season. When he does, the Rays offense seems to have a different feel then it typically does. Bauer would walk the bases loaded again, but escaped when he struck out Escobar to end the inning.

Despite having seven baserunners at that point, the Rays got their first hit in the fourth, when Jose Molina singled to left. Kelly Johnson followed with a two run home run to expand the lead to 3-0. Bauer exited after five innings, allowing three runs on two hits, but walked seven batters and only had two strikeouts.  Matt Albers entered the game in the sixth, and was greeted by what appeared to be a single off the bat of Yunel Escobar. However, Escobar was hustling on the play, and was safe at second on a controversial call when it was determined that Jason Kipnis missed the tag. That call paid immediate dividends for the Rays, as Shelley Duncan drove Escobar in with a base hit.

Meanwhile, Cobb was cruising along, shutting down the Indians offense. In his 7.1 innings of work, he allowed four hits and three walks, striking out six in his 103 pitch outing. With this outing, each member of the Rays rotation went at least six innings in their first start, which is an excellent sign. the Rays had been preaching a ‘pitch to contact’ mentality this spring, and, for the first time through the rotation at least, it appears to have taken hold.

The Rays tacked another couple of runs on the board in the bottom of the eighth. With runners on first and third and two outs, James Loney hit a double into the gap, plating both runners and putting the Rays ahead 6-0. Joel Peralta and Cesar Ramos combined with Cobb to shut out the Indians for the second straight night.

Every Rays starter got on base against Cleveland pitching. Loney was 2-4 with a double, two RBIs and a walk. Jennings was 1-3, but walked twice, stole two bases, and scored a run.

The Rays go for the sweep tomorrow, as David Price faces Justin Masterson at 1:40 on Sunday.