Rays' Chris Archer: Takes 19th loss of season despite quality start

Archer (8-19) gave up two earned runs on seven hits and two walks over six innings in Friday's 2-1 loss to the Red Sox. He struck out seven.

Analysis:

In what has become a nightmarish version of Groundhog Day in the second half of the season, Archer once again posted a strong effort that nevertheless put yet another mark in the loss column. The hard-throwing righty notched 14 swinging strikes and got first-pitch strikes on 20 of 27 hitters, but he was once again done in by a complete lack of run support. Archer has managed the unlikely and dubious feat of tossing five straight quality starts and only deriving a sole victory from that stretch of outings, and has now also lowered his ERA in each of his last seven trips to the mound. At minimum, he's been able to restore his confidence after a first half of the season in which he posted a 4-12 record and 4.66 ERA. He'll look to avoid the ignominy of a 20th loss when he wraps up the season against the White Sox next Wednesday.