One day after ending a season-worst four-game losing streak, the Tampa Bay Rays returned to sloppy baseball again Saturday afternoon.
The Rays gave up four runs in the first and six in the ninth, going on to absorb a 14-3 pummeling at the hands of the Los Angeles Angels, the last-place team in the AL West.
It was ugly beyond description, from Wade Meckler's first-inning grand slam to back-to-back homers by Jo Adell and Oswald Peraza in the ninth.
The Rays gave up 11 hits, six walks, two hit batters and a passed ball. In their last six games, the Rays have given up 45 runs.
The Rays were just one-for-10 with runners in scoring position.
Yandy Diaz hit his third home run in two days. Junior Caminero had two doubled.
The Rays left the bases loaded in the first inning and the sixth.
Starting pitcher Drew Rasmusdsen lasted just four innings and gave up five earned runs.
The Rays and Angels close out their series today at 1:40 p.m. at Tropicana Field. Shane McClanahan will start for the Rayds against Jack Kochanowicz.
It was the seventh inning when the ugly came off of the baseball for the Tampa Bay Rays.
They were down 2-1, to a mediocre Angels' team from Los Angeles. Home field didn't seem to be helping them. A fifth straight loss was possible.
And then the Rays' woke up.
The Rays scored seven runs in the bottom of the seventh inning. Yandy Diaz homered (for the second time in the game). Jonathan Aranda homered for the back-to-back (he still leads the American League with 42 RBI). Richie Palacios tripled in two runs. It ended up as an 8-5 win at Tropicana Field.
Oh, it wasn't smooth. The Angels came back with three runs themselves to make it close. It seemed closer when the Angels loaded the bases in the ninth before Bryan Baker recorded his 15th save.
Nick Martinez won his fifth game in six decisions. He has started 11 games without giving up more than two earned runs.
Diaz, Aranda and Junior Caminero all had two hits.
The Rays and Angels play again today at 4:10 p.m. at Tropicana Field. Drew Rasmussen will start against Reid Detmers.
Oh, sure, the Tampa Bay Rays aren't playing like it. They were clobbered again Wednesday night, 11-2 by Baltimore at Camden Yards.
It left the Rays with a season-long four-game losing streak as their lead in the AL East dwindled.
It was embarrassing. The Rays didn't pitch well, didn't hit well and didn't field well.
Consider:
-- In four games, the Rays gave up 28 runs (and scored 10). They gave up 42 hits. Offensively, they were just seven for 38 with runners in scoring position.
-- In four games, the Rays' bullpen gave up 20 runs.
-- The Rays saw O's player Blaze Alexander drive in six runs. Gunnar Henderson had two home runs.
-- The O's scored five runs in the first and cruised.
-- Hunter Feduccia had three hit Jonathan Aranda had two.
-- The Rays’ frustrations can be defined by their eighth inning. The Rays loaded the bases with no one out. After a walk forced in one run, former Ray Andrew Kittredge struck out three straight Rays.
The Rays are off today. They host the Los Angeles Angels on Friday at 7:10 p.m. at Tropicana Field. Nick Martinez will pitch for the Rays against Walbert Urena.
Are we seeing a team in a brief tailspin, or is the situation with the Tampa Bay Rays more dire?
Are they a team on the verge of unraveling?
The Rays lost their third straight game Tuesday night, playing a sloppy game in a 6-1 loss to the Baltimore Orioles at Camden Yards.
-- The Rays have scored only eight times in their last three games, and seven of those came in one game. Shane Baz, a former Ray, baffled the Rays for the second straight time, holding them to one unesrned run and striking out nine.
-- The Rays have committed seven errors in their last two losses. They also had a passed ball. All six Orioles runs were unearned.
-- The Rays' bullpen was shaky again.Trevor Martin gave up a three-run homer in the fifth to cinch things.
Only a couple of things went the Rays way. Jonathan Aranda had three hits and drove in his 41st run. Newcomer Craig Kimbrell pitched a scoreless eighth in his debut. Chandler Simpson had two hits.
Mostly, however, the Rays never had command of the game.
The Rays play the Orioles tonight at 6:35 p.m. at Camden Yards. Steven Matz will start for the Rays against Chris Bassitt.
Tuesday, 4 a.m. How many times can a team blow a game? How many leads can it squander? Four times, the Tampa Bay Rays took a lead over the Baltimore Orioles Monday at Camden Yards. Every time, they let the O’s roar back, until the final time resulted in a 9-7 win in 13 innings. […]
Monday, 4 a.m. When you’re battling in a close game, players will remind you that one mistake can beat you. Sunday, that mistake belonged to the Tampa Bay Rays. Locked in a scoreless tie in the eighth inning, the Rays were a couple of feet away from taking the lead. But Junior Caminero tried to […]
Sunday, 4 a.m. Sometimes, the key to a team’s improvement are the additions it makes. Take the Tampa Bay Rays, who spent their off-season bringing in help in the form of Nick Martinez and Steven Matz, among others. And sometimes, the key is know who to move on from. The Rays have had some mixed […]
Saturday, 4 a.m. Might the Tampa Bay Rays run away with the high-priced American League East? And if not, who is going to catch them? The Rays played a familiar script on Friday night. They were dormant for seven innings, then got into their opponent’s bullpen. They pulled away for a 4-2 victory over the […]
Thursday, 4 a.m. It isn’t just that the Rays came from behind Wednesday. They were raised from the dead. For seven innings, the Rays looked tamed. They managed two hits, and just one run, against former teammate Shane Baz. It looked like one of those days when a hot pitcher changes everything — although Baz […]
Wednesday, 4 a.m. Then there are days like Tuesday, when the bullpen matches the blueprint. A fistful of relief pitchers shut down the Baltimore Orioles Tuesday night at Tropicana Field. The Rays won their 32nd game of the year in a 4-1 decision over th O’s. Griffin Jax, a converted reliever, started and gave up […]
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About Gary Shelton
• No one covers Tampa Bay like Gary Shelton.
• No one has seen as many moments, as many athletes, as many coaches as he has over the last quarter of a century.
• No one has won more awards, including two national Associated Press Sports Editors Best Columnist awards and eight top 10 finishes. He also just received his sixth Sportswriter of the Year award for Florida by the NSSA.
• No one has seen more big events, including 29 Super Bowls, 10 Olympics and 11 Final Fours. Gary still goes into the locker rooms to obtain his stories.
• No one has made you angrier, or laugh louder, or think harder about what he has written.
Now, he begins a website designed to keep him in touch with the readers who have grown up on his words.
