Monday, 4 a.m.

The mini-slump has turned into a slide. The losing streak has gone on for three games now. The bullpen is on fire. The Big Three are shrinking. Too few hits, too few runs.

Ouch.

The Tampa Bay Rays' swoon continues. The Rays lost to the last-place Baltimore Orioles for the third straight outing, and it wasn't pretty. It was 10-2, and there are few spots that looked good.

-- The vaunted Big Three of Yandy Diaz, Jonathan Aranda and Junior Caminero went a combined one-for-12. For the three games, they are nine-for-40.

-- The bullpen gave up eight runs, bringing their total to 20 for the series.

-- The Rays were two-for-six with runners in scoring position, and are eight-for-28 for the series. They left eight runners on base, and have left 30 on for the series.

The Rays gave up three runs in the fifth and seven in the sixth in their loss.

The only runs they scored were on a home run by Ryan Vilade and a single by Jorge Mateo. Vilade had three hits for the Rays. Chandler Simpson had two.

The Rays and Orioles finish their series tonight at 6:05 p.m. at Tropicana Field. Nick Martinez (12-3) will start for the Rays against Brandon Young (9-3).

Sunday, 4 a.m.

Remember this one as a squandered opportunity.

The reason, of course, were several other smaller squandered opportunities.

The Tampa Bay Rays lost their second straight game Saturday evening, falling 4-3 in 10 innings to the Baltimore Orioles at Tropicana Field.

The Rays wasted several chances throughout the game. They left 12 men on base, and they had only three hits in 13 opportunities with runners in scoring position. After rallying to tie the game in the ninth, they remained in a tie for two pitches until closer Bryan Baker gave up the winning single to Tyler O'Neill.

In the third inning, it seemed the Rays would have runnrs on second and third with no one out. But replay showed that the Orioles had tagged Taylor Walls as he slid into second base. The Rays scored only when Baltimore catcher Carlos Narvaez overthrew third base on a pickoff attempt.

In the fourth, Liam Hicks walked and Chandler Simpson singled with no one out. But Jonny DeLuca popped up a bunt, Cedric Mullins struck out and Rich Palacios flied out.

In the sixth, the Rays scored a run when Mullins tripled, but he was left on third base as the inning ended.

The Rays did score in the ninth when Yandy Diaz singled, Jonathan Aranda singled and Junior Caminero hit a soft single to third to score the tying run.

The Rays had three hits from Aranda and two each from Diaz and Simpson.

Ian Seymour went six innings without a decision. He gave up a pair of home runs in the no-decision.

Rays’ pitchers struck out 15 Baltimore hitters.

The Rays and Orioles play again today at 12:15 at Tropicana. Freddy Peralta (5-9) will start for the Rays against Trever Rogers (7-8).

Saturday, 4 a.m.

It won't be remembered for long, if at all. The good moments, and the bad, will be overtaken by more significant moments.

On the other hand, there are two lessons to be taken away from the Bucs' 24-16 victory in their preseason opener Friday night.

One: winning is better than losing.

Two: everyone has to start someplace.

Rookie quarterback Jalon Daniels had a nice debut in the victory, hitting 10 of 15 passes for 111 yards. He also ran for a touchdown.

Oh, that's a long way from the 53-man roster, let alone to stardom. But Daniels looked comfortable in the pocket. Certainly, he had a better night than incumbent No. 3 quarterback Connor Bazelak.

Oh, there were other flashes, too. Cornerback Ayden Garnes had a 47-yard interception return for a touchdown. Dean Patterson had five receptions and both Garrett Greene and Bauer Sharp each had four. Damarion Williams had 12 tackles. Jack Pyburn had two sacks.

But no, most of the mainstays did not play.

If you keep a checklist by position unit, you may have these grades:

Rushing game: Not good. The Bucs had just 69 yards on 25 carries, less than three yards per attempt. Grade: D.

Receivers: Pretty good. Not much deep, but nine receivers caught passes. Grade: B.

Quarterbacks: More than raw numbers, Daniels looked at home in the pocket. Grade: B+.

Offensive line: Only backups played. They didn't establish a strong running game, but they allowed just one sack. Grade: C.

Defensive line: The Bucs had four sacks, a scrutinized part of their game. Grade: B+.

Linebacker: The main guys didn't get much time, as planned. Grade: B.

Secondary: They had two picks. Another key position. Grade:B.

The Bucs are home at Raymond James Saturday night against Kansas City at 7:30 p.m.