Lucas Duda had a three-run homer for the Rays./CARMEN MANDATO
Thursday, 3 a.m.
There was a time that Blake Snell struggled.
You know, like this.
And there was a time that the bullpen was awful.
You know, like this.
The suddenly dependable parts of the Rays' game flashed back to a brittle time Wednesday afternoon. The Rays absorbed a 10-6 loss to the Minnesota Twins that knocked them back to three games behind the last wild-card position in the
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Longoria hit his first homer since Aug. 1./CARMEN MANDATO
American League. Once again, the Rays fell a game below .500, which means the margin of error is dwindling.
“It’s shrinking, but there are 23 (21), whatever ballgames left,” said manager Kevin Cash. “Like I said, if it comes down to one game, we’re kicking ourselves. We could probably pull many games out of a hat. I liked the way the team played. Set the tone the first night, won a tight ballgame yesterday and we really caught and fought in this one."
The Rays were able to come from behind three times in the game. They trailed 1-0, and tied it on an Evan Longoria home run. They fell behind 4-1, and tied it on a homer by Lucas Duda. They fell behind 6-4 and tied it on a homer by Kevin Kiermaier. However, the last surge by the Twins went unmatched.
Snell lasted only four innings and was charged with six earned runs. However, the recently reliable bullpen sprang a few leaks. Sergio Romo gave up a two-run single (Snell's runs). Steve Cishek gave up three runs in one-third of an inning. And Brad Boxberger surrendered a run.
“Sweeping is hard in the big leagues,” said Steven Souza Jr. “We just had so many opportunities to win this ballgame and everybody was fighting. We know we gained a game. Could have gained three, which would have been an enormous swing. I think
Kiermaier tied the game with a two-run homer./CARMEN MANDATO
that’s more what we feel right now is that we had the chance to gain three games, but we gained one.”
Snell said his fastball wasn't as sharp as it has been.
“It’s frustrating,” Snell said. “Especially with the offense doing what they did, six runs. They kept tying it up, giving me a chance to turn it on and I couldn’t do that. That was really frustrating for me to not hit my stride and at least get through six to help my team out and give us a good chance to win. I was pretty upset at that. Now I have to understand that I have to get better these next four or five days and get ready for New York.”
The Rays now travel to Boston to face the Red Sox on Friday. Chris Archer pitches for the Rays against 14-game winner Drew Pomeranz at 7:10 p.m.
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