Thursday, 4 a.m.
What's the old line? You can't come back to win them all?
Oh, the Tampa Bay Rays are trying. This season, they've trailed in six of their seven games. But sometimes, the hole is just too deep -- or the other guys make a key play, too -- and a losing streak happens.
Wednesday night, the Rays lost their second straight game to the Atlanta Braves, falling 2-1 in a superb pitching performance by Max Fried, who allowed only three hits in 6 2/3 innings.
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The Rays once again, tried to overcome an ordinary offensive night with a comeback in the ninth inning. But Adam Duvall made a nice running catch in the ninth on a ball hit by Jose Martinez. After Brandon Lowe singled, pinch-runner Kevin Kiermaier was thrown out awkwardly stealing and the threat died.
"I did what you can't do," Kiermaier said. "You can't assume. I thought a foul ball was hit. I thought I heard the crack of the bat. That's the dead-honest truth, but you can't do that. I could have given us a chance of tying the game up. I made a terrible mistake. That can't happen."
Cash said he wasn't sure what happened. He was just happy that Kiermaier was healthy.
"I'm not sure if once he broke and he didn’t get the jump he wanted and got caught in between," Cash said. "All I care about is that he didn’t hurt himself."
"It was a good game overall," shortstop Willy Adames said. "We just couldn't come back."
Pitcher Ryan Yarbrough pitched well for the Braves, giving up his only two hits in a two-run second for Atlanta.