Meadows now has 31 homers on the season./CHUCK MULLER
Monday, 4 a.m.
The reason it hurts so much when the Tampa Bay Rays lose is simple.
The Oakland A's won't.
The Rays lost to the Anaheim Angels, 6-4, on Sunday afternoon, a frustrating bit of news when you consider that the A's won their sixth straight, and their eighth the last 10. The A's now lead Tampa Bay by a game and a half in the wild-card standings, while the Rays lead Cleveland by a game and a half.
It was a tough afternoon for the Rays. Starting pitcher Ryan Yarbrough gave up 10 hits and six earned runs in just five innings, and the Rays' hitters managed just two
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Yarbrough had a difficult afternoon./JEFFREY S. KING
hits for the first seven innings. They did have four hits in the eighth, including a three-run homer by Austin Meadows, who hit his 31st.
“Yarbs wasn’t as sharp today," manager Kevin Cash said. "The command just wasn’t quite there. He just didn’t look crisp for whatever reason They got us early, then (Albert) Pujols comes up and really separates the game. I was encouraged we came back. We got the tying run to the plate, but we came up short.
With 11 games to go, the loss stung.
"Every game matters," Cash said. "It’s magnified at this point for good reason. Losses are a tick more frustrating, Wins are a tick more exciting. But we get to enjoy and then play a really good baseball team (the Dodgers)."
Cash noted that some of the Angels hits find the right spot on the field.
"They’re all hits," Cash said. "Yarbs is totally capable of getting past some of those hits that find their way. He just didn’t today."
The Rays are off today, then begin a short series against the Dodgers. Blake Snell makes his return on Tuesday, pitching against Ross Stripling at 10:10 p.m.
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