Kittredge gives up another homer in loss

by Gary Shelton on May 17, 2022

in general

Tuesday, 4 a.m.

One of the toughest things in baseball is when a strength becomes a weakness.

Take it from Andrew Kittredge, who has had a rough eight days.

Kittredge gave up yet another home run late in Monday night's 3-2 loss to Detroit, the worst team in the American League. It was Kittredge's third homer allowed in his last five appearances. He took the loss, to go with his two blown saves.




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Kittredge, an all-star a year ago, is suddenly having troubles keeping he ball on the preferred side of the fence.

 “I think he was trying to throw a cutter," Rays' manager Kevin Cash said. "I’m not sure, but I’m  pretty sure it was a cutter that just stayed in the middle. (Over his last few outings), he's just left some  balls in the middle of the plate, but I trust that he’ll be fine."

Kittredge admitted it was frustrating.

“It was a cutter that didn’t cut much," he said. "I was trying to  go up and in there. I got pretty close but didn’t quite get there. He put a good swing on it.

“Some of those are good pitches, and some aren’t executed pitches. I feel great. I think my process is still good. There’s a lot to be positive about, but the results are not where we want them."

It should be said that Kittredge made one mistake Monday. The Rays hitters made a lot of them. They spread seven hits, but they were 0-3 with runners in scoring position. The Rays have scored three runs or less in six of their last eight games.

Brett Phillips had three hits (including a homer), but the rest of the offense was dormant against another young starter -- Tampa's Alex Faedo.

Corey Kluber was strong for the Rays, giving up a two-run homer to Jonathan Schoop.

"When you can go an outing and only wish you had one pitch back, it's pretty good," Cash said.

The Rays play the Tigers again tonight at 6:40 p.m. at Tropicana Field. Shane McClanahan starts for the Rays against Beau Brieske.


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