Tuesday, 4 a.m.
There have been worse series in the history of the Tampa Bay Rays….probably.
Right now, you probably don’t want to remember a four-game home stand where the Rays looked so overmatched by an opponent. Weeks when it was more embarrassing, more complete, more dominated.
None of them, however, have happened lately.
The Baltimore Orioles completed their devastation Monday night, mowing down the Rays 5-2 to complete a four-game sweep/ If things had gone any worse, someone would have stolen the team bus.
How bad was it?
— In four games, the Orioles scored 25 runs and had 42 hits.
— AFter the seventh inning, the Rays were outscored 13-0.
— The Rays ended up in sole possession of last place in the AL East.
— The Orioles hit nine home runs.
— The Rays were four-for-19 with runners in scoring position.
— The Rays struck out 40 times and had just 22 hits. They scored just seven runs.
The Rays managed six hits. Two of them were by Yandy Diaz.
And so it goes. For the firs time all week, the Rays had brief lead at 2-1. But the O’s immediately got a tying home run from James McCann. Ryan O’Hearn’s two-run single broke the tie in the fifth.
The Rays now begin a three-game series against the Chicago Cubs at 6::50 p.m. at Tropicana Field.