Tuesday, 4 a.m.
Sometimes, you don't need to stick around for the autopsy to describe the corpse. Sometimes, a snippet or two is all you need.
For instance, all you really need to know about the Rays' hitting in their 9-5 drubbing at the hands of the Texan Rangers came in the first inning with two men on. Ji-Man Choi launched a ball to left-center that seemed to be going out of the park, but Rangers' center fielder Eli White laped and robbed him of the homer.
And all you need to know about the Rays' pitching came in the first two innings of Drew Rasmussen's night. Rasmussen, a solid starter for the Rays this year, walked three straight batters and gave up a two-run single to Cole Calhoun. In the second, Rasmussen gave up atwo-run homer to White, and the route was on.
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But all you really need to know to categorize this game came in the top of the ninth inning, when Wander Franco singled sharply down the left field line. Off the bat, it looked like a double, but Franco tweaked his right quad going around first base. His condition will be further evaluated today.
The bad start dug a hole for the Rays they could not get out of.
“That was a heck of a play (by White)," Rays' manager Kevin Cash said. "If there was any sign the night wasn’t going to go our way, maybe that should have been it. Ji-Man got a lot of that baseball. I thought it was a homer off the bat. Eli white made a tremendous play."
In short, it was a bad night for the Rays. who had only four hits through the first six innings, who committed two errors (they now have 12 in their last 10 games), and who gave up eight earned runs to a sub-.500 team.
“Credit to him," 'Cash said of Rasmussen. "He was able to get out of that inning with just two run scored. Nothing came easy. The Rangers did a nice job with their approach against him. It felt like they were just tacking on and tacking on."
The Rangers also scored four runs off reliever Ryan Thompson in one-third of an inning.
The Rays scored three in the seventh inning to make the game closer.
The Rays and Rangers play again tonight at 8:10 p.m. Ryan Yarbrough will start for the Rays against Martin Perez.