Sunday, 4 z.m
One day, you're a prince. The next, you're a pauper.
How often does this happen in baseball? A team assaults the ball one night, just crushes it. The next day, it can't buy a hit.
Ask the Tampa Bay Rays. On Friday night, they had 16 hits and scored 14 runs. On Saturday., in an 8-3 loss, they scuffled to get three runs off of five hits. Instead of dominating the Mariners, they were dominated by them.
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Ask Seattle, too. The previous night, it was their bullpen that couldn't hold a 4-0 lead. On Saturday, it was the Rays' bullpen that couldn't keep the game close.
The Rays trailed just 3-2 going into the seventh inning. But reliever Jalen Beeks came on and was awful, giving up three hits and three earned runs before he got four outs. Then came Robert Stephenson, who gave up three hits and two earned runs before he got three outs.
The Rays had trouble figuring out Seattle starter George Kirby, who held them to two runs through seven innings. He gave up just two hits, one of them a two-run homer by Luke Raley.
The Rays' other three hits came in the eighth, when the Rays scored their third run.
Yandy Diaz had two of the hits for the Rays.
The Rays started Tyler Glasnow, who had 11 strikeouts. But he gave up three runs on seven hits.
The Rays and Mariners finish off their series today at 3:30 p.m. Taj Bradley will start for the Rays against Luis Castillo.