Monday, 4 a.m.
They are capable of such highs to make you think they could leak into the playoffs.
They are capable of such lows you wonder if the cellar is out of the question.
Pity the poor fan of the Tampa Bay Rays, those spectators who live somewhere in the middle. They are on a roller-coaster ride, and you can never tell if they are climbing or plummeting to earth.
Check out their recent series against the Houston Astros, one that ended with a 1-0 win by the Astros.
On Thursday, the Rays had 13 runs and 14 hits.
On Friday, they had just one run and three hits.,
On Saturday, they had 16 runs and 18 hits.,
On Sunday, they had no runs and two hits.
You figure them out.
The bottom line of the series is that the Rays are capable of beating up on pedestrian pitching and being bewildered by very good pitching.
Taj Bradley had a good day Sunday, giving up an unearned run in the first inning and nothing afterward. He gave up just three hits in his seven innings and fell to 4-5.
The offense, however, struggled against Hunter Brown. They didn’t have a hit until the sixth inning.
Their best chance to score came in the seventh when Jonathan Aranda doubled to lead off the inning. He moved to third on a deep fly ball by Jose Caballero, but the threat went no further as Jake McGee popped out and pinch-hitter Curtis Mead struck out.
Shortstop Taylor Walls was ejected in the ninth inning after disputing a strike call.
The Rays are off today They are home against Texas beginning on Tuesday night at 7:35 p.m. Drew Rasmussen will start for the Rays against Taylor Mahle.