Moore went more than seven innings and gAve up only two runs...and lost./TRAVIS PENDERGRASS
Sunday, 5:45 a.m.
This time, for a change, the Rays had enough starting pitching to win.
This time, for a change, the Rays had enough of a bullpen to win,
This time, for a change, the Rays had enough defense to win.
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Souza had two hits to lead the Rays' offense, but it wasn't enough./TRAVIS PENDERGRASS
Alas, they did not win. The Rays' bats struggled, and the team managed only four hits (none after the fourth inning) as the team lost 2-1 to Baltimore.
And the beating goes on.
The Rays have now lost nine straight games, and 11 out of 12, and 24 out of 27 games. During their losing streak, the Rays have been outscored 162-83, and they're hitting only .236. Today, they will attempt to keep from being swept for the 10th time this season.
“Matt was the story today,” said Rays manager Kevin Cash. “I think it’s fairly obvious, Matt Moore was pretty outstanding again. Gave us every opportunity to win. It stinks when you lose a ballgame on one pitch. That sums up how it’s going for us right now, but you can’t take that away from Matt; he was really good.
Longoria prepares for his at-bat against Orioles./TRAVIS PENDERGRASS
“Unfortunately, their guy was really good, too. You saw two pitchers that have had a lot of success, and they get some strikeouts quite a bit. It was low-strikeout tonight. You saw two guys that were efficient in making good pitches.”
Moore went more than six innings for his eighth straight start. He's lost two straight starts in which he's had a combined two runs worth of support.
“I just feel like I’m pitching to my capabilities,” Moore said. “Being able to string together back-to-back innings where we retired three in a row, I think that’s something to hang my hat on most these days, just being able to get some quick innings, keep my pitch count on track.
“Trying to link it up so everybody’s on the same page. It’s kind of like football where there’s the offensive, defensive side of the football, there’s special teams, there’s a lot of parts to our team going into this skid. It’s easy to look at things that are going wrong and kind of put your finger on them, but you know we’re trying. It’s something, the guys are getting to the field at the same time, putting the same work in. We’re just waiting for tomorrow to get here.”
The Rays' Steven Souza had two of the team's four hits.
Today, Jake Odorizzi pitches for the Rays.
Brad Miller fields a ground ball in the Rays' 2-1 defeat./TRAVIS PENDERGRASS
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