Tuesday, 4 a.m.
Well, this one felt like a punch to the oblique.
The Rays took a gut-punch early in Monday night's game against Oakland and never recovered. The A's went on to club the Rays, 13-2, to hand the Rays their first loss of the season.
Starting pitcher Luis Patino was only 13 pitches into his night -- and seemed to be doing fairly well - when he strained an oblique muscle (in his abdomen). At the time, he had two outs and two strikes to the A's hitter, but had to depart.
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That brought on Chris Mazza, who couldn't get anyone out. In his first 11 pitches, he hit a batter and allowed two home runs. In all, he gave up four runs.
In the second, his first 11 pitches led to another four-spot by the A's, including a three-run homer by Elvis Andrus. The Rays never recovered.
Patino's injury came after Ryan Yarbrough, scheduled to start today's game, went on the disabled list with a groin injury.
"(Patino) wasn’t very comfortable, but we’ll see," said Rays' manager Kevin Cash. "We'll check on him tomorrow. I’m sure he’ll see a doctor and we’ll have a better understanding of how bad it is or not bad.
“We’ve had two starters go down pretty quick. We’ll regroup. We have to get Luis healthy. He’s a big part of what we’re trying to do here. His stuff, when he’s right, is very impressive."
Patino said he felt something tug two pitches before he came out.
With the game out of hand early, Rays fans struggled to find something to cheer for. One thing was Wander Franco, who had three hits for the third time in four games.
Another was outfielder Brett Phillips, who made a sliding catch in the second. To preserve the bullpen, Phillips also pitched two innings and had a sliding catch in front of the Oakland dugout. He did, however, give up a grand slam.
"I don’t know how many pitchers we have who can do that," Cash said. "We’re going to see that play on the highlight reel for the rest of the year."
The Rays will play Oakland again today at Tropicana Field at 6:40 p.m. Both pitchers -- Tommy Romero of the Rays and Adam Oller of Oakland -- will be making their major league debuts.