Monday, 4 a.m.
They are the epitome of a .500 baseball team. They don’t get that hot, they don’t get that cold.
The Tampa Bay Rays sneak onto the winning side of the ledger on occasion, but never that far. They dip back to the losing side, but never that far. They don’t climb to the top of the mountain, but they don’t fall off the cliff. They hang around, but not much more.
The Rays reminded you of how they spin their wheels in a 4-3 loss to St. Louis Tuesday night. The Rays pitched well, but they didn’t hit. They rallied late, but they fell short. And so it goes.
Content beyond this point is for members only.
Already a member? To view the rest of this column, sign in using the handy "Sign In" button located in the upper right corner of the GarySheltonSports.com blog (it's at the far right of the navigation bar under Gary's photo). Not a member? It's easy to subscribe so you can view the rest of this column and all other premium content on GarySheltonSports.com.
The Rays took a 2-0 lead on a home run by Brandon Lowe in the first. But the Rays had only six hits for the night, and they were just 1-for-12 with runners in scoring position, a familiar cry. The Rays are 11-for-81 in their last nine games with runners in scoring position.
They are 43-11 when they score four runs or more. They are 14-44 when they score less.
Jeffrey Springs started his second game since coming back from injury. But in the second inning, he gave up home runs to Victor Scott and Tommy Pham. The Rays scored in the ninth, but just once.
Jonny DeLuca had two hits, including an RBI single in the ninth to bring the Rays within a run.
Sonny Gray got the win for the Cardinals, going seven innings to improve his record to 11-6.
The teams play again tonight at 7:45 p.m. Taj Bradley will start for the Rays against Erick Fedde.