Thursday, 4 a.m.
Every day, it looks worse. Every game, they look more like a team destined for last place.
The slide of the Tampa Bay Rays continues. They lost again Wednesday, and again, it was bad. The Milwaukee Brewers clobbered the Rays, 7-1, to wrap up the Tampa Bay road trip at 1-5.
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The Rays are now 14-18, which is only one game better than the Rays were in their inaugural season of 1998.
Tampa Bay never threatened.
Want to know just how bad these six games were?
— The Rays gave up an average of six runs a game, even including a first-game shutout against the Brewers.
— The Rays gave up 55 hits.
—They came to bat with runners in scoring position 49 times. They got eight hits.
— They struck out 54 times.
— They gave up three home runs to former Rays’ shortstop Willy Adames.
— Yandy Diaz, last season’s AL batting leader, is hitting .211.
— Randy Arozarena is hitting .139.
— The Rays had 16 hits against the Brewers. Fifteen were singles.
And the slide continues.
The Rays’ starting pitching isn’t very good. The bullpen is sporadic. And hitting? Do you ever feel as if the Rays are on the brink of a big inning?
Richie Palacios and Jose Caballero each had two hits in the Rays’ latest loss.
The Rays are off today. They play at home at Tropicana Field against the New York Mets at 6:50 p.m.