Tuesday, 4 a.m.
Hot streaks don't last. Everyone knows that.
Seldom, however, do they screech to a halt as quickly as the Tampa Bay Rays did on Monday afternoon.
The Rays reminded you of what sort of funk they have been in through the last few weeks in a 4-0 loss to the Boston Red Sox. The day after their third straight dominating win over Toronto, the Rays stumbled to their fifth shutout loss of the season.
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Along the way, they:
-- Had just two hits. The Rays had collected 41 hits in their last three games against Toronto -- scoring 24 runs -- but could barely scratch against a Boston bullpen day. The Rays struck out 11 times.
-- Flubbed three balls on the infield -- even though only one of them was called an error.
-- Made another awful base-running decision, this one when Yandy Diaz turned too wide after one of the Rays' hits.
“We scuffled," Rays manager Kevin Cash said. "(Austin) Davis kind of set the tone and Kutter Crawford…twice now, he’s pitched really well against us. Big fastball, threw the breaking ball, and the cutter as well. We couldn't get anything going. I never felt like we had a rhythm at the plate at all.
“It’s baseball. We're not going to go out and score as many runs as we did for the last three days. It’s going to stop at some point. So let’s pick it back up and see if we can have good offense going forward."
Cash praised the relief work of bulk pitcher Josh Fleming, although Fleming gave up all four runs.
He thought one of the infield flubs, by Isaac Paredes, was a play the Rays "make nine times out of 10." Another flub, by Fleming on a ground ball, could have been a double play, he said.
As for the baserunning errors, he said.
"We've got be better. Eliminate mistakes on the bases. It’s not just Yandy. Team-wise we’ve got to do better."
The Rays play Boston again tonight at 7:10 p.m. at Fenway Park. Jeffrey Springs will start for the Rays against Nick Pivetta.