Sunday, 4 a.m.
The fall continues. Suddenly, they are a rock in water. They are a detached piece of a UFO falling to earth. They are a diver plummeting toward the pool surface.
They are the second-place Tampa Bay Rays, and they cannot stop the plunge.
The Rays fell behind the New York Yankees in the AL East after 34 days in the lead. They were manhandled Saturday night in Anaheim, losing 8-0 to the Los Angeles Angels.
Get this: In five games against the Rays, the Angels have won three times. Against the rest of the league, the Angels are 25-41.
Saturday night was an embarrassment. The hitters were handcuffed by Jose Soriano, who gave up just three hits in five inning. The pitchers were clobbered, giivng up 15 hits..
Griffin Jax started for the Rays. He gave up five hits in five innings, but the the only run he gave up was unearned (scoring on a Taylor Walls error).
But Garrett Cleavinger gave up two runs in one-third of an inning. Craig Kimbrell gave up a run in two-thirds of an inning. Cole Susler gave up four runs in two-thirds of an inning and Cam Booser gave up one in an inning and a third.
The offense was just as bad. They managed just five hits, all singles. In the last two nights, the Rays have gone 3-for-19 with runners in scoring position.
Jo Adell of the Angels had four hits himself. Donovan Walton had three.
The Rays try to salvage a game out of the series today at 4:07 p.m. at Angel Stadium. The Rays have not announced a starter to go against the Angels' Grayson Rodriguez.