Saturday, 4 a.m.
Most of the time, he pushes most of the right buttons.
But, yeah, Kevin Cash had a tough debut in the opening game of the World Series.
Granted, being in charge of in-game decisions for a team is an invitation to get one wrong every now and then. There are so many decisions -- when to change pitchers, when to pinch hit, when to steal, who to start, etc. -- that it's hard to he perfect.
This time, Cash wasn't.
Start with his first major decision of a night the Rays lost 3-2 to Milwaukee to open the World Series. That was the decision to start Nick Martinez over Drew Rasmussen. It didn't work out. Martinez gave up three hits and two runs to the first four hitters, and from then on, the Rays were playing chase.
How about the bottom of the fifth? Down 2-1, the Rays had a runner on second and Victor Mesa Jr. on second. Yandy Diaz, who led the league in hitting with runners on second bae, was at the plate. But Mesa Jr. took off and was out at third. The Rays only had three more hits.
Then there was the bullpen. The Rays chose to go first to Steven Matz, who hasn't done much in the post-season. He walked two batters and gave up a run in 1 2/3 innings.
And so the Rays start off in a hole. They managed just five hits for the game -- three of them by Jonathan Aranda and two by Chandler Simpson. Liam Hicks' ground-out drove in the Rays' only run.
The Rays came close to tying in the ninth inning. The Rays loaded the bases, and a run scored when Cooper Pratt was pulled off the second-base bag as Hicks hit into an apparent double play. But Jonny DeLuca struck out to end the game.
The Rays were 0-6 with runners in scoring position.
Tampa Bay and Milwaukee play Game Two tonight at 8 American Family Field. Drew Rasmussen will start for the Rays against Logan Henderson.