Saturday, 4 a.m.
Do you think the Tampa Bay Rays will ever win again?
There for a while, it was as if the Rays were never going to lose. But, ah, the tables have turned, and the Rays’ bats are mum, and good pitching keeps dying.
The Rays have now lost six in a row, and they’re 17-16 since the first of June. The power has vanished, and the clutch hitting has disappeared. And the losing continues.
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This time, they lost 2-1 to the Atlanta Braves despite giving up just two hits. One of those, however, was a home run that came just after a Brandon Lowe error. Turns out, two runs were plenty.
The Rays were oh-for-four with runners in scoring position. That makes the Rays three-for-27, a .111 average, this home stand. Overall, the Rays are hitting .130 in their four-game stretch.
Familiar faces haunted the Rays. Charlie Morton started and got his ninth win, giving up just four hits and striking out six. Reliever Neal Anderson threw a shutout eighth inning.
Tyler Glasnow was good for the Rays, too. He struck out eight (four of them in the second inning, when a wild pitch on a strike three allowed a runner to reach). Rookie Elvin Rodriguez threw 3 1/3 innings of no-hit shutout relief, striking out five.
The Ray took a 1-0 lead two batters into the game on Wander Franco’s 11th home run, but the team couldn’t score again. Yandy Diaz had three of the team’s six hits, but two were infield hits.
The Rays play Atlanta again tonight at 7:30 p.m. Taj Bradley will start against Spencer Strider.