Monday, 4 a.m.
At the worst time imaginable, the question is whether the Tampa Bay Rays have run out of pitching.
And the answer is: Maybe.
The question came to mind Sunday, as the Toronto Blue Jays ambushed the Tampa Bay Rays 9-5 to close out the Rays’ home season. Once again, the Rays built an early lead but could not protect the margin.
Content beyond this point is for members only.
Already a member? To view the rest of this column, sign in using the handy "Sign In" button located in the upper right corner of the GarySheltonSports.com blog (it's at the far right of the navigation bar under Gary's photo). Not a member? It's easy to subscribe so you can view the rest of this column and all other premium content on GarySheltonSports.com.
This time, it was Taj Bradley who absorbed the beating. It was the fifth straight decision lost by Bradley, who hasn’t won since June 21. Bradley again showed his propensity for giving up the big inning, this time in a five-run second inning. After two outs, Bradley gave up a walk and four straight hits, including a three-run inside-the-park homer by George Springer.
Unfortunately, the rest of the Rays rotation isn’t faring uwell, either. Tyler Glasnow has lost his last two. Zack Littell has lost four of his last five decisions. Aaron Civale has one loss and three no-decisions. Zack Eflin lost his last outing. And the bullpen was beaten up against Toronto.
The Rays came back to within a run on a home run by Isaac Paredes, his 30th, but Erasmo Ramirez gave up back-to-back homers to Bo Bichette and Vlad Guerrero.
Ramirez had three hits for the Rays. Paredes had two.
The Rays are off today, then open a two-game series in Boston.