Saturday, 4 a.m.
The Tampa Bay Rays, as a rule, don’t have enough pop to have too many chances to win.
The one they’ll remember this time came in the seventh inning.
No outs, three men on. For Pete’s Sake, it doesn’t take a lot of imagination to get a runner home. A walk. An error. A hit batter. A wild pitch. A fly ball.
Something. Anything.
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.
Yet, that’s where the runners died after Junior Caminero and Dylan Carlson singled (the Rays’ first two hits of the day. Josh Lowe reached on an error, and suddenly, a 2-0 deficit didn’t seem insurmountable.
But Jonny DeLuca struck out on three pitches. Jose Caballero struck out on six. And on the third pitch of his at bat, Ben Rortvedt grounded out. Twelve pitches, and the threat was over.
The Rays got only one more hit after the threat, giving them three on the day against Dean Kremer.
The Rays are among the worst teams in the league with runners in scoring position. They were 0-for-8 on Friday.
Shane Baz had a good game, allowing two runs and two hits in six innings. But Jackson Holiday hit a sacrifice fly in the fifth and Gunnar Henderson homered in the sixth.
The teams play again today at 1:05 p.m. Ryan Pepiot will start for the Rays against former Ray Zach Eflin.