Wednesday; 4 a.m.
At a time like this, when a team is bloodied and battered, the easiest cliche on hand is simply to say "that team has our number."
It's true.
For the Tampa Bay Rays, that number is "zero."
Yeah, zero. That's the number of victories the Rays have this season against the Seattle Mariners. It's the number of runners in scoring position (they had four chances) who scored Tuesday night, and it's the number of runners left stranded in scoring position in the series (seven chances).
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The Mariners beat the Rays, 4-2, to keep Tampa Bay from stretching its lead in the AL East Race (Boston lost to Detroit). The Rays are still up by a game.
Oh, there are other numbers that define the Rays. Two, for instance, is the number of errors the Rays made for the second straight night. Seven is the number of base-runners they led stranded. Ten is the number of Rays who struck out.
"It’s not us," said Rays' third baseman Joey Wendle. "It’s frustrating. (The defense) has definitely been an issue as of late. I think it’s uncharacteristic of us, but it’s something that needs to be addressed as well.
“They’ve been playing great against us. Give them credit. They’ve been scrappy. But we have not played well. Even in Seattle, we felt like we had some good games and they flat out beat us."
The Rays took a quick lead when Randy Arozarena (who had three hits) homered on the first pitch. But Luis Pantino couldn't make it stand up. He gave up three earned runs in five innings. Seattle starter Yusei Kikuchi gave up six hits in six innings but only the one run.
The Rays managed just one hit in three innings against Seattle relievers.
"They've got our number," said Rays' manager Kevin Cash. "I don't know what else to say. It's frustrating losing games. I don't care who it's against, how many times or how lopsided it is. We're just not playing very good baseball and they are."
Cash admitted the defensive dip was frustrating.
"It's back to back nights it's been uncharacteristic. Generally speaking we're so good. Tops in baseball. The last two nights, we haven't been at our best."
Tampa Bay will play again against Seattle in an afternoon game today. Josh Fleming will start for the Rays at 1:10 p.m at Tropicana Field. Logan Gilbert will start for Seattle.
Add up all the numbers, and it isn't very impressive.
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