Wednesday, 4 a.m.
After a refreshed look at two rebuilding teams, we can safely say this.
What’s left of the Tampa Bay Rays looks a lot better than what’s left of the Miami Marlins.
The Rays’ leftovers beat the Marlins’ leftovers Tuesday night 9-3. Along the way, they used something old (Jeffrey Springs started) and something new (Christopher Morel homered and Hunter Bigge closed out the ninth.
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The Marlins led 3-1 and seemed to be in good shape behind starter Edward Cabrera, who gave up just two runs in five innings.
The Marlins’ bullpen collapsed, however. Declan Cronin gave up four runs (of five) in one inning and Austin Kitchen gave up three in two.
The Rays got two hits each from Yandy Diaz, Josh Lowe, Jose Caballero and Ben Rortvedt. Caballero stole a base and forced a balk when he tried to steal home.
Springs started for the first time in 474 days. He gave up two runs in 3 2/3 innings.
The Rays are 54-51 on the season. They are three-and-a-half games behind, in the wild card race.
The Rays have won 24 of the last 27 games against the Marlins. The teams play again today at Tropicana Field at 12:10 p.m.