Monday, 4 a.m.
Call it the weekend that redefined a franchise.
No longer are the Tampa Bay Rays the plucky underdogs of baseball. No longer are they the smarter, slyer counterpart to the big money boys. No longer are they the surprise contenders of the AL East.
These days, the Rays are simply a bad baseball team.
The Chicago White Sox, the punchline of major league baseball, completed a sweep of the sliding Rays, winning 4-2. The Sox have now won three games against the Rays, and three against the rest of baseball.
Talk about humbling. The Rays gave up 21 runs and 34 hits in the three games (or 24 team at-bats). They went seven-for-35 with runners in scoring position. They left 28 men on base. They struck out 25 times.
Yeah, it was bad.
So, do you see this team gathering itself for a charge? Do you see Yandy Diaz and Randy Arozarena turning their slow starts around? Or is the way it will be?
The Rays did manage two hits each from Isaac Paredes (who homered) and Richie Palacios. But the Rays aren’t putting a lot of hits together. They were 0-for-six with runners in scoring position on Sunday.
The Rays are at Milwaukee tonight at 7 p.m.