Rich Hill and the Tampa Bay Rays failed to complete a comeback against the Washington Nationals Tuesday evening, losing 4-3. The Rays dropped their second in a row after winning the previous four games. The Rays sputter and have yet to establish their footing after a losing streak in what seemed like a turning point in the season.
Nationals left fielder Kyle Schwarber continues to be one of the hottest hitters in the league. Schwarber blasted a home run in the bottom of the first inning to give the Nats an early 1-0 lead. Juan Soto quickly followed that up with a 2-run shot of his own, propelling the Nationals to a 3-0 lead in just the first inning.
Recap
The Tampa Bay Rays traveled to Washington D.C. to take on quite possibly the hottest team in baseball at the current moment. Rays starting pitcher Rich Hill was rattled from the beginning, allowing three earned runs in the first inning alone. Hill then gave up yet another run in the bottom of the second inning to Victor Robles. After a shaky first two innings, Hill then dialed in and found the strike zone, not allowing another run for the rest of his outing on the mound.
The top of the fifth inning rolled around and Brandon Lowe scorched a home run to center field. This looked to be the start of a Rays comeback. Following this, Kevin Kiermaier doubled to center field in the top of the sixth inning. This double scored Austin Meadows and pushed the momentum towards Tampa Bay. Once the sixth inning ended, the magic ended. For the next two innings, the Rays couldn’t seem to capitalize off their mid-game success and failed to put any more runs on the board until the ninth inning. At that point, it was too little and too late for Tampa Bay.
Up Next
The Rays look to bounce back against the Nationals. Michael Wacha is on the mound for Wednesday’s afternoon matchup with Washington.