It was another uninspiring performance for the Rays this afternoon as they were blown out at home 9-2 to drop their third in a row to the Baltimore Orioles.
It was an uneventful first couple of innings, as neither team could get much going offensively.
Orioles Got It Going Early
In the third, after a Cedric Mullins fly out to centerfield, Gunnar Henderson doubled, followed by an Adley Rutschman single, driving in Henderson to give the Orioles a 1-0 lead.
Then, in the fourth inning, Anthony Santander led off the inning with his 14th home run of the season, a solo shot to put the Orioles up 2-0.
It stayed 2-0 until the sixth. With two outs, Jordan Westburg doubled, followed by a Colton Cowser triple to put the Orioles up 3-0.
Another Impressive Outing For Zack Littell
Zack Littell did not pitch that poorly. In six innings of work, he threw 100 pitches, 65 for strikes.
Cash was impressed with Littell’s outing. “Did a nice job again. Very similar outing to what he had against them in Baltimore. Kept us in the ballgame.”
It’s the offense that is not doing their job right now, and that is costing the Rays. Whether it’s a lack of getting on base or failure to get a hit with runners on base, they are just not getting it done.
The Rays offense did come to life in the sixth. A leadoff walk by Taylor Walls, followed by a Yandy Diaz single, put runners on the corners with two outs.
Brandon Lowe then delivered an RBI single that gave the Rays their first run of the game to cut the Baltimore lead to 3-1.
That was all for Baltimore starter Grayson Rodriguez as he gave way to Dillon Tate.
Randy Arozarena singled to drive in Diaz to make it 3-2 with runners still on the corners. Josh Lowe walked to load the bases, but Johnny DeLuca struck out to end the Rays threat.
Garrett Cleavinger came on to work the 7th, and the Orioles wasted no time getting the offense going.
Cedric Mullins tripled, followed by singles from Gunnar Henderson and Adley Rutschman, which pushed the Baltimore lead to 4-2.
The Orioles would get one more on a fielder’s choice to take a 5-2 lead after seven innings.
Phil Maton’s struggles Continue
Phil Maton was summoned to work the eighth and was promptly greeted by a Jordan Westburg triple.
Two walks would load the bases, and then Adley Rutschman would send one to the seats in right-center, giving the Orioles a 9-2 lead. It was the second career grand slam for Rutschman.
In his last 1-1/3 innings of work, Maton has given up seven runs on five hits.
Rutschman would finish the afternoon 3/5 with a home run and six runs batted in.
The Rays would go quietly in the eighth and ninth, and 9-2 would be the final score. The Rays are now 1-6 against Baltimore this season.
The top of the order for the Rays, Yandy Diaz, Brandon Lowe, and Randy Arozarena, had five of the six hits. Diaz and Arozarena had two apiece.
Kevin Cash Likes The Effort, Not The Results Of The Offense
Kevin Cash talked about the state of the offense after the 9-2 loss. “They’re grinding, not having much luck at the plate, falling behind in the count. You’ve got to credit the pitchers when our at-bats are like that. ”
Cash went on to talk about the tough stretch that Phil Maton has been going through. “It has been a tough go. It can feel like nothing’s going right when you are going through a stretch like this. Hitters are seeing it well right now.”
The Rays have lost three in a row as they fall to 31-34 on the season and are now 4-12 in their last 16 games at Tropicana Field.
They have one more against Baltimore this home stand before the Chicago Cubs come to town for a three-game series.