It seems like the Tampa Bay Rays slept through the last two weeks of the baseball season before the All-Star break, losing 14 out of their last 19 games.
The Rays went 26-10 from late May through late June. However, they have been floundering since late June and the first half of July. The Rays are now 50-46 and trail first-place Toronto by 5.5 games in the American League East. The Rays have also played themselves out of a wildcard spot, currently trailing Boston by 2.5 games.
Despite the early July swoon and the collapse of the bullpen, the Rays are still number five in pitching in the American League with a 3.79 ERA.
The Rays’ offense has run into some good pitching over the last two days. Garrett Crochet shut out the Rays 1-0 on Saturday, while Bryan Bello allowed just one run on Sunday as the Rays lost 5-1. Despite scoring one run over the last 18 innings, the Rays’ average is .258, which is tied for first with Toronto and Texas in the American League.
The starting pitching has done more than enough to give the Rays’ bats a chance to score runs. The bullpen has been a massive disappointment for the Rays these last six weeks. What was a strength of this team has turned into a weak link.
Newly acquired Bryan Barker from the Baltimore Orioles was lit up in his first appearance, giving up three runs on two hits in one inning. In fairness to Baker, after a long travel day and arriving at the ballpark one hour before the first pitch, Baker was asked to come in and hold a lead in the seventh inning, and couldn’t. Baker has yet to retake the mound for the Rays.
Pete Fairbanks blew a save on Friday night, giving up a two-run walk-off home run to Ceddanne Rafaela to give the Red Sox a 5-4 win. The Rays are losing leads and games, and it’s not just one pitcher contributing to the losses. Everyone in the bullpen has contributed to the loss during this 19-game stretch.
The Rays front office is trying to make the right moves, whether it be calling guys up from Durham or via trade, but nothing is working right now. Mason Montgomery, Eric Orze, and Paul Gervase were all sent to Durham. Ian Seymour and Joe Boyle are back in Tampa for now.
We are all still waiting for Manny Rodriguez’s return. He developed elbow soreness on his rehab assignment and has been shut down until he sees a doctor. Management can only do so much. It will be up to the bullpen to turn this around.
When the Rays have contributions from the offense, pitching, and bullpen, they are as good as any team in baseball. The main problem is consistency. This team must play much better in all phases to make a deep playoff run. This is only July. A lot can change in the next two and a half months
Other Notes
—Second baseman Brandon Lowe will not play in the All-Star game. He was removed from the game against Detroit on July 8th due to oblique tightness. He was placed on the 10-day DL and is eligible to return against the Baltimore Orioles on July 18th.
The Rays will have four players on the American League All-Star roster. 2B Brandon Lowe, 3B Junior Caminero, pitcher Drew Rasmussen, and 1B Jonathan Aranda.
—Rookie 3B Junior Caminero will represent the Rays in the Home Run Derby Monday Night. Caminero has hit 23 home runs this season and is looking forward to the derby. “I’m just imagining and thinking about when they call my name and me coming out of that dugout. Just wow.”
Caminero added, “I’m going to put on a show. I’m going to try to put on a show just to give the fans the opportunity to get to know me, see my power. Just being there with all those other All-Stars, it’s going to be something very special.”
Rays minor league infield coordinator Tomas Francisco will be the pitcher for Caminero.
Caminero joins former Rays third baseman and the best player in Rays history, Evan Longoria, as the only Rays third baseman to compete in the derby.