Rays Blow Another Lead Late, Fall to Orioles 7-6 in 11 Innings
BALTIMORE, Md. — For as good as the vast majority of the Tampa Bay bullpen has been all season, some frustrating trends have been emerging lately.
And it's not pretty.
For the second time in three nights in Baltimore — and the fourth time in eight days overall — the Rays' bullpen imploded late in a big way. The usually reliable Ryan Thompson, who didn't allow a single run in April but now has given up nine runs in May, was tagged again in the ninth inning, and the Rays lost 7-6 in 11.
It was the first time all year that the Rays had a four-run lead and lost. And for the second time in this series, it was Thompson on the mound with two outs and the game in hand.
He failed both times, and he knows it. He also owned up to all of it afterward in the quiet Rays' locker room.
"I'm just on a bad stretch of games and I've got to be better. My pitches aren't good, my locations aren't good. I just flat-out kind of suck right now, and that's all I can say about that,'' Thompson said. "I'm competing my heart out, but I'm giving up key runs and I can't let that happen.
"Extra inning games, these are big momentum swing games, and they're ones that we all want to win, and I had a blown save in both of those losses. A lot of that is on me. I've got to be better. My sliders were so bad today that they were reading as cutters, and that's unacceptable. It's pitch quality, and there are many things that go into that. It'll be better.''
The Rays jumped out to a four-run lead in the first inning with singles from Kevin Kiermaier, Randy Arozarena and Ji-Man Choi, followed by a three-run homer by Isaac Paredes, who was filling in for the injured Yandy Diaz (shoulder) at third base.
But Rays starter Corey Kluber struggled throughout his three-inning, 73-pitch start, getting through a lot of trouble but allowing two runs in the third.
The Rays made it 5-2 in the fourth when Brett Phillips walked and scored on a Keiermaier single. Both of them had huge games again, with Phillips getting three hits and Kiermaier two.
The Rays took a 6-3 lead in the top of the seventh when Arozarena drove in Kiermaier, and they took a 6-4 lead into the ninth when Thompson came in. He gave up a single and a walk, and then balked both runners up a base when he caught a finger on his pocket and dropped the ball. He got Rougned Odor to pop up, but with two out, pinch-hitter Austin Hays ripped a single into left field to score both runners and tie the game.
Then the rains came, and both teams had to sit through a 51-minute delay. Ralph Garza Jr. got the final out in the ninth for the Rays and Dusten Knight, who was just called up earlier in the day when closer Andrew Kittredge (back) went on the 15-day injured list, pitched a scoreless 10th.
Knight came back out for the 11th and Chris Owings bunted placed runner Adley Rutschman to third. Odor then hit a slow roller to Choi at first with Owings charging home, and Choi misplayed the ball. It was ruled an error on Choi at first, but was later changed to a fielder's choice, and not an error.
Choi knew he had to hurry the exchange to get the runner at home, and couldn't get it done.
"If I didn't do that (quick flip to home) I thought that we weren't going to get that out. I thought it was the only option I had,'' Choi said through interpreter Daniel Park. "It was really tough for our pitchers because we used a lot of them (all weekend), so it's good that we have an off day. We still have a lot of games left, so we'll just try to forget about this today and move on to the next one.''
The Rays made three errors on the day, two by second baseman Vidal Brujan and one by Arozarena in left that directly led to a run in the seventh inning when he dropped a line drive hit right at him.
Sloppy pitching and defense doesn't happen around this team often, but it certainly did on Sunday.
"We had multiple opportunities to close out that game and win that game and we just didn't get it done and the Orioles did,'' Cash said. "That generally doesn't happen, but it's happened twice now.
"We've just got to play better. That's uncharacteristic a little bit. We need to clean that up. We pride ourselves on securing the baseball and getting as many outs as we can for our pitchers, and we didn't do that today.''
The Rays are 24-17 on the season and are now 8-4 against American League East opponents. They are off on Monday and then return to Tropicana Field for two games with the Miami Marlins and then a huge four-game series with the New York Yankees Thursday through Sunday.
The Rays are in second place in the AL East, five games behind the 29-12 Yankees, who have the best record in baseball.
"That's a tough one, to see it go away in the ninth and then lose it in extras,'' Rays catcher Mike Zunino said. "We'll be just fine (in the bullpen). They're going to help us win a lot of ballgames. When it happens in a short period of time, it looks like a huge issue, but we'll address those and I know those guys are itching to get back on the mound.
"It's one of those things (losing a four-run lead for the first time), and that's not how we're built. We knew we weren't going to be perfect with that all year, but I know these guys are going to get rested up and get back at it on Tuesday.''
Related stories on Rays baseball
- JUST FOR STARTERS: Here's our breakdown of Corey Kluber's day on Sunday, and the cumulative stats for the starting rotation all year. CLICK HERE
- BEST 1-2 PUNCH: Tampa Bay aces Shane McClanahan and Drew Rasmussen just might be the best one-two punch in the American League, and they've got the numbers to prove it, even against the best pitchers on several other AL teams. Here's the full breakdown. CLICK HERE
- KIERMAIER LEADS RAYS (Saturday): Kevin Kiermaier had his third straight three-hit night, something he's never done before, and Jeffrey Springs pitched another gem in the Rays' 6-1 win on Saturday night. CLICK HERE
- ORIOLES TOP RAYS IN EXTRAS (Friday): Tampa Bay's usually reliable bullpen had a rough night on Friday, giving up the lead on three different occasions before finally losing to the Baltimore Orioles 8-6 in 13 innings. The loss ended the Rays' 15-game winning streak over the Orioles. CLICK HERE
Rays-Orioles photo gallery
Brett Phillips
Tampa Bay Rays right fielder Brett Phillips (35) steals second base ahead of the tag by Baltimore Orioles second baseman Rougned Odor (12) during the first inning at Oriole Park at Camden Yards. (Gregory Fisher-USA TODAY Sports)
Corey Kluber
Tampa Bay Rays pitcher Corey Kluber (28) delivers a pitch against the Baltimore Orioles during the first inning at Oriole Park at Camden Yards. (Gregory Fisher-USA TODAY Sports)
Joey Krehbeil
Baltimore Orioles pitcher Joey Krehbiel (34), a Seminole, Fla., native, delivers a pitch against the Tampa Bay Rays during the first inning at Oriole Park at Camden Yards. (Gregory Fisher-USA TODAY Sports)
Isaac Paredes
Tampa Bay Rays third baseman Isaac Paredes (17) hits a three run home run against the Baltimore Orioles during the first inning at Oriole Park at Camden Yards. Mandatory Credit: Gregory Fisher-USA TODAY Sports
Spenser Watkins
Baltimore Orioles pitcher Spenser Watkins (80) walks off the field with the trainer after being hit by a line drive in the shoulder during the first inning against the Tampa Bay Rays at Oriole Park at Camden Yards. (Gregory Fisher-USA TODAY Sports)
Mike Zunino
Tampa Bay Rays catcher Mike Zunino (10) catches a foul ball hit by Baltimore Orioles left fielder Anthony Santander (25) (not pictured) during the first inning at Oriole Park at Camden Yards. (Gregory Fisher-USA TODAY Sports)
Randy Arozarena
Tampa Bay Rays left fielder Randy Arozarena (56) hits a single against the Baltimore Orioles during the first inning at Oriole Park at Camden Yards. (Gregory Fisher-USA TODAY Sports)
Ji-Man Choi
Tampa Bay Rays first baseman Ji-Man Choi (26) hits an infield single against the Baltimore Orioles during the first inning at Oriole Park at Camden Yards. (Gregory Fisher-USA TODAY)
Brett Phillips
Tampa Bay Rays right fielder Brett Phillips (35) runs out a double during the eighth inning against the Baltimore Orioles at Oriole Park at Camden Yards. (Gregory Fisher-USA TODAY Sports)
Orioles celebrate
Baltimore Orioles left fielder Anthony Santander (25) dumps gatorade on Baltimore Orioles second baseman Rougned Odor (12) to celebrate his walk off base hit during the eleventh inning against the Tampa Bay Rays at Oriole Park at Camden Yards. (Gregory Fisher-USA TODAY Sports)_
Ryan Mountcastle
Teammates congratulate Baltimore Orioles first baseman Ryan Mountcastle (6) for hitting a home run in the dugout during the fifth inning against the Tampa Bay Rays at Oriole Park at Camden Yards. Mandatory Credit: Gregory Fisher-USA TODAY Sports
Kevin Kiermaier
Tampa Bay Rays center fielder Kevin Kiermaier (39) scores a run on Tampa Bay Rays left fielder Randy Arozarena (56) (not pictured) RBI single during the seventh inning at Oriole Park at Camden Yards. (Gregory Fisher-USA TODAY Sports)
Tom Brew is the publisher of Inside The Rays, and has been with the Sports Illustrated/FanNation network for three years. He is an award-winning writer and editor who has spent most of his four-decade career at the Tampa Bay Times, Indianapolis Star and South Florida Sun-Sentinel. He has written four books.