ST. PETERSBURG, Fla. _ Instant replay didn't make any new fans Wednesday afternoon at Tropicana Field, where one of maybe 50 fans in right field reached across the fence to catch a fifth-inning drive by Renato Nunez.
The umpires called fan interference, the replay official in New York didn't find enough evidence to overturn the call or confirm it, so Nunez was given a double rather than awarded a home run.
The Cole Hamels Fan Club probably didn't take on any new members either on a day when it looked like he would deliver a win and allow the Texas Rangers to fly home with a winning road trip in their carry-ons.
But a strong early showing went south in the sixth and seventh innings, when the Tampa Bay Rays scored four times to hand the Rangers a 4-2 loss that forced them to settle for a 3-3 trip.
"A couple pitches, I left them right over the middle of the plate," Hamels said. "When it really does matter, you've got to make the right pitches, and I wasn't able to do so."
Hamels retired the first seven batters he faced and 14 of the first 15, and Tampa Bay entered the sixth inning with only two hits. Johnny Field, though, singled on an 0-2 pitch to start the sixth and scored two batters later as Daniel Robertson doubled to left field.
After Carlos Gomez was hit, C.J. Cron blooped a single to center to score Roberston and send Gomez to third. He scored as Adeiny Hechavarria followed with a sacrifice fly.
Hamels got only one out in the sixth before an RBI double by Denard Span left the Rangers in a 4-1 hole.
"I think allowing Field to get one, especially when I was ahead in the count, changed the momentum of the game right there," Hamels said. "When you get another guy on, you're battling because you understand the game is getting late.
The Rangers had only six hits, though one was Shin-Soo Choo's fourth homer of the season for a 1-0 lead. Another was the fan-aided Nunez double, and he was stranded there as Carlos Tocci struck out, Choo was given an intentional walk and Isiah Kiner-Falefa popped out against right-handed starter Jake Faria.
Manager Jeff Banister said that his view of the replays on the video board showed that the call should not have stood. The fan didn't lunge over the fence and caught it near waist height, and Field, the right fielder, didn't react as if the ball was going to hit the wall.
"I was a little surprise it wasn't overturned," Banister said.
Nunez, who joined the team Monday, was hoping for the best.
"The umpire decided it was a double," he said. "I was hoping for the home run. I'm going to take a look at that video."
The Rays retired eight straight from the sixth to the eighth until Adrian Beltre and Joey Gallo walked to start the ninth. Drew Robinson plated Beltre with a one-out single, but pinch hitter Ronald Guzman rolled into a game-ending double play on the first pitch he saw.
The five rookies who had an at-bat went a combined 3 for 14 with six strikeouts.
"When you look at our offense right now, they core group of guys are swing the bat pretty well and getting on base," Banister said. "Our young guys are getting some on-the-job training at the major-league level."
They took two games over the weekend against the reigning world champion Houston Astros but lost two against the going-nowhere Tampa Bay Rays. The Rangers, despite playing well in five of their past six games, have been idling in last place in the American League West for the past 10 games.
