ST. PETERSBURG, Fla. _ The Rays are running out of options.
And at this rate they may eventually run out of time to recover.
The accumulation of injuries and inconsistencies continues to add up and cost them.
Because starters Yonny Chirinos, Tyler Glasnow and Blake Snell are sidelined into September, and Brendan McKay pitched his way back to the minors, Jalen Beeks is still being used in a key role to work bulk innings as a starter or behind an opener. And because their bullpen is so heavily taxed, Beeks was still on the mound in the pivotal sixth inning Tuesday.
Plus, with two key position players rehabbing at Triple-A and two others out of action, and few of those who are healthy doing much with their bats, the offense continues to sputter and stall at crucial moments.
The result?
Another disappointing outcome Tuesday, a second straight loss to the AL West trailing Mariners, this one 7-4.
That dropped the Rays to 73-54, and, pending the result of Oakland's late game, potentially out of sole control of the second AL wild card. A loss by top card holding Cleveland did keep the Rays 1 { behind.
And all before another tiny Trop gathering, the announced 7,455 ranking as the third smallest of the season.
After opener Diego Castillo gave up a two-run homer in the first, the Rays showed some promise, battling back to take a 4-2 lead in the fourth.
Singles by Willy Adames, Kevin Kiermaier and ex-Mariner Mike Zunino, and an Austin Meadows groundout, got them two in the second. Two innings later, singles by Eric Sogard and Adames and a Kiermaier double netted one run, and another Meadows ground out another.
But Beeks, who'd gotten off to a promising start in cruising through his first three innings, faltered again. He allowed the Mariners to score two, although unearned after a Matt Duffy error, to tie in the fifth, and two more to go ahead in the sixth.
The Rays were hoping, and that was about all they could do, for better, given Beeks' 0-3, 8.41 mark over his previous five outings.
Manager Kevin Cash outlined a simple and candid plan for Beeks before the game.
"Just pitch better," he said. "He's capable of it. He's done a lot of good things this year for us. His last four, five, six outings, though, have been really, really inconsistent.
"So somehow, you've got to flip it around and set the tone early on that he's willing to throw the ball in the zone, challenge some hitters to get some outs, contact in the zone.
"It's not all about swing and miss. It's not all about going (to a 3-2 count) to everybody. We've seen some young pitchers fall into that rut of every at bat is 3-2. Whether you're 0-2, then there's three balls and follow it and then the outcome comes. We've got to change that."
There were some promising sign as Beeks worked effectively and somewhat efficiently through his first three innings, retiring nine of 10. He threw 16, 12 and 12 pitches, and went to one of those dreaded full counts only once.
But his fourth inning, which was the Mariners' fifth, didn't start well, as he quickly gave back that 4-2 lead.
Duffy's error on a somewhat routine ground ball, a single and a fielder's choice ground out put runners on the corners. A wild pitch by Beeks scored one. A double by Aaron Nola another, and it took a well-executed relay from leftfielder Tommy Pham to shortstop Willy Adames to catcher Mike Zunino to keep it 4-4.
But that didn't last, as Beeks walked Kyle Seager on five pitches to start the sixth, then gave up a homer to Tom "Babe" Murphy, his third in the two games.
Overall, he was so-so. He worked five innings, allowing four runs (two earned) on four hits and three walks, striking out four.
Reliever Hoby Milner, just called up from Triple-A, gave up the other run in the seventh.
And there wasn't much help from the offense. After scoring the two runs in the fourth, the Rays managed only one more hit. They went down nine straight in one stretch. They saw only eight pitches in the fifth.
And � Seattle is a truly great city � these are the Mariners, who came in with the reverse of the Rays record at 53-73, and have little to play for. These Rays have plenty to play for, most preciously the first trip back to the playoffs since 2013, when they were under different management. But with a 10-6 record thus far in a stretch of 21 games against teams with losing records, they sure haven't looked like it enough.
For all kinds of reasons.
