ST. PETERSBURG, Fla. — When the Rays analyze what went wrong in Thursday night’s 6-4 loss to the Rangers at Tropicana Field, they will likely look past Adolis Garcia’s game-deciding two-run homer in the 10th inning.
The Rays had their chances but wasted many opportunities.
So even though runs were scored — finally — offensive inefficiency was the true culprit for Tampa Bay, which takes a three-game losing streak into Friday night’s opener of a weekend series at Yankee Stadium. The Rays (5-8) have lost eight of their past 11 games.
The Rays’ beleaguered bullpen, which came into the game ranked 29th in the majors (6.19 ERA), retired 15 of 18 Rangers batters it faced before Garcia’s deciding blow. The Rays used five relievers in support of left-handed starter Rich Hill.
But the Rays left runners in scoring position in the eighth and ninth innings. After scoring the tying run, they left the bases loaded in the seventh.
With a runner at third in the 10th and facing right-hander Ian Kennedy (Texas’ sixth pitcher), pinch-hitter Willy Adames was called out on strikes. Pinch-hitter Yoshi Tsutsugo, representing the last hope, also looked at strike three to end it.
The Rays tied it at 4 in the seventh inning without getting a hit, scoring on a wild play that featured two Texas errors.
Rangers left-hander Wes Benjamin, struggling mightily to find control after relieving starter Jordan Lyles, issued a one-out walk to Brett Phillips. After retiring Austin Meadows for the second out, Benjamin walked Randy Arozarena.
With Brandon Lowe at the plate, catcher Jose Trevino tried to catch Phillips leaning off second base, but the throw went into centerfield. As Phillips raced for third, the throw by Leody Tavares glanced off a sliding Phillips, who alertly bounced up and headed for the plate, sliding head-first with the tying run.
From there, the Rays couldn’t tack on. Lowe walked, and the Rangers turned to right-hander Brett de Geus, who issued a four-pitch walk to Yandy Diaz, loading the bases. But Joey Wendle struck out.
It was a frustrating night for Hill, who threw 88 pitches in 4 1/3 innings and allowed two home runs.
Nick Solak’s two-out solo homer put the Rangers up 1-0 in the second, but Austin Meadows equalized things with a third-inning RBI single. That inning fizzled, though as the Rays couldn’t muster anything more with two runners on and one out. Arozarena flied out and Brandon Lowe popped out.
The Rangers took a 3-1 lead in the fourth on Charlie Culberson’s two-run homer. Hill had an 0-2 count on Culberson, who was granted time just as the pitch was released. Culberson gathered himself and homered on Hill’s next offering.
The Rays tied it at 3 on Mike Brosseau’s two-out, two-run homer in the fourth. After Solak provided the go-ahead run with a two-out RBI single against reliever Andrew Kittredge in the fifth, the Rays offered their seventh-inning hitless counterpunch.
The Rangers couldn’t mount a threat against the Rays bullpen. Offensively, the Rays had runners in scoring position in the eighth and ninth innings but couldn’t get one home.
In the ninth against Rangers reliever Josh Sborz, Diaz drew a two-out walk and Wendle singled him to third. On the first pitch, Manuel Margot squared to bunt while trying to squeeze home the winner, but he popped it back. He swung through the next two pitches and the game headed to extra innings.
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