Friday, April 19. Game 20: "Rays looked sleepy"

Rays  4,  Red Sox  6


Record:  14 - 6


Attendance:  21,343.  As predicted, attendance doubled as Tampa-St. Pete residents who once lived in the Northeast came to root against their home team.  Shame on them.  It's their fault major league baseball is going to abandon us for fans who will support them.  Wherever they may be.


The game saw the lead change three times and tie once, but in the end Boston hitters had their way hitting three homers and hammering out ten hits.  Rays pitchers have given up 12 runs and 25 hits in back-to-back losses, their first losing streak of the season.  The loss for each game went to Diego Castillo (0 - 2).  Tonight he gave up back-to-back eighth inning home runs to Mookie Betts and Mitch Moreland, while Ryan Yarbrough, who surrendered a two-run homer to Christian Vasquez, gave up three runs in three innings.

On the Rays side of the ledger, Avasail Garcia tripled in one run in the third; Brandon Lowe solo homered in the first and only struck out once (a marked improvement over last night's futility), and Daniel Robertson (0 for his last 21) doubled in a pair of runs in the sixth.

All told the Rays looked sleepy, a tad too impressed with their early success, while the Red Sox gathered up their 2018 swagger that led to last year's World Series victory.

One thing is certain, if the Rays hope to make a mark on the 2019 AL East season, their pitching can't collapse as it has in the last two games.

A flurry of roster moves:  Mike Zunino was put on paternity leave and Nick Ciuffo was called up from Durham to take his place.  Emilio Pagan was sent back to Durham and RHP Casey Sadler was called up.  And Joey Wendle is very close to being activated.

Charlie Morton starts tomorrow against Rick Porcello.