Rays 3, Angels 5
Record: 41-27
Attendance: 15,291 Another semi-healthy attendance, no doubt due to the flash sale this week of $5 seats. Still, it's good to see people in the seats.
Okay, the Rays have lost three in a row, probably serious enough to call it an official "tailspin," but something else is going on too. They've lost all three on home runs. Tuesday they gave up back to back homers in the sixth. Wednesday they lost on an eighth inning Grand Slam. And last night they lost on a three-run homer by Shohei Ohtani in the first and a two-run homer in the fifth by 39-year-old Albert Pujols.
They were historic homers at that. Ohtani managed to hit for the cycle, a feat so rare that it happens about as often as no-hitters--and this was only the third time anyone's done it at the Trop in the Rays' 22-year history. For Pujols, this was homer number 200 in the American League to go with his 465 homers in the National League, another rare statistical occurrence. But it's the sort of credential one expects from a sure fire Hall of Famer.
The Rays did manage a three-run rally in the bottom of the fifth, but they were shut down before and after. The homer culprit in this game was Ryne Yarbrough, whose home ERA is a bloated 7.31, as opposed to his Away ERA 3.15. Hunter Wood and Chaz Roe (who did not walk anyone, praise the Lord) pitched a clean 7th, 8th, and 9th. But the damage was done, despite the Rays' hit advantage, 10-6, ANC (Absolutely No Consolation).
Along the way to their third straight loss, there were a couple of odd developments, like a half-hour blackout, just about matching in duration the blackout of May 12 against the Yankees, another game they lost late.
Travis d'Arnaud (0-4) played first to get his bat in the lineup, except that he's hitting .186, that's six points higher that Mike Zunino (1-3). It's hard to imagine why we needed two under .200 hitting catchers in the lineup.
Joey Wendle did not play last night, but he is expected tonight. Christian Arroyo, who had been slated for Durham was put on the IL instead with right forearm tendinitis.
I wonder if 36-year-old Edwin Encarnacion is available from Seattle? He's batting .241 with 21 homers, 49 RBIs, and 48 runs scored. Seattle is dead last in the AL West and could use some young talent--and he might be just what the Rays need to stabilize the first base situation with power to spare--and to push them over the top in the pennant race. Travis d'Arnaud at first? Brandon Lowe? Yandy Diaz? Ji-Man Choi is the best of the bunch, but he looks like a trained elephant out there.
And as long as they're taking trainees at first, why not the tall and rangy, lefty power-hitting Austin Meadows? He actually fits the profile for 1B. And he could be around for many years to come.
Tonight Blake Snell takes the mound. Let's hope he's the slump stopper.
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