Rays 4, Athletics 5
Record: 43-32
Attendance: 12,351
Part I. The Game
Part II. Rays threaten move to Montreal
Part I.
The Rays broke up a 1-1 tie with three runs in the top of the ninth, Tommy Pham walked to open the inning and next up Brandon Lowe walked too. Then, in either a bold or overly aggressive move, Pham and Lowe pulled off a double steal putting men on second and third with no outs. Avisail Garcia singled home Pham, Lowe to third. Then Garcia stole second. Men on second and third, no out. Ji-Man Choi then singled home Lowe with Garcia going to third. After Kevin Kiermaier popped out, Willy Adames squeeze bunted Garcia home. Rays 4, A's 1.
But then came Diego Castillo to lose the game. He walked the first batter, wild-pitched him to second, got a ground ball out, walked another batter, struck one out for the second out, gave up a single to score one run, and then gave up a three-run homer to Matt Chapman. A's 5, Rays 4.
As if the three-game sweep in New York weren't humiliating enough, the Rays blow a three-run lead in the ninth inning. But the fact is, Rays' manager Kevin Cash, shouldn't be using Diego Castillo any more. His 1-5 record and now a blown save, makes him one of the worst performers in the bullpen. His last save came against the Angels last Sunday when he took a 6-3 lead into the ninth then gave up a two-run homer to Mike Trout and escaped further damage with a man on second by striking out Kole Calhoun on a called third strike that looked wide on replays. If there was ever a pitcher who should be getting his groove back at triple A Durham, Diego Castillo is that man.
Charlie Morton did his part to carry the team out of its slump, going six and a third and giving up a single run on four hits, two walks, and six strikeouts. Emilio Pagan was a little shaky in his inning and two-thirds, but gave up no runs, which set the stage for Castillo to lose his fifth game of the year and pick up his first blown save, double snake eyes.
The Rays managed only six hits against the Athletics, Frankie Montas firing eight innings of four-hit, one-run ball, striking out nine, and throwing only 93 pitches. Austin Meadows, who eleven days ago when he was batting .341 and was in the MVP conversation, has since then dropped to .303 with no home runs and no runs batted in. In his last 36 at-bats, Meadows has struck out 16 times (three against Montas yesterday) and has had only three hits. Add Meadows to the list of very underperforming Rays.
It bears repeating: The Rays have an ample supply of minor league talent that can attract traders around both leagues who want to give up good players for a chance at future improvements. They need help in the bullpen. They need a power hitter. They need a starter. They need a closer. It's not too late to answer some of these needs in order to remain relevant in pennant conversations this year.
If you think Rays pitchers have suddenly started throwing home run balls, you're right. Eduardo Encina ran this in today's Tampa Bay Times: "They have allowed 10 homers in their past five games and 16 in their past nine, including multiple homers in three straight games and six of their past nine." Add another two-homer game last night.
Part II
The big news in baseball yesterday was the announcement from MLB that the Rays have been given permission to explore the possibility of a shared schedule with Montreal, which means Tampa and Montreal would share the team, half the home games (about 40 games) being played in each city. Somehow this "solution" to the Rays' attendance problems and the endless political bickering about a new location for a new stadium, is supposed to be best for the Tampa Bay area. According to principal owner Stu Sternberg, as quoted by Marc Topkin in the Tampa Bay Times, "My priority remains the same, I am committed to keeping baseball in Tampa Bay for generations to come."
But the Rays must honor the contract with the city of St. Petersburg that requires the Rays to play all their home games at Tropicana Field through 2027. The Rays and MLB can explore all they want, but they won't be allowed to play anywhere else without permission from city officials in St. Pete. Again, Marc Topkin quotes another of the principals in this story, St. Petersburg mayor Rick Kriseman, "who was quick to reject the idea on Thursday, saying 'sharing this team with Montreal is not an option on the table.'"
There are numerous stumbling blocks besides the seemingly unsolvable political ones keeping this Montreal idea from ever seeing the light of day. Chief among them is the impact such a move would have on the players, 25 on the every day roster, 40 on the expanded roster, and the unknown number of players on triple A Durham's roster who wait for the call. Brad Ziegler, a rep for the players union, was quoted in the Times: "Splitting time between the 2 cities would be an absolute nightmare as a player. Potentially moving your family/pets back and forth,finding pediatricians, doctors, vets, paying rent on multiple houses, even when you're not there. No thanks."
Bottom line: MLB and the Rays are using Montreal and the threat of the team moving there as a bargaining chip in the ongoing feud over the Rays future in the area. The conversation has been mostly amicable over the last decade, civilized and intelligent--smart friendly people looking for smart friendly solutions. From this point forward you can take friendly out of the equation.
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