Tuesday, June 11. Game 66: Rays take the night off and almost win anyway

Rays 3,  Athletics 4

Record:  41-25

Attendance:  11,132  Without the free tickets to military, first responders, and teachers, attendance is back to normal.

It started promising enough.  Tommy Pham hammered a 458-foot home run to put the Rays up 1-0 in the first inning.  Then in the fourth, Willy Adames broke for home when Kevin Kiermaier broke for second, a delayed double steal of home.  Notch up another run, 2-0 Rays after four.  Willy also singled a run home in the ninth.  But by then it was too late.

It was the top of the sixth, and Willy was in the middle of it again, but not in a good way.  With one out he had a routine grounder that he fielded and then choked on the throw that he bounced to first.  Mike Zunino's passed ball in the fifth had led to the first A's run, and now suddenly with a man on first who should not have been there and only one out instead of two, Emilio Pagan served up a couple back-to-back meatballs to Matt Olson and Khris Davis.  Game over.  It looked for a second a rally might be building in the ninth, but after Adames's RBI single, it fizzled, and the Rays were left scratching their heads trying to figure out how they screwed this one up.

It really isn't all that hard to add up.  They managed only four hits all night.  Add a lapse or two on defense, and a couple of pitches from the normally dependable Pagan and there you have it.

Maybe Joey Wendle's hustle will add a little fire and a few hits to the Rays' attack.  He is expected back this week. He's been playing shortstop at Durham.  Christian Arroyo and Daniel Robertson are hovering at the .200 mark and either one could be a candidate for the Durham shuttle.

Travis d'Arnaud's improved hitting this last couple of weeks marks a contrast with Mike Zunino whose average has shrunk to .176, a bad memory of his very slow start to the season that he eventually turned around before his long stint on the IL.  And now he's back to his former self..  d'Arnaud has been taking grounders and throws at first, which makes you wonder exactly how many backup first basemen they need?

The game did waste good pitching from opener Stanek, Bulkman Beeks, holder Drake, and semi-closer Diego Castillo, who did give up a couple of hits in the top of the ninth before escaping unscathed.  But Castillo has become the wildcard at the back end of the bullpen.  You've got to hold your breath every time he throws a pitch.  And Jose Alvarado was just as undependable until he went missing on a mysterious family matter going on two weeks ago.  At least he's not blowing games.

Wednesday night the Rays have Yonny Chirinos starting another game after being brilliant over eight innings against Boston last Friday.  The Rays continue to insist however that he is not a starter, just a Bulk Man who gets an occasional start.  It must make sense to them.