Rays 3, Orioles 8
Record: 76-56
Attendance: 13,287. Oriole Park at Camden Yards
Having won the first two of the four-game set against the lowly Orioles, it seemed a good bet that the Rays would win at least one of the remaining two to take the series three games to one. This was also the last of the easy stretch when they could fatten up their won-lost record before taking on the Astros and Indians in the next couple of series. They neglected to tell the Orioles their plans, however, with the result that the nothing-to-lose Orioles came out swinging for the second day in a row (16 hits) and beat the Rays 8-3. They scored in five of the nine innings.
So the Rays settled for a 2-2 series split, but the bad news doesn't quite end there. They have been a streaky offensive team all year, and so it shouldn't come as a total surprise, though it is a total disappointment, that for the last three games of this series, the Rays didn't score a run in 23 of 27 innings. It looks like they are back in the throes of their hitting woes. Again. But with the Astros up next, their timing might be bad enough to bury them once and for all in this up and sown season.
Notable in Sunday's game is that Diego Castillo opened the game and gave up three hits and a run in two innings. Continuing that level of inefficiency, Jalen Weeks piled up more of his own string of bad outings going five innings and giving up 11 hits, 2 walks, and seven earned runs. It was a rout.
If the Rays can't count on either their pitching or hitting for their last 30 games, their dreams of a playoff spot will go up in smoke. In fact, if you turn your head up, you might get a whiff of burning dreams right now.
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