The Tampa Bay Rays don’t play the Los Angeles Dodgers very often.
Judging from Tuesday night’s result, perhaps that’s a good thing.
The Rays fell hard to the Dodgers, losing 10-5 to fall to 11-14 through their first 25 games. Pitcher Matt Moore in particular had a tough night, giving up seven earned runs in only 4 1/3 innings and striking out only two.
“He didn’t locate the ball as well as he should have, and they took advantage of him,” said Rays’ manager Kevin Cash.
Howie Kendrick went four-for-five, and Trayce Thompson had a single and a home run to lead the Dodgers, who scored more than any team has against the Rays this season.
The Rays tied the game at 3-3 on a two-run homer by Curt Casali, but the Dodgers came back with four runs in the fifth.
“I just threw the ball right over the plate,” Moore said. “It was a pretty poor job of keeping us in this game.”
Ex-Ray pitcher Scott Kazmir took the win for the Dodgers. Former Rays Carl Crawford, who is hitting only .192, pinch-hit for the Dodgers and scored a run. Reliever J.P. Howell, who has a 9.39 ERA, pitched two-thirds of an inning and gave up a run.
The Rays play the Dodgers again tonight, with Drew Smyly pitching against Alex Wood.
