It seems as if the Rays have been losing forever. They have not.
It was a less than a month ago that Tampa Bay was 31-32 and thinking about the race in the AL East. That was before 22 losses in their last 25 games sent them plunging through the division standings and solidly into last place, 20 games below .500 and searching for direction.
The Rays lost another one Sunday in their last game before the major league all-star break. Former teammate David Price shut them down with eight innings of four-hit shutout baseball, and the team lost 4-0.
โIt’s sickening to think how far we’ve fallen off here,โ said manager Kevin Cash. โIf anything, it tells you we’re capable of being a lot better than what we are. We’ve got to show better than what we’re doing.โ
Jake Odorizzi gave up three runs in the first, and the Rays never threatened. Price had 10 strikeouts against his old club. The Rays’ bullpen, however, had a successful game in the loss.
The Rays have lost six in a row and 10 of their last 11. Going into Sunday’s game, the pitching staff had a 6.04 ERA and the bullpen had an 8.18 ERA. The team has been outscored 152-78. And defensively, Tampa Bay has committed 19 errors, highest in the league.
The Rays return to action Friday with Chris Archer on the mound.
