The game was right there, 90 feet away.
All the Tampa Bay Rays had to do Monday night was close the distance, and they could have won another ballgame.
Instead, the runner was lost on third. And the game was lost in Colorado.
The Rays fell, 7-4, to the Colorado Rockies Monday night to return to their losing ways. But the Rays tried their best to come from behind in this one, scoring three times in the seventh to come within a run. But in the seventh, the team got Nick Franklin to third with one out. He stayed there. In the eighth, the team got Evan Longoria to third with none out. He stayed there.
Instead, with five chances, the Rays failed. Four of those were strikeouts, including Jason Motte striking out the side in the eighth (Corey Dickerson, Logan Morrison and Steven Souza) following Longoria’s triple.
“We’ve got to find a way to get those guys in,” said Rays’ manager Kevin Cash. “The guys know that. It just didn’t happen.”
The Rays had only six hits, although three of them were triples. Two of those were by Longoria.
The Rays have now lost 25 of their last 29 games. Only four of the 25 losses have been by one run. Overall, the Rays are 35-57.
Drew Smyly took the loss for Tampa Bay, falling to 2-11 on the season. Blake Snell pitches tonight for the Rays.
