During their recent slump, the hitting of the Tampa Bay Rays has been questioned. The pitching has been questioned. And now, the defense.
Before long, the entire blueprint of the Rays will be questioned.
The Rays lost, again. This time, it was 3-2, and this time, it was the gloves that let the team down. Brad Boxberger’s error in the bottom of the ninth allowed the winning run home, costing Tampa Bay another heartbreaker to the New York Yankees.
Tampa Bay has now lost nine of its last 10, the worst streak in the major leagues.
This time, the Rays fell behind 2-0 in the first inning, but they came back in the ninth on a home run by Steven Souza Jr. to tie things. For Sousa, who recently pointed the finger at himself for not driving in runs, had a good day. His fourth-inning single ended a 0-for-26 skid.
However, slippery defense in the bottom of the inning cost them. Mark Teixeira doubled to start the inning, and when Chris Young sacrificed pinch-runner Jose Pirela to third, Boxberger threw wildly to first to allow the go-ahead run in.
Nathan Karns pitched seven innings of five-hit baseball for the Rays.
The teams finish their three-game series tomorrow. with Tampa Bay’s Erasmo Ramirez facing off against Ivan Nova.
