TAMPA -- Technically, the decisive moment in the Rays¡¯ 5-4 loss to the Braves on Saturday afternoon came in the ninth inning.
Having already used four relievers, with top bullpen arms Pete Fairbanks and Mason Montgomery unavailable, Tampa Bay sent right-hander Cole Sulser to the mound with the game tied at 3. Eight pitches later, Michael Harris II ripped a tiebreaking two-run homer to right-center field. That quickly, Atlanta was up, and Jonathan Aranda¡¯s solo shot in the ninth wasn¡¯t enough to change it.
Despite another excellent five-inning start by Drew Rasmussen, a perfect day at the plate by Aranda (3-for-3, two walks, three RBIs) and some strong infield defense, there were many more frustrating moments that cost the Rays the game before the final inning at George M. Steinbrenner Field.
¡°Certainly the way we're seeing balls fly out of here, we've got to find ways to capitalize when we get guys in scoring position with less than two outs,¡± manager Kevin Cash said.
Here¡¯s a look at three areas that cost the Rays against the Braves.
Leaving ¡®em loaded
The Rays loaded the bases with one out in the third. They loaded the bases with nobody out in the sixth. They scored just one run between the two innings.
Overall, Tampa Bay finished 2-for-10 with runners in scoring position and left 10 men on base.
¡°Like to think that our guys are capable of finding a way to put some crooked numbers up there,¡± Cash said. ¡°We just haven't here lately, but trust that we will.¡±
After Aranda¡¯s bases-loaded walk in the third, Christopher Morel struck out looking and Kameron Misner went down swinging against Braves starter AJ Smith-Shawver.
The Rays began the sixth with two walks and an infield single against reliever Rafael Montero. But Jos¨¦ Caballero struck out, Taylor Walls¡¯ attempted safety squeeze resulted in an easy forceout at the plate, and Ben Rortvedt grounded out to end the inning.
Walls said his bunt ¡°just wasn¡¯t probably quite good enough to give Jonny [Aranda] enough time to get home,¡± noting that he could have deadened the ball more or pushed it toward third base.
¡°Any time you have a runner on third, less than two outs, you've got to try to get as much production in there as you can. And unfortunately, we didn't probably cross as many over as we could have,¡± Walls said. ¡°We gave a few away, probably, too. So yeah, just on the wrong side of the stick.¡±
Over-aggressive baserunning
Caballero led the American League with 44 stolen bases last year, but he was also caught stealing 16 times -- tied for the most in the Majors. That polarity was on display as he committed three outs on the bases on Saturday.
Caballero was caught stealing second in the second inning, doubled off first after trying to steal second on Walls¡¯ popout in foul territory in the fourth and picked off second in the eighth. The last one loomed large after Walls followed with a single that could have put the Rays ahead.
Cash and Walls didn¡¯t blame Caballero for trying to get to third with one out, which would have put him in position to score the go-ahead run in a variety of ways: hit, bunt, groundout, contact play, sacrifice fly, wild pitch, etc. But lefty Dylan Lee¡¯s inside move caught him off guard, and his aggressive baserunning cost him.
¡°I was going to third, and he did the inside move. He got me,¡± Caballero said. ¡°I'm always aggressive, and it's not a secret for anyone.¡±
Losing the home run battle
While the Rays were trying to string together rallies, two trusted relievers let the Braves back in the game with three swings of the bat.
In the seventh, Sean Murphy took Manuel Rodr¨ªguez deep to center before Aranda made it a two-run game again with an RBI single in the bottom of the inning. But that lead was erased when Hunter Bigge surrendered back-to-back homers to Ozzie Albies and Murphy in the eighth.
¡°Any time the starter leaves the game with a lead and you don't win the game, we're going to feel bad as a bullpen,¡± Bigge said. ¡°We expect to win those types of games.¡±
Fourteen games in, Tampa Bay relievers have a 4.53 ERA and are tied for the MLB lead with 12 homers allowed. Over their last nine games, the Rays have been outhomered, 23-9 -- the most homers they¡¯ve given up over any nine-game span in franchise history -- accounting for 33 of the 46 runs they¡¯ve allowed over that stretch.
¡°They got us. We had opportunities to add to our lead. We did not,¡± Cash said. ¡°And that's a good lineup over there that took advantage of us not separating a little bit more. Those home runs counted for a lot.¡±