ST. PETERSBURG -- For the second consecutive game, the Rays rallied in the sixth inning but unlike Friday¡¯s game, Tampa Bay¡¯s rally fell short, 5-3, to the Angels on Saturday at Tropicana Field.

¡°That¡¯s three days in a row where we¡¯ve fallen behind 3-0 or 4-0,¡± said Rays manager Kevin Cash. ¡°We did a good job of coming back. We got close, but we didn¡¯t do it like we did last night quite enough.¡±

After being held scoreless for five innings by Angels starter Jose Suarez, the Rays offense finally got something going against the left-hander in the sixth inning. Avisail Garcia and Tommy Pham opened the frame with back-to-back singles which set the stage for Yandy Diaz to connect on a three-run shot, his 11th of the season, to cut the deficit to 4-3.

The Rays, however, were unable to find a way to get the tying run across to tie the game as the Angels bullpen was able to shut the door, unlike Friday night. Tampa Bay¡¯s best chance came in the seventh inning with Travis d¡¯Arnaud standing at second base, but Angels reliever Cam Bedrosian got Garcia to ground out to third to end the threat.

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Tampa Bay is now 9-18 when the opposing team scores first, as opposed to a 33-10 record when the Rays strike first. In the current homestand, the Rays have scored first just twice.

¡°I think you¡¯re seeing two drastics right now,¡± Cash said. ¡°Probably what we saw and what we benefited from at the beginning of the season was drastic and you¡¯re just not going to score that many runs in the first and second, normally. And right now what¡¯s taken place is a drastic on the other side. We need to even it out a little bit, but we will certainly take it if we want to get aggressive early on.¡±

Charlie Morton, who came into Saturday¡¯s start with an 8-0 record, lost his first decision of the season and his first since August 11, 2018 against Seattle when he was a member of the Astros. Morton was hurt by a three-run second inning, which was capped off by a two-run home run by David Fletcher.

The home run to Fletcher was the first home run allowed by Morton to a right-handed hitter this season. The 92.5 mph exit velocity was also the lowest allowed by the Rays right-hander since Statcast began tracking in 2015.

¡°I didn¡¯t think my best stuff, my best pitches came until the last few innings,¡± Morton said. ¡°Those kinds of games -- you make a couple of mistakes and you pay for them. They put some really good swings on those pitches.¡±

Morton allowed four runs on five hits and struck out nine over six innings. His season ERA climbed from 2.10 to 2.37.

The 5-3 loss on Saturday secures a losing homestand for the Rays, who have now dropped to 19-18 this season at Tropicana Field after posting a 51-23 record at home in 2018. While Cash said the team has to do a ¡°much better job¡± at home, the team isn¡¯t ready to panic due to its performances on their home field.

¡°Last year we had a great stretch here at home and this year we still have time to turn that around,¡± said Rays center fielder Kevin Kiermaier. ¡°It¡¯s just one of those crazy stats in the baseball world that you don¡¯t really know how to answer.

¡°We know we have to play better all-around at home or on the road. That¡¯s a tough thing to answer because I don¡¯t think anyone has an answer. It is what it is.¡±