Rays comeback in the ninth to the tie game, but come up just short in a 3-2 loss in 13 innings.
ST. PETERSBURG — It was long day at Tropicana Field this afternoon. Literally. The game took 4 hours and 39 minutes to play.
It seems like forever ago, but Charlie Morton and Robbie Ray did actually start this game.
Morton struggled with his control today. He finished his outing with four walks – two of which came in his last inning of work – in five innings of two run ball.
“It is uncharacteristic. I thought Charlie battled a little bit,” Kevin Cash said in regards to Morton’s walks today. “Made some big pitches. The first run they scored, we didn’t convert that double play which would have been nice. Those little fine things show up in tight ball games. Leadoff walks, not getting two outs when you got a chance. But Charlie has been really good for us and expect for him to bounce back to problem.”
Morton was frustrated with his performance after the game. “The efficiency. If I go another inning I finish the day I feel pretty good about it. It’s hard to feel good about it when I’m here battling all day. I was pitching out of the stretch the whole time.”
Morton allowed the leadoff hitter to reach base in every inning he pitched.
Ray on the other hand was fantastic in his outing tossing 5.2 innings of shutout ball to go along with 11 punch outs.
“We knew going in he was going to be pretty challenging,” Cash said speaking about Ray’s outing. “He had it all going. He had a good curveball, fastball drove into the righties.”
The 11 strikeouts was a season high for Ray.
Season Lowe
Yikes. A game to forget for Brandon Lowe and Nate Lowe.
Brandon Lowe went 1-for-6 with five strikeouts in tonight’s game. The single did extend his hit streak to 12 games, however the five strikeouts was the first in Rays history.
Nate Lowe ended the game 0-for-5 with three strikeouts. Tonight’s effort lowered Lowe’s batting average from .300 to .257 on his young season. After the game, the Rays optioned Lowe to Triple-A Durham. A corresponding move will be announced Friday.
Injury Update
Cash gave updates on Mike Zunino and Austin Meadows. Zunino left the game with quad tightness and will be checked by a doctor. Meadows was expected to play seven innings today, but Cash has yet to find out how that went. Meadows is expected to be reevaluated during the off day, and likely will replace Nate Lowe on the roster after his demotion.
Up Next
The rival New York Yankees make their way to Tropicana Field to take on the first place Rays. The series starts on Friday with Tyler Glasnow (6-0; 1.47) toeing the rubber. The Yankees have yet to officially announce any of their pitchers for the series.
