ST. PETERSBURG, Fla. - The Guardians’ offense went quiet again Sunday, and the result was another tight loss at Tropicana Field.
Cleveland managed only one hit in a 1-0 defeat to the Tampa Bay Rays, getting swept in the three-game set and watching its losing streak grow to five straight. For the second day in a row, the Guardians were shut out by Rays pitching, and this one came with almost no margin for error.
Steven Kwan’s leadoff double was the lone hit for Cleveland. After that, the Guardians struck out 11 times and went 0-for-7 with runners in scoring position. They finished the series with just three runs, all of them scored Friday night.
Rays starter Drew Rasmussen set the tone with seven scoreless innings, striking out nine while allowing only one hit and one walk. He needed just 87 pitches to get through his work and moved to 9-5 on the season. Garrett Cleavinger handled the eighth and Bryan Baker finished the ninth to complete the shutout.
Tampa Bay’s only run came in the fifth. Chandler Simpson opened the inning with a single to left, moved to third when Ben Williamson grounded out to second, and scored on Cedric Mullins’ single to shallow infield.
Cleveland starter Parker Messick did enough to keep his club in it, but he still took the loss. He allowed six hits and one run over 7 2/3 innings, struck out six and did not walk a batter. That dropped him to six losses against eight wins.
“Parker was unbelievable. Efficient,” Vogt said.
“He was outstanding today. That was as impressive as we’ve seen Parker all year.”
Stephen Vogt also pointed to the Rays’ pitching as the difference after the game.
“There’s no denying that the Rays have some really good arms and we saw three of their best if not their three best,” Guardians manager Stephen Vogt told reporters after the game. “We just gotta keep our heads down.
We gotta keep working. There’s a lot of season left, and we’ve shown at times that we can be a really good offense.
We just need to find some consistency.”
Cleveland left four runners on base, with José Ramírez, Brayan Rocchio and Angel Martínez each stranding a runner in scoring position. Tampa Bay left five on.
The Guardians head to Cincinnati on Monday to open a series against the Reds, with RHP Slade Cecconi (4-7, 4.60 ERA) set to face RHP Chase Burns (12-1, 2.42 ERA).
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