The Tampa Bay Rays are still sitting on a magic number of two after Thursday’s 3-1 loss to the Atlanta Braves, and that means the wait to clinch a playoff berth continues.
Tampa Bay had the setup it wanted entering the series finale at Truist Park. The Rays had already taken the first two games from Atlanta, and a handful of results elsewhere broke their way as well: the Texas Rangers, Toronto Blue Jays, Chicago White Sox and Cleveland Guardians all lost, trimming the Rays’ magic number to two. That left Tampa Bay with two paths to clinch on Sept. 10 - but both required a sweep.
That part never materialized.
The Rays came out with a chance to strike first in the opening inning. Yandy Diaz and Ryan Vilade opened with back-to-back singles, Junior Caminero followed with a popout to second, and Jonny DeLuca then singled to load the bases. But Chandler Simpson couldn’t cash in, and the threat ended with a double play that forced Diaz out at home.
After that, Atlanta starter Martin Perez took control. Tampa Bay’s lineup, with Kevin Cash making some tweaks in an effort to get more done against left-handed pitching, never found a way to break through.
Perez finished with seven shutout innings, giving up just one hit over the final six frames he worked. He walked two and struck out four.
The Rays did have a strong answer on the mound in Nick Martinez, who matched Perez pitch for pitch for much of the afternoon. Martinez held Atlanta scoreless over 6.1 innings, allowing two hits and three walks. Cam Booser then got the final two outs of the seventh to keep it a 0-0 game.
But the late innings turned on Tampa Bay. Kevin Kelly was charged with three earned runs in just 0.2 innings, allowing four hits, and Casey Legumina also allowed a hit before getting the final out.
Tampa Bay avoided the shutout thanks to Victor Mesa Jr., who came off the bench in the ninth and launched Raisel Iglesias for his 12th homer of the season.
The Rays now head back to Tropicana Field to open their final homestand of the year with three games against the Houston Astros. They’ll be watching the scoreboard closely, because a loss by either the Rangers or White Sox would drop the magic number to one.
Even so, the job isn’t finished. Tampa Bay also has to keep its attention on holding off the New York Yankees in the AL East race.
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