The Rays had a first-inning break they desperately needed, then spent the rest of the afternoon watching everything unravel.
With Pete Alonso on first, Ryan Vilade made a run-saving catch to keep the inning from blowing up. Alonso got so convinced the ball was down that he drifted around second base, and even after Vilade stood up and spun around, Alonso still couldn’t make it back to first. Double play of the year.
Tampa Bay didn’t exactly cash in on the other end, either. In the bottom of the inning, the Rays loaded the bases and came away with nothing again, another one of those familiar sequences in this series where the traffic keeps coming but the runs don’t. Trevor Rogers was throwing first-pitch strikes almost every time, and the Rays still barely offered at them.
Vilade eventually gave Tampa Bay something to feel good about, launching a home run that put the Rays ahead 1-0.
That lead didn’t last long once the fifth inning arrived.
Peralta had worked through four scoreless innings without being dominant or especially efficient, but he had gotten the job done. Then he walked two batters with two outs, and Kevin Cash went to Cleavinger.
That move didn’t work out at all. Cleavinger’s 3 point something ERA has covered up how rough he’s been lately, and his August ERA is over eight.
He’d also allowed runs in his last two appearances. Sure enough, Holliday singled to tie the game, and then Alonso followed with a two-run double to make it 3-1 Baltimore.
From there, the game started slipping fast. Steve Matz came in and, after getting two outs, allowed a single and then a home run.
That pushed the Orioles ahead 5-1. Two more runs followed to make it 7-1, and after that Joe Boyle, the recently called-up arm, gave up three more.
It all happened with two outs, which made the whole sequence feel even worse for Tampa Bay.
The Rays did add one more run, and the only reason it matters is because newly signed Jorge Mateo drove it in. Yippee.
It has been a dispiriting series already, but this one felt different. The Rays were still hanging around in the first two losses. This time, they simply fell apart in the fifth.
In Other News...
Freddy Peraltas Ugly Rays Start May Not Mean What Fans Think
Freddy Peraltas first few outings with the Rays have not looked anything like the club envisioned when it brought him over from the Mets. Through three starts, he carries a 7.53 ERA, and the early reaction has been easy to understand given how rough the beginning was. Still, the context around those appearances matters, because the schedule dropped him into some of the toughest run-scoring environments in baseball right away.
Peraltas first two starts came in places that can make any pitcher look ordinary, and the damage in those games shaped the early numbers in a hurry. He has shown some signs of settling in since then, which leaves the Rays with a more nuanced read on what they have so far: not a clean breakout, but not necessarily a verdict either. [Read more 🡒]
Rays May Have Found A Faster Way To Use Brody Hopkins
Brody Hopkins has started to look a lot different in Triple-A Durham, where the Rays have shifted the pitching prospect into relief and immediately gotten a more explosive version of his arm. In shorter bursts, Hopkins has shown better life on his fastball and a sharper overall profile, which is exactly the kind of development Tampa Bay tends to notice when a starters stuff plays up after moving to the bullpen.
The appeal is obvious for a club that has never been shy about reimagining pitchers if the role fits better than the original plan. Hopkins has had command issues as a starter, but his recent relief work has hinted at a faster path to helping the Rays if the strike-throwing holds up, and his strong stuff metrics suggest this may be more than a one-off experiment. [Read more 🡒]
Orioles Fans Will Feel Strange Watching This Rays Reunion
Bryan Bakers move from Baltimore to Tampa Bay in midsummer set off an odd little reunion on the Rays roster, one that has only become more noticeable as the summer has gone on. What began with a bullpen add has turned into a group of familiar faces in St. Petersburg, with Cedric Mullins, Tyler Wells and Jorge Mateo now sharing a clubhouse that already knew Baker well from his time in the division.
For Orioles fans, it is the kind of roster overlap that can feel a little off in real time, especially with Baltimore still trying to steady itself after a rough stretch. There is always a strange edge to seeing former homegrown pieces and recent contributors land back on the same side, and the Rays have enough of those names now that the connection is impossible to miss. The only real question is how much more of this crossover is coming next. [Read more 🡒]