Tampa Bay trips up in loss at Baltimore
BALTIMORE — It was probably a sign that the Rays were going to stumble in their attempt to sweep the Orioles on Sunday when manager Kevin Cash took an awkward step during a pregame run outside Camden Yards and fractured his left ankle.
The rest of the day didn’t get any better as the Rays lost 7-1, killing the momentum from their previous two wins as they headed to Chicago with a 43-41 record for an off day then a reunion Tuesday with former manager Joe Maddon at Wrigley Field.
Starter Alex Cobb had a couple of missteps of his own.
With two on in the third, he threw wildly to first after fielding a routine comebacker to give the Orioles their first run on what should have been the second out.
Two pitches later he gave up a three-run home run to Manny Machado.
It didn’t help that the Rays offense disappeared again as they were shut out by Kevin Gausman for seven innings, managing just two hits.
Gausman, who had been struggling with a six-plus ERA since mid-April, pitched seven shutout innings after holding the Toronto Blue Jays scoreless over 51⁄3 innings last Monday, which reduced his ERA to a more respectable 5.61.
“That was impressive,’’ Orioles manager Buck Showalter said. “I felt the seventh inning was the most impressive inning he had.
“You could tell he was going to carry good stuff. His secondary stuff was really good today. Probably the best secondary stuff he’s had this year.”
“Obviously fastball command, and being able to put guys away with it also,’’ Gausman said. “I had a good feel for my split and my changeup. Even my slider, and my first-pitch strikes were pretty good, too, so getting ahead always helps.”
He looked comfortable on the mound throughout and was overpowering at times — striking nine to match a season-high — and his offense made it easy to relax, staking him to a five-run lead in the early innings.
“That’s about as wellpitched of a game that we’ve had against us this year or at least in a long time,” said Cash, who watched from the dugout uncomfortably after stumbling on a railroad track while running through the streets.
Cash took a seat on the bench rather than man his usual post near the railing, and he sent pitching coach Jim Hickey out to make a pitching change. Cash insisted, however, that the mishap would not hamper his ability to run the team.
Machado, whose struggles at the plate this year have been well-documented, delivered the key blow for the Orioles with the threerun home run into the leftfield bleachers to give Gausman a four-run lead. Mark Trumbo added his second home run of the series in the fourth to make it 5-0.
Catcher Jesus Sucre got the Rays on the board with a homer in the eighth off reliever Mychal Givens, the Tampa product.
Even though he had good results in his last outing, starting with six no-hit innings, Cobb was not pleased with his overall performance. He started well Sunday, retiring the first six, but quickly got into trouble in the third, allowing a single to the first batter and hitting the second before his throwing error and Machado’s homer boosted Baltimore.
After a day off Monday, Tampa Bay opens a twogame series against the Cubs at Wrigley Field. “We’re fortunate we get to play in a lot of cool environments,” said pitcher Chris Archer, who will start Tuesday. “Wrigley is definitely one of them.”