Bullpen can’t protect lead in wrenching loss
ST. PETERSBURG — Saturday it was the soft underbelly of the bullpen that let one get away from the Rays, incurring the wrath of the team's faithful followers, who wondered why the high-leverage guys weren't pitching.
Sunday, the A squad had its chance to protect a onerun eighth-inning lead, and … it let one get away.
The Orioles scored four runs in their final two atbats, including three in the ninth off closer Alex Colome, for an 8-5 victory at Tropicana Field.
“We just got to go in and finish teams off,” manager Kevin Cash said. “We had opportunities. We just didn't finish them off.”
The Orioles are 4-34 this season when trailing after seven innings.
The loss snapped the Rays' winning streak in the rubber games of series at eight.
It was the first series the Rays (40-38) lost since getting swept at Seattle on June 2-4 and the first series they dropped at the Trop since May 8-11, when they lost three of four to Kansas City.
Jake Odorizzi continued his season-long struggles. For an 11th consecutive start, he allowed a home run (two, actually), tying Wilson Alvarez for the franchise mark. He was gone with just one out in the sixth inning after Trey Mancini got Baltimore within 5-4 with a homer to left-center.
The Rays began the day 35-3 when leading after seven, so it boded well for them that Tommy Hunter, Chase Whitley and Colome were rested.
Hunter did his job, replacing Odorizzi and retiring all five batters he faced.
Whitley, though, didn't do his. He entered in the eighth and allowed a leadoff homer to Jonathan Schoop on a hanging changeup that tied the score at 5.
“I went to the pitch I wanted to go to, and I don't think it finished like it should have," Whitley said, “so it ended up being a mistake.”
Colome, who was warming up behind Whitley and was set to go in and get more than three outs, sat down after the home run.
But there he was in the ninth with the score tied.
Colome allowed three hits and two runs in his previous appearance, Tuesday against the Reds, and almost gave up a three-run lead. This time he allowed a leadoff single to Caleb Joseph and a sacrifice bunt to Craig Gentry. He walked Paul Janish intentionally.
Joey Rickard then drove the third straight cutter he saw from Colome, this one a hanger, for a ground-rule double to left that scored the go-ahead run. Manny Machado was walked intentionally. Schoop was hit on his left hand to force in another run, and a sacrifice fly by Adam Jones completed the inning's scoring.
So what's wrong Colome?
“Nothing,” he said. “I feel like every time I go out, there's nothing different. I just missed, like, one pitch.”
Cash said he's not concerned about his closer.
“I'm not reading anything into Alex's issue [Sunday]," Cash said. “We got other things we need to worry about."
Like the rest bullpen.
The Rays moved Eramso Ramirez back to the bullpen. His spot in the rotation goes to Blake Snell, who will join the team this week in Pittsburgh. The Rays expect reliever Brad Boxberger to join them some time on the road trip. Those two should help. When asked for his level of concern about the bullpen, Cash said, “Obviously, there's always concern. We need to find a way to get the ball to Alex and not always be a onerun game and not always have Alex come in in the eighth. That's not an ideal scenario to play a whole season with, when you ask your ninth-inning guy to come in early." of with the