TAMPA, Fla. — The late-inning magic that helped carry the Rays near the top of the American League East has been missing at Steinbrenner Field this week.
For the second night in a row, the Rays came up short in the final inning against the last-place Athletics.
The Rays blew an early lead, came back late to tie it and then lost, 4-3 in 10 innings.
The Rays came into the series with five walk-off wins in their first three months at Steinbrenner Field and an 11-6 record in last at-bat decisions, but they could not come up with the necessary pitch/hit to take down the AÃÛèÖÊÓƵ.
With the designated runner at second base to begin the 10th, the Athletics executed a sacrifice bunt and then got a sacrifice fly from pinch-hitter Austin Wynns for the winning run.
Tampa Bay failed to respond in the bottom of the inning. Brandon Lowe struck out, Junior Caminero flied out to left, and Josh Lowe struck out after an intentional walk to Jonathan Aranda.
The Rays did not pound Athletics starter Jeffrey Springs, but they at least made their former teammate work.
Through the first four innings, Tampa Bay managed only two hits off the left-hander but both left the ballpark. Christopher Morel homered in the second, and Brandon Lowe hit his 19th in the third. Add in three walks, and Springs’ pitch count got relatively bloated.
Shane Baz, meanwhile, appeared to be locked in from the first pitch. He struck out five of the first 10 batters he faced while allowing only a leadoff single in the first to extend his scoreless innings streak to 11.
That all fell apart in the fourth inning when Max Muncy hit a two-run homer to tie the score. At one point in the inning, the AÃÛèÖÊÓƵ put six consecutive balls in play, with four of them at an exit velocity above 100 mph.
Two innings later, Shea Langeliers put the AÃÛèÖÊÓƵ on top with a leadoff homer to left.
Springs’ high pitch count came back to haunt Oakland when he left with one out in the sixth inning. An inning later, reliever Justin Sterner gave up a home run to Danny Jansen to tie the score again.
Every so often, Tampa BayÃÛèÖÊÓƵ daring on the bases comes back to bite them. It happened at inopportune times Tuesday.
Jose Caballero drew a walk in the second and appeared to get picked off by Springs when he attempted to steal. However, the throw from first baseman Nick Kurtz hit Caballero in the back of the helmet and ricocheted into center field, allowing Caballero to reach third with one out.
A few pitches after Jansen walked, however, Caballero got picked off again, this time by Langeliers at catcher.
Chandler Simpson followed with a grounder to shortstop to end the potential rally.
Then, in the bottom of the ninth, Caballero led off with a single and immediately attempted to steal second. He was thrown out by Langeliers on a call that eventually was upheld by video review.
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