As fans of a team with no playoff hopes, how do we experience those late September games?
For me, it’s a mix of emotions. On the one hand, it’s frustrating and a little sad playing teams that have something to play for and realizing that for us, for Rays players, there’s nothing on the line. That doesn’t mean that everyone just gives up: professional baseball players always want to play well, which is why guys are still running out grounders and getting pumped when they make a good play in the field. But that’s not the same as playing to reach a collective goal.
On the other hand, I’m all too aware that the season will soon be over and then it’s a long six months before our team takes the field again. Thinking about the abyss — that is, those many months with no baseball — I want to watch every meaningless inning to store up baseball memories for the winter (I was going to write the long cold winter but we’re Floridians, it’s actually a long winter of perfect outdoor temperatures).
As for this game, the Rays led until they didn’t, which seems like a familiar story in the Year of the Very Inconsistent Bullpen.
Today it was Edwin Uceta who played the role of Reliever Who Blew it. Uceta has had an odd season. I was about to write that he was inconsistent before the All Star Break but that’s not true, he was very consistent. He gave up hits, walks and run in about 2/3 of his appearances. He seemed to have regained his 2023 form later in the season, but today he reverted to his earlier self, failing to protect a one-run lead when he relieved Houser in the seventh inning.
Adrian Houser, who started the game, has turned out to be the unspectacular but largely effective starter the Rays had hoped to get — e.g. he’s Zack Littell. Houser had held the Cubs to two runs through six, fighting off some stressful innings to do it.
The Rays runs largely came early, with both Junior and Yandy hitting solo homers in the first inning.
The third run was small-ball style, as Josh Lowe bunted home catcher Fortes from third base, a play initially ruled an error (Cubs pitcher Imanaga had overrun the bunt) but was later called an RBI single.
Then there was the fourth run, which we enjoyed for the 30 seconds or so it took the umpires to overturn it. In the top of the seventh, the Rays had one out, with Junior on third and Brandon Lowe on first base. Jake Mangum hit a grounder; the Cubs forced Lowe at second but could not get the speedy Mangum at first, allowing Caminero to score.
But wait: Lowe had not slid into second, rather he run up to the base, and the Cub’s shortstop Swanson had to change the angle of his throw to work around Brandon. The Cubs claimed that Lowe had violated the rule that requires runner to make a “bona fide slide” into second when a double play is possible, and indeed he had. Now we can point out that Mangum would have been safe even if Swanson hadn’t had to account for Lowe at second, and that Lowe made no physical contact in an effort to interfere with the double play. It’s frustrating, but this rule is very clear and what the heck Brandon, just slide!
When that call was overturned, with the Rays losing the run and with their inning ended on the double play, I just knew this game would not have a good outcome, and sure enough it was in the following inning that Uceta gave up the tying and go-ahead runs.
Nevertheless! You can still enjoy our cover photo of the Bob Seymour Fan Club, Chicago chapter, courtesy of our on-the-spot photographer.
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