I actually thought the Rays would win today, not because of matchups but simply because it’s very rare to have four game sweeps even if terrible teams are playing good teams.
Four game sweeps aren’t impossible, however, and this game was lost with a combination of bone headed mistakes and just….not being as good as the other team.
We can start with the bone headed mistakes that contributed to a two-run swing, with the Rays losing out of a run in the top of the third and the Red Sox being gifted a run in the bottom of the inning.
With two outs in the top of the inning, Chandler Simpson did Chandler Simpson things, beating out a ground ball for an infield hit. Jonathan Aranda was hit by a pitch (fortunately it seemed to mainly hit his uniform so no injury worries) to put two men on base. Yandy Diaz hit a blooper that center fielder Ceddanne Rafaela seemed to catch but couldn’t hold onto. So you’d think that would be a run, with Chandler running on contact and easily making it home.
You’d think.
But here’s what happened instead. Aranda, who isn’t particularly fast, tried to get to third on the shallow ball and was tagged out.
Since it wasn’t a force play, however, the run would still count if Simpson had crossed home before the tag was applied. No problem!
But Chandler seemed to have heard the crowd reaction when it looked like the ball had been caught, and….he held up. Just for a second, but it was long enough to ensure that he did NOT cross the base in time.
Jonathan, why are you trying to get to third?
And Chandler, your speed is your super power. With two outs so no worries about tagging up, WHY NOT JUST RUN???
Simpson seems like a coachable guy who really is happy to be here, so I’m assuming this is NOT a mistake he’ll make twice. Still frustrating to leave a run on the table like that.
In the bottom of the inning, the Red Sox got gifted a run.
The Red Sox Mayer doubled and moved to third on a grounder. Then, with two outs, it appeared that Theiss had picked him off with a good throw to Caminero. In fact, the umprire had first called him out.
But then the umpire quickly reversed that to a safe call, AND awarded Mayer home base. Why? In dashing to third to receive Theiss’ throw, Junior’s foot had blocked third base. This is considered defensive interference, and the penalty is that the team on offense gets a free base, which in this case scored a run.
Junior’s mistake here was not as egregious as Simpson’s — he wasn’t trying to block the base, he just needed to get in front of the base to receive the throw. But this should again be a learning experience, because a third baseman has to find a better way to get that throw.
As for the rest of the game? Well, Pepiot was quite good until the Red Sox got to him in the sixth inning, when they put the game out of reach with three runs. It was so clear that the game was out of reach that honestly I thought about posting this recap after the seventh inning.
The Rays one run came because Jake Magnum is one of the season’s highlights, doubling, moving to third on a wild pitch, and scoring on a sac fly.
Otherwise, what more can we say? The lineup is lifeless, I guess Brandon Lowe was the linchpin all along.
Since the Rays never had a lead, at least there was no lead to blow. And at any rate, Ian Seymour pitched two scoreless relief innings. Nice job Ian.
We really can all use a break. I hope the players going to Atlanta find the experience energizing, and the players staying home catch up on sleep and return with a new sense of purpose.