The Rays were unable to continue their 10-game winning streak at the Trop on Saturday afternoon as they dropped the second game of the three-game set to the Miami Marlins by a score of 10-5 in extra innings.
Early on this was the pitching due we all expected it to be with Nick Martinez facing off against Sandy Alcantara. Both were good, but Martinez was slightly better as he lowered his ERA on season to just 1.51 with another six innings of shutout baseball. Alcantara allowed just one run over his six innings of work.
The Rays struck first in the second inning and as Chandler Simpson singled home Taylor Walls who reached on a bunt single.
The 1-0 Rays advantage would hold until the top of the seventh when pinch-hitter Heriberto Hernandez hit a towering homerun to left field to tie the game at 1-1.
The teams then traded blows in the ninth inning with the Marlins striking first. Bryan Baker came on in the 9th to hold the line and looked well on his way to doing so with back-to-back strikeouts to open the frame. But, with two outs Jakob Marsee singled and Javier Sanoja quickly doubled, driving in Marsee to give the Marlins a 2-1 lead.
In the bottom of the ninth with a save on the line, the Rays faced off against none other than their former closer, Pete Fairbanks. But, what’s a save situation without a bit of drama from Pete? After striking out Palacios to open the bottom half of the inning, Fairbanks walked Mullins. On a pitch at the top of the zone that retired DeLuca looking, Mullins stole second and advanced to third on a throwing error by the catcher as the ball sailed into center. Down to their last out, Nick Fortes grounded a ball to third that Sanoja couldn’t corral. The single tied the game and sent us to Manfred-ball.
What better way to ruin a perfectly good pitchers duel than with free baserunners? Things got out of hand quickly in the tenth for Hunter Bigge. Mack opened the inning with a single and Edwards walked to load the bases with no outs. The Marlins then went on to score eight runs and take a 10-2 lead.
The Rays didn’t go quietly, but they only score three runs and eventually dropped the contest by a score of 10-5. Both Martinez and Alcantara left with no decisions. Cleavinger and Fairbanks both picked up blown saves and Bigge took home the loss.
On the bright side, Palacios remained hot at the plate and picked up a pair of hits. Mullins tallied another hit, making it five in the series. Lastly, the trio in the heart of the order combined for four hits, three RBI, and a run scored.
Tomorrow the Rays will send Ras to the bump as they look to take the series and win the rubber match. Eury Perez will take the ball for the fish.
Can’t win em all. This looked line one the Rays were going to steal, but it got away late. Their record now sits at 29-15.
