If you were looking for offense tonight, you should have turned into the winner-take-all game three of the College World Series between Oklahoma and North Carolina, during which the Sooners scored 13 runs in a route of the Tar Heels to secure their third national championship. If instead you were looking for a low scoring game with a combined three runs and ten hits, the series opener between the Rays and Royals was the game for you.
There wasn’t much to this one as Michael Wacha and Drew Rasmussen battled it out over six innings (Wacha went seven). The Royals struck first in the second inning and converted a leadoff walk into a run scored and 1-0 lead. Massey scored on the RBI double by Lane Thomas.
The teams then traded blows in the fifth inning. The Royals extended their lead to 2-0 courtesy of a Carter Jensen RBI single that scored Nick Loftin. Loftin had previously singled and stole second. In the bottom half of the inning, Palacios got the party started with a two out single and later scored on a RBI double by Yandy Diaz to cut the deficit in half.
Unfortunately, that was all the offense the Rays could muster tonight and the score of 2-1 would hold. Pitching was the story and Wacha was the headline, outlasting Rasmussen and tossing seven strong innings, earning his fifth win of the year. He scattered six hits, struck out five, and walked one. The only run he allowed was earned.
Rasmussen, who took home his fourth loss of the year, didn’t necessarily have a bad start. It just wasn’t good enough tonight. Across six innings, he allowed only four hits, walked a pair, and struck out five.
Both bullpens did their jobs and combined to toss five scoreless frames. Booser, Sulser, and Kimbrel kept it close, allowing no runs, hits, or walks. For the Royals, Schreiber and Lange shut the door in the final two innings.
For the Rays, the top five hitters (Yandy, DeLuca, Aranda, Caminero) combined to go just 2-13 with two walks and the lone RBI on the night. That is not a recipe for success. On the bright side, Simpson went 2-4 and continued to show signs of life at the plate.
Tomorrow, the Rays will send Shane McLanahan to the bump to face Luinder Avila. With the Yankees loss (46-31), the Rays (43-32) remain just two games back of first.
