Advertisement

Rays winning streak ends with 4-3 defeat to Red Sox

The Rays had won eight straight.
 
Published April 29, 2018|Updated April 29, 2018

BOSTON – Sunday's 4-3 loss that ended the Rays' unexpected eight-game winning streak was certainly a tough one any way you looked at it.

How they gave away their 3-0 lead in the messy sixth inning using their third and fourth pitchers in a scheduled bullpen day. How closer Alex Colome failed them again after being forced into eighth-inning duty as they ran short of experienced relievers. How they threatened in getting the first two on in the ninth against Sox closer Craig Kimbrel but couldn't close the deal.

But as disappointed as the Rays certainly should have been walking out of the Fenway Park clubhouse, they were clearly not down, insistent that the loss didn't diminish all they had gained over the past week-and-a-half.

"Not at all,'' veteran outfielder Denard Span said. "Not at all. Even though it was a tough loss, it still was a good effort by us (Sunday). We made them obviously earn this one. We kept fighting back, even to the last out. I can, I think we all can, live and die with the effort we gave (Sunday) and that we've been giving recently.''

Manager Kevin Cash had much the same view, that despite letting this one get away, the Rays were way ahead of the game because of the winning streak.

"We needed it, every bit and then some,'' Cash said. "A lot of good things kind of came out of it. We saw our offense kind of take shape a little bit and get hot. Pitchers got in a better rhythm. And defensively, kind of as advertised.

"There's a lot more confidence in this room than there was 10 days ago. And that's a good thing.''

The Rays certainly needed the boost, going back to their brutal start, as they followed their opening day dramatics with eight straight losses, and then lost their best position player, Kevin Kiermaier, for three months with a thumb injury.

It looked bad and seemed worse by 3-12.

Heck, one newspaper guy wrote what others were thinking, that they might as well give up and start trading all their veterans immediately, and wondering how they would end up compared to the worst teams in franchise history.

But Cash and his staff did a good job keeping the vibe positive. The schedule provided some more favorable competition. A decision to expand the rotation to four starters with Yonny Chirinos provided needed framework for the entire pitching staff.

And they started playing, individually, more like they were expected to — and above and beyond for some such as Jose Alvarado, Daniel Robertson and Joey Wendle — and, collectively, more as a team.

"There's a lot of guys in this clubhouse who are still trying to establish themselves as big-leaguers,'' Span said ."And I think a run like this probably gives guys confidence knowing they belong here and that we can win at this level.''

Obviously they were not going to keep playing at the level they did during the streak, especially averaging nearly eight runs a game and coming from behind in six of those.

But knowing it was in there had significant value.

C.J. Cron started hitting home runs. Wilson Ramos warmed considerably, as did Adeiny Hechavarria, as the lineup started to flow. Carlos Gomez got a couple of big hits and emerged as a bit of a clubhouse leader. Robertson and Wendle set the stage for a seasonlong battle for the American League MVP award. (Okay, maybe not.)

The pitching was better, too.

Blake Snell's ongoing evolution into a front-of-the-rotation starter was important. So was the emergence of Alvarado and Chaz Roe as a dynamic duo from the bullpen. Colome had been better, until Sunday anyway.

So after they had won eight straight and nine of 10 in taking four consecutive series, how much could one one-run loss really hurt, especially as close as they came to what would have been a stunning sweep?

"That one kind of got away from us, but it doesn't change our confidence at all,'' Sunday's starter, Matt Andriese, said. "We're still upbeat. We're feeling good about the series, winning two out of three. Overall, we're definitely trending in the right direction.''

Certainly compared to the walk they made out of the same cramped clubhouse three weeks previously, when they had just been swept by the Sox to drop to 1-8.

"Most definitely,'' Span said. "I think this is the real Tampa Bay Rays you saw this series.''

Marc Topkin can be reached at mtopkin@tampabay.com. Follow @TBTimes_Rays