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Rays waste ninth-inning rally, lose in 10 to Mariners (w/video)

 
Tampa Bay Rays center fielder Kevin Kiermaier (39) dives for the catch on a fly ball by Seattle Mariners second baseman Robinson Cano (22) in the third inning of the game between the Seattle Mariners at the Tampa Bay Rays at Tropicana Field in St. Petersburg, Fla. on Tuesday, May 26, 2015.
Tampa Bay Rays center fielder Kevin Kiermaier (39) dives for the catch on a fly ball by Seattle Mariners second baseman Robinson Cano (22) in the third inning of the game between the Seattle Mariners at the Tampa Bay Rays at Tropicana Field in St. Petersburg, Fla. on Tuesday, May 26, 2015.
Published May 27, 2015

ST. PETERSBURG — The shock of seeing reliever Jake McGee give up a lead-changing grand slam in the eighth had been wiped away by a ninth-inning rally against old buddy Fernando Rodney to send Tuesday's game into extra innings.

But then the Rays were stunned again as Brad Boxberger made the same mistake, giving up another homer to Kyle Seager, saddling them with a 7-6 10-inning loss to the Mariners that dropped them to 24-23 and out of first place.

"We got beat with our best guys out on the mound and lined up perfectly," Rays manager Kevin Cash said. "And sometimes that's going to happen."

Cash was more upset with some "terrible" umpiring than the outcome anyway, specifically a first-inning safe call at the plate that withstood a replay review to give the Mariners their second run.

Noting he had no recourse "other than just to tell them how bad they stink," Cash made clear after the game how much he disagreed with the call by Brian Gorman's crew and the replay squad in New York on the play when it appeared catcher Rene Rivera had taken the throw from Alex Colome after a comebacker and tagged Seth Smith while keeping him from getting to the plate.

"Terrible. Terrible. It's embarrassing," Cash said, lashing out at the umpires for the first time as a manager. "We spend so much time on pace of play, let's just get the damn call right on the field. It's terrible. They ought to be embarrassed. Feels like we got beat twice tonight."

Cash also was upset with a seventh-inning call on an Evan Longoria drive down the leftfield line that was reversed from foul by third-base ump Jerry Layne to fair, but on which Joey Butler was awarded third, not home.

"I'd like to know where Joey Butler was on Longoria's double. Very curious …" Cash said. "They missed the call, they place the runner. That's a run. I look at it as two runs, one for us, one against us. It's terrible."

The game was eventful enough, starting with a messy 45-minute first inning in which Tampa Bay's Alex Colome and Seattle's J.A. Happ combined to throw 72 pitches and give up two runs apiece.

Jake Elmore, one of the players called up to fill an injury void, did his part to put the Rays ahead with two two-out hits that gave them the 3-2 lead they expected their bullpen trio of Kevin Jepsen, McGee and Boxberger to lock away.

Jepsen did his part in the seventh, but McGee had issues from the start of the eighth in front of a Trop gathering of 9,628. He allowed singles to Rickie Weeks and Robinson Cano, then a sharp ground ball by Nelson Cruz that looked to be a double play was booted by second baseman Nick Franklin, the former Mariner, loading the bases.

"Obviously it didn't help quite a bit,'' Cash said. "It looked like ... if he catches it, it's a fairly easy double play ball. When you're talking about man on third, two outs, as opposed to bases loaded, no outs, it factors.''

McGee wasn't throwing at max velocity, a product of falling behind due to poor location, he said, and not any concerns about his surgically repaired elbow. He left a 94 mph first-pitch fastball over the plate, and Seager launched it over the rightfield fence.

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It was the first grand slam McGee has allowed and the first homer by a lefty in 96 plate appearances since 2013.

"I wasn't trying to amp it up too much, just get ahead of guys,'' McGee said. "He got a decent pitch.''

The Rays rallied in the ninth off Rodney, who now wears his crooked cap as the closer for the Mariners. They loaded the bases when pinch-hitter David DeJesus and Brandon Guyer singled and Butler was hit by a pitch, and came within a foot, or less, of winning it, as Longoria's drive to left hit the fencing atop the leftfield wall. Instead two scored on his double, and a third when Elmore grounded into a fielder's choice but beat the poor relay throw by Robinson Cano on what would have been a game-ending double play, giving him a career-high four RBIs.

After a single and a caught stealing to start the 10th, Boxberger made the final mistake, leaving an 0-and-2 pitch for Seager to crush over the centerfield wall, with Kevin Kiermaier, who earlier made two diving catches, giving it his best leap.

"I made a bad pitch," Boxberger said. "I pretty much threw it right down the middle and he didn't miss it, that's for sure."

For all that happened, even the questionable calls, what had to be most jarring for the Rays was seeing a game they assumed was put away end up getting away with McGee and Boxberger giving up the home runs.

"We had our big boys at the end and we just didn't make some pitches,'' Cash said. "Didn't make some plays, didn't make some pitches.''