Kim Klement-USA TODAY Sports
Frustrating. Forgettable. Those are just a couple of words used to describe the Tampa Bay Rays‘ 7-0 loss to the Arizona Diamondbacks on Wednesday night.
Starting pitcher Jeremy Hellickson was completely off-target, allowing four runs on 92 pitches through 4.1 innings. He’s not the only person to blame for this loss, however. The offense picked a horrible time to revert back to their past woes. Three hits and nine men left on base? I’m sorry, but that’s pathetic for a team who spent most of Wednesday leading the AL East.
On the bright side, rookie Wil Myers got a single to extend his current hitting streak to 12 games. Ben Zobrist, who had a big night on Tuesday, also doubled–a huge confidence boost for him after struggling a little during the Rays’ recently completed 11-day road trip.
Counting Wednesday’s forgettable mess, the Rays still finished July 21-5 — amazing when you consider how badly they struggled in April, May and parts of June.
Unfortunately, not many people will remember that because the Boston Red Sox retook first place after beating the Seattle Mariners in 15 innings. Okay, so I never thought the Rays would hold onto first place all the way until October, but losing it to a team that plays dirtier than the water in Boston Harbor and whines like a little baby when something doesn’t go their way makes this loss even more difficult to swallow.
No matter how much this loss stings, the Rays have an opportunity to show everyone what they’re really made of these final two months. Will they crumble or keep right on rolling? Only time will tell, but I’m willing to place bets on the latter.
Lauren Burg is a Tampa Bay Lightning, NHL and MLB writer for www.RantSports.com. Follow her on Twitter, like her on Facebook and join her Google network.
