As skid continues and All-Star break looms, Rays have a big week ahead

DETROIT — The resilience the Rays showed coming back to win Sunday’s game in Minnesota fueled a lot of conversation in the Target Field clubhouse about confidence and momentum.

But that talk didn’t carry as the Rays had hoped in Monday’s series opener against the majors-best Tigers.

A badly placed pitch by Shane Baz in the second inning and a bad baserunning decision by Danny Jansen (paired with a very good throw from Detroit’s Zach McKinstry) left the Rays in an early hole, and they didn’t do much to overcome it, losing 5-1.

The loss was their seventh in the last 10 games, dropping them to 49-42 and further distancing them from their six-week run as the majors’ best team.

The next six days may end up a telling sign of what direction they are headed.

“Every loss is frustrating. We want to win every ballgame that we can,” outfielder Josh Lowe said. “I don’t necessarily think that there needs to be a conversation about some of those things. I think we all understand what’s kind of going on here. We’re hitting a little skid. Everybody’s kind of getting tired. Eyes are on the All-Star break.

“But at the same time, we have six games left. We need to take care of business these last six games. That’s pretty much understood from all of us in here. We know we need to show up to work each and every day to do our best and help win ballgames. But we’ve got to grind through these last six to get to the break.”

After the Rays finish this three-game series with the Tigers, they play four games at Fenway Park against the Red Sox.

If Monday was an indication, the next two against the Tigers will be challenging.

“They’ve got 50-something wins for a reason,” Lowe said. “The starter (just-called-up Keider Montero) was just doing a good job of keeping us off-balance, and then their pen’s pretty good, too. They come in with good fastballs, good off-speed stuff and were just attacking the zone, and kind of doing a good job of pushing and pulling with the fastball and off-speed (Monday) and getting us a little off-balance. They had some offense to back it up, too.”

The Tigers got the big hits, made the key pitches and converted the plays in the field when they needed to.

The Rays, for the most part, did not.

Baz, who ended up working six innings and allowing three runs, took the blame for the most costly mistake.

After giving up a double to Dillon Dingler to start the second, he got two strikeouts and was one strike away from finishing off No. 9 hitter, All-Star Javier Baez.

But Baz left a knuckle curve too high, and Baez drove it over the left-centerfield wall for a 2-0 lead the Rays couldn’t overcome.

“For sure, anytime it’s 0-2, you don’t want to put a pitch in the strike zone. Just left it over the plate,” Baz said. “There was a couple times I felt like I was one pitch away. Next time I’m just going to execute it.”

It was the 17th homer Baz has allowed this season, ninth most in the majors, but the first on a curve.

“Baz has one of the better curveballs in the league and definitely has the utility to use it to put guys away,” Jansen said. “We didn’t want to leave it there, for sure. I mean, it happens. Obviously, we wanted to expand a little bit, and (Baez) made a good swing on that pitch, obviously.”

The Rays cut the gap to 2-1 in the third but ran themselves out of a chance for more. As Taylor Walls scored from second on All-Star Jonathan Aranda’s two-out single to right, Jansen tried to go from first to third.

McKinstry made a highlight-reel play, grabbing the ball off the ground, spinning and throwing on the fly to third.

“Anytime you make the third out at third base, it’s not good baserunning,” Jansen said. “Probably should have held at second base. Obviously, hindsight’s 20-20. It was a great throw. I just felt like the ball was softly hit and felt like I had a chance to get there.”

There were some other things that didn’t go right for the Rays.

Yandy Diaz didn’t hustle to second in the first inning as the Tigers turned a double play. Jose Caballero made an error at second. Chandler Simpson didn’t break well on a ball to center that ended up being a hit. Rookie reliever Paul Gervase gave up two seventh-inning homers in a span of five pitches.

Even things the Rays did right went wrong, such as Lowe lacing a 102.9 mph liner to left that Riley Greene — who seems to star against the Rays — made a diving catch on.

The Rays need to figure out how to get back to what was working previously — and before it’s too late.

“No doubt,” Jansen said. “We’ve been playing great baseball for a while now, and definitely been up and down the last couple series, for sure. A huge win in Minnesota to bring us here, and (the Tigers) played a good ballgame Game 1 against us.

“We’re still going to bounce back. Everybody’s got faith in each other in here and everybody’s proud of each other, and continue to obviously finish strong to the break and then start that second half with a high note.”

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As skid continues and All-Star break looms, Rays have a big week ahead

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