TAMPA \u2014 Kevin Cash banked on the bullpen, and the Rays got bitten by the Tigers on Sunday afternoon, losing 9-3.<\/p>\n
Zack Littell had given the Rays a strong first five innings in Sunday\u2019s swelter, allowing just one run and four hits, and had done so throwing only 69 pitches, with an impressive 53 for strikes.<\/p>\n
But with the score 1-all, and between where the Tigers were in their lineup and having his relievers rested with Monday to recover, Cash decided that was enough.<\/p>\n
\u201cJust given the (Monday) off-day, the matchup (with) them turning the lineup back over with (lefties Kerry) Carpenter and (Riley) Greene, those guys are really good,\u201d Cash said. \u201cI thought \u2018Litt\u2019 gave us every opportunity, and felt like where our bullpen was that we could try to shorten the game a little bit.\u201d<\/p>\n
Rays designated hitter Yandy Diaz reacts after he lines into a double play to Tigers first baseman Spencer Torkelson to end the game. [\u00a0JEFFEREE WOO | Times\u00a0]<\/p>\n
The Rays had been allowing their starters to go deeper in games this season. And that same off-day provides extra rest for each starter before his next turn as well. <\/p>\n
Littell was caught a little off guard.<\/p>\n
\u201cYeah, I was surprised, but with the off-day (Monday) and the pen being fresh like they were, I understand. That\u2019s the way this team\u2019s built,\u201d he said. <\/p>\n
\u201cI\u2019m not going to lie (and) say I wasn\u2019t frustrated, and Cash acknowledged that. He knows that we want to be out there. But at the end of the day, this is the way that the team is built, and it\u2019s going to give us the best chance to win.<\/p>\n
\u201cI think the bulk of the time, that\u2019s going to pay off. (Sunday) it obviously didn\u2019t.\u201d<\/p>\n
Garrett Cleavinger, the Rays\u2019 top lefty reliever, made the move look good with a sixth inning that went well.<\/p>\n
Cleavinger got Gleyber Torres to ground out. The Tigers pinch-hit for Carpenter, and Cleavinger got Jahmai Jones to fly out. Then Cleavinger struck out lefty Greene, the Oviedo native who was doing his usual damage against the Rays.<\/p>\n
Rays starter Zack Littell admits he was “frustrated” by only pitching five innings Sunday, but says he understood the thinking by manager Kevin Cash. [\u00a0JEFFEREE WOO | Times\u00a0]<\/p>\n
But Cleavinger went back out for the seventh, and that didn\u2019t didn\u2019t work out so well, with the game pretty much decided right then, and the chance for a sweep of the best team in baseball on a second straight weekend gone with it.<\/p>\n
Cleavinger threw a first-pitch strike to righty Spencer Torkelson, then four balls, for the usually damaging leadoff walk.<\/p>\n
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Explore all your options<\/a><\/p>\n Then he threw two strikes to switch-hitter Wenceel Perez, and gave up a two-run homer.<\/p>\n The Rays had righty Edwin Uceta available, but Cash said they wanted to stick with the lefty at that point.<\/p>\n \u201cWe really wanted \u2018Cleav\u2019 to face Perez,\u201d he said. \u201cI know it didn\u2019t work out, (but) to keep him turned around (and hitting right-handed).\u201d<\/p>\n Cleavinger worked more than one inning in only three of his first 29 appearances (totaling 26 innings), then worked two in his previous outing on Wednesday (throwing 28 pitches). In 83 appearances over 2023-24, he completed two innings only once. <\/p>\n When Cleavinger finished the sixth Sunday, he said Cash told him he was going back out, and that it wasn\u2019t a big deal.<\/p>\n \u201cHe just said, \u2018Stay locked in.\u2019 That\u2019s kind of our job (to) stay locked in and be ready to go until they tell you otherwise,\u201d Cleavinger said. \u201cIt doesn\u2019t really change anything. Just stay locked in, continue to do your job, go out there and fill it up until they tell you otherwise.\u201d<\/p>\n Cleavinger said he knew the walk to Torkelson was trouble.<\/p>\n \u201cDefinitely,\u201d he said. \u201cYou never want to lead off the inning putting guys on base. So, yeah, I\u2019ve got to try to limit the walks there.\u201d<\/p>\n Obviously the home run, on an 0-2 fastball he left too much over the plate, was worse. It also was the sixth homer he has allowed in 31 appearances, accounting for seven of the nine earned runs he\u2019s allowed.<\/p>\n \u201cYeah, 0-2, you never want to throw anything too close to the zone,\u201d Cleavinger said. \u201cYou\u2019ve got to expand a little bit, and I just didn\u2019t get it up high enough.\u201d<\/p>\n The Tigers took the 3-1 lead into the ninth, than ganged up on recent addition Forrest Whitley, who pitched through heavy rain before play was stopped for an 18-minute delay \u2014 to make it 9-1. <\/p>\n Given their comeback from an 8-0 deficit to Baltimore last week, the Rays briefly made it interesting by loading the bases to start their ninth and got two runs on Taylor Walls\u2019 single, but nothing else. The final outs were symbolic of their hard-luck day \u2014 including 1-for-9 with runners in scoring position \u2014with Yandy Diaz lacing a 100.6-mph line drive into a double play.<\/p>\n Still, the Rays have much to feel good about. <\/p>\n They took the series from the Tigers, went 4-3 on the homestand against two good teams, are still a majors-best 27-14 since May 9 and 22-9 since May 20.<\/p>\n \u201cWe\u2019re playing really good baseball right now,\u201d Cleavinger said. \u201cIt would have been nice to get a sweep, but you kind of have to lean on what we\u2019ve done and playing some really good ball and just keep it going.\u201d<\/p>\n \u2022 \u2022 \u2022<\/p>\n Sign up for our Sports Today newsletter<\/a> to get daily updates on the Bucs, Rays, Lightning and college football across Florida.<\/p>\n Every weekday, tune into our Sports Day Tampa Bay podcast<\/a> to hear reporter Rick Stroud break down the biggest stories in Tampa Bay sports.<\/p>\n Never miss out on the latest with your favorite Tampa Bay sports teams. Follow our coverage on X<\/a> and Facebook<\/a>.<\/p>\nTampa Bay’s Jos\u00e9 Caballero steals second base, while Tigers shortstop Javier B\u00e1ez attempts to tag him out during the seventh inning. [\u00a0JEFFEREE WOO | Times\u00a0]<\/p>\n