When the week began, the Rays were 11-6 in games decided in the last at-bat, with five walk-off wins.<\/p>\n
\u201cThere\u2019s two tough ballgames,\u201d said catcher Danny Jansen, who tied the score in the seventh with his ninth home run. \u201cLooking to turn the page and get on the right track (Wednesday).\u201d<\/p>\n
Rays catcher Danny Jansen hits a home run off of Athletics pitcher Justin Sterner during the seventh inning. [\u00a0JEFFEREE WOO | Times\u00a0]<\/p>\n
If you want to be picky, that\u2019s now four losses in the last five ballgames after a blistering 25-9 run that had taken the Rays from fourth place in the American League East to second.<\/p>\n
What makes it even more annoying is the Rays had an opportunity the past two days to pass the reeling Yankees, who have also lost two in a row. Now, instead of being in first place, the Rays have slipped to third, a half-game behind Toronto in the division and second in the wild-card standings.<\/p>\n
\u201cWe\u2019re not capitalizing (on opportunities) as we\u2019ve done lately the past few weeks,\u201d said shortstop Taylor Walls. \u201cJust try to scratch it up, come back tomorrow, try to put these past few games behind us.<\/p>\n
\u201cWe\u2019ve been playing good baseball, it\u2019s just the past couple of days we haven\u2019t come up with the key hit.\u201d<\/p>\n
That\u2019s a fairly accurate description. The Rays went 3-for-6 with runners in scoring position on Monday night, but it wasn\u2019t enough. They hit three homers on Tuesday night, but it wasn\u2019t enough. Shane Baz<\/a> gave Tampa Bay seven strong innings on Tuesday, but it wasn\u2019t enough.<\/p>\n Baz, who threw eight shutout innings in his last start, tied a career high with 11 strikeouts and set a personal record with 20 swing-and-miss pitches.<\/p>\n Subscribe to our free Stephinitely newsletter<\/p>\n Columnist Stephanie Hayes will share thoughts, feelings and funny business with you every Monday.<\/p>\n You\u2019re all signed\u00a0up!<\/p>\n Want more of our free, weekly newsletters\u00a0in\u00a0your\u00a0inbox? Let\u2019s\u00a0get\u00a0started.<\/p>\n Explore all your options<\/a><\/p>\n \u201cThey were pretty aggressive with him but I thought he navigated that really well and gave us every chance through his seven innings of work,\u201d said manager Kevin Cash. \u201cHe was really good for us.\u201d<\/p>\n Essentially, Baz was done in by just a handful of pitches. After striking out five of the first 10 batters he faced he gave up a one-out double to Shea Langeliers in the fourth and, one out later, Max Muncy drilled a first-pitch fastball over the leftfield wall.<\/p>\n In the sixth, Langeliers hit a home run on a first-pitch cutter.<\/p>\n \u201cThe 0-0 pitch to (Muncy) definitely could have been a better pitch,\u201d Baz said. \u201cThey\u2019re really aggressive when guys get on base. That inning, they were swinging from 0-0, so I\u2019ve got to tip my cap on that one.\u201d<\/p>\n Some of the aggressive baserunning that has benefitted Tampa Bay during its climb up the standings ended up costing the Rays on Tuesday night. Jose Caballero, who leads the American League in stolen bases with 30, got picked off third base with one out in the second and then got caught trying to steal second on a close play after leading off the ninth with a single.<\/p>\n Just like Monday night, there were plenty of what-if moments for the Rays on Tuesday. <\/p>\n After Junior Caminero chased A\u2019s starter Jeffrey Springs with a double to rightfield in the sixth, the Rays sent Jonathan Aranda up to pinch-hit for Christopher Morel, who had homered earlier in the game. Aranda blasted a 1-2 fastball from Justin Sterner 398 feet.<\/p>\n It was longer than Muncy\u2019s homer, longer than Jansen\u2019s homer, longer than Brandon Lowe\u2019s third-inning homer.<\/p>\n Unfortunately, Aranda hit it to the deepest part of the park in dead center and Denzel Clarke caught it against the wall.<\/p>\n \u201cIt\u2019s baseball,\u201d Walls said. \u201cAt the end of the day, there\u2019s 162 games. It gets pretty easy to turn it over and come in tomorrow knowing that you have to reset and you can\u2019t let today affect you.<\/p>\n \u201cBut, yeah, if the wind is blowing out like a normal day (Aranda\u2019s) ball is probably out. There\u2019s plenty of different things that could have happened. Maybe (Caballero) is stealing second. If he\u2019s there a split-second earlier, he\u2019s safe, (Matt Thaiss) gets him over (to third) and we win the ballgame. So there\u2019s plenty of things that (if) you roll the dice a different number comes up. But you can\u2019t play the game that way.\u201d<\/p>\n John Romano can be reached at jromano@tampabay.com<\/a>. Follow @romano_tbtimes.<\/p>\n \u2022 \u2022 \u2022<\/p>\n Sign up for the 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>\nRays pitcher Shane Baz receives high-fives after he retires the Athletics during the seventh inning. [\u00a0JEFFEREE WOO | Times\u00a0]Spend your days with Hayes<\/p>\n
Athletics catcher Shea Langeliers (23) receives a high-five from first baseman Nick Kurtz (16) after his home run against Rays starter Shane Baz during the sixth inning. [\u00a0JEFFEREE WOO | Times\u00a0]<\/p>\n