Rays 2, Mariners 5: A rough day game you’re glad you missed
The ninth inning rally didn’t quite get them to a W.
If you were working or otherwise occupied for this particular outing, consider yourself lucky, because it was NOT a fun time.
George Kirby was on the mound for the Mariners and Ryan Pepiot got the nod for the Rays.
Things started out well enough for Pepiot with a 1-2-3 first. In the bottom half Yandy Diaz got a leadoff single, but three outs quickly followed.
Cal Raleigh walked to start the second, but again Pepiot got through the next three batters in quick succession. Unfortunately for the Rays, they also continued to have quiet bats.
J.P. Crawford managed a two-out double for the Mariners in the third, but no runs scored. For the Rays, Jose Caballero got a leadoff double, then Yandy Diaz singled to score him, putting the Rays on the board first, but it would be the crickets from then on.
Pepiot continued to work through the Mariners order with another 1-2-3 in the fourth, but the Rays had the same issue in the home half.
The fifth was another three-up, three-down for the Mariners, and at this stage is when Rays fans probably started to feel like this would be another low-scoring win. In the home half, Jose Caballero reached on a bunt single with one out, but was then eliminated in the double play.
In the top of the sixth, J.P. Crawford got a one-out walk, which was it for Pepiot for the day, overall a really nice outing for him. Shawn Armstrong came on in relief, and gave up a two-out walk to Julio Rodriguez. Then Cal Raleigh hit a three-run home run, and suddenly that low-scoring win wasn’t looking as good anymore. Armstrong got the next out, but the damage was done. In the home half the Rays went 1-2-3.
Kevin Kelly came in for the seventh and gave up back-to-back singles to Mitch Garver and Dominic Canzone. Two outs later, Crawford singled to score two more runs putting the Mariners up 5-1. Austin Voth replaced Kirby for the M’s, and continued to rack up the hitless innings for the Rays.
Jason Adam was the next Rays’ reliever and aside from a walk to Raleigh, had a clean inning. Ryne Stanek was the next Mariners reliever, and Caballero managed to get a single off him, but no runs scored.
Onto the ninth and the Rays turned to Colin Poche, who kept the Mariners bats silent. In the bottom of the ninth things took an interesting turn against reliever Andres Munos, as Josh Lowe and Randy Arozarena got back-to-back walks, followed by Isaac Paredes getting hit by a pitch to load the bases. Trent Thornton replaced Munoz. Richie Palacios grounded into a force out that eliminated Paredes and scored Lowe. The mini rally wasn’t enough to save the Rays, though, as a double play ended ended the game.
Final: Mariners 5, Rays 2