The Tampa Bay Rays had their shot in the fourth inning, bases juiced with just one out, and what did they get? A measly single run. That right there pretty much tells you everything you need to know about how this one slipped away, with the Detroit Tigers taking a 4-1 victory.
When Opportunity Knocks, The Bats Stay Silent
Jackson Jobe, the Tigers’ starter, was on the ropes early. He’d coughed up three hits, a walk, and a run in the first five batters. He was floundering, straight up. But the Rays, man, they could only scrape one run across. Richie Palacios struck out looking, then Taylor Walls grounded out to first, just like that, threat over. One run. That’s all they’d get the entire game.
After that fourth inning flop, the bats just went silent. Four of their measly five hits came in the first four frames. Their last hit? The eighth. Talk about disappearing when it counts. Four singles, one double. That’s it. It’s tough to win when you can’t string anything together after a prime opportunity like that.
Tigers Capitalize While Rays’ Pitching Battles
After the Rays coughed up that chance, the Tigers said “thank you very much” and jumped all over them in the fifth. Torkelson singled to start the inning, then rookie Max Clark slammed a two-run shot. Boom, three-run lead. Then a two-out error tacked on another run. Just rubbing salt in the wound, right?
In the seventh, they did it again. Javier Baez ripped a leadoff triple. Seymour was one pitch away from escaping, but Hao-Yu Lee delivered a two-out RBI single. Just brutal.
On the mound for the Rays, Legumina started strong, tossing 2.1 solid innings, allowing just one hit while punching out a pair. Seymour came in for 5.2 innings, gave up four runs (three earned) on seven hits. He punched out five and walked none. Their pitching was serviceable, sure, but not enough when your offense is asleep. The Tigers pieced it together with five arms after Jobe couldn’t get through the fifth, and Jansen locked it down for his 17th save of the year.
For those of you scoreboard watching, the Yankees dropped a back-and-forth game to Houston. So, the Rays still hold a 3.5 game advantage in the East. Freddy Peralta takes the bump tomorrow afternoon against Troy Melton for the series finale. Can the bats wake up? We’ll be watching.
This article was created with AI assistance and published under Seattle On Tap’s editorial standards. See our Editorial Policy.
Originally reported by Yahoo Sports.
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