Sounding Off | For Tampa Bay Rays, it was a night to forget
TAMPA
The Tampa Bay Rays came home from Toronto at 6-4, and you would've thought a parade was in order.
Now they are 6-6 after getting bombed into submission by the Yankees in a 9-0 debacle Saturday night at the Trop.
The best thing the Rays can take from this Saturday night massacre is that they have 150 games left and they all can't be this bad.
Though five innings, it was a pitcher's duel between the Rays' Jake Odorizzi and the Yankees' Masahrio Tanaka, and then it got ugly quick.
"I thought Odo really threw the ball well. He gave up a big hit to McCann and the two walks were costly, but other than that he threw a real good ball game," Rays manager Kevin Cash said.
The bullpen failed. Grant Balfour and C.J. Riefenhauser pitched a combined one inning and allowed six runs. Balfour gave up a grand slam, and after the game the Rays announced he has been designated for assignment.
So now the Rays are at .500, and you wonder about their bullpen and whether obtaining catcher Rene Rivera was such a good idea.
For the second time this season, he was slow on making a tag at the plate, which allowed a run to score, though you could give him the benefit of the doubt. About his hitting, there is no doubt. He is carrying a .114 batting average, going 4-for-35 with nine strikeouts.
At least no one is calling for Jose Molina.
What the Rays need now is love and patience.
This team could be there at the end, just ask the bat whisperer, Joe Maddon.
They are young and athletic and will steal you blind, but they have to get on base to do that.
Sometimes they look as if they are going through the terrible twos. But give credit to Tanaka, who reminded everyone why the Yanks threw so much money at him.
In seven innings, he struck out eight and allowed two hits. At one point, he retired 15 straight and threw 58 strikes in 85 pitches.
Odorizzi struck out nine in six innings and pitched into the seventh for the third time in three starts. If the Rays had gotten some runs, maybe Odorizzi would've hung around longer.
Going into the game, the Rays were among the major league leaders in stolen bases and fielding percentage, and their ERA was a respectable 3.00 if you eliminate Erasmo Ramirez's charitable effort to advance the cause of hitting.
Steven Souza Jr., the man who would be George Herman Babe Ruth Cobb, has hit a few Ruthian homers and has been running the bases like the Georgia Peach with a little bit of Rickey Henderson.
Watching him play the outfield is not for the faint-hearted. Every ball hit out there is an adventure,
Souza got his glove on a shot to right center, but couldn't hold on.
"He ran a long way for it. If you ask Souza, he probably would expect to catch the ball, but he did go a long way and it would've been a heckuva play," Cash said.
The manager defended Rivera just like he did in the season opener when he missed a tag. It's an admirable move, but you hope their private conversations cover the catcher's mistakes.
Prior to this season, the Rays had never used more than four rookies in April, but when Ryan Brett went up to pinch-hit he became the 10th this season.
This is baseball's Kiddie Korps with the youngest manager, so keep loving them.
The injury woes of their pitching staff could fill up a medical dictionary.
These Rays have shown they know how to manufacture runs with limited resources. They lead the majors with six bases-loaded walks and are tied for first with 48 walks.
If their pitching staff ever gets healthy, the rest of the American League East will be putting its bats in rehab.
Just exercise patience.
Alan Dell, Herald sports writer, can be reached at 941-745-7056. Follow him on Twitter @ADellSports.
This story was originally published April 19, 2015 at 12:00 AM with the headline "Sounding Off | For Tampa Bay Rays, it was a night to forget."