ST. PETERSBURG, Fla. – Curtis Mead’s RBI single with two outs in the seventh inning scored Josh Lowe and allowed the Rays to avoid equaling the longest scoring drought in postseason history. That, folks, was your highlight of a brief postseason.
The Rangers scored four runs in the fourth and cruised to a 7-1 win on Wednesday afternoon at Tropicana Field to sweep the best-of-three wild-card series. Texas won both games by a combined 11-1 after having to fly from Seattle on Sunday night.
The seventh-inning run halted the Rays’ postseason scoreless streak at 33 innings, including the first 15 innings against the Rangers. That goes into the record book as the second-longest drought in playoff history, one inning shy of the 1966-74 Dodgers.
In the news: Sloppy Rays Fall In Game 1 Of Wild Card Series Against Rangers
“Our bats just didn’t come to life,” said manager Kevin Cash, whose team did not have a man reach second base until the seventh. “They pitched really, really well.”
Nathan Eovaldi, who pitched for the Rays in 2018, allowed only one run in 6 2/3 innings. He did not walk a batter and struck out eight in his longest outing since July 18 when he blanked the Rays over six innings in Arlington before missing six weeks due to right forearm strain.
Jordan Montgomery threw seven shutout innings in Tuesday’s 4-0 win in Game 1. Meanwhile, Tyler Glasnow, the Rays’ Game 1 starter, and Zach Eflin, who took the mound for Game 2, combined to allow nine runs (seven earned) in 10-plus innings. Five errors in the series did not help.
“They just outplayed us,” said Cash. “We probably didn’t do ourselves any favors, but that’s a good Rangers team. We just got outplayed.”
Adolis Garcia led off the fourth with a rocket into the left-field stands for the first run of the game. Rookie Evan Carter, retired once in eight plate appearances in the series, hit a two-run shot to cap the inning.
That was far more than enough for the Rangers, especially against a lineup relying on a few young players who may not have otherwise been in uniform, and had little fight left in it.
“I still feel that we could have had a better showing with the roster that we had,” said Cash.
In the news: Tampa Bay Bucs Legend Warren Sapp Calls For End Of Efforts To Revive Career Of Colin Kaepernick
That did not happen as the Rays lost their seventh straight playoff game dating to the 2021 ALDS against Boston. They also fell to 4-14 in their last 18 playoff games since taking a 3-0 lead on Houston in the 2020 ALDS. They have also lost all seven playoff games over the course of three series (also 2010 and 2011 ALDS) against the Rangers at the Trop.
The series embarrassment extended into the stands. After drawing 19,704 Tuesday for what, according to the Elias Sports Bureau was the lowest MLB playoff attendance figure in a non-pandemic season since the 1919 World Series, the Rays drew 20,198 Wednesday for a two-game total of 39,902.
Android Users, Click To Download The Free Press App And Never Miss A Story. Follow Us On Facebook and Twitter. Signup for our free newsletter.
We can’t do this without your help; visit our GiveSendGo page and donate any dollar amount; every penny helps