After a good run the Rays hit the wall, dropping 2 of 3 to the struggling White Sox at Tropicana Field. This, along with other results, has left the AL East a jumbled mess:
The opener saw a good pitching matchup on paper between of couple of aces who've had their struggles this year with
James Hays squaring off against Lucas Giolito. Hays struggled early and Giolito wasn't dominating either and the White Sox took a 5-4 win. Hays (3-3) was hit for 3 runs (2 earned) on 6 hits through the first two innings and then settled in to finish 6 7 3 2 1 6. The Rays got back within 3-2 off Giolito before
Elvis Garcia coughed up a 2-run homer in the 7th. They got those two back on an
Andrew Greckel shot (#5) in the 8th but couldn't complete the comeback.
Joe Ryan flashed his 2027 form and the Rays took a 4-2 win over the White Sox in the second game. Ryan (3-3) went 5.2 3 1 0 1 8 on 95 pitches in an at-times dominating performance.
Kendall Williams had his best outing as a Ray with 2 1/3 scoreless and
JT Ginn secured his 2nd save despite allowing a solo homer in the 9th.
Dominic Scavone delivered the game's big hit, a 3-run homer (#8) in the 5th, and
Wander Franco added a solo shot (#6) for insurance in the 8th.
The White Sox took the series with a 13-5 blowout of the Rays in the finale as
Slade Cecconi was hit hard and
Elvis Garcia poured gasoline onto the fire. Cecconi (2-3) continued his inconsistency, getting hit today for 3.1 7 6 6 0 3 with a pair of homers allowed, and Garcia gave up 7 (5 earned) in 4 2/3 innings of long relief as he's struggled big-time lately.
Wander Franco was 2-4 with 2 RBI to lead the bats.
Team record: 20-19. Next up: Our first interleague series since expansion and we get none other than the World Champions visiting the Trop as Atlanta comes to town for 3.