TAMPA — It could have been the aggressive baserunning that led to two runners being thrown out at the plate.
It could have been the high number of runners stranded on base, or the defensive highlight show put on by the Rockies.
Or, maybe, it was just baseball’s way of reminding Tampa Bay that this can be a fickle game.
The Rays lost 2-1 to the Rockies Saturday despite getting twice as many hits, striking out three times as many batters, not allowing a single walk, getting the benefit of a balk with two runners on base and getting the potential tying run into scoring position in the third, fifth, sixth and eighth innings.
Otherwise, it was a good day at the ballpark.
“That’s the game of baseball,” said designated hitter Yandy Diaz through interpreter Eddie Rodriguez. “Sometimes you can get, like, 1,000 hits and not score. The hits they got, they scored runs and won the game.”
That’s about as concise a description as possible.
Between their 12 hits and five walks, the Rays had 17 baserunners and got only one of them across the plate. It’s the first time in franchise history the team scored so few runs with that many hitters on base.
Meanwhile, the Rockies had only six baserunners all game but had the good fortune of bunching three of them together in the third and two more in the seventh, when they scored their two runs. Otherwise, Colorado went three-up and three-down in six different innings.
Rays starter Zack Littell was mostly dominant for six innings, but three ground-ball singles in the third inning led to the only run he allowed.
“I think I gave up a ground-ball (single) in every hole in the infield,” Littell said. “Just frustrating to kind of watch it happen. I know one of them was hit at 101 (mph), but when they’re just chopped like that, it’s frustrating.”
You know what else is frustrating? Hitting the ball on the nose and having nothing to show for it.
According to Statcast, the Rays were responsible for the eight hardest-hit balls on Saturday, and when you factor in the two double plays those eight at-bats led to seven outs.
“You can get really upset early on not seeing the offense get going,” manager Kevin Cash said. “But, I mean, we had way better at-bats and even outcomes (Saturday), we just didn’t have the results. Outcomes, meaning hitting the ball harder (Saturday) than we did (Friday).”
It’s possible the game could have turned out differently if the Rays had not been so aggressive on the bases in the early innings. Junior Caminero tried to score from first on a two-out double by Jonathan Aranda in the first inning but was thrown out by at least 10 feet. Two innings later, Aranda was thrown out on a much closer play when attempting to score from second on a Kameron Misner single with two outs.
Cash said third-base coach Brady Williams made the correct call in both cases.
“With two outs, we’re going to push the envelope,” Cash said. “We’re going to stay aggressive, we want to stay aggressive. We talk about that all the time. Put pressure on the defense. And (Saturday), the defense beat us.”
Colorado’s defense did not just show up on the plays at the plate. Diaz got robbed on a sinking liner to centerfield, a shot to second base and a slow roller down the third base line. And that does not include multiple plays by shortstop Ezequiel Tovar.
“From a defensive standpoint, that’s extremely impressive what they did (Saturday),” Rays shortstop Taylor Walls said. “I don’t want it to be taken lightly how impressive of a defensive effort collectively, as a team, they did (Saturday). I would really like to see for myself runs saved on their side, if that’s the most runs saved a team has had in one game.”
Taking a step back from the result, the Rays are playing exactly the type of game this team is designed ...
