A night of missed opportunities for Rays

ST. PETERSBURG -- The Rays’ missed opportunities on the mound and at the plate led to an even bigger one in the American League East race on Wednesday night.

The Astros pulled out a 2-1 walk-off win over the division-leading Orioles on Wednesday afternoon, before the Rays took the field against the Angels. After a frustrating series split at Camden Yards last weekend, with little time left for a big comeback, that created an opening for Tampa Bay to cut a full game off Baltimore’s lead.

But the Rays didn’t capitalize on the opportunity, instead coming out flat in an 8-3 loss to the Angels at Tropicana Field. Starter Aaron Civale struggled through his worst start of the year, allowing a season-high six runs on seven hits while recording only nine outs, and Tampa Bay’s lineup finished just 2-for-16 with runners in scoring position.

“Especially the situation that we're in right now, we've got to take advantage of these games,” catcher Christian Bethancourt said afterward. “We've got to take advantage of those situations, and simply, we didn't today.”

• Games remaining (9): vs. LAA (1), vs. TOR (3), at BOS (2), at TOR (3)
• Standings update: The Orioles (95-57) kept a 2 1/2-game lead over the Rays (93-60) for first place in the American League East. Baltimore controls the head-to-head tiebreaker against Tampa Bay. The Rays still hold a comfortable advantage in the AL Wild Card race over the Blue Jays (85-67), Rangers (84-68) and Mariners (84-68).
• Postseason status: Clinched a playoff berth

The Rays are effectively 3 1/2 games behind the Orioles, given Baltimore’s possession of the head-to-head tiebreaker. Making up that sort of deficit with only nine games remaining would be a tough task for Tampa Bay, especially with six games to go against a contending Toronto club.

After the Rays whiffed on a perfect chance to make up some ground, the Orioles’ magic number to clinch the AL East title is down to seven.

“Every game at this point matters,” Civale said. “We've just got to control what happens in this clubhouse, and I’ve just got to be better.”

The Rays were behind from the start. The Angels’ first two batters reached on singles before Brandon Lowe made a diving catch to rob Brandon Drury of a likely hit. Then Jared Walsh hit a bloop to right field with an expected batting average of just .230, only for Harold Ramírez to misplay it into an RBI single.

“Just battling himself. Just didn't quite have it. Fell behind guys. We didn't help him defensively early on,” manager Kevin Cash said. “Little uncharacteristic for Aaron. We've seen him battle himself in the past, but been able to kind of reset it. And for whatever reason today, he could not.”

The Angels tacked on another run on a grounder by Logan O’Hoppe that shortstop Taylor Walls played brilliantly when it deflected off third baseman Curtis Mead, then they padded their lead in Civale’s 33-pitch second inning. After Michael Stefanic and Nolan Schanuel reached safely with two outs, Zach Neto hit an RBI double to left, and Drury blasted a 3-0 cutter from Civale out to left field for a three-run homer.

“It happened fast,” Civale said. “They put the ball in play. I hit the guy [Schanuel]. Next [batter], I just don't execute it too well, and then a 3-0 pitch, [he] swung at it and hit it out. So, just got to be better.”

Civale struck out three of the four batters he faced in the third inning as he accounted for seven of the Rays staff’s 19 strikeouts on the night, tying the franchise’s nine-inning single-game record set against the Braves on July 27, 2020. It was just the fourth time since 1901 that an AL/NL team struck out that many hitters in a nine-inning game and still lost.

Civale was pulled after throwing 74 pitches (45 strikes) in three innings, his shortest start since a one-inning outing on July 13, 2022.

“Just felt like the command wasn't where it needed to be,” Civale said. “I think the stuff itself was fine, but just wasn't controlling the pitches, wasn't getting in on righties when I wanted to and just throwing too many balls.”

The Rays made up one run in the third, when Isaac Paredes recorded his 90th RBI of the season on a single to left field off starter Reid Detmers. Yandy Díaz knocked in two more runs on a sixth-inning double against reliever Andrew Wantz.

But the Rays’ lineup also struck out 11 times, stranded 11 runners and may have lost Luke Raley to another injury, as he exited after a seventh-inning pinch-hit appearance due to numbness in his left arm. They left two runners on base in four innings, a series of missed opportunities that led to a bigger-picture one.

“I mean, we were watching the [Orioles] game earlier,” Bethancourt said. “They lost, and we just didn't take advantage of the situation.”