Costly walks stall Rays' quest for home field

HOUSTON -- The Rays entered the final week of the regular season without a whole lot left to prove, but with much more they want to accomplish. Before Tuesday’s series opener at Minute Maid Park, players spoke about their motivation to clinch home-field advantage by posting the American League’s best record, break the franchise record for most wins in a season and shoot for Tampa Bay’s first 100-win season.

That’s all still in play for the Rays, but it’ll all have to wait after a frustrating 4-3 loss to the Astros on Tuesday night at Minute Maid Park. Houston rallied in the bottom of the ninth to erase a one-run deficit, moving one step closer to winning the AL West while keeping Tampa Bay’s magic number for the AL’s best record at one.

With their second straight AL East title already locked up and a magic number of one to secure the AL’s best record, the Rays’ decision-makers can approach these final days wanting to win as much as possible while also using the remaining two series to answer any lingering questions about their potential postseason rosters.

In that regard, Tuesday’s game delivered mixed results.

• Games remaining: 2 vs. Astros, 3 vs. Yankees
• Standings update: Clinched first place in the AL East on Saturday
• Magic number for AL's best record: One

On one hand, right-hander Michael Wacha continued to strengthen his case for a spot somewhere on the pitching staff. Facing the Majors’ highest-scoring lineup, Wacha spun five hitless innings on 61 pitches while allowing only two walks and striking out six.

On the other hand, right-hander JT Chargois -- a power arm the Rays hope to rely on in high-leverage spots -- couldn’t deliver in a tough spot in the ninth inning. Entering with the bases loaded, nobody out and a one-run lead, Chargois promptly fell behind and walked the only two hitters he faced.

“Felt good. Thought that I threw a lot of quality pitches,” Chargois said. “That’s frustrating.”

The Rays entered the bottom of the ninth inning with a one-run lead thanks to Randy Arozarena’s tie-breaking home run off right-hander Phil Maton. It was an all-too-familiar sight for the Astros players and fans who saw Arozarena launch four homers on his way to AL Championship Series MVP honors last year. But Tampa Bay, despite Wacha’s five-inning no-hit bid to begin the night, couldn’t hold that lead for long.

Left-hander Josh Fleming, a starting/bulk-inning pitcher getting a late-season look out of the bullpen, gave up a leadoff ground-ball single to Yordan Alvarez. Carlos Correa then reached on another ground-ball single, this one hit hard near second baseman Brandon Lowe. Correa was initially ruled out after shortstop Wander Franco recovered Lowe’s errant flip and fired a throw to first base, but the call was overturned after a replay review.

Fleming retired Kyle Tucker for the first out of the inning, but both runners advanced. The Rays intentionally walked Aldemys Díaz, keeping the double play in order for any ball hit on the ground, and summoned Chargois from the bullpen with the bases loaded.

“I thought Fleming threw the ball really, really well,” manager Kevin Cash said. “That's what he does is come in, pounds it on the ground ... just unfortunate for Flem.”

Chargois has put together impressive numbers since joining the Rays in a July 29 trade with the Mariners, entering the night with a 1.99 ERA and 1.15 WHIP in 23 appearances. But walks have been an issue, as he’s given up 13 in 22 2/3 innings with Tampa Bay, and he was put into a situation that wouldn’t allow for free passes Tuesday night.

“We've got to get ahead of hitters in that situation,” Cash said. “He fell behind both of them. They had big at-bats.”

Chargois said he thought he threw “a lot of strikes,” but he fell behind No. 8 hitter Chas McCormick, 3-1, before McCormick took another strike then fouled off four straight pitches. Finally, Chargois lost the 10-pitch battle with McCormick and walked in the tying run. Up came pinch-hitter Jason Castro, who walked on eight pitches to drive in the winning run.

“Threw some quality pitches. I don't have a lot of thoughts on it. It didn't work out, and I gave it everything I absolutely had,” Chargois said. “Those guys did an unbelievable job. It was a great baseball game, and it didn't work out.”

Just about everything worked out for Wacha, meanwhile, except for the opportunity to further his no-hit bid. The right-hander hadn’t started a game in 13 days, and his last outing was a three-inning relief appearance a week ago. So when he returned to the dugout after five innings, Cash and pitching coach Kyle Snyder decided the veteran’s day was over.

“I didn't put up much of a complaint or anything. I've never really been that kind of guy,” Wacha said. “If they wanted me to go back out there, I was willing to go back out there and keep going. But the workload leading up to this start kind of didn't really allow me to really get real deep into this game.”

Tuesday was the first time a Tampa Bay pitcher was pulled after at least five hitless innings since Yonny Chirinos went five without allowing a hit against the Blue Jays on May 27, 2019. More important in the big picture was Wacha’s performance against a potent lineup, continuing a run in which he’s recorded a 3.70 ERA in his last seven appearances, with most of the damage coming in his six-inning/six-run start against Toronto on Sept. 15.

“He was awesome,” Cash said. “I mean, my gosh, coming down here the last couple outings for him, he has been really, really good for us -- which is a great sign for us and for Wach.”