Quick start, late rally bookend Rays' continued offensive struggles

ST. LOUIS -- The Rays ambushed a good starting pitcher in the first few minutes of Tuesday night’s game, then staged a spirited rally off one of the toughest closers in baseball in the waning moments.

But the intervening seven innings were more indicative of the listless offense that has kept them on the periphery of the American League playoff race most of this season. From the second through the eighth inning of Tuesday’s 4-3 loss to the Cardinals at Busch Stadium, the Rays managed just three baserunners and didn’t score.

After the Cardinals quickly overtook the Rays’ early lead, Tampa showed scant signs of wrestling it back until St. Louis flame-thrower Ryan Helsley had some issues with his command in the ninth inning.

They wound up leaving the tying run at third base in the person of Jose Siri, another case of the offense leaving the team stranded in the clutch.

Rays manager Kevin Cash credited Cardinals pitcher Sonny Gray for settling in after a jarring start to his night. The Rays managed just six hits and two walks, three of those baserunners coming in the ninth inning.

“He’s always pitched us really tough. I mean, he’s a really good pitcher,” Cash said. “It’s a lot of hard spin early and then softer spin late, and we didn’t have too much of an answer for it.”

The Rays rank 28th in MLB in runs scored, having brought home 444 runs in 112 games (3.96 runs per game) this season, and they had been particularly whiff-prone in recent games. Tampa struck out 15 times Sunday to tie for a season high, and had struck out at least 12 times in a club-record-tying four straight games going into Tuesday.

The Rays came out punching rather than punching out on Tuesday, but the upshot wasn’t enough to give them their third straight win. After Yandy Díaz led off the game by walking, Brandon Lowe cracked a two-run home run over the right-field wall to stake the Rays to a 2-0 lead just 10 pitches into Gray’s night.

Lowe, who has been on a month-long tear, hit an 80.1 mph curveball that Gray mistakenly left in the heart of the strike zone. In his last 25 games, Lowe is batting .344 with six home runs, eight doubles and 16 RBIs.

“Pretty impressive. He’s been really hot, swinging the bat really well. He’s had great at-bats,” Cash said. “Tonight, [he had one hit], but he smoked two other balls. We’ve got to keep him going. We’ve got to get more guys around him going like that.”

But the lead didn’t linger long. With a runner at first and two outs in the second inning, Cardinals speedster Victor Scott II, who entered the game batting .081 in his rookie season, hit his first career home run just over the right-field wall. After left-hander Jeffrey Springs hit Masyn Winn with a pitch, ex-Ray Tommy Pham also went deep to give St. Louis a 4-2 lead.

Springs, making just his second start since undergoing elbow-reconstruction surgery early in the 2023 season, benefitted from a four-pitch fifth inning to, at least, qualify for his first win in nearly 16 months. Facing a Cardinals team that has the second-worst OPS against left-handed starters in MLB, Springs went five innings on 87 pitches, allowing those four runs on six hits while striking out three Cards.

Springs had trouble landing his off-speed stuff in the strike zone early in the game, allowing Cardinals hitters to focus in on fastballs, according to catcher Ben Rortvedt.

“The second inning, those two fastballs missed location and they put good swings on them,” Springs said. “I think that was with two outs, too, and I need to minimize that. Unfortunately, that cost us the ballgame, but again, just trying to execute pitches and those two got away.”

Tampa Bay did snap its strikeout streak, going down on pitches just six times vs. Gray and eight times in the game.

The Rays made Helsley, an All-Star with triple-digit velocity, work hard for his 35th save. The first two batters of the inning reached base, but after showing bunt, José Caballero popped up foul on a checked swing and Rortvedt struck out. After Jonny DeLuca hit an RBI single and with the tying run at third, Taylor Walls bounced out to end the game.

Cash said Caballero attempted the bunt of his own volition rather than being prompted from the bench.

“[We] wanted him to hit,” Cash said. “Definitely wanted him to hit.”