The Tampa Bay Rays’ season came to a crashing end in Game 2 of their AL wild-card series against the Cleveland Guardians. After 14 innings of scoreless baseball, right fielder Oscar Gonzalez punched the Guardians’ ticket to the ALDS with a walk-off home run in the bottom of the 15th inning.
The Rays’ stout pitching staff rose to the occasion over the two games of the series, although it was a different story for their lineup. The Rays scored a mere one run in 24 total innings of the series and also hit .115. Furthermore, Wander Franco and Randy Arozarena combined to hit 2-18 against the reigning AL Central champions.
Speaking during his post-game press conference, Rays manager Kevin Cash touched on where it went wrong for his team at the plate against the Guardians, where he noted that some players were “trying to do too much.”
“I saw guys trying to do too much,” Cash said. “I think so. There was just too much … we were looking for the, I felt, the three-run homer with nobody on base.
“When you take that mindset against good pitchers, they can kind of sit you down.”
The Rays had plenty of opportunities to score with the multiple instances where they had a runner on third base, but in the end, they simply failed to get on the scoreboard.
“Yeah, look, when you're in a 0-0 ball game and you feel like you're getting closer, they're all frustrating, equally frustrating,” Cash said. “No one sticks out from the other. So, yeah, frustrating is a good word.”
In the big picture, a pivotal offseason sure awaits the Rays later this year.
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