Game 72: Erik Bedard Struggles, Comeback Falls Short

The Rays offense mounted a nice comeback attempt on Tuesday night but would eventually fall just short in a 7-5 loss at the hands of the Baltimore Orioles. Erik Bedard had a second straight poor outing only lasting 4 innings and allowing 5 earned runs on 4 hits with 3 strikeouts and 2 walks. The Rays’ offense pounded out 11 hits in the losing effort.

Bedard cruised through the first two innings but then ran into trouble in the top of the 3^rd. After loading the bases with Adam Jones at the plate, a wild pitch brought the first Oriole run in to score. Jones would go on to walk and Chris David took an 0-2 pitch down the left field line that just nicked the foul pole for a grand slam. David DeJesus crashed into the low wall in leftfield trying to track down the ball but would stay in the game. The Rays offense responded in the bottom of the 3^rd with Sean Rodriguez and Desmond Jennings hitting back-to-back homers to cut the deficit to 3.

Kirby Yates gave the Rays two shutout innings after Bedard departed from the game to give the Rays a chance to get their bats going. James Loney doubled in two more runs in the bottom of the 5^th to make it a 5-4 game. Brad Boxberger came on to pitch the 7^th and allowed a double to Oriole catcher Caleb Joseph that looked to be a catchable ball in right field, but Matt Joyce had trouble tracking it down and couldn’t come up with it. Two batters later, Steve Pierce hit a 2-run homer to increase the lead back to 7-4.

A Yunel Escobar sac fly brought the Rays back within 2 runs in the bottom of the 8^th inning but would be the last run of the night for either team. Zach Britton threw a 1-2-3 9^th inning to seal the win for the Orioles.

The Rays are back at it again on Wednesday at 1:10 PM EST looking for the series win. Alex Cobb will be on the mound for the Rays and Kevin Gausman for the O’s will oppose him.