Tampa Bay Rays: Five Takeaways from Game 3 Loss to the Dodgers

A defeat in game three of the World Series sees the Tampa Bay Rays fall behind 2-1.

Dodgers’ starting pitcher Walker Buehler was in excellent form, but Tampa Bay’s offense had another poor night. In an eerily similar manner to game one, the Rays struggled to impose themselves while the Dodgers were at their brash, and belligerent, best.

Charlie Morton was the starting pitcher for the Rays, but he was the shadow of his usual self. Justin Turner homered in the first inning, and Morton could not make amends. In 4.1 IP, he gave up seven hits as well as five runs before being replaced by John Curtiss.

It was the bottom of the fifth inning before the Rays could get a hit. Manuel Margot’s double was scant consolation as the Dodgers had were well on their way to victory at that point.

The one bright moment for the Rays was Randy Arozarena’s 9th inning homer. The rookie scored his eight HR in postseason and 23rd hit to become a record-breaker. If the Rays are to turn around the deficit in the series, Arozarena will need to keep his bat hot.

Picking through the bones of the match, here are five takeaways for Tampa Bay Rays fans.

Need to find a win against Kershaw or Buehler

In two matchups with the Dodgers’ ace starting pitchers, the Rays have been totally dominated. Both Clayton Kershaw and Walker Buehler pitched six innings, in their respective starts, and gave up a miserly single hit.

Undoubtedly, they are both excellent pitchers, but the Rays have not been close to pressuring them. They have a combined 18 strikeouts as the Rays’ offense is struggling to lay a bat on ball.

If the Rays are going to win the World Series, they will need to find a way to score of one if not both pitchers. They are likely to face Kershaw in game five which could be to close out the series for the Dodgers if the Rays drop game four. That is a worrying prospect based on game one’s outcome.

Tampa Bay Rays are struggling to fire after giving up the lead

In the series so far, the team who has scored first has gone on to win the game. The Dodgers feed off momentum and will be difficult to hold should they get on the board early in game four.

If Tampa Bay do fall behind, they need to reply quickly. In games one and three of the ALCS, they fell behind to the Houston Astros and still won. A comeback is certainly not beyond the Rays, but belief is a significant factor.

Kevin Cash needs to play a big part in keeping his men focussed. The Rays are incredibly good at keeping to their game plan and must do so to ignore the Dodgers’ imposing play. Once they are ahead, the Dodgers look to bully and pressurize. For example, Mookie Betts’ propensity to steal bases creates noise to distract. The Rays cannot allow that to continue.

Must win game 4

It is a big call, but I feel that the Rays must-win game four to stay in the hunt. It is always possible to come back from 3-1 down, as the Dodgers did in the NLCS, but it is unlikely against this Dodgers team.

Having had two quiet games, Tampa Bay cannot afford to allow another off night. As discussed previously, the Dodgers love to lead from the front and dominate. That is easy with the likes of Betts, Seagar, and Bellinger looking to exploit weakness.

The Tampa Bay Rays must replicate their game two strategy by getting the Dodgers to resort to their bullpen as early as possible. If they keep doing the simple things well, then good things can happen. The World Series will not be lost in game four, but its destination could be a lot clearer.