ST. PETERSBURG — The Tampa Bay Rays have lost eight of their last 10 games after being swept by the Detroit Tigers at Tropicana Field, a 7-2 defeat Wednesday afternoon that capped the club’s second sweep in three series and trimmed its American League lead to a half-game over the Yankees.

“They just put it to us,” manager Kevin Cash said. “We got beat in every facet of every possible way in this series.”

The Rays, now 36-23, have been outscored 74-37 during the 10-game skid. Veteran starter Nick Martinez surrendered a season-high six runs on nine hits over a season-low four innings, his worst outing after not allowing more than two runs in any of his first 11 starts. A three-run homer by Detroit’s Dillon Dingler — the Tigers’ 10th homer of the series — blew the game open in the fourth inning.

Tampa Bay’s rotation beyond Shane McClanahan has cratered during the slide. Rays starters have allowed five earned runs or more in five of the last seven games, posting a 9.73 ERA in that stretch. The bullpen, carrying a 4.65 ERA this season — ninth-highest in the Majors — has been taxed further as a result.

Right-hander Mason Englert, recalled from Triple-A Durham on Wednesday morning, provided some relief by allowing just one run over the final five innings. “Mason did a nice job of being efficient, finishing it, allowing the bullpen a day’s rest, which they needed,” Cash said.

The offense offered little help. The Rays had no hits after the second inning, and their last 20 batters were retired in order after Jonathan Aranda’s leadoff walk against Tigers starter Troy Melton in the third. Left fielder Chandler Simpson had a pair of defensive misplays that preceded runs, including overrunning a Kerry Carpenter fly ball in the third that led to a tiebreaking sacrifice fly and just missing a Gleyber Torres line drive in the fourth.

“Sure, it’s a bad moment,” Yandy Díaz said through interpreter Kevin Vera. “But you’ve got to have a positive mindset, and we know we’re going to get back to being the team that we are.”

The Rays still hold the fourth-best record in baseball, built on a 32-10 run from April 4 through May 22. Center fielder Cedric Mullins pointed to the club’s 5-7 start as a template for recovery. “I think it’s just kind of that reset moment where we identify those same issues, correct them, go back to playing our game,” Mullins said.

“It definitely feels like we ran into a buzzsaw there,” Martinez said of the Tigers’ aggressive approach at the plate.

Starter Drew Rasmussen acknowledged the urgency. “Although we built a big lead, it is dwindling,” Rasmussen said. “It just raises the sense of urgency a little bit just to get back to being who we are.”

The Rays open their next series at Tropicana Field looking to halt the slide before the half-game cushion disappears entirely.