ST. PETERSBURG — The Tampa Bay Rays dropped their eighth one-run game of June, falling 2-1 to the Kansas City Royals at Tropicana Field despite another strong outing from starter Drew Rasmussen, as a club that once won nine of its first one-run decisions continues to see those margins collapse.
The loss extended a brutal stretch in which the Rays have lost 17 of their past 26 games after opening the season with a 22-4 run and 34 wins in their first 49 games. Tampa Bay has dropped 12 games this month, eight by exactly one run, with each of the club’s past five defeats decided by a single run.
“We probably weren’t quite as good as we were in the one-run games early on, and we’re probably not as bad as we are right now in the one-run games,” manager Kevin Cash said.
Rasmussen held the Royals to two runs on four hits and a pair of walks while striking out five in six innings — his ninth quality start in 15 outings this season. But the Rays went 0-for-7 with runners in scoring position and fell to 7-24 on the year when scoring three runs or fewer, with 14 of those defeats coming during the current skid. “We knew there were going to be some hiccups that were going to come along the way. I don’t think any team will miss on some tough times,” Rasmussen said. “Unfortunately, we’re going through ours right now, but I don’t think it’s the end of the world. I think we’re going to be just fine at the end of the day.”
Royals starter Michael Wacha limited the Rays to one run on six hits and one walk while striking out five over seven innings, the 34-year-old’s American League-leading 11th quality start of the season. “Obviously he’s been one of the best pitchers in the league all year, and he’s been on a heck of a run,” Royals manager Matt Quatraro said of Rasmussen. Cash credited Wacha’s command: “He’s really deceptive. He controls the running game extremely well.”
Kansas City struck first when Michael Massey walked to lead off the second inning and scored on a Lane Thomas double to left. Nick Loftin singled in the fifth and stole second before scoring on a Carter Jensen RBI single to center. “Baseball is a hard game,” Rasmussen said of the Thomas double. “I wouldn’t even say that pitch was poor.”
Tampa Bay’s lone run came in the fifth when Richie Palacios singled with two outs and scored on a Yandy Díaz double off the left-field wall. The RBI was Díaz’s 446th as a Ray, tying him with Brandon Lowe for seventh most in franchise history and leaving him one shy of B.J. Upton’s 447 for sixth. Beyond that rally, the Rays never advanced a runner to third base.
Infielder Ben Williamson pointed to the offensive struggles. “We need to start competing a little bit better at the plate right now,” Williamson said. The Rays’ only reprieve during the slide was a 4-3 win over the Nationals on Sunday. The series against Kansas City continues at Tropicana Field.