By Jordan Long
The Tampa Bay Rays were one of the hottest teams at the start of the season, going 13-0. They looked like one of the top teams in Major League Baseball and a threat to win the World Series. The pitching was great and the offense was getting the job done. In that stretch, they outscored opponents 101-30. That momentum carried them into the rest of the regular season where they went 99-63, earning a playoff spot for the 5th year in a row. They were a Wild Card team. Tampa Bay though was swept in the Wild Card Series by Texas.
In game one of this series, the Rangers pitching kept the Rays off-balance. Rays’ hitters struck out 7 times. Rangers’ pitchers were able to locate their pitches which made it difficult for the Rays’ hitters. The Rays managed to have 7 base hits, with 1 being a double.
The offense was not there. When it came to defense, heading into this series the Rays were 9th in baseball when it came to errors, committing 75 all year. The defense played poorly with 4 errors. The Rangers meanwhile only had 1 error in game one. The Rangers pounded out 9 hits and scored 4 runs to take a 1-0 series lead.
Even with the poor outing, the Rays knew they had game 2. Win it and they would create a winner take all game 3. The Rays still couldn’t generate much offense with 8 hits and 1 run. The Rangers meanwhile totaled 12 hits and 7 runs in game 2, ending the Rays season with a 7-1 victory. The Rangers are into the Division Series for the first time since 2016.
The Rays were overmatched in this short series. They were outhit 21 to 14. The Rangers outscored them 11 to 1. The Rays committed too many errors which a team can’t do in a short series. They committed a total of 5 to the Rangers 1.
According to ESPN.com, Rays’ Manager Kevin Cash said, “It’s frustrating, but it’s part of the game.” He also added, “I’m glad we scored a run because if not we’d have been talking about that a lot. Look, our bats just didn’t come to life.”
The Rays are into the offseason. It wasn’t the way the Rays thought the postseason would go. An early exit is never fun. The Rays are going to look at areas to improve this ball club. They won’t have to do much since this team should be set to compete for the American League East Division next year. For the Tampa Bay Rays though, going to the playoffs next year isn’t enough. They want to advance far into October with the goal of winning the World Series. Hopefully, they can fill holes during the offseason to make the team more competitive in the postseason.
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