Rays 3, Cardinals 4: Maybe they will get a hit with RISP next season

Springs made his second start of the season and the Rays didn’t hit with RISP...again.

Maybe one day the Rays will string together a couple of games where they hit with runners in scoring position, but that day likely won’t come in 2024 as the Rays are among the league's worst when hitting with runners in scoring position. If I had to guess they would be among the worst in producing productive outs as well. Such was the case again on Tuesday night as the Rays fell to the St. Louis Cardinals by a final score of 4-3. A trio of two run bombs decided this game in the early innings, and the Rays inability to hit with runners in scoring position sealed their fate and dropped their record 57-55.

Jeffrey Springs made his second start of the season since returning last week from Tommy John surgery. The southpaw tossed five innings, surrendered four runs, and allowed six hits while walking and striking out three. All four runs came in the bottom of the second on a pair of 2-run blasts. Unfortunately for Springs, the Cardinals were down to their last strike in the inning with the bases empty, but by the time the inning ended, the Cards had plated four.

The inning prior, Yandy Diaz walked to start the game and Brandon Lowe immediately cashed in and hit a two-run shot to right. The homer was his 13th of the year and gave the Rays a 2-0 lead. That would be all the Rays got in the first.

The Cardinals answered with the pair of bombs in the bottom of the second. After a two-out, two-strike single off the bat of Pedro Pagés, Victor Scott II hit a two-run blast to tie the game. It was the first homer of his big league career. Springs then hit Masyn Winn and former Ray, Tommy Pham laced a ball over the left-center field wall to give the Cards a 4-2 lead.

That score would hold until the top of the ninth when the Rays threatened to take the lead. Josh Lowe started the inning with a walk and Jose Siri singled to put the tying run on base and bring the go-ahead run to the plate in Caballero. With the Rays trailing by a pair, Caballero not only failed to record a hit with RISP, but also failed to move them over as he popped out in foul territory to the first baseman. With one out, Ben Rortvedt worked a solid at-bat, but also failed to move either runner and eventually struck out. Down to their final out, Johnny DeLuca laced a single to left and drove home Lowe to cut the Rays deficit to just one run.

With the tying run just 90 feet away and the go-ahead run at first, it was up to Taylor Walls...

Despite being overmatched by Ryan Helsley’s 101 MPH fastball, he managed to put the ball in play. Walls grounded a ball off the foot of Helsley that bounded towards second base. The shortstop Winn shifted over, scooped up the ground ball, and retired Walls at first just in time. The score of 4-3 would hold and the Cardinals escaped. Just barely.

Cardinals starter, Sonny Gray, was quite good going seven innings, allowing just the two runs in the first inning. He allowed just two more hits after that first inning and struck out six. He earned the win, his eleventh, and finished with 106 pitches.

The Rays offense ended the night with six hits, a pair of walks, and eight strikeouts. They went 1-12 with RISP and stranded six runners. They lost by a run and the top half of the ninth perfectly captured what has been a key issue for the offense all year... An inability to move runners, and ultimately, an inability to get the timely hit.

Hopefully tomorrow that will change.