One Bad Sequence Does In Rays in 4-2 Loss to Athletics

Back-to-back walks followed by a three-run homer did in Shane McClanahan and the Tampa Bay Rays on Wednesday in a 4-2 loss to the Oakland A's. The Rays are now 4-2 and close out their season-opening homestand with an afternoon game on Thursday.

ST. PETERSBURG, Fla. — In baseball more than in most sports, one bad moment can ruin an otherwise outstanding performance. That was certainly the case for Tampa Bay Rays starter Shane McClanahan on Wednesday.

The Rays' top pitcher threw well most of the night, but back-to-back walks followed by a three-run homer all in a matter of minutes turned out to be the difference in the Oakland Athletics' 4-2 win over Tampa Bay at Tropicana Field.

“I thought he was outstanding, I really did,'' Rays manager Kevin Cash said. "It’s just the inopportune walks. We can manage walks at times. We really we don’t do that (walking back-to-back hitters). Shane is working hard to be efficient, and he really was, other than that clump.

"Other than that, he was pretty lights out. We’re just getting beaten up a little bit by the three-run homer right now.’’

McClanahan cruised through the first two innings and had two outs in the third before walking Jed Lowrie and Stephen Piscotty. He fell behind catcher Sean Murphy, too, and he drilled a 2-1 pitch into the right field seats to give the A's a 3-0 lead. 

It was the second straight day that the Rays got burned by just missing a tight strike zone. On Tuesday, starter Tommy Romero walked two batters and gave up a three-run homer, too. 

McClanahan settled down after the homer and retired the last six batters he faced, going 4 2/3 innings on 85 pitches, 55 for strikes. He had a season-high eight strikeouts.

“He was outstanding, and it’s a little unfortunate because that outing didn’t represent how good he was,'' Cash said. "You have to give Oakland credit because they did put pressure on him to get the two walks, and then they come up and hit the three-run homer. When you’re facing a guy like (Oakland starter Frankie) Montas, that puts you in a hole pretty quick.’’

The Rays got a run back in the fourth when Ji-Man Choi homered to lead off the fourth inning, his second home run of the year. Montas pitched into the seventh and kept the Rays' hitters at bay. 

“Montas, he’s really good,'' Cash said. "He got comfortable with throwing his off-speed pitches anywhere in the count. He’s a very good pitcher, and it felt like he got stronger as the game went on.

“There were a couple of opportunities for us, but the guys who were pitching for them tonight, they all feature really good stuff. ‘’

Rays reliever Dusten Knight, who was called up earlier in the day from Triple-A Durham, allowed a run in the seventh, but the Rays answered in the bottom of the inning to stay within two. Yandi Diaz led off with a single, and then advanced to second on a fielding error. He scored on a single from Francisco Mejia.

McClanahan, who threw 4 1/3 scoreless inning in the season opener last Friday, knows that there's often a narrow margin between winning and losing at this level, and he certainly felt that on Wednesday night. 

“I felt really good today and I made a lot of good pitches, but I also made one really bad pitch,'' the 24-year-old left-hander from Cape Coral, Fla. said. "That’s baseball. Back-to-back walks, I don’t know what that was. I haven’t done that in a while.

“The homer? That’s just baseball. Sometimes that ball gets popped up, sometimes it gets swung through and sometimes it goes over the fence. the walks, I think I got out of rhythm, and I just can't let that happen.''

The Rays did threaten in the ninth off of A's closer Lou Trivino. Catcher Francisco Mejia singled to right field and Brandon Lowe walked, bringing up the potential winning run in Rays star Wander Franco.

But he popped up the first pitch to end the threat. Franco, who's been the Rays' hottest hitter with three three-hit games already, finished the night 0-for-5.

The two teams finish the four-game series on Thursday afternoon at Tropicana Field. Game time is 1:10 p.m. ET. The Rays are 4-2 on this opening homestand so far. 

After Thursday's game, they head to Chicago for a week of baseball. They play the White Sox over the weekend in a three-game set Friday through Sunday, then have their first interleague series of the season against the Cubs, with three night games Monday through Wednesday.