Rays Bullpen Implodes Again To Give Game Away vs Brewers
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The Tampa Bay Rays have a major problem that has emerged in their first two series of the 2026 regular season.
Their bullpen has not been able to get the job done, already imploding multiple times through the first six games of the campaign. In their latest game against the Milwaukee Brewers, the Rays lost the rubber game of their three-game series because of another bullpen meltdown.
The culprit once again was Griffin Jax. Even the most pessimistic of people would have trouble believing how poorly he has performed through this point, with his ERA now sitting at an abysmal 22.50.
This was his fourth appearance of 2026, and he has surrendered a run in three of them. There has been some bad luck involved, as eight runs have been scored against him, and three of them are unearned.
Rays bullpen implodes again losing to Cardinals
Jax was called upon in the bottom of the eighth inning in a 2-2 game after Ian Seymour pitched two shutout innings in relief of Drew Rasmussen, who was great through five innings.
Things quickly unraveled when Joey Ortiz began the inning with a single. Brice Turang laid down a sacrifice bunt to third base, but an error was committed by Junior Caminero, who was playing first base.
That allowed the floodgates to open up. William Contreras would hit a single to load the bases before Christian Yelich recorded a two-run single. After Jake Bauers was walked to reload the bases, Jax was mercifully lifted from the game.
Things didn’t go much better for Mason Englert. He surrendered a double to the first batter he faced, Garrett Mitchell, to make the game 6-2.
— Tampa Bay Rays (@RaysBaseball) April 1, 2026
Englert got the next two batters out, with Sam Frelick fouling out and Blake Perkins recording an RBI groundout before David Hamilton added another insurance run with a single to make the score 8-2.
It was yet another ugly performance by the Tampa Bay bullpen, which has been a concerning trend in the first week of the season. This is already the second time in as many starts that Rasmussen has had a great start undone by the struggles of the relief pitchers.
Jax already has two blown saves this season and is saddled with two losses. Expected to be a prominent part of the team’s bullpen in high-leverage and late-game scenarios, he has a few kinks to work out of his system.
The Rays will be back in action on April 3 when they continue their road trip with a visit to the Minnesota Twins.
Kenneth Teape is an alumnus of SUNY Old Westbury and graduated in 2013 with an Honors Degree in Media Communications with a focus on print journalism. During his time at Old Westbury, he worked for the school newspaper and several online publications, such as Knicks Now, the official website of the New York Knicks, and a self-made website with fellow students, Gotham City Sports News. Kenneth has also been a site expert at Empire Writes Back, Musket Fire, and Lake Show Life within the FanSided Network. He was a contributor to HoopsHabit, with work featured on Bleacher Report and Yardbarker. Previously, he is a reporter for both NBA Analysis Network and NFL Analysis Network, as well as a writer and editor for Packers Coverage. You can follow him on X, formerly Twitter, @teapester725, or reach him via email at teapester725@gmail.com.