That road trip was hardly what any Rays player, coach or fan of the team could have wanted.
But the five-game losing streak hasn't defeated the players, just yet:
"We've just hit a little rough patch for 10 days," Price said. "But the 40 days before that we were really, really good. It's going to happen. There's no team in baseball able to run out guys just as dominant and as good as we were for an entire year without hitting that rough spot. And that's what we've done. ...
"But we're still a very confident group and we're getting back some key factors (Alex Cobb, Moore) that will help us get back to the point we had been."
The offense certainly hasn't given anyone anything to cheer about, as the bats have seemingly gone silent since the team returned from the All-Star Break:
"The whole first half of the season we did a really good job with runners in scoring position, runners at third with less than two outs," Shelton said. "We've gone through a little bit of a, I don't know if lull is the right word, but where if we had five of those (opportunities) a night we were getting four in and now we're getting one or two in.
"That's kind of all cyclical, and it's just that we're going through one of those stretches and on top of it facing the pitching we faced."
The past nine games have been just as bad as they've looked, as provided by Marc Topkin:
| W-L | 2-7 |
| AVG | .235, 13th in AL |
| RUNS | 24, last in majors |
| HRS | 3, last in AL |
| RISP | .224, 11th in AL |
| ERA | 5.59, worst in majors |
| OPP AVG. | .314 worst in majors |
| KS | 59, fewest in majors |
Today the team opens up a six-game home stand against the Mariners and Blue Jays, which hopefully guarantees some wins considering the two teams seasons. Unfortunately, the Rays have gone 1-8 this year after scheduled off days...let's hope to add one more win to that record.
The Rays trip to L.A. wasn't a total wash:
Dodgers&src=hash">#Dodgers#Rays on @ESPN Sunday Night Baseball was highest-rated MLB game on ESPN in LA since at least 1999 (5.5 rtg in LA).
— MLB Public Relations (@MLB_PR) August 12, 2013
ICYMI:
Yesterday the Rays acquired lefthanded pitcher Wesley Wright from the Astros. For the history on Wright's numbers these past few years, plus his reaction to the news, scope Danny's announcement.
Links:
- Really great interview with Gabe Kapler. From us, yes, but thorough and great insight.
- Wil Myersleads the American League in OPS since the All-Star Game. Baseball Prospectus broke it down.
- J.D. Martin got some, "Take a look at him" love in the comments section yesterday, and then received stand-in to stalwartpraise.
- This Jose Iglesias barehanded scoop and throw mid-dive is among the craziest things you'll see all year.
- Oh, Pete Rose. Really?
- The Twins aren't winning, so they're brawling.