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A loss for the second straight night to the Houston Astros saw the Tampa Bay Rays fall below .500 again. Once again they struggled to score runs. One of the funniest things that happened last night was during batting practice. Yordan Alvarez hit a ball off the main scoreboard and broke it. For the rest of the game, the staff at Tropicana Field tried to fix it but failed. Before Houston took batting practice the scoreboard was back working. The hype for the middle game was the call-up of Junior Caminero. He made two great plays at third and at the plate, he went 1 for 4 with a single and three strikeouts. Even though the Rays have struggled to score runs, their pitching has been good in the first two games. Tampa was looking to avoid being swept.
Last night’s pitching matchup was Ronel Blanco for the visiting Houston Astros who came in with a 9-6 record, 3.02 ERA, and 126 strikeouts. The Rays countered with Zach Littell who has a 5-8 record, 4.11 ERA, and 113 strikeouts. For the second game in a row, Tampa came out wearing all-white uniforms with navy blue caps. It was also the same for the Astros in all-grey uniforms with navy blue caps. It looked like another low-attendance game. There have not been many fans to any of the three games. The first hit of the game came in the bottom of the third off the bat of shortstop Taylor Walls. Although Tampa had the first hit, Houston got the first run from a solo home run by Jeremy Pena.
After giving up the home run in the bottom of the fifth, Littel was lifted. He finished with five innings pitched giving up one hit, one earned run, two walks, and three strikeouts. Blanco exited after six innings. He gave up two hits, no runs or walks, and four strikeouts. The announced attendance for last night’s game was 12,493. The Rays left the bases loaded as Deluca grounded out to third to end the threat in the bottom of the seventh.
Somehow, the Rays would finally get a run on the board in the bottom of the eighth as Taylor Walls came around to score off a fielder’s choice from Yandy Diaz. The game went into extras as neither team scored a run in the ninth.
Houston scored in the tenth after a few stolen bases and the RBI came from right fielder Mauricio Dubon. This game was an ugly win no matter what. The Astros won and swept the Rays 2-1. Both teams had just four total hits but Houston made theirs count.
The Rays will now look to rebound with a day off tomorrow then they welcome in the Arizona Diamondbacks for a three-game series. With the win, Houston got their eighth win in a row. It was the same in every game as the pitching for Tampa Bay was strong. The bats were what let them down leading to them loseall three games.
Can the Tampa Bay Rays bounce back after a sweep by the Astros? Leave a comment below.
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Author Profile
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Bradley Walker serves as the Director of Operations for NGSC Sports, bringing extensive experience across collegiate, professional, and amateur athletics. His coverage spans USF Athletics, including football, baseball, lacrosse, and softball, as well as University of Tampa baseball.
Bradley also provides coverage of minor league baseball with the Clearwater Threshers and Major League Baseball with the Tampa Bay Rays. On the national stage, he covers college football bowl games and conference championship matchups, along with premier golf events across the PGA Tour, LIV Golf, and LPGA Tour.
In addition to his reporting work, Bradley is the play-by-play announcer for Pinellas Park High School Patriots football, lending his voice and insight to Friday night lights.
He is also an active podcast host and contributor, serving as a co-host on the P&W Sports Report and hosting The Walker Report, where he delivers in-depth sports analysis, interviews, and coverage across multiple levels of competition.
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