For his second consecutive start, veteran Rich Hill gave up four runs, and for the second straight day, Pete Fairbanks allowed a walk-off win on his watch, as the Tampa Bay Rays fell to the Seattle Mariners, 6-5. The Rays have now lost three consecutive games for the first time since late April.
The Rays enter play 16-games over .500, with a threadbare 1/2 game lead over the Boston Red Sox in the American League East.
Rich Hill got the start and allowed four runs on six hits across five-plus innings. He walked one and struck out five on 86 pitches (57 strikes, 66% strike rate). Hill cruised through the front five innings, having allowed just two runs on an RBI bloop single and a solo homer. But the wheels fell off for Hill in the sixth after Mitch Haniger singled to left, and Ty France homered, making it 5-4.
For what it’s worth, it certainly didn’t help that the left-hander got the squeeze on a couple of strikes that were called balls by home plate umpire Joe West with Haniger at the plate. Does that change much for the left-hander? Not really, although he may have approached the at-bat vs. France differently. Whatever the case, Hill maintains a 3.64 ERA and a 4.16 FIP across 71-2/3 innings with a 1.05 WHP and a 3.04 K/BB.
Ryan Thompson took over for Hill in the sixth and struck out Dylan Moore and got Jake Bauers to line into a contentious 5-3 double play to end the inning.
Meanwhile, Justin Dunn started for Seattle and threw a pair of scoreless frames, working around one of the oddest infield singles you’ve ever seen, by Randy Arozarena, before exiting the contest due to shoulder discomfort.
Tampa Bay was able to pull ahead of Seattle in the fourth inning against reliever J.T. Chargois. Ji-Man Choi hit a single up the middle before Big RAAAAAAAANDY Arozarena hit an 0-2 slider into to the Rays bullpen for a 2-1 lead. It was Arozarena’s 10th home run of the season and gave him three in the last five games.
They tacked on a two-out run in the fifth against Rafael Montero after Brett Phillips earned a two-out walk, swiped second, and scored on Brandon Lowe’s 0-2 RBI single against the shift for a two-run lead.
They also answered Seattle’s run in the bottom of the fifth with two of their own in the sixth. Arozarena singled off Montero before Austin Meadows doubled to right against lefty Anthony Miskiewicz. Joey Wendle plated a run on a sacrifice fly to center, scoring Arozarena and moving Meadows into third. Kevin Kiermaier capped the Rays’ scoring on an RBI chopper toward short, extending the lead to 5-2.
Meanwhile, Jeffrey Springs worked around a leadoff double off the bat of Torrens for a scoreless seventh. He struck out Shed Long Jr. and Taylor Trammell, then got J.P Crawford to bounce out to short. Matt Wisler struck out pinch-hitter Jake Fraley and subsequently worked a perfect eighth, but, that set the stage for Seattle’s comeback in the ninth.
For this, I’ll allow the inimitable Neil Solondz (Rays Radio) to describe Fairbanks’ implosion.
Leading 5-4 in the ninth, Pete Fairbanks, who allowed the game-winning hit the previous day in Chicago, walked Dylan Moore on four pitches. Former Rays infielder Jake Bauers then hit a ground single to center field. Luis Torrens, who had doubled and homered, tried to bunt, and bunted in the air to Joey Wendle for an unproductive first out. Shed Long Junior, down 0–2, sliced a game-tying double to left, making it a 5-5 game. Kyle Seager then pinch-hit and singled to right past a drawn-in infield to end the game.
— Neil Solondz
The two runs allowed by Fairbanks were the first earned runs against Tampa Bay’s bullpen in 29-1/3 innings. He also allowed an unearned run the previous day. Seattle is now 15-7 in one-run games, while the Rays are 8-12.
The New What Next
Michael Wacha (1-1, 4.54 ERA) will get the start in the second game of the set against Seattle, pitching opposite of Yusei Kikuchi (3-3, 3.67 ERA).
Michael Wacha will join the rotation in the interim as a replacement for Tyler Glasnow (elbow), who is likely in line for a long-term absence after he was diagnosed Tuesday with a partial UCL tear and flexor strain. Wacha previously opened the season as a member of the Rays’ rotation, but he transitioned into more of a multi-inning relief role upon returning from a hamstring injury in late May. Through 11 outings (seven starts) on the season, the right-hander has compiled a 4.54 ERA and a 4.52 FIP, with a 1.21 WHIP and a1.85 K/BB across 39-2/3 innings.
Yusei Kikuchi tossed seven scoreless innings on Saturday against Cleveland, allowing three hits and three walks while fanning six. Kikuchi delivered one of his best performances of the season despite the fact he dealt with a knee problem throughout the week. Kikuchi maintains a 3.67 ERA and a 4.40 FIP on the season, with a 1.05 WHIP and a 3.29 K/BB across 73-2/3 innings. He relies primarily on a 92 mph cutter that has some natural sink and has strong cutting action, a whiffy 96 mph four-seam fastball, and an 83 mph slider with exceptional depth, while also mixing in an 87 mph worm-killer changeup that has slight cut action and has some natural sink to it.
You can read about the series in our preview, while the starting lineup is below.
Rays 6/18/21 Starting Lineup
- Margot RF
- Arozarena LF
- Meadows DH
- Díaz 1B
- Brosseau 3B
- B. Lowe 2B
- Mejía C
- Walls SS
- Phillips CF
- Wacha RHP