Rays looking to right ship on road after Ha-Seong Kim lands on IL

CINCINNATI -- The injuries are piling up for the American League Wild Card-chasing Rays, and so are the road losses.

Tampa Bay lost for the 11th time in 14 games away from George M. Steinbrenner Field, dropping a 7-2 decision to Cincinnati on Friday night at Great American Ball Park.

Coming off a 3-3 homestand against a pair of last-place teams, the Rays’ record since June 27 is 7-16.

“You’ve just got to find some momentum,” center fielder Chandler Simpson said. “Really just banding together. Leaning on each other. Passing the baton. Just knowing that if one guy doesn’t do it, the next guy will pick him up.”

Tampa Bay also suffered yet another significant injury on Friday, when infielder Ha-Seong Kim was placed on the 10-day injured list with a low back strain, retroactive to Tuesday. Kim exited Monday night’s loss to the White Sox due to lower back tightness, then he sat out the next three games.

“He’s grinding through it,” manager Kevin Cash said. “He went out and ran, and swung today. Just doesn’t think it’s something that’s going to [get better] in the next day or two. It’ll probably be seven more days, see how he responds. Continue to get treatment and we’ll go from there.”

In corresponding moves, Tampa Bay reinstated outfielder Jonny DeLuca (right shoulder strain) from the 60-day IL, and to make room on the 40-man roster, right-hander Jacob Waguespack was designated for assignment.

Losing Kim is a significant blow to the Rays (53-51), who are 1 1/2 games out of the third AL Wild Card Spot, despite having lost eight of 11. Kim had finally returned from offseason right shoulder surgery and a right calf injury that he sustained in early July. He is batting .226 with one homer and three RBIs in only 10 games this season.

All-Star second baseman Brandon Lowe already is on the IL with left ankle/foot tendinitis. To replace Lowe, Tampa Bay acquired outfielder Stuart Fairchild in a trade with Atlanta, but Fairchild is now also on the IL.

“Both these guys, we really need them right now,” Rays president of baseball operations Erik Neander told WDAE radio on Friday afternoon. “There’s no other way to say it. They know that. We haven’t had them both on the field together a whole lot here, obviously, and they’re difference-making talent.

“We’ve got to get them there. As much as we all want that, you’ve got to make sure you don’t risk losing them for months. Trying to do the right thing, as difficult as it is.”

It will be interesting to see how DeLuca will factor into Tampa Bay’s outfield plans. He was the Opening Day starter in center field before a right shoulder strain during the first road series of the year.

It’s next man up for the Rays. First and foremost, they need to win games.

Tampa Bay starter Zack Littell was tagged for five runs over six innings on Friday, the most runs he’s given up since allowing seven against the Angels on April 10. Littell yielded a solo homer to Tyler Stephenson in the second and a two-run homer to TJ Friedl in the sixth. The right-hander hadn’t allowed at least two homers since June 11 at Boston, when he gave up four.

“Two bad pitches,” Littell said. “Stephenson in the heart of the plate. Middle up is just never great to righties in two-strike counts. And then a backup cutter to TJ Friedl.”

Friday’s loss dropped the Rays to 22-23 on the road.

Since sweeping a three-game series at Kansas City June 24-26, Tampa Bay has gone 3-11 on the road, including five straight losses.

The injuries and recent struggles could impact organizational decisions, with the Trade Deadline on Thursday.

“Not winning just puts a lot more pressure on the front office, and nobody in here wants that,” shortstop Taylor Walls said. “There’s always urgency. There’s always going to be bumps in the road. When somebody goes down, somebody else needs to step up. We’ve just got to get it done.”