Home blues: Rays' troubles at Steinbrenner Field continue after sweep

TAMPA -- The Rays spent a lot of time at home during the first month of the season. For all the comforts of home and all the luxurious amenities inside their temporary clubhouse, they haven’t yet established any sort of homefield advantage at George M. Steinbrenner Field.

If anything, it’s been just the opposite.

The Rays’ 8-2 loss on Thursday afternoon capped a three-game sweep by the Royals, a disappointing return home on the heels of a season-high five-game winning streak. It’s the first time Tampa Bay has been swept by Kansas City since 2016, and the first time it’s happened at home since Aug. 21-23, 1998, which was the Devil Rays’ inaugural season at Tropicana Field.

With more than a quarter of their home schedule complete, they are 9-13 at Steinbrenner Field, one of only five teams with a losing record in their home ballpark this season.

Manager Kevin Cash said it’s still too early to draw any sweeping conclusions about their performance in this ballpark, but he admitted the Rays need to step it up as they head to Yankee Stadium with a 14-17 record overall.

“We've got to play better entirely,” Cash said.

After winning two series during a 5-1 trip to Arizona and San Diego, the Rays dropped their third straight series at Steinbrenner Field. They have lost eight of their last nine home games after an 8-5 start. While starter Shane Baz struggled at the end of his worst start and first loss of the season, giving up a career-high-tying seven runs on a career-high nine hits over 5 2/3 innings, their lack of offense remains the most glaring issue.

The Rays scored only three runs in this series. They finished 1-for-18 with runners in scoring position and left 25 men on base. Cash credited the Royals’ talented pitching staff, but said the Rays had “too many empty at-bats,” allowing Kansas City’s pitchers to settle in without feeling pressured.

“We didn't get the hits when the hits really mattered,” second baseman Brandon Lowe said. “Can't really speak more than that.”

But their offensive issues at home haven’t been limited to just this series.

They’ve scored 20 total runs during this 1-8 stretch at home, half of which came in their lone victory against the Yankees on April 19. They’ve shown the ability to put up big numbers at Steinbrenner Field at other times, like when they exploded for 16 runs against the Red Sox on April 14, but they’ve scored three runs or fewer in 12 of their MLB-leading 22 home games so far.

With the same dimensions as Yankee Stadium, this ballpark was expected to play like a hitter’s paradise. It did for the Royals on Thursday as they racked up 15 hits, including four extra-base hits during a six-batter stretch against Baz in the fifth inning, but it’s mostly been unkind to the Rays so far.

“It's not an easy place to hit, by any means. I'm sure everybody thinks that it's just like Yankee Stadium, and it's not,” Lowe said. “The wind blows in almost every single game. It's hard to see at night. And it's kind of proven to be a little more difficult than people were originally thinking.

“Obviously we’ve got to be better. We can't just blame the field for not scoring runs, but we're going to have to figure it out here soon.”

Like Lowe, bench coach Rodney Linares noted before Thursday’s series finale that the wind has been a big factor. Some days, perfectly hit balls fall short of the track. Other days, a 95 mph fly ball sails over the fence. Well-struck line drives might result in outs more often, as the closer fences allow outfielders to play shallower.

“We've been hitting the ball hard, and we haven't been getting those hits. People have been hitting the ball thinking that the ball is going to go out, and then it stays in the park,” said Yandy Díaz, who stayed hot with a first-inning homer off Seth Lugo, through interpreter Eddie Rodriguez. “It's out of our control, and it happens, but we just have to continue to prepare. And hopefully things will get better.”

The more concerning thought is that the Rays might be letting all of that get to them, with hitters trying to adjust to the ballpark rather than sticking to their strengths.

“I think we're going through a little bit of a transition, especially when we play here at home,” Linares said. “The park has been a big factor. A lot of guys talk about going the other way, because the ball travels that way. And a lot of guys, like, they go away from their strengths sometimes. … It's been a little challenging hitting here.”