HOUSTON -- The Rays didn’t find much consistency at the plate from day to day as they split a four-game series with the Astros at Daikin Park.
They exploded for 13 runs on 14 hits in the series opener on Thursday, then managed just one run (on a leadoff homer by José Caballero) and three hits against a dominant Framber Valdez on Friday night. They broke out the bats again in Saturday’s 16-3 romp, with 18 hits and 12 extra-base hits.
But they were silenced again Sunday afternoon, this time by starter Hunter Brown and three Astros relievers. The Rays managed only two hits and five walks while striking out nine times in a 1-0 defeat, only their third loss in the last 12 games.
How do you explain the wild swings in how they swung the bat? It’s as simple as who they faced, specifically Valdez and Brown.
“I'd describe it [as] facing an ace in the big leagues,” said right fielder Josh Lowe, who broke up Brown’s no-hit bid in the sixth inning of the series finale. “That's just a really good pitching day for them.”
The Rays know a thing or two about those. Despite the unusual nature of a series they split despite outscoring the Astros 30-9, they’ve had nothing but good pitching days lately.
In this four-game series, Rays starters Shane Baz, Ryan Pepiot, Zack Littell and Taj Bradley combined to record a 1.91 ERA with 23 strikeouts and only four walks over 28 1/3 innings. Bradley kept the rotation’s momentum going despite Sunday’s loss, as the right-hander permitted only three hits and two walks while striking out 10 batters over seven innings.
“It's been really fun to watch, from my point of view. They've done a really good job of keeping us on our toes, playing good defense,” Lowe said. “This is just what we do. We roll out pitchers after pitchers that do really well, and it's fun to watch.”
The Rays have allowed four runs or fewer in 13 straight games, their longest single-season streak since a 16-game run to finish the 2021 season, and they’ve permitted three earned runs or fewer in 10 straight games, tied for the second-longest streak in franchise history.
Over the past 10 games, Tampa Bay’s rotation has put together a 1.36 ERA while surrendering one run or less in seven of those starts.
“Incredibly pleased. I mean, what they did this series, what they've done here over the last 10 games or so, they're really giving us every opportunity to win games,” manager Kevin Cash said. “We came up short today because we faced another really good pitcher, but really proud of Taj and all of them, the way they've thrown the ball.”
Bradley wound up putting together another strong outing, but he was behind after throwing his fourth pitch of the day. It continued a frustrating trend for him, as 13 of the 33 runs he’s allowed this season have scored in the first inning.
Five Astros came to the plate and all swung at the first pitch. Jeremy Peña hit a hard grounder that third baseman Junior Caminero couldn’t handle, allowing Peña to reach second on the error. Three pitches later, Christian Walker hit an RBI single to left to give Houston a lead.
“First play of the game, we need to convert that into an out somehow,” Cash said. “But, I mean, we'll take hitters' aggressiveness.”
Bradley had no complaints about the quick inning, either.
“If they kept going, I would have had a complete game, too,” Bradley said with a smile, referencing Littell’s complete game on Saturday afternoon. “I saw their approach, and Matt [Thaiss] came in, he talked to me and said, 'You see what they're doing, so we're just gonna have to play around it.'”
And they cruised from that point on. Bradley only allowed an infield single and a walk after that while throwing a career-high-tying 104 pitches in his first double-digit strikeout game since last Sept. 5.
Bradley was especially effective with his fastball, which generated eight of his 18 swinging strikes on the day. Or, rather, his fastballs.
During his between-starts bullpen session, before he faced the Astros in Tampa, pitching coach Kyle Snyder suggested Bradley try a “one-seam” fastball to complement his traditional four-seamer, giving hitters a different look. As Bradley put it, “Then I threw it and we loved it, so now, here it is.”
“I just felt like [the fastball usage] just kept me aggressive. You throw this fastball with some 'eff you' behind it, and it just makes other pitches work,” he said. “Throw some 'eff you' behind it and it just gets you in that aggressive mentality to go pitch in the zone.”