Rays' 1-run fortunes continue in wrong direction during June slide

ST. PETERSBURG -- For the better part of two months, it seemed like every close game the Rays played went their way.

They won nine of the first one-run games they played. They came out on the winning end in five of their first six extra-inning games. Those narrow victories added up, propelling the Rays through a 22-4 stretch and 34 wins in their first 49 games.

But it’s virtually impossible for a team to win close games at that pace for an entire season, and the Rays have found themselves on the wrong end of those decisions recently. The latest example was Monday night’s series-opening 2-1 loss to the Royals at Tropicana Field.

The Rays have lost 12 games this month, and eight have been by exactly one run. Each of their past five defeats has been decided by a single run. The glass-half-full take: They’ve been in every game they’ve played. On the other hand, they’re not doing enough to win those games.

“We probably weren't quite as good as we were in the one-run games early on,” manager Kevin Cash said, “and we're probably not as bad as we are right now in the one-run games.”

They’ve had a dramatic reversal of fortune in one-run games, with Sunday’s 4-3 win over the Nationals being an exception to the recent trend. But starter Drew Rasmussen offered a similar evaluation of the situation after his second straight one-run defeat.

“We knew there were going to be some hiccups that were going to come along the way. I don't think any team will miss on some tough times,” Rasmussen said. “Unfortunately, we're going through ours right now, but I don't think it's the end of the world. I think we're going to be just fine at the end of the day.”

In games that close, of course, one hit can swing the outcome. The Rays didn’t find that hit on Monday, going 0-for-7 with runners in scoring position. They fell to 7-24 on the year when scoring three runs or fewer, and 14 of those defeats have come during the current skid in which they’ve lost 17 of their past 26 games.

“I think it's just the competitive mindset,” infielder Ben Williamson said. “We need to start competing a little bit better at the plate right now.”

Royals starter Michael Wacha played a big part in shutting them down on Monday, too. The veteran right-hander limited the Rays to one run on six hits and one walk while striking out five over seven efficient innings, the 34-year-old’s American League-leading 11th quality start of the season.

“He's like fine wine,” Rasmussen said of his former teammate. “He's getting better with age, right?”

The Rays’ lone run came in the fifth, when Richie Palacios reached on a two-out single and scored on a Yandy Díaz double off the left-field wall. It was Díaz’s 446th RBI as a Ray, tied with longtime teammate Brandon Lowe for seventh most in franchise history and one shy of B.J. Upton (447) for sixth most.

Other than that, the Rays didn’t advance a runner to third base.

“[Wacha] did a nice job. He's really deceptive. He controls the running game extremely well,” Cash said. “Used his fastball, located where he wanted to and then got to the offspeed pitches. Just a lot of soft contact on our part. Credit to him.”

Coming off a brilliant three-start stretch in which he allowed just one run over 21 innings, Rasmussen was once again excellent on the mound. The right-hander held the Royals to two runs on four hits and a pair of walks while striking out five in six innings, his ninth quality start in 15 outings this season.

"Obviously he's been one of the best pitchers in the league all year, and he's been on a heck of a run,” Royals manager Matt Quatraro said. “Runs were going to be at a premium against him."

But the Royals got to Rasmussen first. Michael Massey worked a leadoff walk in the second inning and scored on a double to left by Lane Thomas, who hit an 0-1 cutter that Rasmussen thought he executed well.

“Baseball is a hard game,” Rasmussen said. “I wouldn't even say that pitch was poor.”

Rasmussen was kicking himself postgame for the walk to Massey, however, as well as the two-strike sweeper he left up in the zone to Nick Loftin with one out in the fifth. Loftin singled and stole second, then scored when Carter Jensen lined an RBI single to center.

“I thought Ras did a nice job, kept us in the ballgame,” Cash said. “We're going to take that most nights.”