Martinez, Rays reeling from tough set vs. Tigers: 'They just put it to us'

ST. PETERSBURG -- Even Nick Martinez couldn’t stop the Rays’ skid this time.

Martinez played the role of stopper last Friday night, firing seven strong innings against the Angels as the Rays ended a four-game losing streak and bounced back from being swept in Baltimore.

But he couldn’t slow down a resurgent Detroit lineup or stall Tampa Bay’s first extended slump of the season on Wednesday afternoon. The veteran starter gave up a season-high six runs on nine hits over a season-low four innings, and the Rays were swept for the second time in three series after a 7-2 defeat in their finale against the Tigers at Tropicana Field.

“They just put it to us,” manager Kevin Cash said. “We got beat in every facet of every possible way in this series.”

The Rays (36-23) have now lost eight of their last 10 games. They’ve been outscored, 74-37, during this stretch. Their edge for the best record in the American League was down to just a half-game over the Yankees heading into New York’s matchup with Cleveland on Wednesday night.

“Sure, it’s a bad moment,” Yandy Díaz said through interpreter Kevin Vera. “But you’ve got to have a positive mindset, and we know we’re going to get back to being the team that we are.”

In a sense, they have already been through a stretch like this. Tampa Bay started the season by losing five of its first seven games, a stumble out of the gates that now seems like a distant memory because of how quickly and effectively the Rays put it behind them.

“We were able to do that and then go on a really serious run,” center fielder Cedric Mullins said. “I think it's just kind of that reset moment where we identify those same issues, correct them, go back to playing our game.”

Over the past 10 games, the Rays have only occasionally looked like the squad that went 32-10 from April 4-May 22 and for a time owned the Majors’ best record. This struggle has encompassed every aspect of their game.

The reliable starting rotation has faltered lately, aside from Shane McClanahan. Tampa Bay starters have allowed five earned runs or more in five of the last seven games, recording a 9.73 ERA during that time.

The rut finally came for the remarkably dependable Martinez, who hadn’t allowed more than two runs in any of his first 11 starts of the season. The right-hander was hit hard by an aggressive Tigers lineup, giving up one run in each of his first three innings before surrendering a three-run homer to Dillon Dingler with two outs in the fourth.

“They were swinging it, man,” Martinez said. “It definitely feels like we ran into a buzzsaw there.”

Meanwhile, the Rays’ once-scorching bats were quiet most of the afternoon. They didn’t have a hit after the second inning, and their last 20 batters were retired in order after Jonathan Aranda’s leadoff walk against starter Troy Melton in the third.

Their defense has been an issue, too, and left fielder Chandler Simpson had a pair of misplays on Wednesday that came before runs. He overran a Kerry Carpenter fly ball in the third inning, and the Tigers capitalized with a tiebreaking sacrifice fly. Simpson just missed a Gleyber Torres line drive in the fourth, and two batters later, Dinger blasted the Tigers’ 10th homer of the series.

The starters’ issues have placed an even greater strain on the bullpen, which has shuffled pitchers up and down from Triple-A Durham in search of fresh arms capable of handling multiple innings.

Scheduled to start for Durham before being recalled on Wednesday morning, right-hander Mason Englert came on in relief of Martinez and allowed just one run over the final five innings. The game was out of hand by that point, but his performance at least saved the rest of a relief corps that has a 4.65 ERA this season, ninth-highest in the Majors.

“Mason did a nice job of being efficient, finishing it, allowing the bullpen a day's rest, which they needed,” Cash said.

Granted, the Rays are still in an enviable position. They have the fourth-best record in baseball. They understood they would run into a rough patch eventually, but they knew all the wins they racked up over the first two months of the season would insulate them from the impact of a brief backslide.

That hasn’t made this stretch any more enjoyable, though. Nor has it created a sense of complacency inside the clubhouse. This has to end, ideally sooner than later.

“Although we built a big lead, it is dwindling,” starter Drew Rasmussen said. “It just raises the sense of urgency a little bit just to get back to being who we are.”