Rays' home heroics screech to a halt after 'pen buckles in extras

ST. PETERSBURG – It ended with a thud.

The Rays had been unstoppable at Tropicana Field, winning 11 straight games at home. On Saturday, after a tense pitching duel during regulation, the Marlins erupted for an eight-run 10th inning to put away the Rays, 10-5.

After the Rays rallied to force extra frames on catcher Nick Fortes’ two-out RBI single in the ninth, reliever Hunter Bigge imploded by allowing eight runs in the Marlins’ interminable 10th inning. Ironically, Bigge came into the game with 15 consecutive batters retired (and 19 of his last 20).

“It’s brutal,’’ said Bigge, who faced 10 batters in the 10th, allowing six hits, walking two and throwing 29 pitches. “I mean, you’ve got to move on to the next pitch and continue doing that, but it sucks being out there and seeing the game slip away like that. I want to pitch better for this team. I feel pretty bad right now, but I’ve got to keep forging ahead.’’

Joe Mack led off the 10th with a single, sending automatic runner Esteury Ruiz to third. Bigge walked Xavier Edwards to load the bases, then Liam Hicks followed with a two-run single, igniting a parade of run-scoring opportunities for the Marlins.

“You walk two guys … you can’t allow free passes there,’’ Bigge said. “I felt like it all happened pretty quickly. There were a lot of quick hits that added up. I felt pretty good. I don’t know if my slider was as good as it has been, but I felt kind of normal out there. I don’t really have an explanation for it.’’

Fortes, who forced extra frames with his hit off ex-Rays closer Pete Fairbanks, said he thought Bigge “was just a little bit off’’ and the Marlins capitalized.

“With the extra innings starting with a guy on second, I think it just heightened things a little bit,’’ Fortes said. “We were not executing certain pitches and times that we wanted. I think it was just one of those days, honestly.

“It’s going to happen. We can’t be perfect every day. You’d like to be, but there will be certain days or even innings where it just kind of slips away. That’s baseball. It happens. We’ll come back tomorrow with the same intensity and hopefully win a series.’’

After surrendering the eight runs, the Rays showed some fight by scoring three runs in the bottom of the 10th, getting a two-run double off the wall from Junior Caminero and an RBI double from Jonathan Aranda.

Rays right-hander Nick Martinez had another outstanding outing with six shutout innings. It was his ninth straight start allowing two or fewer runs to begin the season. This is tied for the longest such streak by a pitcher age 35 or older in the Modern Era (1900-present) with A.J. Burnett in 2015.

“He just goes out there and limits runs, and he's doing it with some swing-and-miss from the changeup, and executing pitches with the fastball and the cutter to keep guys off-balance,’’ Rays manager Kevin Cash said.

Unfortunately, Rays relievers couldn’t finish the job.

Chandler Simpson’s third-inning RBI single provided a 1-0 lead, and that’s where it stayed until left-handed reliever Garrett Cleavinger surrendered a two-out 439-foot homer on the first pitch to pinch-hitter Heriberto Hernández, who tied it in the seventh.

Meanwhile, the Marlins took their first lead, 2-1, in the ninth, when Javier Sanoja smacked a two-out RBI double off Rays closer Bryan Baker (which barely escaped Simpson’s backtracking catch attempt along the left-field wall).

“[The Marlins] had really good at-bats and they put a lot of pressure on us,’’ Cash said. “They’ve got some speed over there. If they move the baseball, it’s challenging to convert outs.

“I felt bad for Hunter. He has done really well for us. Today was a little bit of a hiccup.’’

Cash said he was encouraged by the game’s finish, when the Rays scored three 10th-inning runs.

“We would’ve walked away from that feeling really frustrated, just the way that inning unfolded,’’ Cash said. “But guys had some big swings, and they’re better for it going into [Sunday’s] game.’’