Another 'quiet night' for suddenly cold Rays bats

CHICAGO -- It seems safe to say the Rays experienced a case of déjà vu on Tuesday night at Wrigley Field.

For the second straight game, Tampa Bay received everything it could have asked for from its pitching staff. And for the second straight game, the Rays’ vaunted offense was unable to muster up much in support.

One day after being shut out by Cubs ace Marcus Stroman, Tampa Bay’s bats were again held in check during a 2-1 loss to Chicago.

“Pretty quiet night offensively,” Rays manager Kevin Cash said. “When we don’t hit, you’ve got to give the pitcher some credit. Are there some at-bats we’d like to have back? Probably so. But you can say that every day.

“You’ve got to give the pitchers credit there. They’re making the pitches where they need to, and we’re not able to get the barrel to the ball right now.”

To say it has been a tough go for Tampa Bay offensively this series would be an understatement. Through two games, the Rays have a combined eight hits, all but one of them coming on Tuesday night. None have gone for extra bases. They’ve scored just one run over the past 18 innings after bringing home 10 through the first four frames of Sunday’s 11-10 win over the Dodgers.

Unlike Monday’s defeat, the Rays gave themselves many opportunities to score against Cubs starter Kyle Hendricks. Tampa Bay put runners on in five of the first six innings and got runners in scoring position in each of the first three.

But despite it looking as though the Rays were finally going to get the offense going, every scoring chance ended up getting snuffed.

Tampa Bay put two on with one out in the first, but shortstop Wander Franco was cut down at the plate trying to score from second on Brandon Lowe’s single to second base. The Rays put runners at first and second in the ensuing frame, but the threat was ended by Francisco Mejía’s inning-ending double play.

“Hendricks was doing a good job of keeping us off-balance again today, like we saw yesterday,” Rays right fielder Josh Lowe said. “We just weren’t really able to string it together like we’ve been seeing these past few games. Right back on the horse tomorrow.”

Tampa Bay did make a fair share of quality contact, with Statcast projecting a team-wide .287 expected batting average on the night. The team just wasn’t able to produce the clutch hit it needed, which represented quite a jarring shift for an offense that boasts a Major League-leading 101 home runs.

It also spoiled what was setting up to be a noteworthy night for starter Shane McClanahan.

The Rays’ ace was vying to become the first starter in franchise history to open the season 9-0, and he certainly produced a line worthy of achieving that feat. McClanahan finished with seven strikeouts in 5 2/3 innings. He allowed only two runs, the last of which occurred after a miscommunication between Lowe and second baseman Brandon Lowe led to a routine pop fly by Cubs left fielder Ian Happ landing between the two for a leadoff double in the sixth.

Happ came around to score on a two-out single by Mike Tauchman, effectively snapping McClanahan’s career-long eight-game winning streak.

“No reason that ball should’ve dropped there,” Josh Lowe said. “Hurts to see that happen for Shane, for the team ... but I’ve got to be better. I’ve got to go after and get that ball. We should still be playing the game right now.”

The lack of run support for McClanahan certainly wasn’t something he was used to seeing this season. Entering Tuesday, McClanahan’s 7.88 runs of support per nine innings pitched ranked third in the Majors, with only Martín Pérez of the Rangers (9.43) and Joe Ryan of the Twins (8.26) receiving more.

Yet for the second straight game, the Rays struggled to reward a strong performance from their pitching staff. Their starter was left on the hook for the loss despite a solid outing. And their bullpen, despite the troubles it has experienced this season, combined to string together a second consecutive scoreless outing with nothing to show for it in the win column.

“Just kind of happens,” Brandon Lowe said of the lack of offense. “Ebbs and flows of the season. Sometimes you’re going to score 10 a game, sometimes you’re going to score one. You’ve got to move through them as it happens.”