Maddon sits Myers after defensive lapse costs Rays run
ST. PETERSBURG -- Considering the blistering offensive numbers Rays outfielder Wil Myers has put up this season, sometimes it is easy to forget he is a 22-year-old rookie.
Adrian Beltre's RBI single in the top of Wednesday's 11th inning reminded everyone Myers is still experiencing many big league moments for the first time. Myers did not charge Beltre's ball hard, allowing Elvis Andrus to score from first base before the Rays eventually won, 4-3, in 12 innings.
"It wasn't a lack of effort," Myers said Thursday. "I just wasn't aware of the situation and who was on base. I just wanted to make sure the ball didn't get by me. I should have charged it with more aggressiveness."
Manager Joe Maddon called the play "unacceptable" and said it provided the right fielder with "a hard lesson to learn."
Myers has since talked with Maddon and several veterans in the Rays clubhouse, and is confident he will react appropriately if presented with a similar situation in the final 11 games of the season.
Maddon did not put Myers in Thursday's lineup, but said the decision had more to do with Texas starter Yu Darvish than with Myers' misstep in right field.
"I wanted him to understand the overriding impact it would have as a teammate and as he moves forward, how he would be viewed," Maddon said. "I want him to be viewed positively, and the thing he did wrong last night is totally controllable on his part. He understands all of that. I would be very surprised if it ever happened again. It was a good conversation."