Rays post rare disappointing mark at The Trop
Thursday's loss guarantees first home losing record since 2007
ST. PETERSBURG -- With their 1-0 loss to the Blue Jays on Thursday night, the Rays guaranteed themselves a losing record at home for the first time since their final season as the Devil Rays.
The Rays hadn't finished below .500 at Tropicana Field since 2007, but Toronto swept them in a three-game series, giving Tampa Bay a 31-41 home record -- the fourth-worst mark in baseball. The Rays have lost nine of their last 12 games at The Trop, and 12 of their last 17.
Tampa Bay, by contrast, is 36-33 on the road, making it the only team in the Majors to hold a winning record on the road and a losing record overall -- the Rays were 67-74 entering Friday's series opener against the Orioles.
"This ballpark has not been friendly to us this year. It just hasn't," manager Joe Maddon said Friday, not for the first time.
Maddon was speaking prior to the game vs. the Orioles, who lead the American League East by a wide margin, while the Rays are in fourth place.
The O's have contributed their fair share to Tampa Bay's home woes, having beaten the Rays in five of six games at The Trop entering Friday's opener.
"They're just tough, and it doesn't matter where," Maddon said. "I don't have any strong opinions as to Baltimore here or Baltimore at Camden [Yards] -- they're just good."
The Orioles have already clinched the season series against the Rays, having gone 11-5 against Tampa Bay entering their final set of 2014.
"They've outpitched us, and that's how they've beaten us," Maddon said. "Their pitching doesn't get the credit it deserves, I don't think. Their team on the field, I'm a big fan of [it]. Their bench is good. They've gotten some help from some different spots -- for example, [Steve] Pearce has really come on for them. They let the guy go, and he comes back and becomes a force. [Matt] Wieters gets hurt, [Caleb] Joseph steps in there.
"They've had a lot of that, and that's bully for them. And [manager Buck Showalter], of course, does a wonderful job. So they've earned the right to be in the situation that they're in right now."