BALTIMORE -- With Richie Palacios at third base and one out in the 10th inning Saturday night, Taylor Walls whiffed on a fastball from Rico Garcia, then squared to drop a bunt on the next pitch. The Rays have been the most prolific bunters in baseball this season, and Walls has been arguably their best at it.
Walls stayed with a curveball from Garcia and tapped it just in front of the plate. Garcia and first baseman Samuel Basallo raced toward the ball as Palacios took off toward the plate. It took a good play to cut down Palacios at home, and the Orioles made one.
Garcia wheeled around to barehand Walls’ bunt and smoothly flipped it to catcher Carlos Narváez, who had plenty of time to turn and tag Palacios. The Rays’ extra-inning opportunity came and went, then the Orioles capitalized on theirs as Dylan Beavers knocked a pinch-hit double to center to deal Tampa Bay a 3-2, walk-off defeat at Camden Yards.
“Certainly things are not going our way, and nothing’s coming easy,” manager Kevin Cash said. “Wallsy did his job. They just did a better job.”
The loss continued a frustrating stretch for the Rays, who have dropped seven of their past nine games while seeing their American League East lead shrink to three games. The players insist it’s just part of the game, that they’re the same team who won nine straight before getting into this rut, but they all recognize the need to play better as the season’s stretch run approaches.
“We're in one of those weird little stretches, but nobody in here is panicking. Nobody in here is worried,” starter Shane McClanahan said. “This team is where we are for a reason, and we're just going to keep being ourselves, keep playing the brand of baseball that's gotten us to this point, and good things are ahead.”
This was shaping up to be a good night for the Rays. McClanahan pitched out of a couple jams and flashed impressive fastball velocity while working five scoreless innings in his second start back from the injured list.
“A huge step in the right direction for him,” Cash said.
Liam Hicks ripped a solo shot in the second inning to give McClanahan a lead. Junior Caminero drove in another run in the sixth, and reliever Tyler Wells worked two scoreless innings. The Rays just needed six more outs, and they had Kevin Kelly and Bryan Baker ready to get them.
But the rest of the game didn’t go according to plan, as has often been the case during this rough stretch. This time, it came down to a couple pitches from the Rays’ most reliable late-inning arms.
Kelly gave up a leadoff single, then pinch-hitter Samuel Basallo tied the game with a two-run homer to center field. Kelly said he was trying to get Basallo to chase the pitch, but he was more upset about falling behind in the count.
“I really wasn't trying to throw it in the zone like I would normally be, so the fact that it ended up there to him was unfortunate,” Kelly said. “The bigger issue is just getting 2-0 right away. That's pretty obvious.”
The Rays had a chance to regain the lead in the ninth, when Jonny DeLuca hit a two-out double and Palacios lifted a fly ball to shallow right field. But Tyler O’Neill, who previously threw out Walls at third base for the first out of the sixth inning, made a tremendous diving catch to keep the game tied.
“He had some game-changing plays that were right in the middle of a lot of stuff that could have gone our way,” Cash said.
With Baker warming up in the bullpen, Cash said he made the call on Walls’ safety squeeze. Once again, the Rays were left to lament their lack of execution and the Orioles doing what it took to make the bounces go their way instead. It’s become a familiar refrain, as Baltimore has won eight of their past nine matchups.
“If I get that ball more down the first-base line or the third-base line, I think it's maybe a tougher out in general to get Richie there at the plate,” Walls said. “The right call. Got to be a little bit better executed.”
That put Baker in the unenviable position of having to strand the automatic runner at second base in the 10th. The All-Star closer got ahead of Beavers with a pair of changeups, then evened the count with a couple fastballs outside the zone. Beavers reached below the zone to golf another changeup off the wall in center field for a walk-off double.
“He put a good swing on it,” Baker said. “Just a tough game all around and got out-executed in the 10th.”