PITTSBURGH -- The pitch was, in some ways, perfectly located.
With a runner on third base, two outs in the sixth inning and a 2-2 count in a tie game, Griffin Jax fired an 88.4 mph sweeper that spun toward the bottom corner of the strike zone, as far down and away as it could be while still being over the plate.
If the pitch gets taken, it’s strike three. Many batters might hit it on the ground or connect soft enough for an easy out. But Oneil Cruz is different.
The Pirates’ 6-foot-7 center fielder extended his long arms and launched the pitch into the right-field seats at PNC Park for a tiebreaking, two-run homer off Jax. The Rays couldn’t find an answer in a 5-1 defeat against the Pirates on Friday night, which ended their six-game winning streak.
Jax has been better lately after recording two blown saves and a pair of losses in the Rays’ first six games of the season, but he wasn’t happy with the pitch Cruz hit out. With two strikes, he and catcher Nick Fortes wanted to make Cruz chase it out of the zone.
Instead, it was in a spot where Cruz -- and not many others -- could handle it.
“I think most guys probably don't do that kind of damage with that pitch,” Jax said. “But I mean, that guy hits a lot of balls really hard.”
Friday night’s series opener was the fourth defeat Jax has played a part in. He said he’s still “working toward fixing” his command, the only issue considering the overall quality and velocity of his pitches. There were some positives on that front, as he threw 10 of his 14 pitches for strikes, but he still can’t seem to catch a break.
“Things just aren't going his way right now, for sure,” manager Kevin Cash said. “Got to get him going. He knows that, and I'm confident he will.”
The Rays expect that Jax’s history as a high-leverage reliever will help him quickly put this rough stretch in the rear-view mirror. The way he sees it, he has no other choice.
“It's the job of the bullpen,” Jax said. “You're always going to be asked to pitch, and that's kind of the good thing about being in the bullpen is tomorrow's a new chance.”
Here are three more things that stood out as the Rays lost for only the third time in their last 12 games.
Martinez battles
Nick Martinez’s best pitch is his changeup, but he said he didn’t have a “really good feel” for it on Friday. He threw only 19 among his 88 pitches, and the Pirates only swung at six of them.
So Martinez had to find other ways to navigate through a Pittsburgh lineup loaded with left-handed hitters at the top of the order, and he did that quite well, allowing only two runs despite permitting eight hits and three walks over 5 1/3 innings.
“Forty did a good job reading swings and kind of reading approaches, and we were able to stay off the barrel for the most part,” Martinez said.
Son of Spencer
Martinez had another issue, and it was a familiar one: Spencer Horwitz.
In the second inning, the Pirates' first baseman knocked an RBI double to right field. He led off the sixth with a first-pitch single to right, and Martinez was out of the game one batter later.
Horwitz went 3-for-3 against the Rays' righty, making him a perfect 10-for-10 with three doubles, a homer, four RBIs and two walks against Martinez in his career. According to MLB.com’s Sarah Langs, that’s the most at-bats of any active player who is perfect against a specific pitcher.
“He's dad right now,” Martinez said. “He'll get some soft contact hits. He'll also whack the ball. I mean, I can't even peg him, because then I just look like a sore loser. I don't know. He likes facing me. … He's a good hitter. One of these days, he'll hopefully hit it at somebody.”
Quiet at the plate
The Rays’ pitching and defense -- highlighted by Chandler Simpson and Fortes connecting to cut down Horwitz at the plate in the second inning -- was the main reason the game was still tied in the sixth. Because they couldn’t do much against starter Bubba Chandler.
The Rays only struck out three times against the hard-throwing righty, but they managed only three hits and one walk in his six innings. Their lone run came when Simpson legged out an infield single, took second on a wild pitch and scored on a Junior Caminero single in the sixth.
“That was impressive,” Cash said. “He came in with some higher walk rates, but we didn't see that. He was landing everything.”