CLEVELAND -- At some point during the Rays’ game against the Guardians on Thursday night, the visitors’ clubhouse at Progressive Field began preparing for a party worthy of a postseason clinch.
The three large black couches were wheeled out, the lockers and floors were covered in protective wrap to prepare for a champagne shower, and remote cameras were installed on the ceiling to capture every glorious moment.
But instead of a champagne party that was destined to go long into the night, the postgame scene in the clubhouse ended up looking like every other getaway day -- only with a little more space and a little more plastic in the garbage.
After the Orioles’ afternoon loss to the Red Sox lowered Tampa Bay’s magic number to one to clinch an American League Wild Card berth, the Rays fell victim to one of the Guardians’ patented late-inning rallies, as Cleveland scraped two runs across against Shawn Armstrong in the eighth to beat Tampa Bay, 2-1. With the loss, the Rays will head to Houston with the ability to clinch with either a win or an Orioles loss.
The Rays fell two games behind the Blue Jays for the top AL Wild Card spot and a half-game behind the Mariners for the No. 2 spot, after Seattle beat Texas later Thursday night.
“You turn the page; it’s been like that all year,” starter Jeffrey Springs said. “Unfortunately, we didn't win that one, but we should bounce back in a big way. It’s nice knowing that we only need one more to win, so hopefully we’ll show up and be hungry and ready to go.”
Tampa Bay’s eighth-inning undoing started with a pinch-hit single from Will Brennan, who advanced to second on a sacrifice bunt from Myles Straw. Steven Kwan then lined a fastball from Armstrong down the left-field line to tie the game.
“Kwan hit the pitch that was thrown; he’s a good hitter,” said Armstrong, who went back out after working a scoreless seventh inning. “Other than that, I feel like I threw the ball pretty well.”
After a groundout and an intentional walk, the Guardians took the lead on an infield single from Oscar Gonzalez that was just out of the reach of first baseman Ji-Man Choi. Statcast measured the ball with an exit velocity of 49.3 mph and an expected batting average of .150.
“I felt bad for Armstong; he threw the ball really well, and then Gonzalez swung at a ball that almost hit him and found that perfect spot,” manager Kevin Cash said. “It’s right in the in-between area. It’s not an easy play by any means. When you get soft contact, it’s easy to expect an out, but sometimes balls get placed there and there’s not much you can do.”
It was the ninth multi-inning appearance of the year for Armstrong, who was called upon for two innings after the Rays’ bullpen threw 13 1/3 innings over the first two games of the series.
“Frustration’s the perfect word for it right now,” Armstrong said when asked to sum up his outing. “The bullpen’s done a fantastic job for us over the past couple games.”
The Rays had a golden opportunity to score in the top of the ninth when they loaded the bases with one out. Guardians reliever Trevor Stephan closed the game by striking out Choi and inducing a popup to right from Isaac Paredes.
“Their pitchers have thrown the ball well all series,” Cash said. “[Stephan] made a big pitch to Ji-Man and made some big pitches to Isaac.”
The Rays’ lone run came in the first inning, when Wander Franco doubled with two outs and came around on an RBI single from David Peralta. After that, however, Tampa Bay’s offense spent most of the night stuck in neutral and was able to tally only two more hits.
The only other times the Rays advanced a runner past second prior to the ninth inning came in the third, when Franco singled and stole second before being stranded, and in the seventh, when Manuel Margot reached on a fielder's choice and stole second before also being stranded.
“There’s just times when the bats aren’t hot, that’s part of it,” Franco said through interpreter Manny Navarro.
While the Rays clinching is all but a given, every game matters for Cash and his club, which could very well find itself back at Progressive Field next weekend for the AL Wild Card Series.
“There’s disappointment any time we lose,” Cash said. “The disappointment is that we were up in the eighth inning and we lost.”