ST. PETERSBURG -- On Tuesday, the Rays snapped a five-game skid and looked like the team that hopes to contend for an American League East title. The dugout was full of energy, and they got timely hitting, good defense and stellar pitching -- all characteristics that Tampa Bay expected to get on a daily basis in 2020.

In Wednesday’s 5-0 loss to Boston at Tropicana Field, the Rays looked more like the team that left Baltimore desperately looking to snap that skid. It was the first time Tampa Bay was shut out since Aug. 16, 2019, against the Tigers, ending a streak of 50 consecutive games.

“We just have to figure out a way to start winning again,” said Rays shortstop Willy Adames. “We have to back up our pitchers, score runs and make them feel comfortable and try to do the little things and get back to normal.”

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Ryan Yarbrough got the start for the Rays, and he struggled for the first time this season. Yarbrough was the most consistent and efficient starter the first two times through the rotation, but the Red Sox’s offense got the best of the left-hander this time.

Yarbrough pounded the strike zone, throwing 61 of his 82 pitches for strikes all while recording 14 swings-and-misses and getting 16 called strikes. Once the Red Sox got the ball in play, however, balls were usually hit pretty hard. The Sox had eight hard-hit balls off Yarbrough, and the 88.3 mph average exit velocity is the highest allowed by the Rays left-hander this season.

“I thought I was able to mix everything, I don’t think it was a matter of that,” Yarbrough said. “I think if anything, just leaving some pitches over the plate that they were able to get extended and do some damage instead of where, like, keeping guys off-balance. They’re an aggressive team, and they put together some really good at-bats.”

But while Yarbrough struggled, the bigger issue for the Rays was the offense, which has been the common theme through 12 games. Tampa Bay went 0-for-7 with runners in scoring position on Wednesday, and it was unable to capitalize on the leadoff hitter reaching base in five of the first six innings.

The best opportunity came in the fourth, as the Rays had two on and no outs, but they were unable to advance the runners. Mike Brosseau popped out, Brandon Lowe lined out to right and Adames struck out swinging just a few pitches after hooking a potential three-run homer foul by a couple of feet.

“That could’ve been a big inning,” said Rays manager Kevin Cash.

Wednesday’s struggles against Martín Pérez also continued a trend for the Rays against left-handed starters. With just four hits off Pérez, the Tampa Bay lineup is hitting .221 against lefty starters.

Over the offseason, the Rays acquired Hunter Renfroe and José Martínez to try to bolster their lineup against left-handers, but they also lost Avisaíl García and Travis d’Arnaud to free agency. Tampa Bay also traded Tommy Pham, who hit .340 against southpaws in ‘19. It’s a small sample size, but the Rays are still looking to figure out lefty starters.

“I think [Wednesday] we had a better approach,” Cash said. “We put ourselves in hitter’s counts, but we just didn’t get it done when we had pitches to hit. There were guys on base to where we could’ve put together some bigger innings, but [Pérez] made pitches and we didn’t have much to show for it, otherwise. But there’s no doubt that there’s reason for concern. We’re going to face a lot of lefties this year, and we’re going to have overall better team approaches.”

In their postgame Zoom calls, Adames and Martínez both said that the club wasn’t frustrated with the recent results, but both acknowledged that they need to bounce back starting Friday against the Yankees. The Rays dropped to 5-7 on the season, but they’ve completed 20 percent of their schedule in the condensed 60-game season.

“It hasn’t been going our way all week,” Adames said. “We’re just trying to figure it out and get it back to normal. Just trying to go back to the team that we know we’re capable of, the damage we’re capable of doing.”

Up next
After Thursday's off-day, Blake Snell and the Rays welcome the Yankees for a crucial four-game set that begins on Friday at 6:40 p.m. ET at Tropicana Field. Snell is 3-6 with a 4.41 ERA in 16 career starts against the Yankees. New York will counter with Masahiro Tanaka, who went 2-0 with a 1.59 ERA in four starts against Tampa Bay last season. The game will be televised on FOX Sports Sun and MLB.TV.