ST. PETERSBURG -- Rays starter Nick Martinez cruised through the first seven innings of Tuesday night’s game against the Red Sox at Tropicana Field, breezing into the eighth inning with a complete game very much within his reach. But six pitches, three hits and two runs into the eighth inning,

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ST. PETERSBURG -- The Rays had to get creative with their pitching plans on Monday night. This spot in the rotation belonged to Steven Matz, but the veteran left-hander moved to the bullpen on Saturday. The club kept right-hander Mason Englert on the roster in a bulk-inning role, and it

ST. PETERSBURG -- The Rays added an experienced hitter to their outfield group on Monday, selecting the contract of outfielder Austin Slater from Triple-A Durham before their 3-1 victory over the Red Sox at Tropicana Field. The Rays signed the 33-year-old Slater, who has played parts of 10 seasons in

MIAMI -- With their dynamic lineup scuffling over the last two weeks, the Rays have found themselves with little margin for error. Every missed opportunity at the plate, every walk on the mound and every mistake in the field is magnified when runs are scarce and wins feel scarcer.

MIAMI -- After pitching 3 1/3 scoreless innings at Fenway Park on May 8, Mason Englert was optioned to Triple-A Durham. The Rays sent the right-hander to the Minors with a goal in mind.

MIAMI -- The Rays didn’t get a runner on base until the fifth inning Saturday afternoon. They didn’t record their first hit until the sixth. They didn’t score until the eighth. They still had a chance to come back and beat the Marlins in the ninth. Trailing by three as

MIAMI -- After a pair of rough starts, the Rays are moving veteran left-hander Steven Matz to the bullpen. Manager Kevin Cash announced the news before Saturday’s game against the Marlins, adding that Matz would be available out of the bullpen at loanDepot park if needed. Right-hander Mason Englert is

For Drew Rasmussen and the Rays, the issue lately has been falling behind. Looking back at a rare rough outing as he stood in the Rays’ dugout at Tropicana Field on Wednesday morning, Rasmussen put it plainly: He hasn’t been throwing enough first-pitch strikes lately, at least not enough to

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ST. PETERSBURG -- Even Nick Martinez couldn’t stop the Rays’ skid this time. Martinez played the role of stopper last Friday night, firing seven strong innings against the Angels as the Rays ended a four-game losing streak and bounced back from being swept in Baltimore.

ST. PETERSBURG -- After giving up a season-high six runs on seven hits in three innings last Wednesday in Baltimore, veteran left-hander Steven Matz was confident he would be able to quickly put that start behind him. He’s been around long enough to know that bad outings happen, and he

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ST. PETERSBURG -- Over the course of three hours and eight minutes Monday night, the Rays lost their starting shortstop to a nagging left hamstring issue, their starting left fielder on a painful slide into second base and a frustrating game in which they couldn’t stop a slumping Tigers lineup.

This year, there's a new way to watch Rays baseball. The Rays announced on Feb. 2 that their local television broadcasts will be produced and distributed by Major League Baseball, starting this season. Subscriptions to Rays.TV presented by Union Home Mortgage, the new direct-to-consumer streaming platform for in-market games, are

ST. PETERSBURG -- After a rough week, at least by the standard they’ve set this season, the Rays finished the month of May looking a lot more like themselves in a 5-2 win over the Angels on Sunday afternoon at Tropicana Field.

ST. PETERSBURG -- The Rays had to once again shuffle their bullpen personnel prior to Sunday’s series finale against the Angels at Tropicana Field. Veteran reliever Craig Kimbrel was placed on the 15-day injured list after just one appearance with his new team due to a right wrist strain. His

ST. PETERSBURG -- A lot had to go wrong for the Rays to suffer a rare loss at Tropicana Field on Saturday afternoon, and a lot did go wrong in their 14-3 defeat against the Angels. Their pitching staff gave up 11 hits, including four home runs, and six walks.

ST. PETERSBURG -- Three players were ejected from the Angels' 14-3 win over the Rays on Saturday afternoon at Tropicana Field before Tampa Bay starter Drew Rasmussen threw his first pitch. Angels reliever Brent Suter and rehabbing Rays pitchers Steven Wilson and Manuel Rodríguez were all ejected by third-base umpire

ST. PETERSBURG -- Returning home with their longest losing streak of the season, the Rays felt like they had the right man on the mound in Nick Martinez. And when that skid was nine outs away from reaching five games, they knew they had the right man at the plate

ST. PETERSBURG -- The Rays got back a key part of their infield before Friday night’s series-opening 8-5 win over the Angels at Tropicana Field, but only for six innings.

PITTSBURGH -- The shortest distance from PNC Park’s home plate to the Allegheny River, according to the Pirates' media guide, is 456 feet -- straight down the right-field line. That proximity to the water has created a tantalizing target for left-handed power hitters over the years, no different than the

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ST. PETERSBURG -- It’s probably not as easy as Jonathan Aranda makes it sound. Aranda has proven over the past two seasons that he’s a talented, balanced hitter in any situation. Tampa Bay’s first baseman has followed up his All-Star turn last year by slashing .286/.384/.476 in the Rays’ first

BALTIMORE -- The Rays left Camden Yards on Wednesday night with an unfamiliar feeling.