Dallas Keuchel’s day was not defined by a peculiar ricochet in the first inning. But that served as an unfortunate indicator for how his outing was destined to go.

Keuchel missed some spots and watched plenty of would-be groundouts bound safely through the Tropicana Field turf in an 8-4 loss to the Rays on Saturday afternoon. He allowed six earned runs for the third time this season, along with a season-high nine hits. Since July began, Keuchel has a 6.02 ERA over nine starts.

• Box score

The gap between execution and results feels a mile wide for Keuchel right now, and it’s clear he’s fighting frustration.

“It’s just kind of the way it’s been going,” Keuchel said after a big sigh. “Gotta keep making pitches and try to limit damage. But it’s tough. … Just didn’t really seem to find much luck or [have things] bounce my way.”

Keuchel's troubles began immediately, when Wander Franco’s two-out chopper in the first springboarded off third base to produce an unconventional RBI double. Nelson Cruz and Yandy Díaz had already reached on ground balls through the infield, but the one hit by Franco -- with a .090 expected batting average -- kept the inning alive and sparked a three-run frame.

Keuchel often lives by his ground ball tendencies, leading the Majors with a 56 percent ground ball rate. But six grounders found their way through holes (or off bases) against Keuchel on Saturday, which was crucial to his undoing.

Perhaps surprisingly, the playing surface played a role in some of the seeing-eye hits. The Trop’s turf is notoriously firm, which can help the ball skip faster than it would on a softer surface, such as natural grass.

“There are different degrees of turf,” White Sox manager Tony La Russa said. “This is a fast infield, if you watch. The ball gets through there quick. There’s others that are kind of average, and some are spongy and even slower. This one here, a guy who puts the ball on the ground [as] a good hitter, you’re gonna get some extra hits. If you’re a pitcher, you’re gonna give up some extra hits.”

Pitching coach Ethan Katz spoke about Keuchel prior to Saturday’s game, noting that the veteran lefty has largely succeeded in “limiting those one or two mistakes” in recent outings. Keuchel’s primary mistake this time came via a two-run double by Brandon Lowe in the first inning. Other than that, Keuchel was content with how he worked.

“Outside of the double by Lowe in the first inning, I’m not taking anything back,” he said. “So my pitch-making ability is still there, it’s just bad luck here, a ground ball there and that’s the way it’s going. As frustrating as it is, I’ve just gotta keep plowing away and making as many pitches as I can.”

Unluckiness isn’t something Keuchel can fall back on all the time, though. 

His low strikeout rate (5.4 K/9), combined with his propensity to yield hard contact, places him in the bottom-10 percentile in expected ERA, expected batting average and expected slugging percentage. Keuchel also ranks second in the AL in hard-hit outs (outs on balls hit 95-plus mph) after adding five more against the Rays. 

Meanwhile, the White Sox offense couldn’t make much luck of its own. Chicago never led, but it did make a push in the eighth inning with the top of its order. Cèsar Hernández singled and Brian Goodwin doubled, and both players came around to score. Still, the tying run never came closer than the on-deck circle.

Sunday provides a chance for the White Sox to win this series (and the season set) against the AL-leading Rays before heading off to Toronto. Keuchel’s next try for better luck could come against the Blue Jays, but he could get pushed back if Carlos Rodón (shoulder fatigue) is ready to come off the injured list.

“It’s still possible that [Rodón] could pitch in that Toronto series,” La Russa said.