CLEVELAND: Danny Salazar racked up strikeouts but had trouble keeping the ball in the ballpark in a 6-4 loss to the Tampa Bay Rays on Tuesday night at Progressive Field.
The Rays smacked five home runs, four solo shots off Salazar.
Salazar, a power pitcher, has often been one to pitch with a higher-than-normal number of “true outcomes,” meaning home runs, walks or strikeouts. That was taken to the extreme Tuesday night. He began the night striking out four of the first five batters he faced. But then the home runs came in a hurry.
Colby Rasmus hit a solo home run in the second to put the Rays on top 1-0.