Tonight the Rays played four innings of great baseball that reminded me of the Rays of recent years. Good pitching, solid defense, and strong offense from across the lineup. They looked sharp! They had a lead! It was fun.
But then some of the demons of 2022 emerged. Outs on the bases. Costly fielding errors. And finally, when you need 12 bullpen outs and you are counting on Colin Faucher (ERA 9.82, FIP 6.67), Ryan Thompson (ERA 5.87, FIP 4.82) and Ralph Garza (ERA a surprisingly low 3.27, FIP 4.63) to get them, you have to think “maybe this isn’t our year.