ST. PETERSBURG — The game Wednesday afternoon essentially ended in the top of the eighth inning, with Oakland A’s circling bases after a grand slam to punctuate sizable Rays bullpen butchery in a 6-2 loss.
Reliever Colin Poche, a call-up from Durham, a promising one at that, had no answer, particularly for Oakland’s Ramon Laureano, who wiped the bases clean. Rays manager Kevin Cash rightly admitted he maybe shouldn’t have had the 25-year-old Poche out there at in that spot with the bases loaded at Tropicana Field.
It’ all part of living and learning, and managing, in this still promising Rays season, which still has deviated slightly with the Rays dropping out of a first-place tie with the Yankees in the AL East after burning brightly to begin the three-game series with Oakland.