David Price struggles as Tampa Bay Rays lose to Texas Rangers 5-6 – MLB Update
Tampa Bay Rays crashed to a disappointing 5-6 loss against the Texas Rangers at Rangers Ballpark in Arlington, Texas in the opening game of their three match series.
Rays had an excellent chance to start the series on a winning note but the Rangers raised their game play to a higher level to edge their opponents. In some ways, it is an extremely important series for the Rays, who are fighting hard to stay in the playoff
race. Manager Joe Maddon will be expecting his team to come up with their best effort in Game 2 to keep the series alive.
Starting pitcher David Price, who is having an excellent season, failed to live up to expectations on Monday, giving up 10 hits and six runs in just four innings to take his fifth loss of the season. Relief pitchers Burke Badenhop, Kyle Farnsworth and Wade
Davis combined to pitch four scoreless innings but their effort did not prove to be enough.
"I didn't feel like I was throwing the ball any different than I was during the stretch where I've been successful," Price said. "It's Texas, they're a good-hitting team, and they're feeling it right now."
"We were trying to look for a pitch we could handle," said Beltre, noting that Price likes to get ahead of hitters. "He comes after hitters, so we were ready."
Evan Longoria homered to left in the first inning and B.J. Upton drove in crucial runs to keep the Rays in the hunt but the Rangers were too strong to be overcome.
"He's locked in," Rangers’ manager Ron Washington said of Adrian Beltre who homered in the second inning. "We need everything he's giving us right now. He's one of the guys in our lineup that makes it work."
Right now, Rays are placed third on the American League East Division standings table, just four games behind the leaders New York Yankees. Credit should be given to Maddon for taking his team out of trouble on a number of occasions this year. It will be
interesting to see if Tampa Bay can deliver what’s expected of them in this final quarter of the season.
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