Two out of 3 aint bad: Rays lose to Mariners 2-6

With a big Saturday night win, 9-1 over the Seattle Mariners, the Tampa Bay Rays reduced their magic number to 2 to make the playoffs. With the Boston Red Sox taking two from the New York Yankees, the Rays’ magic number to clinch the division is 6. But enough good news.

All was quiet in Sunday’s game three until the fifth inning. Starter James Shields gave up a two-out walk to Ichiro Suzuki and a double to Chone Figgins to put two men in scoring position. Both men scored on a base hit by Jose Lopez.

The Rays came back to tie it up in the bottom half of the frame. Sean Rodriguez’s leadoff double was followed by a Desmond Jennings’ first ever major league triple. Jennings easily scored on a base hit by B.J. Upton.

Unfortunately, things fell apart in the next inning.

This article appears in Sep 23-29, 2010.