Rays Fall Short in Pitching Duel, Drop 3-2 Heartbreaker to Mets at the Trop

Rays supply the suspense, Mets take the win

The Rays waited until the bottom of the eighth to get the offense moving Monday night. Nice of it to show up. Would’ve been nicer if it had beaten the traffic.

Tampa Bay’s late push turned a 3-0 hole into a 3-2 game against the New York Mets at Tropicana Field, but that was where the comeback stopped. The ninth offered no rescue. New York left with the win; Rays fans got another evening of explaining how close it was.

You know how that conversation goes, whether you’re watching in St Pete, catching the game in Clearwater or Dunedin, or keeping an eye on the screen out at the beaches. Good pitching. Missed chances. A rally that gets everybody leaning forward, followed by a final score that sends them leaning back.

Close is entertaining. It still doesn’t pay the tab.

Seymour brought the arm. Stock brought the brakes.

Ian Seymour gave the Rays plenty to work with: 6.1 innings, 6 hits allowed, 3 earned runs and 10 strikeouts. That’s a serious night of missing bats, even if the scoreboard wasn’t inclined to hand out compliments.

For the opening three innings, neither team scored. The Mets broke through with a run in the fourth, and with Robert Stock keeping Tampa Bay quiet, that slim lead carried considerable weight.

Stock worked 5.1 scoreless innings, allowing 5 hits and striking out 4. The Rays could get runners aboard against him. Getting them home was a different department, apparently operating on reduced service.

That distinction matters. This wasn’t an evening when Tampa Bay never touched the opposing starter. There were hits. There were opportunities. There just weren’t runs against Stock, and a pitching duel is a lousy place to leave useful offense sitting around unused.

Seymour’s strikeout total deserves its applause. Stock’s scoreless outing deserves its credit. Neither requires pretending this was anything other than a frustrating night for the home lineup.

The seventh sent the bill

The game’s decisive stretch arrived in the seventh. New York added two runs, turning a 1-0 lead into a 3-0 cushion.

In a game this tight, that wasn’t decorative padding. It was the difference between Tampa Bay’s eventual rally changing the lead and merely changing the mood.

The Rays finally broke through against the Mets’ bullpen in the bottom of the eighth, scoring twice and waking up the Trop. Suddenly, the finish had some life. The deficit was down to a run, and the night no longer felt quite so firmly in New York’s grip.

But a comeback needs an ending, not just a promising trailer. Tampa Bay couldn’t finish it in the ninth.

C. Simpson contributed a 2-4 night with an RBI and a stolen base. The Rays had individual efforts worth noticing. What they didn’t have was enough offense stitched together to make those efforts a winning package.

Good fight, same bad finish

No need to turn this into a grand lecture about the season. The explanation is irritating enough on its own: the Rays got a strong strikeout performance from their starter, couldn’t score against Stock, and let the gap widen before their bats finally answered.

The eighth-inning response made it worth watching to the end. It didn’t erase the missed opportunities that came before it.

For the Pinellas crowd talking baseball before the game or picking it apart afterward, that’s the takeaway. Appreciate Seymour. Credit Simpson. Then ask for the offense to arrive before the evening becomes a rescue mission.

The ESPN box score has the details. The final score has the last word, unfortunately.

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