Welcome to Atlanta where the players play: Rays 3, Braves 7

The Tampa Bay Rays opened their series against the Atlanta Braves with a glimmer of hope before blowing away A-town in a 7-3 loss.

The Rays had a glimmer of hope, taking a 1-0 lead in the top of the first inning. Yandy Díaz led off with a single and Randy Arozarena was hit by a pitch, putting runners on first and second with no outs. Amed Rosario hit a double to right field, driving in Díaz and advancing Arozarena to third. With a promising start, the Rays had a chance to continue their momentum. However, back-to-back outs from Jose Siri and Jonny DeLuca halted their progress, leaving the Rays with just one run. This was the Rays’ best chance to attack Braves starter Chris Sale before he settled into a rhythm.

When the Braves came to bat late in the first half, the bottom fell out for the Rays’ hopes in this game. Michael Harris II led off with a single, followed by Ozzie Albies doubling to right, pushing Harris to third. Harris appeared to injure himself while running the bases, bringing in JP Martínez as a pinch runner. Marcell Ozuna stepped in and crushed a three-run homer to right-center field, quickly turning the odds of victory in favor of the Braves. Not stopping there, Matt Olson doubled and Austin Riley, who had an outstanding game, doubled it home, giving the Braves a 4-1 lead. A throwing error by Rays pitcher Zack Littell on an Adam Duvall ground ball allowed Riley to score, ending the inning 5-1 in favor of Atlanta.

Littell’s struggles continued into the second round. After getting Albies eliminated, he walked Ozuna. With two outs, Riley struck again, this time with a two-run homer to left center, making the score 7-1. In two innings, Littell left two sliders in almost the same spot above the plate that Riley took advantage of. Littell’s night ended after just two innings after allowing eight hits and seven runs (six earned) on 59 pitches.

The Rays bullpen took over in the third inning and did an admirable job of damage control, keeping the Braves scoreless for the rest of the game. Kevin Kelly, Phil Maton, Chris Devenski and Jason Adam each helped stop the bleeding, ensuring no more runs crossed home plate.

Despite the efforts of the bullpen, the Rays offense struggled to come back against Braves starter Chris Sale. After a rough start, Sale settled in and dominated, striking out seven in seven innings. His mastery of the Rays’ lineup was evident as Tampa Bay managed just five hits and two runs on him, and Sale struck out batter after batter with a mix of fastballs and sliders that left the Rays struggling. .

The Rays managed a minor late-inning rally, but it was too little, too late – or too Littell, too late, if you prefer.

One of the few bright spots for the Rays was Richie Palacios, who had an impressive game after entering after Jose Caballero left the game in the bottom of the third inning due to illness. In the seventh inning, Palacios doubled to left field, driving in Jose Siri, for his first RBI of the game. In the ninth, with Siri on base again after hitting a double, Palacios hit a single to right field to bring him in. Palacios’ two-RBI performance was a bright spot on a gloomy night for Tampa Bay.

The Rays’ three-game road winning streak is over. The good news is they can start a new streak tomorrow at 4:10 p.m. when RHP Ryan Pepiot takes the mound for the Rays and former Ray RHP Charlie Morton gets the start for the Braves.