Chicago White Sox

Frustrated Rays host White Sox (Jun 07, 2017)

Published Jun. 7, 2017 4:18 a.m. ET

ST. PETERSBURG, Fla. -- The Tampa Bay Rays are frustrated by a lack of offense in their four-game losing streak, and it boiled over Tuesday in a 4-2 loss to the Chicago White Sox in the opener of a three-game series.

"We got guys on, just weren't able to get them in," first baseman Logan Morrison said after going 0-for-5 with three strikeouts on a night when the Rays left 11 men on base. "When they pitch around (Evan Longoria) to get to me, I need to come through, and I didn't.

"That's why you play 162 of them, and hopefully (Wednesday) there will be a different scenario."

The Rays will try to bounce back Wednesday against the White Sox with another rookie pitcher. Jacob Faria, a 23-year-old right-hander, will be called up to make his major league debut, the sixth pitcher to do so for Tampa Bay this season.

Faria was phenomenal in 2015, then struggled when he arrived at Triple-A last season. However, this year he leads the International League with 84 strikeouts in 58 2/3 innings, setting up a key audition.

In 11 starts for Durham, Faria was 6-1 with a 3.07 ERA, limiting opponents to a .204 average and walking 22.

Chicago counters with right-hander Mike Pelfrey, hoping he can continue strong pitching of late. Pelfrey (2-4, 3.86 ERA) is 2-0 with a 1.13 ERA in his past three starts, recording 15 strikeouts against only three walks in that span. He is 0-1 with a 4.43 ERA in four career starts versus Tampa Bay.

The Rays (29-31) struggled Wednesday against White Sox starter Jose Quintana, who came in with one of the American League's highest ERAs at 5.60. Quintana wound up throwing 5 1/3 innings of one run ball, helping Chicago end a five-game losing streak.

Another complaint the Rays had after the loss was Tropicana Field's white roof, which can cause outfielders to lose fly balls, as was the case in the first inning.

Tampa Bay center fielder Kevin Kiermaier, a two-time Gold Glove winner, misread a ball off the bat of Yolmer Sanchez leading off the first inning. When it dropped in behind him, the umpires decided it must have hit a catwalk, which would mean a home run under the stadium's ground rules. Replays showed it came nowhere near hitting the catwalks, but the call was upheld upon official review.

"I feel like every game is affected by the roof, to some capacity, whether it's something getting hit off it or somebody's losing it, misplay or whatever the case may be," Rays pitcher Chris Archer said. "For us to have a rule to have replay and not get the call right, and put the team behind the 8-ball is a bit ridiculous for me in my opinion."

Kiermaier admitted he lost the ball.

"It's tough sometimes trying to find a white ball in a white roof," he said, adding that he "got exposed ... totally lost it."

Tampa Bay manager Kevin Cash, frustrated by the call and his team's losing streak, said it was "irritating that it was definitely not a home run."