This wasn't in the script, not by a long shot — which suddenly describes the Tampa Bay Rays and their pursuit of the postseason.
Even with all their on-again, off-again bat work and streaky play of late, the Rays never envisioned the fate that befell them this week in Baltimore, or the demoralizing outcome that greeted them late Thursday afternoon in the growing shadows of Camden Yards.
It was a 5-hour, 14-minute marathon ending with a 14-inning, 3-2 heartbreaker —dooming Tampa Bay to a disheartening three-game sweep by the Orioles, and dealing an unexpected blow to its playoff hopes.
For the moment, the O's can savor life atop the AL East, tied for first with the Yankees. The Rays, on the other hand, have to be feeling all alone.
With 19 games to play, they're four games out of the division lead behind Baltimore and 3.5 games behind in the race for the second wild card, trailing the Yankees and Angels, with a tough three-game series with New York starting Friday night in the Bronx.
They managed to score only two runs in each of the setbacks: 9-2 on Tuesday night, followed by a white-knuckle 3-2 defeat Wednesday and then Thursday's crushing loss by the same score.
Mark it down as 2 little offense — and their league-high 26th one-run loss this season, including 12 in their past 15 one-run games. The Orioles, by contrast, are 27-7 in such contests and a phenomenal 13-2 in extra-inning games.
It's hard to imagine a more painful loss for the Rays under the circumstances — a game they knew they had to win and could have, collecting 12 hits but leaving 10 runners stranded. In the process, manager Joe Maddon pulled out all the stops trying to secure the victory, utilizing a club-record nine pitchers and 17 position players.
In the bottom of the 13th, he employed a fifth infielder to help foil a bases-loaded, no-outs rally, taking his chances with only B.J. Upton and Matt Joyce in the outfield. And it paid off when Baltimore's Robert Andino grounded to second baseman Elliot Johnson, who fired to home for the force and first out. Rookie pitcher Chris Archer, stellar in a long relief stint, proceeded to strike out the next two O's, even after falling behind 3-0 to power-hitting Matt Wieters.
It almost seemed like the Rays were destined to pull it out, having survived that mess. But after getting a pair of singles from Jeff Keppinger and Jose Molina in the top of the 14th, Matt Joyce was called out on strikes for the final out — yet another rally that came up empty.
Archer started off the bottom of the 14th in good shape, retiring J.J. Hardy on a pop out and Lew Ford on a fly out. But then he went to a 3-2 count on power hitter Adam Jones and walked him. The next batter, Endy Chavez — playing due to last week's season-ending injury to Nick Markakis — grounded a single to left. And series hero Manny Machado followed with a looper to left that Joyce nearly snagged with a diving catch.
But the ball barely eluded his glove and Jones came home with the winning run, triggering jubilation for the Orioles, who haven't had a winning season since 1997. This win guaranteed that they would be at least .500, raising their record to 81-62 while dropping the Rays to 77-66.
It doesn't get any easier for Maddon and his team. Their three-game set with the Yankees begins Friday at 7:05 p.m. with a battle of lefty aces: David Price (17-5, 2.54 ERA), returning from a week off with shoulder soreness, and CC Sabathia (13-5, 3.56).
The Rays have made a living out of surviving tight squeezes, the biggest of which came last year with their legendary September surge: making up a 9.5-game gap at the start of the month to earn a playoff berth in the final game of the season.
But that Tampa Bay team was moving forward; this one is moving in the wrong direction at the wrong time. The Rays will have to start a new surge in the Big Apple, taking at least two out of three a must to have a shot at keeping pace with the pack.
It's not out of the question. Certainly nobody gave the Rays a chance last September when they were 7.5 games out of the wild card race with 20 remaining. They went 13-7 down the stretch to qualify in Game 162.
Count on Maddon doing his best to keep his players' spirits up and their focus on the immense challenge at hand. At times like this, Maddon has proven to be a master of motivation, ensuring that the mood stays light. Still, there's no disguising the high stakes.
If Price is physically better and can outduel Sabathia — something he's done before as his 4-1 mark in head-to-head confrontations illustrates — then it will fall to James Shields (14-8, 3.71) on Saturday at 4:05 p.m. in a FOX national game against Ivan Nova (11-7, 4.92). The Rays can take heart in how well Shields has pitched since the end of the trading deadline, winning five of seven decisions and earning co-AL Player of the Week honors last week with teammate B.J. Upton for two wins (including a shutout) and an ERA of 1.59.
The critical series wraps up Sunday with a 1:05 p.m. contest, with rookie Matt Moore hoping for a better start than the one that began the road trip against the Orioles. He struggled with his command from the start and lasted only four innings, giving up four hits and three walks in falling to 10-10. Moore, who'll face Hiroki Kuroda (13-10, 3.17), at least has enjoyed some success at Yankee Stadium. He earned his first career win there last September after his Durham call-up, a key step in the Rays' late playoff run.
The Rays lead the season series 9-6, but they're 2-4 at Yankee Stadium in 2012. Now there's little margin for error, with the Angels on a roll, Oakland continuing to soar and Baltimore seemingly tapping the Tampa Bay magic of 2008.
If the Rays can squeeze out two wins in New York, they could catch a break with the home-stand that awaits next week: four straight games against the last-place Red Sox and two more against the fourth-place Toronto Blue Jays. Both of those teams would love to do whatever they can to play the spoiler — but both are beatable if the Rays can find a way to hit again the way they had after Evan Longoria's return in August.
Then again, if the Rays can't dispose of Boston and Toronto at home, that's probably where they deserve to be sitting when the postseason arrives.
