Two of Tuesday’s errors happened on potential double play balls: the one bobbled by Richie Palacios that would’ve ended the second inning for Tampa Bay, and the other a botched fielder’s choice as Oliver Dunn missed the bag at second when receiving the throw from Palacios in the fifth.
Cash argued postgame that the error charged to Palacios should’ve been a hit as the ball hit the second base bag, but it was ruled an error, leading to the first of two three-run innings.
“Sometimes, you have to overcome some bad breaks, and we did not tonight,” Cash said.
Griffin Jax leaves game with back contusion
Since beginning his transition back to a starting pitcher, Rays right-handed pitcher Griffin Jax has been stellar, allowing three earned runs across 19 innings of work, a 1.42 earned-run average (ERA) overall.
His last two starts, both of which saw him go five innings, were a much better indicator of his progress, allowing one earned run across that stretch.
However, he ran into a snag, or rather a snag ran into him, in Tuesday’s loss as Jax was struck in the lower back by a 107.2 MPH line drive off the bat of Leody Taveras.
“I didn’t know in the moment what it hit, where I was feeling it,” Jax said postgame. “It happened so fast, and I found myself on the ground. … It’s one of those things where in the heat of the moment, when adrenaline is surging, you can press through it.”
While Jax stayed in the game, finishing the second inning, he was pulled from the game, diagnosed with a back contusion and listed as day-to-day.