PINELLAS COUNTY, Fla. — The Tampa Bay Rays follow a 99-win regular season with zero postseason victories after a 7-1 loss to the Texas Rangers in Game 2 of the Wild Card Series.
Pitcher Zach Eflin took the mound in Game 2 for his first career postseason start after ten appearances as a reliever with the Philadelphia Phillies during their run to the World Series last year.
Shortstop Corey Seager got the game's first hit, building off his multi-hit Game 1 performance with a double to center field after Manuel Margot slipped on the warning track and failed to make a clean catch.
Designated hitter Robbie Grossman then fouled out, and right fielder Adolis Garcia grounded out to shortstop to end the first inning.
First baseman Yandy Diaz made a diving catch to line out Leody Tavares and end the second inning, the type of defensive play that was rare for Tampa Bay yesterday.
Josh Jung doubled to left field to open the third inning and later moved to third base after Marcus Semien grounded into a double play.
To avoid giving up another hit to Seager, he was intentionally walked by Eflin to put runners on the corners with two outs, but Grossman struck out swinging and failed to open the scoring for Texas.
The next inning was a different story, however, as Garcia hit the first home run of the series to give the Rangers a 1-0 lead.
Jung tripled three batters later, scoring Tavares after Josh Lowe unsuccessfully made a diving catch in right field.
Evan Carter continued to pour it on with a two-run homer to right-center field to push the Rangers' lead to four before Semien struck out swinging for the third and final out of the inning.
Eflin’s day ended soon after, allowing four earned runs and eight hits in five full innings of play.
The first error for Tampa Bay happened in the fifth when second baseman Curtis Mead misplayed a line drive, putting Seager on base again.
A Grossman single to center moved Seager to third, and a Lowe ground out added another run for Texas.
Back-to-back doubles by Semien and Seager gave the Rangers a 7-0 lead in the top of the sixth inning.
After not putting up a run in the sixth inning, the Rays totaled 33 consecutive scoreless innings in the postseason, one behind tying a record set by the Los Angeles Dodgers almost 50 years ago.
But in the seventh, Mead singled to left with two men on base to score Paredes and avoid making history in Tampa Bay.
That would be the only run the Rays would tally as they lost their seventh straight postseason game dating back to 2021.
The Rangers move on to the ALDS to face the Baltimore Orioles this Saturday.
