The Tampa Bay Rays opened their series against the Chicago White Sox with a 6-1 loss Friday night at Tropicana Field. Tampa Bay missed a chance to set the tone early and could not recover as the White Sox pulled away in the opener.
A big part of the result was a difficult outing for Nick Martinez, who turned in one of his toughest starts of the season. Tampa Bay’s pitching staff could not keep the game close enough for the offense to mount a serious comeback.
The main bright spot for the Rays was Junior Caminero, who connected for his 30th home run. His blast provided the club’s only run on a quiet night for the lineup, which otherwise struggled to turn opportunities into production.
With the defeat, the Rays moved to 64-45 and will try to even the series on Saturday. Tampa Bay is set to turn to Drew Rasmussen as it looks for a sharper all-around performance in the second game.
