CLEVELAND — The Rays seemed quite frustrated with Friday’s loss.
Saturday was worse in a 7-6, 11-inning walk-off defeat.
One out from victory after an impressive mid-game comeback, closer Pete Fairbanks let a one-run lead slip away with one out in the ninth. Then after taking a one-run lead in the 11th with Vidal Brujan scoring on Brandon Lowe’s sac fly, the Rays lost when newly signed reliever Chris Devenski allowed two runs.
Devenski, pitching in the majors for the first time since July 15, struck out Gabriel Arias, but walked Bo Naylor on 10 pitches, allowed a single to Jose Tena that scored the tying run, and a sac fly by Steven Kwan that scored the winner as Jose Siri made an errant throw home. The Rays had Jason Adam, Kevin Kelly and Andrew Kittredge available.
In the ninth, Will Brennan slapped a leadoff single, then Fairbanks got two quick outs. But a soft grounder by Oscar Gonzalez caromed off Fairbanks, putting two on. After some controversy as Kwan was assessed a strike for a pitch clock violation, he slapped a single to left field, scoring the tying run.
The Rays seemed on their way to a frustration-relieving win, as three players — Yandy Diaz, birthday boy Christian Bethancourt and Siri — hit home runs and manager Kevin Cash got ejected after a demonstrative protest of a pitch clock violation on starter Zack Littell.
The Rays dropped to 83-54, having won 20 of their previous 30 games, including eight of 10, 10 of 12 and 14 of 18.
They will play Sunday trying to avoid being swept after seeing their streak of six straight series wins snapped.
And they remain in pursuit of American League East-leading Baltimore, starting the day 1 1/2 games back. The Orioles played later Saturday at Arizona.
The game was the eighth straight between the teams at Progressive Field to be decided by one run, including last year’s two wild-card games.
The Rays grabbed the lead right away, as Diaz hit Cleveland starter Logan Allen’s fourth pitch over the left-center-field wall for his 18th homer of the season.
But Littell wasn’t sharp, and he allowed the Guardians to get even and then ahead.
Three Cleveland singles led to a run in the first, and two hits to open the second led to another in the second. The Guardians expanded the lead from 2-1 to 4-1 in the fourth, as Will Brennan led off with a single and Arias followed with a two-run homer.
The Rays rallied back in the fifth, and there was reason to celebrate. Luke Raley, the native of nearby Hinckley, Ohio, with 100-plus relatives and friends in the stands, singled. Taylor Walls, in his first game back from the injured list, singled as well.
Bethancourt then provided his own birthday bash, a three-run, tying homer to mark turning 32. This was the second straight year Bethancourt homered for the Rays on his birthday. Only Carl Crawford did that multiple times, and he finished with three.
The Rays kept swinging and took the lead in the sixth on a two-out homer by Siri, who took some time to admire his 25th blast of the season.
The Rays’ frustrations from Friday may have carried over to Saturday.
At least it looked that way in the fifth inning, when Cash was quickly ejected.
Cash’s issue with umpire CB Bucknor’s call seemed to be that Cleveland batter Andres Gimenez wasn’t set and engaged by the required eight-second limit, and with that the case Littell shouldn’t have been the one penalized.
Cash got uncharacteristically demonstrative about it, stepping into the left-handed batter’s box to make his point. It was Cash’s second ejection of this season, and 15th in nine seasons as a manager.
Littell worked into the fifth, and the Rays used a parade of relievers.