Ask Braves manager Fredi Gonzalez about his relief pitchers and he’s sure to bring the conversation back around to needing longer outings from his starters.
“It’s hard to hold leads for four innings out of the bullpen,” Gonzalez said before his team’s two-game series against the Rays.
Sure enough, the Braves had to do just that against the Rays on Wednesday and the bullpen couldn’t hold up. The Rays scored six runs in the seventh inning against Braves relief pitchers for a 9-6 victory at Tropicana Field.
The Braves (51-63) lost both games against the Rays in the interleague series. The Braves are 5-9 in games against American League teams this season with six more to go.
Braves starting pitcher Matt Wisler left with a 4-2 lead after five innings. The Rays (58-56) cut their deficit to 4-3 in the sixth inning against reliever Andrew McKirahan but the Braves added two more runs against Rays starter Jake Odorizzi in the seventh for a 6-3 advantage.
Braves rookie left-hander Matt Marksberry fell apart in the seventh. He was charged with five runs and fellow rookie Ryan Kelly gave up a home run to Curt Casali as the Rays turned the 6-3 deficit into a 9-6 lead.
“It’s a box of chocolate sometimes when you go down there when you have that many inexperienced guys in the bullpen,” Braves manager Fregi Gonzalez said. “But we fought, we battled. We had a three-run lead there and we just couldn’t hold them off.”
The Rays had three consecutive hits before Marksberry recorded an out. James Loney’s RBI double fell between centerfielder Cameron Maybin and left fielder Michael Bourn before bouncing into the seats.
Bourn came to the Braves in a trade on Saturday and previously played center field.
“I think it’s just one of those things where (we’re) not quite used to each other,” Maybin said. “That’s a ball I can probably get, he can probably get. It’s one of those things we have to talk about and work out and know what the other one needs to do for him to take it, or vice versa.”
After Loney’s double, Logan Forsythe followed with a sacrifice fly that scored Evan Longoria and moved pinch runner Tim Beckham to third base. Marksberry’s wild pitch allowed Beckham to score and tie the game at 6.
Brandon Guyer then hit a two-out double but it appeared Marksberry would at least preserve the tie when Kevin Kiermaier hit a soft ground ball to first baseman Joey Terdoslavich. But after Terdoslavich flipped him the ball, Marksberry stepped over the bag.
Kiermaier was safe as Guyer scored from second base for a 7-6 Rays lead. Kelly replaced Marksberry and gave up a two-run homer to Casali that hit the foul pole in left field. The Braves optioned Kelly to Triple-A Gwinnett following the game.
Marksberry is the first player in the 2013 Braves draft class to make it to the big leagues. He began this season with Single-A Carolina.
“I think he will be all right,” Gonzalez said. “But I will get him and you put your arm around a young man and tell him, ‘You are doing the best that you can.’ At least he threw the ball over the plate.”
The bullpen meltdown erased the offensive outburst by the Braves. They couldn’t score a run against the Rays in the in the series opener but staked Wisler to a 3-0 lead against Odorizzi in the second inning.
Pedro Ciriaco added a home run in the fifth for a 4-2 lead and Wisler held it. The Rays kept getting runners on base and Wisler kept escaping with timely pitches and a bit of luck.
Wisler stranded a total of six base runners through four innings before Sizemore finally caught up to one of his high fastballs. Sizemore smashed Wisler’s pitch off of the catwalk that hangs over the right-field seats for a ground-rule home run that pulled the Rays within 4-2 in the fifth.
Wisler allowed seven hits with two walks and used 96 pitches while facing 23 batters. The rookie right-hander allowed a total of 12 earned runs in his last two starts.
“It was definitely an improvement on the last two,” Wisler said. “I’ve got a lot to learn. I’ve got to be more efficient. I only got five innings and it’s a different ballgame if I go six or seven.”
