Matz's Rough Night Caps Rays Skid

Steven Matz took the loss for the Rays despite a strong performance, striking out Shohei Ohtani and retiring most batters — but one pitch, a sinker to Miguel Rojas, turned into a tie-breaking home run in the seventh. The loss deepens the Rays’ slump, now 13 of 20 games lost, dropping them a game and a half behind the Yankees. Matz, moved to the bullpen, has given up runs in three appearances and homers in back-to-back outings. Manager Kevin Cash praised his effort but acknowledged the rough patch. The bullpen’s thin depth has forced Matz into a bulk role, even as Ian Seymour steps into his old rotation spot. Starter Nick Martinez also faced a late-game meltdown after a full-count changeup to Chris Tucker turned into a game-tying homer. While Rays’ offense flashed moments — Junior Caminero’s double and Ryan Vilade’s early homer — they couldn’t overcome the Dodgers’ clutch swings, falling short on a late scoring chance when a runner was thrown out at home. Support the show:Get a discount at https://solipillow.com/discount/dnn. Advertise on DNN:[email protected] This is an automated, high-level news summary based on public reporting.Report issues to [email protected]. View sources & latest updates:https://sources.thednn.ai/dd19e2a61219916a