A dynamic offensive team, the Tampa Bay Rays are not. They are a team in transition, unloading well-paid pieces to prepare for the future. They entered Saturday having not scored a run over their previous 13 innings.
That made little difference Saturday, as the Rays jumped on Orioles right-hander Andrew Cashner early, taking a quick five-run lead two innings in to send the Orioles to a 5-1 loss at Tropicana Field.
With the loss, an Orioles team that approaches the Memorial Day benchmark for evaluating where it stands, fell deeper into the American League East cellar, now trailing the rebuilding Rays (24-26) by eight games and the first-place Boston Red Sox by 19.