ST. PETERSBURG — For the Rays, it was a wasted opportunity and another confounding example of the team’s growing homefield disadvantage.
They were facing the Tigers, owners of baseball’s worst record and having won just eight times since the All-Star break.
Right-hander Charlie Morton, the Rays’ best pitcher, performed brilliantly (again).
Friday night’s final at Tropicana Field: Tigers 2, Rays 0.
Afterward, Morton was kicking himself over a fourth-inning cross-up with Travis d’Arnaud — the catcher called for a curveball, but Morton threw a fastball — that produced a passed ball and allowed the go-ahead run to score.