KANSAS CITY, Mo. — Rays president of baseball operations Matt Silverman discussed several topics concerning the club before Wednesday’s game with the Royals.
Chief among them were the stretch of losses, the leaky bullpen, the July 31 trade deadline, LHP Drew Smyly’s return, manager Kevin Cash and, yes, the status of hitting coach Derek Shelton.
♦ The Rays entered Wednesday’s game having lost nine of their previous 10 and 13 of 16 to see their record dip to .500.
“Small things didn’t go our way,” Silverman said, noting all the close losses. “Sometimes it’s an unlucky bounce.