The Rays lost on the final pitch again Sunday.
Shed Long Jr. hit a grand slam off Diego Castillo with two outs in the 10th inning to give the Mariners a 6-2 walkoff win in Seattle, sending the Rays to their sixth straight loss and fourth during that skid on the last pitch.
Dylan Moore dropped a bunt to open the 10th that moved designated runner Taylor Trammell to third, as Rays reliever Castillo made a late throw. Jake Bauers’ infield grounder led to Trammell getting called out on the way home, but Moore advanced to third. Castillo walked Luis Torrens to load the bases. After Jake Fraley, a former Rays minor-leaguer, flied to shallow left, Long delivered.
The six-game losing streak is the Rays’ longest since they lost eight straight in 2018, dropped them to 43-30 and kept them in second place in the American League East heading into a series with the first-place Red Sox that opens Tuesday at Tropicana Field.
The Rays got a strong start from Shane McClanahan and took a 2-1 lead in the seventh, but reliever Ryan Thompson allowed a game-tying homer to Ty France on his second pitch in the bottom of the seventh.
The Mariners struck first, when Torrens led off the third with a home run, the fourth straight game in which McClanahan allowed a long ball.
The Rays tied it in the sixth with the kind of breaks and execution that had been lacking during the losing streak after Joey Wendle led off with a single.
First, a break, as Seattle starter Marco Gonzales made an errant pickoff throw. Next, execution, as Brett Phillips hit a ground ball to the right side, getting Wendle to third. Then a clutch hit with a runner in scoring position, as Manuel Margot doubled.
The Rays rallied again in the seventh to take a 2-1 lead with another break as Fraley mishandled Brandon Lowe’s drive to the wall.
Lowe ended up on second with a double, and Mike Zunino, the ex-Mariner, followed with another double.
McClanahan gave the Rays a strong six innings, allowing just the one run, three hits and a walk while striking out a career-high eight.
The Rays decided that was enough, and summoned the right-handed Thompson. But that didn’t work too well, France knocked Thompson’s second pitch over the centerfield fence to tie the score 2-2.
The Rays headed home after the game, with Monday off.
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