Tampa Bay Rays starting pitcher Taj Bradley Nathan Ray Seebeck-USA TODAY Sports

AL's best team continues slide, loses seventh straight

By Gerrit Ritt | Last updated 7/8/23

Over the course of 162 games, every team is bound to go into a slump at some point.

However, when you once had the best record in baseball and still hold the top spot in the American League, you don't expect to be on a downslide this drastic.

But that's what the Tampa Bay Rays are experiencing at the moment, dropping their league-leading seventh consecutive game in a 6-1 loss to the Atlanta Braves on Saturday.

✅ 60th win of the season
✅ 11th straight series win#ForTheA pic.twitter.com/ui3SqM1sJa
— AtBraves ⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️ (@Braves) July 9, 2023

The team that began the season with 13 straight wins is now nosediving in the opposite direction, having already ceded the best record in the majors to the Braves earlier during this slide. The Rays have now lost two in a row to that very same squad.

In doing so, they fell 4.5 games behind Atlanta for the best record in the majors and are currently just two games in front of the surprising Baltimore Orioles in the AL East. The O's have been on a streak of their own, winning their fourth straight thanks to a 6-2 win over the Twins on Saturday. They'll have a chance Sunday to trim the Rays' lead to one heading into the All-Star break.

Scoring runs has been the thorn in Tampa's side during this stretch, with the Rays posting just 17 total runs in those seven games and only one run in each of their last three contests. That's a stark contrast to the MLB record they set with homers in 22 consecutive games to start the season.

The Rays currently rank third in baseball in runs scored, home runs and total bases. So offense has rarely been this team's problem, until now.
The Rays will have one more chance to right the ship on Sunday, when they host the last of their three-game set with the Braves.

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