Watch: Outfielder's casual play costs Rays

Tampa Bay Rays OF Randy Arozarena David Richard-USA TODAY Sports

Watch: Randy Arozarena's casual outfield play costs Rays

Originally posted on Larry Brown Sports
By Darryn Albert | Last updated 7/20/23

The bottom is falling out for the Tampa Bay Rays and they may only have themselves to blame.

Rays star Randy Arozarena had an ugly blunder in an important game against the division rival Baltimore Orioles on Thursday. In the fourth inning, O’s infielder Gunnar Henderson hit a rocket to the left side that glanced off Rays third baseman Taylor Wall’s glove and rolled towards the left field foul line. Playing in left, Arozarena ran down the ball, but was extremely casual in getting the ball back into the infield. As a result, Henderson was able to put his head down and take an extra base off the Rays, ending up at third.

Here is the video:

Randy Arozarena what are you doing man pic.twitter.com/AIWaXeNWc4

— Chris is still poopin (@ChrisIsPoopin) July 20, 2023

Orioles catcher Adley Rutschman followed up with a base hit, so Henderson would have scored from second anyway. But Henderson’s hustle play set the tone for the rest of the inning as Baltimore went on to score two more runs to take a 3-1 lead.

For Arozarena, who was actually given an error on the play, it was a terrible look. While the 2023 All-Star has been one of the Rays’ top performers all season, the entire roster is struggling at this juncture. Tampa Bay entered play Thursday having lost four straight games. They have been overtaken by Baltimore for the AL East division lead (something once unfathomable considering the Rays got off to a torrid 29-7 start to the season).

Arozarena is usually pretty darn stellar in left field. But that lolly-gagging in Thursday’s game was the absolute last thing Tampa Bay needs right now.

This article first appeared on Larry Brown Sports and was syndicated with permission.

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