Say this much for the Tampa Bay Rays — at least they admit it when they do something stupid. And they did indeed commit a major mistake, a mistake you normally don't see at the MLB level.
Basically, the Rays were forced to remove pitcher Jason Adam because they lost track of mound visits in the ninth inning. But hey, at least they won, beating the Boston Red Sox by a 7-5 count after Erasmo Ramírez retired Romy González on a game-ending groundout with two on base.
"Hundred percent on me. I let the mound visits slip in my mind," Rays manager Kevin Cash told reporters. "It's on me. I screwed up and I'm glad that it didn't cost us a ballgame."
Hey, it happens. And like Cash said, it means little in the big picture. The Rays got a W.
Adam allowed a two-out walk to Rob Refsnyder and a single to Rafael Devers, before Rays pitching coach Kyle Snyder headed out to the mound. Snyder crossed the foul line — and then was immediately stopped by plate umpire Alex Tosi. The Rays actually lost track of mound visits when catcher Ben Rortvedt went to speak with Adam after the walk to Refsnyder.
"I have a clean inning, we don't have to deal with any of that," Adam said. "I'm really bad at keeping track of our mound visits."
If a team uses all of its mound visits entering the ninth inning, it gets an additional one. But the Rays used their final one in the ninth.
"The rule is clear, once he crosses the foul line, if they're out of trips, the pitcher must be removed. We attempted to stop him and he kept walking," crew chief Phil Cuzzi said to a pool reporter.
A quick check of the rulebook and....
Yup, #RaysWin pic.twitter.com/2mRnOFATta
— Tampa Bay Rays (@RaysBaseball) May 17, 2024
