MLB podcaster disappointed with Tampa Bay's poor performance in playoff opener: "The Rays were just bad"

The Tampa Bay Rays of Tuesday looked very different from the team that had a red-hot start to the 2023 season. Tampa Bay began the year with an incredible 13-game win streak. At one point, they had 27 wins in their first 33 games and were the first team to 50 wins.

On Tuesday, Tampa looked nothing like the side that many had predicted as World Series favorites early in the season. A dominant Texas Rangers cruised to a 4-0 win at Tropicana Field.

The Rays' usually potent offense was shutout and managed just six hits, with five of those hits being singles. The defense was not much better. Kevin Cash's side allowed a postseason franchise-record four errors and walked six batters.

In a recent episode of Flippin Bats with Ben Verlander, the former MLB player offered a scathing assessment of the club's performance:

"The Rays were just bad...I was disappointed in the team"

The Rangers took an early lead in the second inning when Nathaniel Lowe scored on a Josh Jung sacrifice-fly. Texas held on to that lead and never really looked in danger after adding another run in the fifth inning.

Flippin' Bats with Ben Verlander - (28:15)

Verlander was also disappointed in the lack of fans that showed up to the game. Only 19,704 fans were in attendance for the club's first playoff game of the season. It was the smallest crowd for a playoff game since 1919.

The Tampa Bay Rays are in search of their first ever World Series title

Tampa Bay manager Kevin Cash walks back to the dugout against the Texas Rangers in St. Petersburg, Florida

A lot was expected from this Tampa Bay Rays team after a strong start to the year.

The team finished second behind the Baltimore Orioles in the highly competitive American League East. Their 99-63 record was the second best in the AL in 2023.

"The Rays have committed four errors in a playoff game for the first time in franchise history" - Talkin' Baseball

The club ranked second in the AL in runs scored (860), second in team OPS (.776), second in batting average (.260), fourth in hits (1432) and fourth in home runs (230). Against Jordan Montgomery and the Rangers, however, the team looked off balance and struggled to string together a series of hits.

Tampa Bay will look to bounce back on Wednesday in a must-win game. Righty Zach Eflin is slated to start for the team at Tropicana Field.