The Tampa Bay Rays’ struggles continue as they fell to their interstate rival, the Miami Marlins 11-6 on Thursday.
The Rays got on the board in the bottom of the first on a sacrifice fly by first baseman James Loney.
In the fourth, the Marlins took a 3-1 lead on RBI singles center fielder Marcell Onuza and catcher Jacob Realmuto.
Tampa Bay tied the game up in the fifth, when right fielder Kevin Kiermaier and second baseman Ben Zobrist each hit solo home runs.
The following inning, Miami rallied to score three runs. Onuza and Realmuto were at it again, both smacking RBI singles to left. Shortstop Adeiny Heckavarria grounded into a fielder’s choice to drive in the third run.
The Rays countered in the bottom of the frame with two runs to pull within one. Left fielder Matt Joyce smacked an RBI triple to right and came around to score on a pinch-hit single by Jerry Sands.
In the next inning, Marlins right fielder Giancarlo Stanton unload on a 3-2 pitch and smacked a two-run homer to left that traveled 405 feet. Later in the inning, with two on and one out, designated hitter Justin Bour made the score 9-5 with a single to right.
In the bottom of the seventh, Tampa Bay scored one run on a double by center fielder Desmond Jennings.
In the ninth, Onuza put the finishing touches on a three-hit, four-RBI night with a two-run homer to right center.
Miami starter Jacob Turner got the win, going 5 1/3 innings, giving up five runs on eight hits. Tampa Bay starter Jake Odorizzi suffered his sixth loss of the year, yielding four runs on seven hits and striking out eight in five innings of work, according to ESPN.
The Rays, who have the worst record in baseball at 23-38, will look for their first win since May 25 when they welcome the Seattle Mariners to Tropicana Field on Friday night.
"I don't know, to be honest with you,” Joyce said in an article on MLB.com. “I mean, it's frustrating, it's shocking, it's -- there's a long list of words that can describe it."