If the Rays are going to make the late run for a playoff spot they keep talking about, they are going to do it the hard way.

Sunday’s 6-3 loss, capping a winless weekend in Seattle, dropped them to a season-low-matching five games under .500 at 57-62 and also to a challenging 5 1/2 games — and five teams — from the third American League wild-card spot, currently held by the Yankees.

And with just 43 games left.

“Not happy. I think that’s the best way to put it. We’re not happy with the way that we played,” Rays manager Kevin Cash told reporters in Seattle, detailing several of their weekend transgressions. “We’re just not playing good baseball.”

Starter Adrian Houser, making his second start following his July 31 acquisition from the White Sox, put the Rays in a huge hole with a misera

See Full Page