Rays' Zack Littell: Eight-inning gem, unfortunate loss

Littell (3-5) took the loss Thursday, allowing one run on five hits and one walk over eight innings against the Mariners. He struck out four.

Littell turned in the longest outing of his career Thursday, holding Seattle to just one run and retiring 19 of the final 20 batters he faced. However, the 27-year-old right-hander was saddled with an unlucky loss on account of Tampa Bay's failure to provide any run support. In eight starts since joining the Rays' rotation as a full starter, Littell has a 3-3 record with 3.86 ERA, 1.07 WHIP and a 30:4 K:BB across 46.2 innings. His next start is tentatively scheduled for early next week against a Minnesota offense that leads MLB in strikeouts versus right-handed pitching.