Kumar Rocker allowed nine hits and five runs with zero walks and three strikeouts over five innings in a loss to the Rays on Friday.

Working behind a pair of openers, Rocker struggled mightily here. Jonathan Aranda hit a mammoth 412 foot home run on the fifth pitch he threw and the Rays wound up putting six runs on the board over the first three innings he worked. He didn’t command his sinker well and it got lit up for four hits on four hard-hit balls and he scrapped it after his first time around Tampa’s lineup. Overall, things have not gone well for Rocker in a while and he has a 6.75 ERA over seven starts since August first. He’s scheduled to face the Mariners in Seattle next time out.