TAMPA, Fla. — The Rays dropped a third straight game to the Cleveland Guardians, and dropped back to the brink of the American League playoff race.

Sunday’s 2-1 defeat pushed the Rays back under .500 at 71-72, and with Seattle’s win at Atlanta, left them four games and four teams from the last wild-card spot with 19 games to play.

There wasn’t much offense to Sunday’s game. The Rays got their run on Carson Williams’ fifth-inning homer, and the Guardians combined three hits, a walk and a fielder’s choice play on a bunt off Rays relievers Garrett Cleavinger and Kevin Kelly into two runs in the sixth.

The Rays failed to convert a couple scoring opportunities in the early innings against rookie lefty Parker Messick.

They took a 1-0 lead at the start of the fifth when rookie shortstop Williams launched a first-pitch fastball from Messick 409 feet and over the left-center field wall.

Rays starter Drew Rasmussen had runners on base in each of his five innings, but didn’t allow any in, lowering his ERA to 2.64.

Manager Kevin Cash then turned to his bullpen, first summoning lefty Cleavinger, who hadn’t allowed a run over his last 20 innings, which was the longest such active streak of any major-league reliever.

Cleavinger, however, allowed a leadoff single to pinch-hitter Angel Martinez, then a sharp grounder down the third-base line by Jose Ramirez that got by Junior Caminero and scored the tying run.

A strikeout, a walk and a nifty play by Cleavinger on Daniel Schneemann’s bunt and toss to catcher Nick Fortes left the Guardians with two outs and runners on second and first.

Cash went then to Kelly, and Gabriel Arias laced his first pitch to right field, with pinch-runner Jhonkensy Noel scoring ahead of Josh Lowe’s throw.

Messick, who pitched at Steinbrenner Field in 2018 in a wood bat tournament, had a good afternoon with 100-plus relatives and friends cheering him on; he allowed one run over six innings.

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