"Manager Joe Maddon said it was "very unfair" for fans to boo DH Manny Ramirez for his 1-for-16 (.063) start.

CF B.J. Upton agreed, calling it "unbelievable."

If anything, Maddon said Ramirez — signed to a $2 million free-agent deal in the offseason — is trying too hard.

Ramirez, who went 0-for-4 Tuesday with three strikeouts, left the clubhouse before it was open to the media, but the Rays quickly came to his defense.

"I want the fans to know he works, this man really works, this man really cares," Maddon said. "It's not working for him right now, but he's going to be just fine. … We need to let him be himself and let Manny be Manny and go up there and not try to carry us. The last thing I want him to do is feel like he has to carry us."

Ramirez, 38, one of the best hitters of his generation, has 555 career home runs and two World Series titles.

"Here's a man who has had an unbelievable career," Upton said. "This game is not easy. His start obviously hasn't been what people wanted it to be. But if everybody could do it, everybody in America would be playing right now. They're not and he's done it for 16 years. So that bothered me a little bit. Because I think if you're a true baseball fan, you know what type of player he is and the type of damage he can do. It's way too long of a season to be booing somebody right now. That I do not understand, not one bit.""