ST. PETERSBURG, FL — With Wednesday’s game vs. the Seattle Mariners, the Tampa Bay Rays hit the midway point of the season, falling just short of a .500 record.
But “winning the series”—which is the default statement of positivity whenever a team fails to sweep—against the Mariners still reflects the recent success of the Rays. It followed a 5-4 road trip to Atlanta, Minnesota and Pittsburgh, where Tampa Bay hoped to be finding its groove after a disappointing first two months.
AL West leader Seattle came in, in first place ahead of the surging Houston Astros (who haven’t lost in a week and a half) and the struggling defending World Champion Texas Rangers, and lost the first two games to the Rays. But George Kirby out-dueled Rays starter Ryan Pepiot to avoid the sweep. Manager Kevin Cash pulled Pepiot in the sixth after a walk to J.P. Crawford, who had the only hit he had given up, a double in the third inning. Shawn Armstrong walked the 2023 AL LatinoMVP Julio Rodríguez, of Loma de Cabrera, Dominican Republic, and gave up a three-run homer to Cal Raleigh.
Cal crushed 💥 pic.twitter.com/myklsvo0fp
— Seattle Mariners (@Mariners) June 26, 2024
The Mariners added two more the next inning to lead to a 5-2 final score.
Rays’ 2023 AL batting champ Yandy Díaz, of Sagua la Grande, Cuba, who was named a finalist for the 2023 AL LatinoMVP, continues to be the most dependable aspect of their rejuvenation. In Monday’s first game of the series, he delivered the go-ahead two-run hit in the eighth inning. The next night his leadoff home run off Bryan Woo was his second leadoff homer in three games, having done it off Pirates rookie phenom Paul Skenes on Sunday.
First pitch. First at bat. First in our hearts.
Vote Yandy: https://t.co/xd21pMuMpf pic.twitter.com/83zAUHhtGs
— Tampa Bay Rays (@RaysBaseball) June 23, 2024
And Wednesday’s two hits gave the 32-year-old Díaz, a tie for the longest hitting streak in Rays history at 19 games, tying Jason Bartlett’s 2009 mark.
Yes, they’re the only team in Major League Baseball to have never had a 20-game hitting streak.
We now have a tie at the top of the Rays leaderboard for longest hit streaks. pic.twitter.com/1fKn8Hl1iN
— Tampa Bay Rays (@RaysBaseball) June 26, 2024
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