Not another nail-biter: Rays erupt for season-high 11 runs

ST. PETERSBURG -- The Rays have grown used to playing -- and winning -- close, high-stress games. They own the Majors’ best record in games decided by two runs or fewer at 28-12, accounting for 70 percent of their victories … and half of the games they’ve played this season.

For five innings Tuesday night, it looked like Tampa Bay was in for another nail-biter. Then the bats broke out.

The Rays put up four runs in a tiebreaking sixth inning, then piled on five more, cruising to a comfortable 11-3 win over the Mariners at Tropicana Field. By the time it was over, Tampa Bay had put together its highest-scoring game and most lopsided victory of the season.

The suddenly streaking club has won three games in a row, six of seven and nine of 14 to pull back to .500 (40-40) for the first time since June 7. On Wednesday afternoon, in their 81st game of the season, the Rays have a chance to climb above .500 for the first time since May 21.

“We all know hitting is contagious. Not hitting is contagious -- I think we've all seen that,” said catcher Ben Rortvedt, who went 2-for-3 with four RBIs. “It's awesome to be on the winning side of things and on the hitting side of things right now. Especially with this pitching staff being the way it is and us being able to jump all over them, we should build a lot of confidence from this.”

As well as it turned out for the Rays, manager Kevin Cash thought Tuesday’s game would go down to the wire given the way it started out.

Tampa Bay held a 2-0 lead after two innings thanks to Yandy Díaz’s leadoff homer and Jose Siri’s second-inning RBI single against Seattle starter Luis Castillo.

Díaz’s blast -- his second first-pitch leadoff shot in three days -- extended his career-best on-base streak to 27 games, his hitting streak to 18 games (one shy of matching the franchise-record mark Jason Bartlett set in 2009) and his RBI streak to seven consecutive games.

“Just trying to go up there looking for a pitch, and if it's gonna be right down the middle, I'm gonna give it to them,” Díaz said through interpreter Manny Navarro.

The Mariners evened the score with one swing in the fifth, when Zack Littell gave up a two-run homer to Ty France. But the Rays regained the lead in a big way in the sixth.

Richie Palacios and Siri walked with one out, chasing Castillo. Taylor Walls greeted reliever Mike Baumann by smacking his first pitch, a 95 mph fastball, to right field. The ball dropped just beyond the reach of diving outfielder Dominic Canzone. Palacios and Siri scored, and Walls wheeled around to third for his fifth career triple.

“Honestly, as soon as I saw it off the bat, it looked like [Canzone] was kind of coasting to it,” Walls said. “So I'm like, 'OK, he must think he can catch it.' And the closer he got to it, of course, I saw him lay out and, of course, he didn't. I guess I could take a breath at that point.”

The Rays value Walls’ excellent defense above all else, but it had been a struggle at the plate for the switch-hitting shortstop since making his injury-delayed season debut on June 7. Walls had two hits in his first game back, then said he felt behind on everything as he picked up only two more in his next 39 plate appearances. But he rediscovered his timing during Tuesday’s three-hit performance.

“He cares a lot,” Cash said. “He's some kind of competitor, so when you're having some of those frustrating at-bats and not getting the results you want, you need a night like this.”

Then up came Rortvedt, who swatted a high fastball out to right-center field for a two-run homer. It was his third home run of the season, all three of which have come in the past 10 days.

“My first one, I was making a joke that they're gonna come in bunches. I wouldn't say this is a bunch, but it's nice to get three,” Rortvedt said, grinning. “I think I got myself in trouble last month actually trying to do a little too much, so it's nice that having some patience is paying off.”

Rortvedt drove in two more runs in a three-run seventh, and Isaac Paredes tacked on a two-run homer in the eighth, his team-leading 12th of the year.

The game may have started off close, but it didn’t end that way.

“Thrilled with the way the guys continued to add on runs,” Cash said. “We do play a lot of close ballgames. I thought that was headed that way from the start.”