PHOENIX -- Things didn¡¯t look good for the Rays after four innings Thursday night at Chase Field. Drew Rasmussen had given up three runs, more than he allowed in his first four starts combined. D-backs starter Corbin Burnes had faced the minimum 12 hitters and struck out half of them. Tampa Bay was five innings away from losing a third straight series.
But one day after pulling off a wild win in a back-and-forth extra-innings affair, the Rays did it again. It wasn¡¯t quite as dramatic as Wednesday night, but the result was the same: a big win in extra innings.
Silenced by Burnes for four innings in the series finale, the Rays rallied for three runs in the fifth and sixth and tied the game in the ninth. They finally pulled ahead in the 10th, as Junior Caminero swatted an RBI double to right-center field and Christopher Morel launched a two-run homer that sent the Rays to a 7-4 victory over the D-backs.
¡°I think that the team got more confidence after this,¡± Yandy D¨ªaz said through interpreter Eddie Rodriguez. ¡°I think from now on, we¡¯re going to see better things.¡±
After dropping the series opener, the Rays won back-to-back games for just the third time this season to claim their first road series victory.
¡°It¡¯s really important for us. We haven¡¯t been winning series. We were able to win this one,¡± Morel said through Rodriguez. ¡°The mentality¡¯s still the same: We just want to win.¡±
They¡¯re still three games below .500 at 11-14, with plenty of room for improvement, but they headed to San Diego late Thursday night feeling better about themselves than they did after finishing a 5-8 homestand five days ago.
¡°This was a big win. Big team win,¡± Cash said. ¡°The guys are pumped, and they should be.¡±
It didn¡¯t look that way for much of the game, though, especially with Burnes starting off the night looking like the 2021 NL Cy Young Award winner.
But the Rays got to him in the fifth with Jos¨¦ Caballero¡¯s RBI double, then D¨ªaz scored in the sixth when Burnes took his eye off a Caminero comebacker and Morel slapped an RBI double against reliever Jalen Beeks to pull the Rays within a run.
Tampa Bay¡¯s pitching staff gave the lineup every chance to come back. After the second inning, Rasmussen and four relievers combined to allow only two hits and two walks against a tough D-backs lineup.
¡°Anytime they don¡¯t score after the starter comes out, you¡¯re typically going to be in a pretty good spot,¡± said closer Pete Fairbanks, who earned his fourth save with a scoreless 10th inning. ¡°That¡¯s what we¡¯re here to do, right?¡±
And the Rays capitalized in the ninth against reliever Ryne Nelson. Speedy prospect Chandler Simpson continued his impressive start with a single to center, advanced on Danny Jansen¡¯s single to left and scored when D¨ªaz -- clearly heating up after another slow start -- punched a 110 mph RBI single to right field, his third hit of the night.
¡°I still don¡¯t feel good. I¡¯m just making adjustments, and things are looking a little bit better,¡± D¨ªaz said. ¡°I feel happy because I¡¯m helping the team. Thank God, things are going well.¡±
That rally put the go-ahead run at third base with one out, but Brandon Lowe popped out and Jonathan Aranda struck out to strand two runners. But they came through in a big way in the 10th. Leading off the inning, Caminero -- just 1-for-13 in the series at that point -- smashed a slider from former Ray J.P. Feyereisen out to right-center field for a go-ahead RBI double.
¡°In reality, I feel happier that Junior got the hit than me hitting the home run, because I think he needed it more than me,¡± Morel said. ¡°I felt really happy for him.¡±
Kameron Misner advanced Caminero to third with a groundout to bring up Morel, who had told Cash earlier in the series how much he enjoys hitting in Arizona¡¯s ballpark. But why?
¡°I just like the sound of the bat when I hit the ball here,¡± said Morel, who went 4-for-10 with four RBIs in the series. ¡°Even though the roof was open today, I can still hear the sound.¡±
He made a very loud sound on a 1-1 changeup from Feyereisen, launching it a Statcast-projected 395 feet to left field to give Fairbanks some breathing room -- and give the Rays a much-needed series victory.
¡°You just watch how the offense grinded out the last two nights, man, and that¡¯s a really good staff over there,¡± Rasmussen said. ¡°It¡¯s a great win for the team and this has the potential to start something special.¡±