Rays 12-0 at home after Arozarena delivers record HR, walk-off hit
Adam Berry
@adamdberryST. PETERSBURG -- When the White Sox intentionally walked Wander Franco with one out in the 10th inning and the winning run at second base, Shane McClanahan?couldn¡¯t help but raise an eyebrow.
Yes, it set up a potential inning-ending double play for right-handed reliever Jimmy Lambert. And sure, it was theoretically a more favorable right-on-right matchup against Randy Arozarena?than facing the switch-hitting Franco. But ¡ have you seen what Arozarena has done lately?
¡°I kind of was in my mind like, 'Are you sure? You sure want to do this?'¡± McClanahan said.
Arozarena, meanwhile, was thrilled with the decision. After driving in the Rays¡¯ first three runs on Saturday, the star outfielder slapped an RBI single to right field that scored pinch-runner Vidal Bruj¨¢n, capped a 4-3 win over the White Sox and started Tampa Bay¡¯s second consecutive walk-off celebration at Tropicana Field. For all Arozarena has already accomplished in his young career, it was his first walk-off plate appearance in the Majors.
¡°I was happy I was in that situation. I really hadn't been in a walk-off situation like that before,¡± Arozarena said through interpreter Manny Navarro. ¡°It was my first time, but thank God I was able to get that hit.¡±
The hits have been coming easy this season for Arozarena, who has followed his sensational World Baseball Classic performance by hitting .350/.404/.575 with five homers and 22 RBIs in his first 20 games. The Rays praised his improved preparation and attention to detail as early as Spring Training, and they¡¯re seeing it pay off now.
¡°I think it's helped him get off to such a good start,¡± manager Kevin Cash said. ¡°That [last] at-bat right there, he just went up there almost like he had [a] slider in the back of his mind, or offspeed, and did not try to hit it to Randy Land. He just tried to hit it somewhere on the turf.¡±
Arozarena led the Rays¡¯ lineup on Saturday, extending their record-setting home run streak to 21 games with a two-run shot off Dylan Cease in the first inning, and then slapping an RBI single to left in the fifth before delivering the walk-off knock.
When asked about the decision to walk Franco and bring up Arozarena, White Sox manager Pedro Grifol simply said the club ¡°liked the Lambert-Arozarena matchup, so we¡¯re good with it.¡±
So were the Rays.
¡°When he's locked in, this is what he does,¡± said reliever Pete Fairbanks, who extended his scoreless streak to a franchise-record 28 innings (breaking J.P. Howell¡¯s mark of 27 1/3 IP) by pitching a scoreless ninth. ¡°He, I think, used the WBC to kind of jump-start himself, and then he has not stopped since then.¡±
Arozarena has played a big part in the Rays¡¯ 18-3 record-setting start, which continued with Saturday¡¯s victory. They¡¯ve gone deep in each of their first 21 games, surpassing the 2019 Mariners¡¯ 20-game run for the longest season-opening home run streak in AL/NL history.
Combined with the pair of homers they hit in last year¡¯s final regular-season game, Tampa Bay also established a new all-time franchise mark by going deep in 22 consecutive games, topping the previous record of 21 set from Sept. 20, 2015-April 12, 2016.
The Rays also remained undefeated at home this season, matching the longest home winning streak in club history with a 12-0 run that¡¯s now tied (with the 1911 Tigers and 1884 Gothams) for the sixth-longest such streak to start a season in MLB history.
¡°Everyone's just doing their part. We're all supporting each other,¡± Arozarena said through Navarro. ¡°We've just got to keep [playing] that way. Regardless of the records or not, it's just a good way to stay hot.¡±
As hot as Arozarena has been at the plate, that¡¯s how scorching McClanahan has been on the mound.
The left-hander struck out 10 and recorded a franchise-record 32 swinging strikes (on 49 swings), allowing only three hits (including two solo homers) and one walk over six innings. McClanahan used everything in his four-pitch arsenal, but his changeup (14 whiffs) was effective playing off a fastball that averaged 96.8 mph.
Jason Adam allowed a game-tying, pinch-hit homer to Gavin Sheets in the eighth, costing McClanahan a chance to join Matt Moore as the only pitchers in Rays history to start a season by winning each of their first five starts, but the 25-year-old left-hander is still 4-0 with a 1.86 ERA, 37 strikeouts and 12 walks in 29 innings after five outings.
¡°It was awesome,¡± McClanahan said. ¡°They had my back after giving up those solo home runs, and Randy played a hell of a game.¡±