Rays Deliver Another Late Show, Defeat Arizona 7-4 In Extra Innings Again

For the second straight night — and well past midnight back home in Florida — the Tampa Bay Rays rallied late to tie their game with the Arizona Diamondbacks, eventually winning 7-4 in extra innings. Junior Caminero came through with an RBI double in the 10th inning, followed by a two-run homer from Christopher Morel to seal the series victory over Arizona.

Despite their late heroics, the Rays had a sluggish start. Starting pitcher Drew Rasmussen, who had been dominant in his previous four starts, struggled this time. He left too many pitches over the plate, allowing the Diamondbacks to score once in the first inning, twice in the second, and then a homer from No. 9 hitter Tim Tawa in the fifth, giving Arizona a 4-1 lead.

“This was a big win, a big team win,” Tampa Bay manager Kevin Cash said during his postgame press conference. “The guys are pumped, and they should be.”

Rasmussen closed out the fifth inning, and the Tampa Bay bullpen took over from there. Four relievers combined to pitch five scoreless innings, giving up just one hit. Manuel Rodriguez pitched a perfect sixth inning, Hunter Bigge handled the seventh and eighth with just one walk allowed, and Edwin Uceta navigated the ninth.

Uceta earned the win after the Rays completed their rally in extras. Pete Fairbanks closed the game in the 10th, picking up his fourth save of the season for the Rays, who are now 11-14 on the year. The Rays have won all four series against National League teams: Colorado, Pittsburgh, Atlanta, and Arizona.

The stellar late pitching allowed the Rays to stay in the game. After struggling against Arizona starter Corbin Burnes for the first four innings — where Burnes allowed just one hit, a single to Yandy Diaz that was erased by a double play — the Rays finally broke through in the fifth. Kameron Misner drew a one-out walk, and then scored from first on a double by Jose Caballero. The Rays added two more in the sixth, capitalizing on another Burnes walk to Brandon Lowe after a Diaz double. Caminero reached on an error, allowing Diaz to score, and Morel drove in Lowe with a double to make it 4-3.

In the ninth, the Rays tied the game with three consecutive singles. Rookie Chandler Simpson started the rally with a single to center, followed by a single from Danny Jansen, who had been struggling with a .148 batting average. Diaz, who had already collected two hits in the game, capped off the rally with a single to right, driving in Simpson from second.

It was Diaz’s second consecutive game with three hits, improving his batting average from .213 to .248 in just over 24 hours.

The Rays now head to San Diego to take on the Padres for a three-game series at Petco Park. The games will be held on Friday and Saturday nights, with an afternoon game on Sunday. The Padres are 17-8 and have the second-best record in baseball, trailing only the New York Mets (18-7) who have won seven straight games. Shane Baz will start for the Rays on Friday, followed by Ryan Pepiot on Saturday and Zack Littell on Sunday.